It’s fitting that my first real review be about the first movie I can recall seeing. As a child, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a series created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, was my obsession. It was often turtles this and turtles that and I even dressed as my favorite turtle, Michaelangelo, for Halloween alongside my brother, who was Raphael. And any talk about the turtles, at least in my family, inevitably talks about one of two media. Either the 1987 cartoon series or the 1990 movie. I was made familiar with it through the cartoon and saw the movie in theaters when I was six or seven. My father even teases me often that when I first saw the van they traveled in in the movie, I had yelled “That’s not the turtle van!” to a crowded theater.
Childhood embarrassment aside, since I was only familiar with the cartoon and the comics based on the look of the cartoon, I had assumed in my naive childhood mind that this was the original and had wondered about this movie. As a child, I didn’t like the dark atmosphere and dramatic scenes, so used I was to a comedic series about four turtles fighting an army of robotic ninjas, lead by a man wearing enough metal to make Magneto jealous and a talking blob that looked almost like a brain. No, this movie was not that.
But as an adult, I know about the black and white series long before my beloved 1987 cartoon and comics, so as a result, I can appreciate the movie a lot more now.
We open on the city of New York, hit by a string of baffling burglary that has left many perplexed. Teenager crime rate is skyrocketing and no one knows what is happening or why. Japanese immigrants paint it as the second coming of a ninjutsu clan by the name of The Foot, but the city believes this to be preposterous. However, April O’Neil, played by Judith Hoag, is on the case and she will follow this story to the bitter end. Can she find out if this really is the second coming of The Foot? Or will she be silenced by the crooks?
Yeah, this is an early 90s movies about super heroes, what do you think happens? Needless to say, while being mugged early on, April is beset by a group of thieves stealing from Channel 3’s van, when something crashes into the only light in the alley, and the thugs are beaten within an inch of their lives by unknown heroes. Not a trace is left, except for a sai she finds closeby, the weapon used to destroy the light. And so begins our journey with four heroes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
The story is a pleasing one and unique in how it told it’s story as opposed to the 1987 cartoon I was used to. It told it’s story subtly, with Splinter often reminding the turtles of their creed and mission; to live and fight as ninja, in the shadow, and leave not a trace, with Raphael often lamenting about his lost sai, essentially beating himself up for half the movie because he left a trace. Many of the events, in fact, center around this seemingly minor event, as it eventually leads to Raphael finding April beset by The Foot, bringing her back to the turtles’ sewer base, The Foot finding them, and many more events. Even to meeting Casey Jones, played by Elias Koteas, another favorite character and ally of the turtles, after Raphael checks out a movie.
This compared to the 1987 cartoon, where not only do the turtles not hide their identities from April, but April has to be the one to help them hide at all.
But make no mistake, this is still a comedy and has plenty of things to laugh at. The turtles are often cracking jokes both in and out of combat, making them also some of the most animated they’ve been. Moreover, while the actors did great, the true stars were the turtles themselves, animated by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. This was an issue I had with the Transformers movie, by Michael Bay, since I felt the opposite was true, with the actors playing a bigger leading role than the giant robots we all wanted to see. So Steve Barron, the director, did a great job making this movie centric on the characters we wanted to see.
This movie truly is the best starting off point for any new fan, as it merges the gritty action of the 1984 Mirage Comics series with the goofy comedy of the 1987 cartoon to incredible results. All of the turtles are instantly recognizable and come with many of their known personality traits, the turtles themselves look great and are incredibly well animated for using animatronics. In fact, they are so good that I didn’t even remember they were animatronics until the credits rolled. And the fight scenes are incredible to watch, feeling very visceral and satisfying, with each turtle taking on dozens of enemies, peppered with combat quips that will amuse and show their personality even in the midst of combat.
As a child, I hated this film and always preferred the 1991 sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, which dropped much of the grit for more comedy. As an adult, however, the film has grown on me. So long as you know the source material, which the movie is very loyal to, and come in with the right frame of mind, I think you will enjoy it as well. Especially in this day and age, where movie watchers seem to prefer more grit in their super hero movies than back in the 90s. As such, I am comfortable giving this movie a firm recommendation.
If you like gritty super heroes with peppered comedy, you will like this movie.
Highly recommended
The Professional Protagonist 