The Technodrome Forums

Go Back   The Technodrome Forums > TMNT Universes > TMNT Movie Discussion

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-26-2020, 11:34 AM   #61
mikey0
Foot Elite
 
mikey0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,073
TMNT the Movie was one of the most memorable movies of the very early 1990s (1990-early 1991), but even at the time, Siskel and Ebert gave it two and a half stars. TMNT the Movie is not a cult film by any measure. TMNT the Movie is a treasure for the children and teenagers of the 1990s. It was better than the Fred Wolf cartoon to so many people back then because it closely followed the Mirage Studios comic book. I don’t think we’ll ever see another TMNT film like TMNT the Movie. Children and teens of the 1990s lucked out because TMNT the movie was made five years after the Mirage Studios comic was released in comic book stores and three years after the original comic became popular with comic book fans. As of right now, TMNT the Movie is as good as it gets for TMNT comic book fans and FW TMNT fans alike.
mikey0 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2020, 06:16 AM   #62
PizzaPower1985
Stone Warrior
 
PizzaPower1985's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 947
Smile

This movie is THE GOLD STANDARD for TMNT precisely because of its connection to the dark tone of Mirage as well as the popular aesthetic choices that relate it to the FW toon (Mikey's personality, the colored head bands, April as a TV News reporter).

What I really think needs to happen is that EVERY future incarnation needs to borrow as much of the tone of this film as it can. That would morph my entire being into a giant

It's the kind of movie that when you're depressed, stressed out about $$$ or work or life or whatever, you can put it on and just know... THE TMNT are out there and they love you. And they're gonna be there for you when the chips are down, man.
PizzaPower1985 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2020, 03:41 PM   #63
mikey0
Foot Elite
 
mikey0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,073
Who can forget the tagline to TMNT the Movie? It had attitude. Hey dudes, this is NO cartoon! Very 90s.
mikey0 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2020, 04:39 PM   #64
MikeandRaph87
Jedi Master
 
MikeandRaph87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: JLA Satellite Headquarters
Posts: 11,110
To answer the original question, yes, I assumed it was a classic film. I would argue that Secret of the Ooze is a cult classic while its predecessor is an outright classic.
__________________
Michelangelo: This looks like a job for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
Raphael: Sheesh, Mikey this ain't a cartoon!
MikeandRaph87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-28-2020, 05:33 PM   #65
sgtfbomb
Stone Warrior
 
sgtfbomb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: The Internet
Posts: 830
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikey0 View Post
Who can forget the tagline to TMNT the Movie? It had attitude. Hey dudes, this is NO cartoon! Very 90s.
The Super Mario Bros. movie also had a similar tagline: " This Ain't No Game."
sgtfbomb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-28-2020, 05:55 PM   #66
PizzaPower1985
Stone Warrior
 
PizzaPower1985's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 947
Let's not lump TMNT 1990 in with bad cash-in films of the 90's please. Super Mario, Street Fighter, Double Dragon, and for Christ sakes, Mortal Kombat?

Let's just keep TMNT (as cheesy as some of the promotions for this may have been) ABOVE the rest.
PizzaPower1985 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-29-2020, 02:38 AM   #67
Xav
Foot Elite
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,975
What's wrong with Mortal Kombat? It's one of the better video game films out there.
Xav is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-29-2020, 02:52 AM   #68
Leo656
The Franchise
 
Leo656's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: nWo Country
Posts: 27,694
It's about as good as a PG-13 Mortal Kombat movie could ever be. Which is still pretty good.

That sequel, though... ooooof. Anti-Bueno.
__________________

"I left some words quite far from here to be a short reminder...
I laid them out in stone, in case they need to last forever..."

"But hey... I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know."
nWo Tech: The Official Thread Poison of the Technodrome Forums
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxr...awnHgDz1ceDcfA
https://theroxxshow.blogspot.com/
Leo656 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-29-2020, 04:08 AM   #69
PizzaPower1985
Stone Warrior
 
PizzaPower1985's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 947
The implication WAS NOT that any of those films are bad (maybe some are but that's not what I indicated). Mortal Kombat is probably the best video game movie of the 90's, maybe, as most video game adaptations are for sh*t. The implication was... TMNT 1990 is far superior to those and should NOT be compared because of a similar marketing ploy.

