During New York City’s latest massive crime wave, TV reporter April O’Neil (Judith Hoag, Halloweentown) is attacked by thugs. The most unlikely of heroes come to her aid. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are four large, shelled reptiles with martial arts skills and the ability to talk. They live in the sewer, devour pizza and learn the art of ninjutsu from Splinter, a mystical rat. O’Neil and the Turtles discover that the terrorizing criminals are members of the villainous masked Foot Clan, led by the diabolical Shredder. Can Turtle Power clean up the Big Apple? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze exposes the substance that caused the Turtles and Splinter to transform. There’s only one last canister of the Ooze at Techno Global Research Industries. Shredder plans to create new vicious mutants with this final dose if the Turtles can’t stop him. During a fight at a nightclub, the Turtles and Fist swap blows while Vanilla Ice dances and busts out “Ninja Rap.” Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III transports the heroes in both time and space. April O’Neil (Paige Turco, The Stepfather) buys an ancient golden scepter at a flea market. As she shows it off to Splinter and the Turtles, the device glows and projects April back to feudal Japan. She’s declared a witch by the wicked Lord Norinaga (Sab Shimono, Southland Tales). The Turtles must travel back to save April and stop a samurai battle.
What We Thought:
I grew up a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan watching the cartoon as a kid. Arrow Video has out this week a new 4K release of the live-action 1990s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trilogy. At the time of their release fans debated about whether or not they were great movies, but the funniest part is, 30+ years later, they are probably the best live-action movies fans have gotten to date.
The reason they still hold their ground is that they don’t rely on heavy CGI like any of the films of the past 10-15 years. Jim Henson and his wonderful puppeteers brought to life Mikey, Raph, Donny, Leo, Master Splinter and other characters. People were inside the costumes for the martial arts fighting, but puppeteers controlled facial expressions and more. It’s what newer films get wrong.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a pretty monster hit. We are introduced to the characters, the New York City setting and their vocabulary. The Shredder and his Foot Clan are terrorizing NYC and the Turtles set out to save the city with the help of reporter April O’Neil (played at the time by Judith Hoag) and Casey Jones (Elias Koteas). Back then it was cool seeing our favorites on the big screen and yes we all had our favorites.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze tells fans what company supplied the chemicals that made our heroes. The Shredder gets his hands on some of it and creates two of his own mutants, but those expecting Bebop and Rocksteady were disappointed. This film is also known for the Vanilla Ice song Ninja Rap which he performs in the film. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III finds the heroes sent back in time to feudal Japan when April (played by Paige Turco in this and the second film) buys an antique scepter and is teleported back in time. Koteas returns as well playing both Casey Jones and a man from the past. Neither the second or third film were the hit the first film was and TMNT movies got shelved for decades afterwards.
Now are the movies actually good? No, but watching this new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy 4K set was a nice trip down memory lane. They are corny and the vocabulary and technology in them are outdated, but for those of us who grew up on the films, you will love this new package. I watched all 3 films in one day and it reminded me of watching them as a kid. Out in time for the holiday season, this is a must own for fans. Get yourself a pizza and enjoy a few hours this winter.
The Nerds Templar 