After the success of the 1987 cartoon series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Golden Harvest and Steve Barron (who would later direct The Adventures of Pinocchio in 1996) team up to direct a live action adaptation in 1990. Four turtles and a rat are transformed into a humanized state by a mutagenetic gel in a sewer. The rat becomes their mentor, and teaches them all he knows regarding Jujitsu. The turtles use their newfound skills to combat the crime in New York City. But when their mentor is captured by an enemy from the past known as the Shredder, they have to learn to be true to what they've learned, and stay together as a brotherhood in order to defeat him. Despite it's mixed reception, it became one of the highest grossing movies of that year during the beginning of the decade.
I've heard about the whole of concept of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I've seen some of the episodes of the 80s cartoon along with some other interpretations including the 2003 version and the CGI animated feature film from 2007.
Back at the decade where I grew up, there have been underrated and overlooked films and other types of media, and this is one of them. Yes, Donatello may not sound like the intellectual who invents machines (although Corey Feldman does a great job with his voiceover), but everything else is done really well. The story does a fine job. Not only does it pay homage to the 1980s cartoon, but it handles the darker tone of the comics the franchise is based on perfectly while adding some hilarious comedy. The turtles themselves and Master Splinter are really likable and maintain the iconic personalities everyone knows and loves and the actors did a really good job. Also, the animatronics from the Jim Henson company (who brought us The Muppet Show, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth) are superb and unique. Not to mention the creators did a great job in making them exactly like the turtles and the rat thanks to some neat expressions.
The other actors did a good job too especially Judith Hoag who played April O'Neil. James Saito, who would later star in Life of Pi, does a great job as the villainous Shredder and Elias Koteas who played Casey Jones. Oh, and to those who don't know, Sam Rockwell, who played the Head Thug would later star in Iron Man 2 as Justin Hammer. Everything else, including the solid editing, the superb directing, and a really neat music score, is also great.
Overall, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a perfect example of a live action adaptation done right. It respects the source material and doesn't pander to it's audience (*cough* Chipmunks and Smurfs *cough*). Now that it's been thirty years since it's release, I'm giving this a thumbs up. Do yourselves a favor and check this movie out.
I've heard about the whole of concept of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I've seen some of the episodes of the 80s cartoon along with some other interpretations including the 2003 version and the CGI animated feature film from 2007.
Back at the decade where I grew up, there have been underrated and overlooked films and other types of media, and this is one of them. Yes, Donatello may not sound like the intellectual who invents machines (although Corey Feldman does a great job with his voiceover), but everything else is done really well. The story does a fine job. Not only does it pay homage to the 1980s cartoon, but it handles the darker tone of the comics the franchise is based on perfectly while adding some hilarious comedy. The turtles themselves and Master Splinter are really likable and maintain the iconic personalities everyone knows and loves and the actors did a really good job. Also, the animatronics from the Jim Henson company (who brought us The Muppet Show, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth) are superb and unique. Not to mention the creators did a great job in making them exactly like the turtles and the rat thanks to some neat expressions.
The other actors did a good job too especially Judith Hoag who played April O'Neil. James Saito, who would later star in Life of Pi, does a great job as the villainous Shredder and Elias Koteas who played Casey Jones. Oh, and to those who don't know, Sam Rockwell, who played the Head Thug would later star in Iron Man 2 as Justin Hammer. Everything else, including the solid editing, the superb directing, and a really neat music score, is also great.
Overall, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a perfect example of a live action adaptation done right. It respects the source material and doesn't pander to it's audience (*cough* Chipmunks and Smurfs *cough*). Now that it's been thirty years since it's release, I'm giving this a thumbs up. Do yourselves a favor and check this movie out.