Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)In my youth, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were not just popular, they were ubiquitous. "Turtlemania" was a condition which struck the fourth and fifth graders of my generation, just as "Beatlemania" had befallen our parents. Kicked off primarily by the colorful cartoon show--which migrated into video games, action figures, and other merchandise--the "mean green machine" of Ninja Turtle market presence knew no bounds; a live action movie was an inevitability.
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) should be at least a little impossible to translate into any kind of live-action film with any element of realism--although to be fair, there are more than a few moments which necessitate a liberal suspension of disbelief. The story of the Ninja Turtles has passed into the realm of pop culture lore, where a canister of mysterious ooze contaminates four baby turtles and their master, a rat called Splinter, resulting in a genetic mutation whereby they take on anthropomorphic qualities and adapt to Splinter's tutelage in the art of ninjitsu. The origins of the turtles--as well as the world they inhabit, the sewers underneath the streets of New York City--has always been one about their relationship with the city and the civilized world responsible for their genesis. From the start of the film, a voice over of a telecast by investigative reporter, April O'Neil (Judith Hoag), confirms that a wave of crime has swept across the Big Apple. But unlike the presumed dangers that lurk in the shadows of the pre-gentrified city, this activity is stealthy and efficient, cunning and professional. April's skill at uncovering leads gives her insight into a familiarity between this underground organization and a story from Japan about a group of ninja thieves called "the Foot Clan". April's poking into the shadows to reveal the criminals makes her a target for the leader of the Foot, an enigmatic and lethal imperator known as The Shredder (James Saito). April is defended by an assault from the would-be assassins by a green-skinned savior, who turns out to be Raphael (Josh Pais), the hot-headed, yet determined turtle brother, who takes her to his (and his siblings') lair for safety, thus revealing their existence to her. As Raphael struggles to cope with his own inner demons--his anger, his feelings of inadequacy and an aloof personality--his story is mirrored somewhat in a young boy named Danny (Michael Turney), who has fallen in with the Foot Clan, a surrogate family in place of his father, Charles Pennington (Jay Patterson), who also happens to be April's stressed-out boss. Danny--and disaffected youth like him--steal because they are told to do so by those who take them in, call them "family", but in reality only do this to sow discord in their own lives and make them feel indebted to their gang. The claim that the Foot is a family is the mantra drilled into the minds of the disenfranchised kids, endorsed by some of the more vocal thugs (spot a young Sam Rockwell in this role here), and enforced by the cruel sentinel, Tatsu (Toshishiro Obata), who trains the kids to be disposable soldiers in their underground army.
Originally adapted from the comic book by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird--they are referenced in a way via the location of the Foot Clan's hideout in the film--Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles may have been already a sensation at the time the film was produced, but the production of the movie fell into independent hands after several studios passed on making the picture. As a result, it coincidentally holds the record as the second-highest-grossing independent film of all time. As the turtles had already made the transition from comic to cartoon to video games, even nods from their other media personae can be felt, with subtle nods in the fight choreography to actions mirrored in their arcade game equivalents. Advanced, life-like costumes for the turtles were the results of none other than Jim Henson's Creature Shop, so the turtles appear both expressive and convincing...as convincing as a five-and-a-half foot tall talking turtle can be. What's interesting about the story is that much of the content is taken (almost verbatim) from a run of comics released by the Mirage Studios publication, with some excellent scenes such as the rooftop battle with the Foot Clan, the burning antique shop and subsequent rescue by hockey-stick wielding vigilante, Casey Jones (Elias Koteas), and their escape to April's family farm in Massachusetts, where everyone experiences a moment of reflection before their return to the city. These are great moments which give character to the turtles, identifying them as individuals, and more than just the fancy ninja weapons and different colored headbands they keep. Moments of romantic tension between April and Casey give these two bold personalities some extra depth, and there are also playful nods to similar dynamics from Eighties shows like Moonlighting, which Michelangelo (Robbie Rist) rightly calls them out on. The appeal of the Foot Clan was something I could never understand as a kid; but seeing it now--after having seen other movies like Goodfellas, a film which also deals with young men drawn to an enticing, underground crime organization--one can see the charm and allure of the freedom that comes with not being withheld by rules. Danny is drawn to the promise--flimsy as it is--of a family that will listen to him, as well as approval. In a way, the emergence of the turtles (and guys like Casey Jones) is a kind of "push back" against the consistent presence of crime in the city. They are vigilantes who do what the otherwise impotent police cannot, and we cheer them on because they are not extreme in their methods--that is, they do not wound or kill with their weapons, only rough up the bad guys--and generally know when the thugs have learned their lessons. This isn't to say that violence solves problems--or other such platitudes--but that sometimes the bad guys need to see stars before the lesson sinks in...or so it goes in comic books. Really, though, the best insight about why crime doesn't pay comes from the lessons Splinter teaches about family--through his actions, contrasted with the mockery of it The Shredder makes. Would that the lessons of family were so sharp in life, perhaps kids would not feel pressed to seek to fill that void elsewhere.
