TMNT (2007)

Although the initial Turtlemania wave died down at the tail end of the 1990s, the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) cartoon proved to be the adrenaline shot that the franchise needed to continue forward. As such, this would eventually lead to a new theatrical film in 2007, simply titled TMNT (TMNT 07), only this time fully animated in CG. While my first viewing was some years after the film initially released, I decided to give it another try after watching the original live-action trilogy, in part because it is meant to serve as a sequel to those films. It did make a lot more sense in this context, but it still had some issues.

Years after the defeat of Shredder, Leonardo (James Arnold Taylor) is training in Central America per Splinter’s (Mako Iwamatsu, Greg Baldwin) orders, leaving Donatello (Mitchell Whitfield), Michelangelo (Mikey Kelly) and Raphael (Nolan North) to their own devices. While in Central America on business, and failing to convince Leo to return to New York, April O’Neil recovers a stone statue for her client, the wealthy Max Winters (Patrick Stewart). Winters, however, has his own plans for the statues he’s collected, and enlists the aid of the Foot Clan, led by Karai (Ziyi Zhang).

Max Winters (Patrick Stewart, left) makes a deal with Karai (Zivi Zhang, center),
the current head of the Foot Clan.

 

Pretty quickly, TMNT 07 has a lot going on. Plot threads include:
- The strained relationship between Leonardo and Raphael
- Raphael’s activities as a vigilante
- Max Winters trying to recover 13 monsters to undo a curse, including his stone generals betraying him
- The relationship between April O’Neil and Casey Jones (Chris Evans)
Having this much happening in a sub 90-minute runtime results in some odd pacing, managing to somehow feel like there is a lot and yet nothing going on simultaneously. In particular, the 13 monsters plotline gets breezed through with a majority of them recovered during a montage. Despite this, these plot threads do manage to organically weave together well enough, so credit where it’s due.

As confirmed in one of the final scenes of the film, TMNT 07 is meant to take place within the timeline of the first three live-action entries, after TMNT III. The plot does actually make a lot more sense in this context, though it is strange that the Turtles suddenly care a lot more about anonymity when TMNT II and TMNT III showed them gradually caring less about being seen. Unlike said films, however, this one goes for a darker tone akin to TMNT I, and while it doesn’t quite strike the right balance of comedy and drama as that film, there were still some genuinely funny moments in places. As with TMNT I, though, Raph and Leo get a majority of the character development between the Turtles at the expense of Don and Mikey.

Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael don't get the same amount of
character development.

The animation, provided by short-lived studio Imagi Animation Studios, is very fluid, with a heavily-stylized look that takes a little getting used to at first. Nowadays, the animation can look somewhat unpolished by modern standards, even looking like a video game in places, but said art style helps it last better than it might have had it gone for realism. Rather notably, although it features a handful of celebrity voices, retroactively in the case of pre-Captain America Chris Evans, this film is stacked with professional voice actors, an increasing rarity in the current animation landscape. Among them, this film would also be the late Mako Iwamatsu’s (Samurai Jack, Avatar: The Last Airbender) final animated role, with his dialogue being impressively and seamlessly completed by an uncredited Greg Baldwin.

While not the strongest entry in the original film tetralogy, TMNT isn’t necessarily the worst (that honor still belongs to TMNT III) and is sure to appeal more to fans of TMNT I and its darker tone. The ending teases a sequel that never came to be, likely due to the studio shutting down just 3 years later, but this wouldn’t be the last of the Turtles on the silver screen, for better or worse.