Film Of The Day: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES MUTANT MAYHEM

Let’s start with the fact a film about the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES was the last thing I could imagine myself writing about, as I’ve never been a fan. My sons, yes. Me, no. I thought the original Laird & Eastman comic book was — well, not really my thing. I will admit to having respect for the success that came to the creators of TMNT, because they did what very few creators have since Stan & Jack began laying the foundation of the Marvel Universe, namely, create a concept capable of massive commercial success. So props to Laird and Eastman. (I can also attest that a number of comics creators working for Marvel & DC in the late ‘80’s / early ‘90’s were extremely jealous and/or resentful of Laird & Eastman’s success. Let’s face it, about the only Image creation that achieved large scale commercial success was Todd McFarlan’s SPAWN, but even that doesn’t equal the track record of the TMNT.)

So with that out of the way, I have to say Seth Rogan brought forth one of the most successful non-Marvel & DC comic book adaptations. The animation not only was first rate, it clearly evoked Kevin Eastman’s style of the original early adventures, only in glorious full color. As for the story, it worked on a level that appealed to three generations of Penders – myself, my son Steve and my grandson Julian – each of whom appreciated different aspects of the presentation.

My son Steve was the most critical, comparing today’s version with what he grew up with. He’s also exposed to a wide array of children-oriented animated material as he’s a father of three – his son Julian and two younger daughters. He felt the film wasn’t edgy enough, had too many villains, no real sense of danger on a grand scale and the message of acceptance has been well-trod in practically everything his children watches. While he admires the sentiment and encourages his children to respect people for who and what they are, he just wishes kids were exposed to a wider array of positive messaging that just that. Even “ with great power comes great responsibility” isn’t stressed enough as far as he’s concerned.

Despite his criticisms, he still thought it was a fun movie that was appropriate to take Julian to see. For his part, Julian was attentive throughout the entire film. Very few films manage to hold his attention throughout the entire span of the film, but this one did, and he couldn’t wait to watch it again. The TMNT now join Sonic, Spider-Man and Super Mario Bros as his favorite characters. (Ask him to choose just one as his absolute favorite, and he will recite the list. He won’t give up one for the other.)

As for me, I was enjoying the fact the animation was what I recall of Kevin Eastman’s style, which won me over completely. The intensity of the action, however, had me on my guard wondering if Julian was going to be exposed to anything inappropriate. This IS a Seth Rogan film, after all. However, my concerns proved to be ill-founded and I was able to settle in and enjoy the story as it unfolded.

At the end of the film, Steve, Julian & I agreed we had a great time and look forward to repeating the experience when the sequel comes out. Taking Julian to see his first Marvel or DC film is next on my bucket list, but that’s a few years off.