As the years passed, my interest waned and I moved on to other things. I would occasionally go back and pull out the movies or play the video game, but I wasn’t nearly as interested as I had once been.
Fast forward to 2006. I saw the first trailer for TMNT, mostly by accident, while I was browsing a movie website, and I instantly regressed to my childhood. I was thrilled. The release date for the movie couldn’t come soon enough.
Now, almost a year later, I have seen the theatrical version of the movie (I was there on opening day) and the DVD. Read on to find out what I think.
The Movie
First things first: this movie is gorgeous. The animators have really outdone themselves here. Even if there weren’t much plot (though thankfully there is), I would still have watched the movie, just because it’s so darn pretty. For a more detailed description of the elements that give this production such a beautiful visual style, see the DVD section below.
Synopsis:
First we are given a quick review of our heroes’ back-story, by narrator Laurence Fishburn. We then learn the story of an event that took place 3,000 years ago, in which a group of warriors opened a portal to another dimension during the alignment of a certain group of stars. Instead of achieving what they had hoped to achieve, all but one of these warriors are turned to stone and 13 monsters were unleashed upon the world. The one remaining warrior was doomed to live as an immortal, until he could reopen the portal.
Back in the present, we learn that the turtles have more or less gone their separate ways. Having defeated Shredder years ago, there has been no real need for a pack of mutant ninjas to patrol the streets of New York City. Leonardo is in Central America, learning to become a better leader; Michelangelo has become a pizza delivery guy who is disguised as (what else?) a huge turtle; Donatello operates an over-the-phone tech support service; and Raphael sleeps all day, working as a vigilante called The Nightwatcher at night.
We also find that April O’Neill (voiced by Sarah Michelle Gellar) has given up video journalism, in favor of a more lucrative career as a tomb-raider type who collects artifacts for those willing to pay the right price. Her current collector is a Bill Gates type, named Max Winters (voiced by Patrick Stewart), for whom money is no object. He is collecting some 3,000 year-old stone statues that he says are “like family” to him. Sound suspicious?
Soon, monsters start showing up in New York and the turtles realize, through trial and error, that they must learn to fight together again. In their time apart, they seem to have lost the ability to fight collaboratively.
I won’t give away any more of the plot, for those of you who didn’t see the movie in theaters, but suffice it to say that things get pretty nasty and it’s left to the turtles and some old friends (including Casey Jones, voiced by Chris “The Human Torch” Evans) to work together to send the monsters back where they came from, while preventing Winters from reopening the portal that he so wishes to open.
The DVD
TMNT comes as a single DVD in a standard case, with an embossed cardboard slipcover. The graphics on the slipcover are really nice, and the embossing is very detailed (even the pepperonis on a slice of pizza are elevated higher than the cheese). I am thoroughly impressed.
The menu screen opens with a slick animation then transitions into the main menu, which features all four turtles poised on a rooftop at night with their bandanas fluttering in the wind, while clouds move across the sky in the background. It feels very much like a page from a graphic novel, which carries through very well from the movie.
Video is presented in both full screen and widescreen formats, thanks to a double-sided DVD. As I said before, this movie is absolutely beautiful. The animation could definitely give Pixar a run for its money, even though the visual style isn’t necessarily in the same vein as that of the aforementioned studio. TMNT looks almost like a graphic novel, come to life. The characters each have a certain level of exaggeration to their proportions (i.e. Winters’ barrel chest or the turtles’ enormous hands and feet), which intentionally keeps the audience from forgetting that this is an animated film.
Audio is presented in Dolby 5.1 surround, which is definitely a nice touch. In the huge fight sequences, where enemies are coming from every direction, the surround works beautifully and helps to heighten the suspense.
Special Features
This DVD contains enough special features to satisfy most anyone. First up, writer/director Kevin Munroe provides a full feature-length commentary, in which he provides insight into the making of the film. This is a really nice addition to the feature set, because it allows viewers to get an insider’s perspective on what it is like to create a movie like this.
Other features include alternate opening and ending scenes, a deleted scene, side-by-side comparisons of storyboard images and CGI animations, and interviews with some of the voice talent from the movie (Laurence Fishburn, Patrick Stewart, Sarah Michelle Gellar).
Overall
As a previously rabid fan of the TMNT franchise, I had high expectations for this movie; thankfully, I was not disappointed. With amazing animation, a great story, and some nice special features included on the DVD, I would recommend this movie to anyone.
Overall: 7.0