Hey folks, Valkor here. And I welcome you to TOV's "30 in 30", where I'll review 30 unique film and maybe some not so unique, all in 30 days. What's cool for most of the flicks, is that I know nothing about em. So this should be a real treat not just for you guys, but for me as well. Good or bad, this is gonna be a fun month. It all starts today July the 4th and ends on Aug the 3rd. Can I make it through? We'll know soon enough!
On Nov. 21, 2009, I was completely caught off guard by a film that aired that morning on Kids WB. Simply put they aired one of the coolest, geekgasmic, turtle-riffic films ever to grace television. I'm talking about "Ninja Turtles Forever", a film where Turtles of the past meet the Turtles of the present… and then some. Now if you've never seen or heard of this film, you need not worry because on Aug. 24, you'll be able to check out in a brand spankin new DVD. And it's about time!
Now I grew up with the Ninja Turtles; read the comics, watched the movies, loved the cartoons and ate the cereal. But "Turtles Forever" isn't just a movie… it's an experience any fan of the green team should check out and that's why it's number 25 in the "30 in 30".
Ninja Turtles Forever has the Ninja Turtles from the old 90's show team up with our present day Ninja Turtles, to stop our present day Shredder, who has taken over and revised the Technodrome from the past. Shredder (2003) accessed the Technodrome's Dimensional gateway to discover that in any given dimension there are Turtles and there are Shredders and no matter what he will always be stopped. So Shred-head devises a plan that takes him to where the TMNT existence began known as Turtle Prime. The film is a total fan service, in that it doesn't explain too much about the original TMNT, plus in one scene you get to see almost every variation of the Turtles i.e. the CGI, Puppet, anime version, etc. And the show reintroduces some fan favorites such as Beebop and Rocksteady, Krang, 90's April O'Neil who is a TV reporter (Oh why not 90's Casey Jones!!!???), 90's Shredder, Krang, and Mutigen Ooze. But what I enjoyed the most were the jokes from the 90's TMNT, one running gag in particular has Rafael saying a joke and looking into the camera. Hun steps into view and asks "who is he talking too?" But ultimately Ninja Turtles Forever pays tribute to the creators of the series, Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman and even ends with the two (not really) creating the original, comic book TMNT. Awesome! But for those that don't know, Peter Laird has sold the rights to TMNT over to Nickelodeon (Kevin Eastman sold his rights after The Next Mutation series, if I'm not mistaken). So what will happen to the series or even the recently announce new, live-action TMNT film is anyone's guess.
But to Eastman and Laird I wanna say thank you for bringing us the greatness that is TMNT. When I saw the first comic book, I thought it was a joke and that no one would ever take it seriously, but here we are 25 years later and TMNT is still going strong. I wish you guys the best of luck in all your future endeavors and I also look forward to seeing what comes down the pike with TMNT now that Nickelodeon is at the helm. And wititle="Turtles Forever"th that, on with my review.
The Good:
When the film first aired, I didn't know that such a film was being made. Now that the DVD is just weeks away from release I get to relive all those glorious moments I had when I first watched it. Simply put, the show is bad ass and then some. Seeing the 90's turtles team up with the 2003 set shows just how far the characters have evolved, not just in looks but also their attitude. And when you toss in the original comic book version of the TMNT, you really get an inkling of how far the characters have come. The plot works wonderfully well; using the Technodrome to travel dimensions, and to bring in the comic book version? Now that's boss! And speaking of the Technodrome, the revamped version blew me away!!! Finally, the jokes from the 90's TMNT are not hilarious, but funny nonetheless, but what makes the joke funny is how 2003 Mikey thinks the 90's TMNT are hilarious and then later he does a 360 and is annoyed. To me, that's funny.
The Bad:
There's only one thing that bothered me and would have been such a great moment had it been executed but when 90's TMNT see 2003 April and Casey makeout, damnit why were they not shocked by that? (because 90's Casey and April have never, ever hooked up).
The Ugly:
N/A
If you grew up watching the original TMNT and caught up with the 2003 version, then do yourself a favor and pick up Turtles Forever - It's the crossever event that's a cant miss! Not only does it bring together old and the new, but it's also a damn good story that shows us the mean green machine are still on fire! Cowabunga dudes!! And out of TOV 5 stars, I give Turtles Forever 5 stars and it's Valkor tested, TOV Approved!