TMNT (2007 film)
Encyclopedia
TMNT is a 2007 film
based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
franchise. This is the fourth and final installment in the original film series. The film sees the Turtles grow apart after their defeat of The Shredder. Meanwhile, strange things are happening in New York City
. An army of ancient creatures threatens to take over the world and the Turtles must unite again to save it.
It is the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film made with Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI)
by Imagi Animation Studios
. The previous films in the series were all live-action. It is the first film in the franchise in 14 years. Chronologically, the film takes place after the original films. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was released on March 23, 2007, in a number of Eastern Europe
an and Asian countries, on March 23, 2007, in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, and April 5, 2007, in Australia as well as subsequently in numerous other countries. It was the #1 film in the U.S. on its opening weekend, bringing in $25.45 million. It made its television debut on Cartoon Network
on November 1, 2009.
The film features the four Turtles (Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo) as well as Casey Jones and April O'Neil
. The main villains are Max Winters, the Stone Generals, Karai
, and the Foot Clan
. Voices are provided by Chris Evans
, Sarah Michelle Gellar
, Patrick Stewart
, Zhang Ziyi
, and Laurence Fishburne
, who provides narration. It is also the last film starring Mako
.
which is said to have a great power. Upon opening the portal, the warlord is exposed to this power and made immortal, but his four generals are turned to stone. The portal also releases 13 immortal monsters that destroy Yaotl's army, as well as his enemies. Afterwards, the monsters escape into the world, and Yaotl is left alone on the battlefield with his stone generals.
The film then cuts to the twenty-first century. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have grown apart. After the defeat and demise of the Shredder, Master Splinter has sent Leonardo away to Central America for training. The rest of the Turtles have settled into lives in New York:
April O'Neil
, seemingly expanded from her antique store "2nd Time Around", now operates a company that locates rare relics and acquires them for collectors with the help of her boyfriend Casey Jones.
While on a business trip in Central America, April meets Leonardo, whom she advises to return to New York, but he is hesitant to do so out of fear that he has not completed his training. April then tells him how the other Turtles have drifted apart, then leaves Leo to ponder his next move. April returns to New York with a stone statue for her client Max Winters, the wealthy CEO of a financial empire. Leo stows away on board a plane and returns shortly afterwards. April and Casey deliver the statue to Winters at his corporate office, after they leave, Winters is then visited by Karai
and the Foot Clan
, whom he hires to scour the city searching for the 13 beasts, who will be drawn to New York before the reopening of the portal, scheduled to happen in days. Later, as Nightwatcher, Raph encounters Casey, who reveals his knowledge of Raph's double identity and joins him in hunting criminals (while arguing over who is the sidekick). Meanwhile, Winters reanimates his generals with advanced technology, but they remain stone.
Leo returns home to the sewer of the Turtles, where he faces Splinter. Splinter, desiring him to reunite his brothers as a family, forbids the Turtles from fighting until they can act as a team again. While training, the Turtles encounter one of the thirteen beasts battling with the Foot Clan. Seeing the Foot losing the battle, the Turtles defy Leo and Splinter's orders and engage the beast as well. The beast easily defeats the Turtles, but before it can kill them the four Stone Generals arrive and capture the beast, spiriting it away in a disguised garbage truck. The next morning, Leo and Raph quarrel, and Splinter berates the Turtles for disobeying him after finding out about the damage they caused. Raphael leaves, clearly upset. He goes to April's apartment to get Casey. As he is about to explain what's going on to Casey, they encounter one of the monsters, and witness its capture by the Foot and the Stone Generals. The Generals spot them, and Raph is hit by a dart fired by a Foot ninja. They are pursued by one of the generals until a police helicopter chases the general off. Casey takes the unconscious Raph to the apartment, while April calls the Turtles for help. While examining Raph, they learn the identities of Winters and his Generals from April. After being revived, Raph suggests they pursue Winters. Leo denies him, saying they won't go anywhere until they get Splinter's blessing. Leo refuses to argue about Splinter's orders, so Raph quits the team. He goes out alone to investigate as the Nightwatcher.
Leo, Donny, and Mikey return to their sewer home to plan their next move, where Donny discovers the reopening of the portal will be directly over Winters' Tower. Splinter calls Leo aside and tells him that his team is not complete, and that he knows what he must do. Meanwhile, 11 monsters have been captured, and General Aguila questions Winters' actions. Believing that their leader is planning to betray them, the Generals conspire to betray Winters, wanting to remain immortal. Meanwhile, Raphael encounters one of the remaining monsters in a diner, but manages to drive it off. Leo finds the Nightwatcher at the diner, and chases him across the rooftops. He corners him, and the two engage in a fight. Leo gains the upper hand, knocking Nightwatcher's helmet off while delivering an uppercut to his face, revealing Raph. Raphael, being resentful of Leo's self-righteous authority and feeling like his brother abandoned him when he left, duels with his brother. Raph ultimately wins when he breaks Leo's swords with his sai. Raph, horrified by his own rage towards his brother, flees the scene. The Stone Generals then seize Leo, intending to substitute him for the thirteenth missing beast. Raph turns around in an attempt to save his brother, but is too late.
