Everybody has that one piece of their childhood that always sticks with them. Everybody is in some degree young at heart. For many kids, this childhood piece is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a unique, comical, and action-packed idea that has been in comic books, cartoons, video games and more importantly, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie. This movie is a live-action film based off of the comic books and television show.
After being exposed to a mysterious ooze, four young turtles grow into human size. Under the mentoring of a master of the ninja art Splinter the Rat, the four brothers: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michaelangelo learn to fight as ninjas and as a team. As they live in the sewers of New York, the turtles run crime out of the city as they fight The Foot Clan and leader of The Foot Clan and arch-enemy of the Ninja Turtles: The Shredder. A critic from Rotten Tomatoes claims that “the Turtles rank slightly better than the rest. (Thomson, Rotten Tomatoes)
The Movie is a great movie for anybody who has an open mind or is young at heart because the action is head pounding, the comedy is classic and full of puns, and the concept of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is simply unique. The TMNT movie is packed with face-kicking, back flipping, totally tubular action. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are classic crime fighting heroes. The only difference between them and other crime fighting cartoons is that they are life size, teenage turtles who are masters at the ninja art.
They do not have super powers. The Ninja Turtles are trained by Master Splinter, a rat who was also exposed to the mysterious ooze, and master of the ninja art. “Tonight you have learned the final and greatest truth of the Ninja: that ultimate mastering comes not from the body, but from the mind. ” (Splinter, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie). Through most of the movie, the Ninja Turtles may kick butt, but never see the true outcome of their actions. Master Splinter teaches them not only the physical aspects of a ninja, but the mental aspects as well.
In the movie, the turtles fight countless enemies of the Foot Clan and nearly never get struck by the enemy. This is similar to other movies however, because in super hero movies and other crime fighting movies the good guy does not get beaten up easily. This makes complete sense though. The Ninja Turtles have been trained to be masters of Ninjutsu and it is doubtful that all of the minor-playing minions of the Foot Clan are as skilled and experienced as them. Although the Ninja Turtles have great skill, the Foot Clan has strength in numbers.
The Ninja Turtles will be completely surrounded when they fight these ninjas and put up an amazing fight. The way the action is portrayed in the movie keeps the audience greatly entertained. The turtles flip around their enemies effortlessly and use teamwork to put together hilariously and greatly choreographed attacks. For a movie that was produced in the 1990’s, the action keeps the audience on their seat and never fails to entertain. As the Ninja Turtles are slashing away with swords, swinging around nun chucks, flailing around bo staves, and jabbing away with sais, they always seem to have some type of comical remark.
This movie is filled with classic pun-filled comedy. Whether the turtles are kicking some Foot Clan butt, or just hanging out and enjoying some pizza, they will always joke around and have something hilarious to say. This comedy aspect to the movie really helps to lighten up the mood when it is getting intense, and it is always funny to hear a great pun. The ninja turtles seem to use comedy that involves being a mutant turtle or whatever situation they seem to be in they will have a witty remark. The turtles must hide out in their new friend April’s old house.
April is a new reporter in New York who seems to be the only person looking into all of the crime involved with the Foot Clan. As the Ninja Turtles come back in from training, they are holding their limbs as if they are sore from a tough training day. Casey, another human crime fighter who uses sports utilities such as hockey sticks and golf clubs, is helping April when the Ninja Turtles walk in. April asks them if they need ointment for their rough and bruised joints and Michaelangelo responds by shaking his head and holding up a tube of turtle wax.
It is simple and pun-filled comedy like this that keeps the young-hearted audience laughing and watching throughout the entire movie. In this movie, all four turtles tend to act a bit silly and humorous. However, the two big comedian turtles of the movie are Donatello and Michaelangelo. The other two turtles, Leonardo and Raphael, seem to have a bit of a conflict with each other in the movie and Donatello and Michaelangelo always lighten up the mood. When the four turtles go back to their home in the sewer after being ran out of it, Michaelangelo and Donatello find some pizza.
However, the pizza went bad. Michaelangelo and Donatello make a dramatic scene of the situation and nearly give the pizza a funeral. These practical jokes and funny puns are what lighten up the TMNT movie and keep the young-at-heart viewer smiling. It is not only that the exciting action that is thrown around or the witty remarks that come out of the turtle’s mouths, but simply the unique and creative concept of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There are hundreds of super heroes out there and a lot of them have been made into movies.
All of these heroes seem to have obtained some type of super power, whether it is mysteriously of because of some science-fictional explanation; the Ninja Turtles are very different. Unlike other crime fighting movies, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles did not obtain super powers. They learned their martial arts and ninja skills through masterful mentor. It is also not as idealistic to have some type of animal growing to human size and fighting crime. Some other comics or movies may have aliens or humans with super power abilities, but none of them have animals like turtles that are fighting crime.
They are slow moving animals in nature, but give them some ooze and a master Splinter and they become the extremely unique and skillful Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The thought of this being so creative and unique is great to grab the attention of the audience because it is something that has not been seen before and is worth watching and looking into. “A hip and happening time for fans of all ages! ” (Clint Morris, Rotten Tomatoes).
The Movie may not be the greatest in special effects or content, but the concept of turtles who fight crime and kick a lot of butt doing so easily attracts a large audience. Kids want to be entertained with a movie that has a good guy beating the bad guy. They want to be entertained with awesome flips and kicks with bad guys flying everywhere. Kids want to laugh. Those who have that young personality always love comical tones like the Ninja Turtles have. The puns and sarcasm always keep the audience laughing. This movie is perfect for those who are young at heart because of the astounding action, hilarious comedy and the unique idea of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Works Cited
- Morris, Clint. “Clint Morris Movie Reviews & Previews – Rotten Tomatoes. Clint Morris Movie Reviews & Previews – Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes, 26 Oct. 2008. Web. 01 Oct. 2012. <http://www. rottentomatoes. com/critic/clint-morris/>.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie. Dir. Steve Barron. Perf. Judith Hoag, Elias Koteas and Josh Pais. 888 Productions, 1990.
- Film. Howe, Desson. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. ” The Washington Post. The Washington Post, 30 Mar. 1990. Web. 1 Oct. 2012. <http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/teenagemutantninjaturtlespghowe_a0b25f. htm>.
