Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Franchise

[Paul (ral)]

I'm actually working on a comic-to-movie analysis of it right now, in case anyone's interested. I'll try and get it posted sometime in the next few weeks.

Count me in as interested, and looking forward to reading that.

Me too!

[gordonblu]

As I am unfamiliar with the Eastman/Laird comics, I am definitely interested in the analysis. I've heard the first film is a somewhat uncomfortable mixture of the harder edged comics and the family friendly cartoon.

[Catwoman]

ooo megan fox

is the new turtles cartoon any good? didn't want to make a whole new post to ask lol

[Paul (ral)]

Yeah i quite like it. Nice mix of the first live action film and the previous stuff.

[Batman88]

I take it the new movie is in development hell right now, isn't it ?

[Silver Nemesis]

I liked that the movie was a little darker than the cartoon (which abandoned the relative seriousness it had going after, what, five or six episodes?) but now it just bothers me. The chuck-off between Mike and the Foot soldier is amusing but the nonstop jokes during what was supposed to be a life or death battle... ugh, it just grates on me now. If you guys all dig on it, more power to you, but it's hard for me to sit through now.

I get where you're coming from, and you're right. Some of the jokes are cringe worthy. But that's part of the appeal for me. When I saw it on the cinema as a 5 year old I thought the jokes were hilarious. Now, as an adult, the embarrassment factor is part of what makes it fun. I feel the same way when I watch Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. It's all part of the nostalgic experience.

I'm reluctant to call the first TMNT a "guilty pleasure" though, since I think it does have some legitimate artistic merit. The special effects and costumes are excellent, the lighting and cinematography give it a really great look, the stunt work and fight choreography are top notch, and altogether it's a slick, well-paced family action film.

The second movie on the other hand is definitely a guilty pleasure. But I still like it. Again, for nostalgic reasons.

I just hope I'm right or I'll feel real silly later on.

As usual, my friend, you are spot on. I'll post more about the comic references soon.

I've heard the first film is a somewhat uncomfortable mixture of the harder edged comics and the family friendly cartoon.

I think that description would be more appropriate for the second movie. The first TMNT film is actually very faithful to the Mirage comics, while The Secret of the Ooze feels closer to the cartoon. Having said that, there are a few nods to the animated series in the first movie. Namely:

•   The Turtles' love of pizza
•   April being a news reporter instead of a lab assistant
•   The Turtles having different coloured bandanas. In the original comics they were all red
•   The Turtles using nonlethal force. In the early comics they happily killed their opponents

I'll try and get the comic analysis posted sometime in the next few days.

[Bobthegoon89]

To this day I haven't read any of the Turtles comics. Their always expensive as collected volumes. Part of the appeal of the first movie was it's nods to the popular cartoon. It was that that helped turn the movie into a surprise giant success. Strangely though it is not entirely connected to the cartoon. There is certainly no Krang or Technodrome here. Plus the Turtles are depicted as meeting April for the first time. So yes it's more a hybrid piece. I love that the Turtles kept their multi-coloured masks (who remembers the exciting poster for the movie with these visible just below a manhole?) which do little for them to blend in but at least it helps tell them apart.

Another interesting cartoon reference is that April very close to the film's opening is seen wearing a yellow raincoat. She never does again in the film series but it's a slight nod to the yellow jumpsuit worn by her in the animation. It certainly helped my three year old self to identify her at the time.

At one point the Turtles flee into the countryside in April's van. I think this is the closest the filmmakers got to the Turtles mode of transportation in the cartoon. It's a similar shape but no weapons here obviously.

I might be wrong but wasn't the film's title logo also lifted from the cartoon?

[thecolorsblend]

I might be wrong but wasn't the film's title logo also lifted from the cartoon?

The credits did. The poster didn't.

And yes, that poster was freaking awesome.

[thecolorsblend]

The pilot episode of the cartoon opened with April reporting on a robbery of fancy equipment from Generic High Tech Lab #89, presenting circumstantial evidence that ninja were behind the robbery, getting attacked by Shredder's minions and then rescued by the turtles.

The movie opened with April reporting a city-wide crime wave, the viewer sees that ninja are responsible, Shredder's minions attack her and she is then rescued by the turtles. As the other guy pointed out, April even wears a yellow coat in this sequence. It's kind of hard to believe this wasn't the influence of the cartoon show coming out.

I flipped through TMNT #1 from Mirage and, yeah, they do take on some street thugs but I don't think there was a connection to the Shredder. And it certainly wasn't done in the context of rescuing anybody, least of all April.

I would defer to anybody with greater knowledge about this than I have but the influence at least on the opening of the movie is pretty clear.

[Catwoman]

it has been FOREVER since i saw the first movie saw the second one like last year lol.

"wax on. wax off. wax on" "mouth off."