Raph returns to Master Splinter and reveals the fight, deciding to make amends by rescuing Leo. Thereafter Splinter and the Turtles, accompanied by Casey and April, travel to Winters' Tower. As the portal opens, Winters discovers the treachery of his generals and begs them to help him repair the damage he caused 3000 years ago, but they refuse. The Turtles, along with April, Casey, and Splinter, manage to get inside the tower. Winters is knocked out by his generals, but he quickly regains consciousness. He then reveals the truth to the heroes: he wants to return all 13 monsters to the portal so that he will be free of his curse of immortality. The Generals then reveal that they wish to preserve their immortality, but also to use the portal to bring in more monsters to finalize their conquest around the world. Having refused to betray Winters in exchange for immortality, April, Casey, and the Foot Clan decided to work together and search for the final monster while the Turtles fight off the Generals. As for Splinter and Winters, they fight off numerous other monsters emerging from the now open portal. After a long battle and a death-defying search, April, Casey, and Karai crash into the tower, with the thirteenth monster right behind them. The monster crashes into the Stone Generals, pushing them into the portal with it. The generals turn human again, screaming as they all disintegrate in the portal. The portal closes, and the heroes cheer in victory (while April and Casey kiss).
Karai warns them to enjoy their victory while it lasts, on grounds that they will soon contend with a familiar foe (implying the Shredder's return and a future sequel). She and the rest of the Foot Clan then depart. Winters, now mortal again, honors the Turtles and Splinter, thanks them for the fulfillment of his wish, and disintegrates away before their eyes to a peaceful afterlife. Later, Splinter proudly places Winter's helmet among his trophy collection, as well as Raphael's "Nightwatcher" helmet and Michelangelo's turtle costume. The collection also includes items from the previous films
, including Shredder's helmet, the broken canister of the mutagenic "ooze" which gave the Turtles and Splinter their present forms, and the Time Scepter. An epilogue narrated by Raph's voice then shows the Turtles unitedly patrolling New York City, and concludes the film with the much-repeated catchphrase "I love being a turtle!"
Actor Greg Baldwin
is credited only for providing "additional voices", but he also performed a substantial portion of Splinter's dialogue, despite Mako Iwamatsu being the only actor credited for that role. Baldwin had already mimicked Iwamatsu's voice when he took up the late actor's role as "Iroh" in the concurrently-produced cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender
, and used this precedent to successfully lobby to join the cast of TMNT as Splinter following Iwamatsu's death. Other additional voices were provided by Dee Bradley Baker
, Jeff Bennett
, Jim Cummings
, Grey DeLisle
, Crispin Freeman
, Chris Edgerly
, Kim Mai Guest
, Jennifer Hale
, Jess Harnell
, Phil LaMarr
, Paul Michael Robinson
, Tara Strong
, and Billy West
.
in the early 1990s was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
. Subsequently, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
was released in 1991, and finally Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
in 1993. A CGI TMNT movie was first announced in 2000
, with John Woo
supposedly at the helm. That movie languished in development hell
, and Woo ultimately moved on to other projects. TMNT, executive produced by Peter Laird, Gary Richardson, and Frederick U. Fierst, departs from the previous films' live action style, and is the first TMNT film to be CGI. Writer/Director Kevin Munroe, who had previously worked with video games, comics, and television animation said that he wanted to do total CGI instead of live action and CGI turtles because it would be easier for the audience to "suspend disbelief for such an offbeat story" as there would be no break in the reality between CGI and live action. Producer Tom Gray explained that the decision to depart from the live action franchise was due to escalating budgets for the three films, and with each film making less than its predecessor, a CGI film became a reality. For example the first film made $135.2 million on a budget of $13.5 million, and the third made $44 million on a budget of $21 million. Golden Harvest
's rights expired, and Gray, at an animation company, said the question arose there over a CGI TMNT film in 2004.
Munroe stated in terms of the story line that ideas were floated as extreme as the Turtles being in space, but eventually it just came back to New York City, and the theme of the family that had fallen apart. When developing the screenplay, Munroe wanted to take on a less lighthearted tone or "less Cowabunga" and place an emphasis on dark elements as shown in the original comics to appeal to the mature audience. "I had a very specific tone because mixing that sort of action and comedy is a very specific thing. Most people were just coming and wanting to make it too funny. I think that version of the movie could do really well, but we wanted to do something where it sort of pushes the envelope a little bit more and says that animation is more than just comedic animals bumping into each other and farting!" Munroe said that in design and in the rendering of the animation, he was after the feel of a comic book.
