The Rocket

Issue date: 3/30/07 Section: Focus

Media Credit: Submitted Photo [Click to enlarge]

Pogs, snap bracelets and cassette tapes ruled the world in the early 1990s, but there was a team of fighting heroes that also captivated our generation. Trouncing the "Ghostbusters" and roundhouse-kicking G.I. Joe to the ground, the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" went from comics to TV cartoons creating a turtle phenomenon that lasted from 1987 until 1996.

In 1990, Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello and Leonardo got the big-screen treatment and found success with their live-action self-titled motion picture debut.

One amazing and one horrible sequel later, the turtles were all but forgotten, until they were reintroduced to a new generation with a brand new Saturday morning cartoon. Gaining popularity, it was time for the teenaged crime fighters to make their big-screen return.

This time around, though, they left the rubber suits behind and went the route of computer-generated animation. "TMNT" begins sometime after "Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles III" ended.

The green machines' longtime nemesis, The Shredder, has been defeated and is currently missing or dead, and Leonardo has been sent to South America by Splinter so he can train to be a better leader.

Leonardo's and Shredder's absence puts the remaining brothers into a very mundane existence.

But without Shredder to fight, the brothers have accepted their somewhat normal lives.

Donatello takes a job as telephone technical support and Michelangelo dons a foam head and pretends to be a guy in a turtle suit for kids' birthday parties. Not only did their everyday jobs grab a few laughs, but it was fun to think about what they could really do without secretly fighting crime.

It should come as no surprise, however, that the always-moody Raphael had a problem with a day job and wasn't going to just sit around until Leonardo returned.

At the beginning of the film, we learn that Raphael has been fighting crime as the helmeted vigilante, the Nightwatcher. This subplot supplies some of the better moments.

Once the team is reassembled, they find themselves in the middle of billionaire Max Winters' (Patrick Stewart) 3,000-year-old quest.

The story revolves around an ancient group of immortal conquerors that released 13 monsters on the world and then were frozen in stone. If the conquerors find the monsters, they can be released from their statuesque state to cause havoc.

Oh, and they acquire the services of the fabled Foot Clan who have become hired muscle in Shedder's absence. Of course the turtles must find a way to stop them that involves as much cheeky shenanigans and Ninjitsu as a "PG" rating will allow.

"TMNT" is sort of like a sandwich of action and plot. There is a lot of action at the beginning and the end, but the middle drags on a bit with the brothers bickering and being forced to refrain from fighting by Splinter.

Still, the action sequences are enough to please the avid turtle fan and keep the new, young audience interested.

Plus, at less than 90 minutes, how much could it really drag?

Warner Brothers took a risk with "TMNT." They didn't employ any of the big animation studios like Pixar or Dreamworks and went with the lesser-known Imagi Animation Studios of Hong Kong. Though live-action would have been cooler given the previous films, "TMNT" still looked really great.

The final confrontation between Leonardo and the Nightwatcher takes place in the rain and the whole fight will almost make you forget you are watching a cartoon.

Some big-time stars were tapped to voice the film's characters. "Fantastic Four's" Chris Evans voiced the always-cool Casey Jones, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer's" Sarah Michelle Gellar supplied the sultry sass of April O'Neil, and Professor X himself, Patrick Stewart, loaned his vocal chords as the billionaire immortal Max Winters.

All of the voices are perfect, except for Splinter's, who was voiced by Japanese voice actor Mako. Instead of sounding like the wise pillar of knowledge he should be, he sounded like a sleepy, intoxicated bum.

Splinter's voice aside, "TMNT" is a sweet walk down memory lane. The audience of this movie is mainly comprised of kids who are fans of the new show, the parents bringing their kids, and twenty-something college students who are looking to strap up with the turtles once again.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will always be cool to those who jumped on the bandwagon nearly 20 years ago, but to the newcomers, "TMNT" is a good first feature film.

Hopefully, the turtles will find their way back to live action someday, but for now "TMNT" will certainly keep you Cowabunga'ing away.

Ivan Moore is a senior communication major and a regular contributor to The Rocket.

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