Wow, its funny how things work out. I had so much planned for TMNT Month, but fate intervened in the form of a Martha Stewart Dream Kitchen Contest. I made a video for my mother-in-law-to-be so she could enter this contest, and she won. So, a lot of the time I had planned on spending writing about all kinds of turtle-related things was instead spent hanging out with camera crews from New York and planning our trip to New York. So, my apologies.

Anyway, I caught TMNT on Friday. Caught, as if I hadn't been planning on seeing it since I first heard the release date. Needless to say, I was impressed. TMNT manages to exist in the same universe as the previous live action movies (yes, even the third) while further developing the characters. I must say, I did not expect it to be such a serious interpretation of the Turtles. It was good enough to pump up me and my fiance, seasoned TMNT vets, as well as my six year old nephew.

I'm not sure how teenage the Turtles are in this film, but oh well. It takes place years after their last adventures, and Leo is off in South America honing his skills. Michelangelo spends his days entertaining kids at birthday parties, while Donatello is an IT tech support phone operator. I've read some reviews that slam the plot, but I really enjoyed it. It was epic enough to pose a challenge to the Turtles, but not too epic.

Kevin Munroe changed a few things up, for no apparent reason, however. April O'Neil now owns a cargo company, and is pretty much a modern-day Indiana Jones. I don't know what was wrong with being a news reporter, and a simple explanation (or even a mention) of why she has her new job would have made me feel a little better.

Casey Jones is a little clumsy and seems to be just the comic relief. In the first film, I loved Casey's character. Elias Koteas played him to a tee. As far as the voice talent, I think they casted very wisely. The turtles are all unknowns, and that makes them easy to watch. April, Splinter, Casey, and Max Winters (the villain) are played by bigger names, but they all do a great job. I really liked Mako's interpretation of Splinter. Also, one thing I was looking forward to going into TMNT was seeing Splinter dish out some butt-kickings. I always knew his puppet form in the last movies really limited what he could do, and in this movie he gets to show off a bit.

This new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles may not be perfect, but I'd dare say it was a perfect way to jump-start this twenty-something year old franchise. The ending definitely sets up a sequel (that I badly want to see, like next week). I was pleasantly pleased with Imagi's animation, and I look forward to sequels, maybe with a little more Krang.

Ps - I bought my nephew one of the new toys at Wal-Mart so I could get the free poster - IT'S TINY.

-Tommy 3/26/07

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