Recommended for: Fans of the Ninja Turtles, and those--like me--who grew up in the era of "Turtlemania", had the toys, the bedsheets, the t-shirts, etc. For fans of a good action film which is also appropriate for young kids, as intended.
Originally adapted from the comic book by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird--they are referenced in a way via the location of the Foot Clan's hideout in the film--Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles may have been already a sensation at the time the film was produced, but the production of the movie fell into independent hands after several studios passed on making the picture. As a result, it coincidentally holds the record as the second-highest-grossing independent film of all time. As the turtles had already made the transition from comic to cartoon to video games, even nods from their other media personae can be felt, with subtle nods in the fight choreography to actions mirrored in their arcade game equivalents. Advanced, life-like costumes for the turtles were the results of none other than Jim Henson's Creature Shop, so the turtles appear both expressive and convincing...as convincing as a five-and-a-half foot tall talking turtle can be. What's interesting about the story is that much of the content is taken (almost verbatim) from a run of comics released by the Mirage Studios publication, with some excellent scenes such as the rooftop battle with the Foot Clan, the burning antique shop and subsequent rescue by hockey-stick wielding vigilante, Casey Jones (Elias Koteas), and their escape to April's family farm in Massachusetts, where everyone experiences a moment of reflection before their return to the city. These are great moments which give character to the turtles, identifying them as individuals, and more than just the fancy ninja weapons and different colored headbands they keep. Moments of romantic tension between April and Casey give these two bold personalities some extra depth, and there are also playful nods to similar dynamics from Eighties shows like Moonlighting, which Michelangelo (Robbie Rist) rightly calls them out on. The appeal of the Foot Clan was something I could never understand as a kid; but seeing it now--after having seen other movies like Goodfellas, a film which also deals with young men drawn to an enticing, underground crime organization--one can see the charm and allure of the freedom that comes with not being withheld by rules. Danny is drawn to the promise--flimsy as it is--of a family that will listen to him, as well as approval. In a way, the emergence of the turtles (and guys like Casey Jones) is a kind of "push back" against the consistent presence of crime in the city. They are vigilantes who do what the otherwise impotent police cannot, and we cheer them on because they are not extreme in their methods--that is, they do not wound or kill with their weapons, only rough up the bad guys--and generally know when the thugs have learned their lessons. This isn't to say that violence solves problems--or other such platitudes--but that sometimes the bad guys need to see stars before the lesson sinks in...or so it goes in comic books. Really, though, the best insight about why crime doesn't pay comes from the lessons Splinter teaches about family--through his actions, contrasted with the mockery of it The Shredder makes. Would that the lessons of family were so sharp in life, perhaps kids would not feel pressed to seek to fill that void elsewhere.
Recommended for: Fans of the Ninja Turtles, and those--like me--who grew up in the era of "Turtlemania", had the toys, the bedsheets, the t-shirts, etc. For fans of a good action film which is also appropriate for young kids, as intended.