![]() Sheltered, yet not afraid to throw down, the TMNT are fairly non-lethal, even with two of them sporting sharp bladed weapons, as their large throngs of collected foes can easily regroup since they're not-quite-impaled.Īn origin story, establishing the main human and humanoid characters in the series, the first TMNT film is more fan service than it is a workable movie. But while the heroes are a bit one-dimensional, they're also quite entertaining, as they interact with the world that doesn't know they exist. In fact, it's outright awful how the Turtles react to the thought of pizza in the film, as they're borderline junkies for the dish. The story is corny, cheesy, with tons of derailment for gags and references (mostly conversations throwing in as many "cowabungas," "radicals," "tubulars," or "excellents!" as possible, quasi-coherently), as well as more than a handful of pizza gags. Sure, they want to show these are the "bad kids," but good luck showing a kid smoking a big ass cigar nowadays. It's almost hilarious seeing kids throw around cartons of cigarettes, down booze, and even smoke stogies in their excessive "hide-out"/retreat, full of dance floors, contraband, skateboard ramps, and arcade games. ![]() That doesn't speak well for its memorability, that's for sure, but that strange sense of nostalgia sure makes it quite a hoot to watch this exaggerated state of the early 90s kid culture.Ī darker, tougher film would have made sense, considering the comic book origins, the language on display in the film (which was so coarse that there were no toys made to tie-in to the film, to distance Playmates from the moral outrage of a children's movie saying "damn"), and the fairly bleak tale told. 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' is a film that certainly disappeared into my memory banks, as watching it again for this review felt almost like the first time I had ever seen it. Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Donatello, and Rafael may have been named after master artists, but they're going to show that they're master martial artists. Along for the ride is street justice server Casey Jones (Elias Koteas) and the sassy WTRL 3 reporter April O'Neil (Judith Hoag), who has broken the story on the Foot, who are out to silence her for good. With their mutant rat leader Splinter (voiced by Kevin Clash) instilling in them sensibilities as well as fighting abilities, these overgrown pets will face their first real challenge from the Foot Clan, the best fighters from Tatsu and Shredder's gang. Their haven is full of smoking, drinking, and video games, and these wild children are being led by two men who may have ulterior motives: Tatsu (Toshishiro Obata) and the mysterious, pointy Shredder (played by both James Saito and David McCharen).īut there's more happening in the shadows than random muggings, mullets, and thugging tweeners, as four mutated turtles, which have grown to human height, begin their fight for what is right. Youths are turning delinquent, turning on their families, forming a wild throng, a gang of sorts. Stereos, wallets, and boomboxes all over the city are disappearing. There's a plague consuming New York City. 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' (3/5) - This ain't no cartoon. Whether you like turtles still or not, it's time for a blast from the past! The 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' 25th Anniversary Collector's Edition box set features each of the first four films starring the anthropomorphic reptiles and their rat sensei. Three live action films starring the lean mean green fighting machines were made in the 90s, and a recent CGI rendition was created, while a fourth live action film is in the wings. If you can put your creation on any product imaginable, why not make some money at the box office, too? One didn't even have to be truly accurate to the source material, just tap into the culture of the fans of the time, and you'll make hand over fist (with the first film making ten times its budget, easily amounting to a huge success). Storybooks, Pez dispensers, cereal, ooze containers, toothpaste, every single article of clothing imaginable, bedspreads, Walkmen, that's just the tip of the normalcy barrel, as there are more than a few weirder bits of memorabilia with a green shell attached. ![]() Any type of tie-in product you can imagine, it existed. From comic books to cartoons, action figures, and arcade/video games, the 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' weren't quite an overnight sensation, though the heights reached by the foursome of shelled warriors were just as high, its followers just as fervent.
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