It's still amazing to me that the subject matter, tone and overall atmosphere of this film was marketed to very small children. It got away with a lot (yet was the reason why TMNT II was so watered down) that today just wouldn't fly with parents my age, who are extremely prudish, overprotective, and overly sensitive with their own children. People my age and a little older are such wimpy parents who need to understand that a little stylized violence and couple innocent curse words are not going to turn your little ones into monsters from hell. In fact, I'd argue that exposure to Western religions and any church is more harmful and does more damage to a child's psyche and critical thinking skills than anything they could watch on any screen. K. Rant over.
PizzaPower1985 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-29-2020, 08:20 AM   #70
d_osborn
Mad Scientist
 
d_osborn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,338
Bridgette Wilson flipped off my dad in traffic once. It was one of the highlights of high school, to be honest.
d_osborn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-29-2020, 08:53 PM   #71
Leo656
The Franchise
 
Leo656's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: nWo Country
Posts: 27,694
That's awesome. I had to look up who that was to refresh my memory, but yeah... I'da popped her.
__________________

"I left some words quite far from here to be a short reminder...
I laid them out in stone, in case they need to last forever..."

"But hey... I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know."
nWo Tech: The Official Thread Poison of the Technodrome Forums
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxr...awnHgDz1ceDcfA
https://theroxxshow.blogspot.com/
Leo656 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 09:27 AM   #72
sgtfbomb
Stone Warrior
 
sgtfbomb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: The Internet
Posts: 830
Quote:
Originally Posted by d_osborn View Post
Bridgette Wilson flipped off my dad in traffic once. It was one of the highlights of high school, to be honest.
I had a crush on her in the 90s, mostly due to Mortal Kombat and Billy Madison.

Quote:
It's about as good as a PG-13 Mortal Kombat movie could ever be. Which is still pretty good.
It's also one of the few decent Paul W.S. Anderson movies. Another is Event Horizon. I'm not really sure I could vouch for any others.

As for the Super Mario Bros. movie. It's not a good movie, but I dig that Dinohattan set. And it also has an incredible score by Alan Silvestri, which I believe still hasn't been released officially.

Plus, speaking of crushes, I was madly in love with Samantha Mathis as Daisy.
sgtfbomb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 10:36 AM   #73
Wesley
Mad Scientist
 
Wesley's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Republic of Ireland
Posts: 1,589
It’s amazing that this movie is a comedy, even though it deals with a lot of serious issues. Had a good mix of campiness and grittiness. Reminds me of Batman 1989 in style and tone, though ahead of its time in other aspects.
__________________
Donatello: The tracker! It might work.
*Donatello goes to the back of the Turtle Van*
Raphael: Shrewd move, Donatello. If we ignore the problem, it might go away by itself. (from The Mean Machines)
Wesley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 11:10 AM   #74
PizzaPower1985
Stone Warrior
 
PizzaPower1985's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 947
A Dromer friend and I have been talking these last few days about many thing TMNT related, one of which is our feelings about this movie. 2 nights ago I watched this again for the 1st time in a long time...

I used to love it. I still do, but I REALLY used to worship this film as a perfect TMNT movie. My god, have my feelings been tainted by nostalgia... It's nowhere near as good as I remember.

The one-liners and comedy run rampant. The Casey Jones scenes are still great, the Northampton stuff is the best part of the film. The production design and atmosphere is cool but it takes a LONG TIME for this movie to get serious. The Domino's scene could have been a TV commercial. The reveal of the TMNT at the beginning was obnoxious as hell. I could go on and on but suffice it to say, all the love this gets for being "so respectful to E&L's work on the Mirage book" is complete BS.

Yeah the tone is great... in places. Yeah, the main theme and "Shredder's Suite" IS A PERFECT film score. But man, it is not what I thought it was. I used to rate this as 4.5 or 5 out of 5. Now, it's more like a 3 to 3.5.
PizzaPower1985 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 11:35 AM   #75
Wesley
Mad Scientist
 
Wesley's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Republic of Ireland
Posts: 1,589
Interesting analysis. It took me a while to get into this movie (maybe for the reasons you mentioned I can’t remember), as I didn’t grow up with it, but a lot of the ‘flaws’ in II are in it too. I thought it got the right balance between being lighthearted and serious, though, something most of the other films failed at. We needed to get to know the characters first before the movie got really serious. I rewatched it again recently and think it’s still good, though if you don’t like the campy stuff, you won’t be able to fully enjoy it.
__________________
Donatello: The tracker! It might work.
*Donatello goes to the back of the Turtle Van*
Raphael: Shrewd move, Donatello. If we ignore the problem, it might go away by itself. (from The Mean Machines)

Last edited by Wesley; 05-30-2020 at 01:57 PM.
Wesley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 12:24 PM   #76
AquaParade
Banned
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 8,450
Quote:
Originally Posted by PizzaPower1985 View Post
A Dromer friend and I have been talking these last few days about many thing TMNT related, one of which is our feelings about this movie. 2 nights ago I watched this again for the 1st time in a long time...

