Hey gang, Valkor here. On the animated side of TOV, I've covered plenty of Batman films as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. But I never thought I'd see the day when the two worlds combined. Scratch that, I never thought I'd see the day when the comic book series would be adapted into the newly released animated film “Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. And yet here we are! And let me just say this film is totally radical, dudes!
In “Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle” Ra's Al Ghul and his League of Assassins, team up with Shredder and his army of Foot ninjas, in an attempt to release a combination of mutagen ooze and the venom poison. To make this plan work, Shredder and the Foot steal tech components from around Gotham city that would then be pieced together by his lead scientist Baxter Stockman. The last device, a cloud seeder that's held at Wayne Tech, is the toughest to acquire as Shredder and his men deal with Batman, who set them up into thinking the device was there. While on the outside of the building, the Ninja Turtles – Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael make the scene, facing off against Penguin and his crew who also want in on the action. Initially, the seeder is kept hidden. But that doesn't mean Shredder isn't going to try again. This time he and Ra's concoct a plan that would mutate Batman's rogue gallery such as Two-Face, Bane, Harley Quinn, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and The Joker, pitting them against The Dark Knight and the Turtles. But then they're not without help as Batgirl and Robin aka Damian Wayne are also on the scene to provide intellectual as well as physical assist. Can this bevy of crime fighters put the hurting on Shredder, Ra's and their crew, putting an end to their evil plot that would bring down Gotham as we know it? You'll have to give this one a go to find out. But if you've already read the comic then you pretty much know how this one ends.
Batman vs. TMNT film is loosely based on the comic; first up their worlds in the film coexist, meaning the TMNT live in the same universe as Batman, but different cities. The TMNT actually travel to Gotham trailing Shredder and his minions. Then there are also other characters missing from the film that was in the comic such as Krang, Casey Jones, and April O'Neil just to name a few. And I would have LOVED IT if Casey Jones were in this. But maybe that's just too much awesome in an already awesome film.
The Good:
When Batman vs TMNT film was first announced, I had my hesitations; on the one hand, I felt if done right, the film could be so badass! But on the other hand, we could end up with something that's overstuffed like “Batman v Superman”. Thankfully, the animated film was nothing short of amazing! It features a great story that seamlessly brings the Batman/TMNT worlds together and tosses in some of the finest animated fight scenes I've laid eyes on in quite some time. One of my favorites is the first round between Batman and Shredder. But the second round was equally impressive! And I love love love the final fight at the Ace Chemical factory, especially the vehicle fights that utilize the Batmobile and the TMNT Party Wagon. Now the icing on this animated delight has to be the comedy. And Batman vs TMNT has plenty of laughs to go around. Of course, Mikey brings in the bulk of the jokes. But I couldn't help but chuckle at Batgirl's disgust with the word “ooze”, Batman's use of the word “cowabunga”, and even Donny and Damian get in a few chuckles (and I thought those two would be the straight men). Finally, props go out to the voice work and I thought everyone brought along their A-game. However, the DC animated universe needs more Troy Baker, who does double duty as Batman and Joker, yet comes across like Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. But I have to give a shout out to Keith Ferguson, who plays Baxter Stockman; his caricature of Jeff Goldblum from “The Fly” was totally unexpected yet so on point! In the end, Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an entertaining feature filled with plenty of action and loads of fun.
The Bad:
My only nitpick is with Damien; I'm so used to him being a little prick that I was expecting him to be harsh towards the Turtles throughout the film. Instead, his animated version in this film is lighter than what I would have expected. Honestly, if you're gonna make changes, why not change Damien to Tim Drake? I think that would have been most fitting.
The Ugly:
N/A
Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is available now in triple play combo packs that include a 4K Ultra HD edition. and it's 87 minutes of pure entertainment that you don't want to miss. The film has some of the best-animated action scenes around with plenty of laughs tossed in. I highly recommend it. So, out of TOV 5 stars, I'm giving Batman vs TMNT a perfect 5.
