TMNT, 2007.
Directed by Kevin Munroe.
Featuring the voice talents of James Arnold Taylor, Nolan North, Mitchell Whitfield, Mikey Kelley, Mako, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chris Evans.
SYNOPSIS:
The four turtles are back in this animated adventure that sees them pitted against vicious beasties and each other.
It’s been over a decade since the turtles crawled back into their shells after the awful Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993). Now they’re back, and in child-friendly fully animated form. Sadly, this means the dark gritty atmosphere that made Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) such an exciting breath of fresh air has been replaced by a movie that wouldn’t look out of place amidst Saturday morning cartoons. Of course, this has always been the target audience for these films, but TMNT doesn’t even attempt to address older fans wrapped up in the warmth of nostalgia.
The film picks up after the previous three, but the four brothers – Leonardo (voiced by James Arnold Taylor), Raphael (voiced by Nolan North), Donatello (voiced by Mitchell Whitfield), and Michelangelo (Mikey Kelley) – are in a state of disarray. Leonardo has been sent by Splinter (voiced by Mako) to Central America to train as a leader, Michelangelo dons a fake turtle head and works as a children’s birthday entertainer, Donatello works as an IT specialist, and Raphael takes to the streets of New York City to fight crime as the vigilante Nightwatcher. When an ancient curse and thirteen beasts threaten New York City, the four brothers must settle their differences and band together.
I understand the decision to move to animation, especially after the atrocious costumes used in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, but it isn’t really a great demonstration of computer wizardry. Some of the settings and backgrounds certainly look spectacular, but the turtles themselves are hardly impressive. By implementing animation, the turtles are now free from the restraints of gravity, and so they leap and bound across the New York City skyline. This does allow for some exciting chase scenes and some inventive camera-work that would have been impossible in a live action setting, but one gets the impression that perhaps too much time was devoted to ensuring the action scenes looked slick and polished, and less time was spent on developing a comprehensible story.
Returning alongside the turtles are April O’Neil (voiced by Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Casey (voiced by Chris Evans) – and I should just point out that the human designs are a little too cartoony. There isn’t really a clearly defined villain, but instead an assortment of beasties and characters thrown into the plot. This allows the animators to flex their creative muscles, but it can be a little bewildering at times, and mostly serves as a backdrop to the sibling rivalry between Leonardo and Raphael. Once again Raphael is an infuriating hothead, but instead of getting himself into trouble he now lands Leonardo in hot water. Sadly Donatello and Michelangelo are given very little to do beside stand aside and crack jokes.
I wanted to like TMNT, I really did, and the hints dropped throughout suggesting a sequel were a promising sign – this is certainly a premise that could be worked on and polished into a decent movie franchise. Sadly this was not to be, and it would appear that the franchise as we knew and loved it is now dead in the water. For those wishing to introduce cartoon-obsessed children to the greatness that is the teenage mutant ninja turtles, this is a good place to start before unleashing the live action films. Everyone else will find a passable movie, but not a movie that rises to the radical excellence it could have been. Bummer.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★
Originally published April 28, 2012. Updated April 10, 2018.