I used to love it. I still do, but I REALLY used to worship this film as a perfect TMNT movie. My god, have my feelings been tainted by nostalgia... It's nowhere near as good as I remember.

The one-liners and comedy run rampant. The Casey Jones scenes are still great, the Northampton stuff is the best part of the film. The production design and atmosphere is cool but it takes a LONG TIME for this movie to get serious. The Domino's scene could have been a TV commercial. The reveal of the TMNT at the beginning was obnoxious as hell. I could go on and on but suffice it to say, all the love this gets for being "so respectful to E&L's work on the Mirage book" is complete BS.

Yeah the tone is great... in places. Yeah, the main theme and "Shredder's Suite" IS A PERFECT film score. But man, it is not what I thought it was. I used to rate this as 4.5 or 5 out of 5. Now, it's more like a 3 to 3.5.
Interesting perspective. Would you say it is your favorite TMNT film if you had to choose?
AquaParade is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 04:03 PM   #77
Leo656
The Franchise
 
Leo656's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: nWo Country
Posts: 27,694
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgtfbomb View Post

Plus, speaking of crushes, I was madly in love with Samantha Mathis as Daisy.
Good GAWD, yes. A thousand times Yes.
__________________

"I left some words quite far from here to be a short reminder...
I laid them out in stone, in case they need to last forever..."

"But hey... I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know."
nWo Tech: The Official Thread Poison of the Technodrome Forums
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxr...awnHgDz1ceDcfA
https://theroxxshow.blogspot.com/
Leo656 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 05:42 PM   #78
PizzaPower1985
Stone Warrior
 
PizzaPower1985's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 947
Quote:
Originally Posted by AquaParade View Post
Interesting perspective. Would you say it is your favorite TMNT film if you had to choose?
Hands down 1990 TMNT IS my favorite TMNT film. Absolutely. It will probably remain forever the best we can hope for. There's still a lot that's great about it. Shredder looks perfect. His costume is amazing. His entrance in the film and his speech to the young troubled runaways is great. But, he's not really Shredder from Mirage and his fight with the turtles at the end is too brief and choreographed to really be exciting.

Charles Pennington adds heart but Danny is kind of just there. His reasons for being in the film are really superficial. I like his taste in shirts tho.

The turtles are far too obnoxious and juvenile at times for them to be so serious at other times. Their personalities are way too inconsistent.

The best parts for me: production design, score, Casey Jones, Tatsu and the costuming.

I like the antique store scene minus the one-liners and goofiness. April's van is cool and the entirity of Northampton intrigues me. Overall very entertaining flick. But for the TMNT film I truly want, it has too many warts.

Last edited by PizzaPower1985; 05-30-2020 at 06:01 PM.
PizzaPower1985 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2020, 08:16 AM   #79
sgtfbomb
Stone Warrior
 
sgtfbomb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: The Internet
Posts: 830
Quote:
Originally Posted by PizzaPower1985 View Post
The turtles are far too obnoxious and juvenile at times for them to be so serious at other times. Their personalities are way too inconsistent.
I'd argue that gives them more dimension. Real people don't act out a single character trait their entire lives. Sometimes they make "funnies," sometimes they're serious. Wanting the characters to either only be one or the other would make them one-dimensional.

Last edited by sgtfbomb; 05-31-2020 at 08:23 AM.
sgtfbomb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2020, 11:23 AM   #80
PizzaPower1985
Stone Warrior
 
PizzaPower1985's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 947
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgtfbomb View Post
I'd argue that gives them more dimension. Real people don't act out a single character trait their entire lives. Sometimes they make "funnies," sometimes they're serious. Wanting the characters to either only be one or the other would make them one-dimensional.
That's not what I mean. It's just that their humor is far too 87 cartoon humor. It's just masked and hidden because the costumes look so damn good and the dark atmosphere in places makes it seem more real. The film tries to blend the 87 cartoon turtles with the Mirage TMNT and it doesn't work. For tone to be consistent with the atmosphere laid out in this 95 minute film the humor has to be a little less about jokes and a little more organic. How exactly you do that, I'm not sure, but having Michelangelo make jokes and spout off one-liners is a cheat.
PizzaPower1985 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:01 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.