Who's the star in the 1st film? April, Raph, or the TMNT?

saul · 03-17-2010, 04:56 PM

In the original 1990 film, who do you consider to be the main protagonist? We all know it's titled "TMNT", but the film does not put equal emphasis on all four turtles. Ignoring the title, if you were to watch without knowing anything about the movie, who would you think it was about?

I will argue the film is really about April.
- It opens and ends with her (opens with her report, ends with her celebration with Casey & the turtles)
- She has the only Voice Over in the film (at the farm) thus establishing her as the dominant narrative force.
- The entire plot/story is about her attempt to uncover the secret foot clan gang, and who she meets along the way (the turtles) that help her on her mission. The turtles are in effect an extension of her-- they draw out and expose to the audience another side of April we wouldn't have seen otherwise (her relationship to her dead father, her old farm house, her openness to accept odd things [the TMNT], etc)

Other possible options: Raph, Leo, Splinter, Shredder, Danny, the city of NY, the foot... etc
Please elaborate on your answers

03-17-2010, 04:56 PM	#1
saul Foot Soldier Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 161	Who's the star in the 1st film? April, Raph, or the TMNT? In the original 1990 film, who do you consider to be the main protagonist? We all know it's titled "TMNT", but the film does not put equal emphasis on all four turtles. Ignoring the title, if you were to watch without knowing anything about the movie, who would you think it was about? I will argue the film is really about April. - It opens and ends with her (opens with her report, ends with her celebration with Casey & the turtles) - She has the only Voice Over in the film (at the farm) thus establishing her as the dominant narrative force. - The entire plot/story is about her attempt to uncover the secret foot clan gang, and who she meets along the way (the turtles) that help her on her mission. The turtles are in effect an extension of her-- they draw out and expose to the audience another side of April we wouldn't have seen otherwise (her relationship to her dead father, her old farm house, her openness to accept odd things [the TMNT], etc) Other possible options: Raph, Leo, Splinter, Shredder, Danny, the city of NY, the foot... etc Please elaborate on your answers