Development and pre-production
for TMNT began in June 2005
at Imagi's Los Angeles facility and then the state-of-the-art CG animation were produced in Hong Kong, followed by post-production
in Hollywood. In designing the New York backdrop, art director
/concept artist Simon Murton stylized the familiar Manhattan skyline and urban landscapes to make them appear uniquely "TMNT." "We began with cinematic cues from certain black-and-white films from the 1940s and '50s," notes Murton. "I really wanted to push the lighting and the environments to create the look and feel of an alternate reality." The animators that worked on the fight sequences were inspired by Hong Kong action films
. Animation director
Kim Ooi explains since it was in CG, they were able to "push and stylize beyond the limits of live action." Imagi used Maya
with Pixar’s RenderMan
for the production pipeline’s back-end.
The cast is new compared to the older films. Jim Cummings
and Frank Welker
(who voiced Tokka and Rahzar
in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze) are the only past TMNT actors to appear in this film. Cummings has previously contributed voice-work in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
series. TMNT was Mako Iwamatsu
's last film prior to his death. Mako was announced as the voice of Splinter
at the San Diego Comic-Con
on July 20, 2006. He then died the next day. A dedication to Mako appears at the end of the film's credits. This is the second TMNT film to include a dedication, the other being Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
, which was dedicated to Jim Henson
.
, which was eventually abandoned and then recovered in 2004. In addition to the main poster, there were several others including individual ones for each turtle.
At the 2006 Comic-Con
, the TMNT panel screened an exclusive preview that contained a Splinter voice-over with shots of monsters, jungles, foot ninjas, facial tests, concept designs, muscle tests, dynamic fight tests, and some comedic scenes. Also, a sneak peek booklet containing storyboards, environment designs, and character designs by comic artist Jeff Matsuda
was distributed.
The teaser-trailer
was released in July 2006 and was attached to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
. It starts out with the camera moving above the buildings on a dark night. When it finally stops moving, the Turtles open their eyes and all that can be seen is the whites of their eyes against the dark background. Then, the Turtles start maneuvering across the tops of the buildings, finally jumping down and landing in a dark alleyway. As each one lands, they perform kata
with their respective weapon. After Leonardo finishes with his kata, Michelangelo can be seen falling into a dumpster. As Donatello opens the dumpster, Michelangelo says "I'm okay." A police siren is heard and then the car pulls up. The officer shines his light down the alley, but the Turtles have already disappeared. The camera pans down the alley to show a manhole cover being slid back into place, with the name "TMNT" on it. The movie's full trailer was attached on December 15 to the films Eragon
and Unaccompanied Minors
. It is currently available on Apple Trailers, MTV.com, and Yahoo! Movies. It also debuted on the G4
show Attack of the Show!
.
On February 26, two television spots debuted and began airing. Later, two more TV spots, geared specifically toward the young children demographic aired on 4Kids TV
, the channel that broadcast the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)
.
In February 2007, Warner Bros. began an online campaign by creating a MySpace
page for each of the Turtles . Within a week before the release date, several clips were unveiled through various websites.
The McDonald's
fast-food chain promoted TMNT, having eight toys to collect with the purchase of a Happy Meal
. There is a novelization
based on the film.
The film was originally set for release domestically (USA and Canada) on March 30, 2007, which would have been the seventeenth anniversary of the release of the first film. The March 30 date was advertised in the teaser trailer and early posters, but the release was moved up to March 23, 2007.
for TMNT with an overall score of 7/10, stating the film had a good balance of dark aspects and kid-friendliness. IGN.com
also gave it 7/10, calling it "by far, the best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie yet." The film received an 8/10 from reviewers on JoBlo.com
, CHUD, and Moviesonline. Despite minor problems with the overall design of the human characters, they praise the film for its unique animation style and top notch voice acting. Comic and animation related websites like Newsarama
, Comic Book Resources
, and Toon Zone were also favorable in their reviews. As of August 31, 2011, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
gave the film a score of 33% based on 116 reviews. Critics generally pointed to lack of originality as the film's main flaw. Richard Roeper
expressed this in his review, saying, "I guess if you read the comic strip and you played the video games and you watched the TV show and dug the earlier movies, you’ll dig this new version. For me, I didn’t do any of that stuff."
(the top film of the previous two weeks), The Last Mimzy
, Shooter, Pride
, The Hills Have Eyes 2
, and Reign Over Me. Weekend estimates showed that the film made $25.45 million over the weekend of March 23-25, 2007. The film grossed over $95 million worldwide during its 91 day run in theaters.
and Sean Song for the Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
The DVD contains the following bonus features:
In 2009, a quadrilogy with all four TMNT films was released to celebrate the 25th anniversary. It is also available on Blu-ray.
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
franchise. This is the fourth and final installment in the original film series. The film sees the Turtles grow apart after their defeat of The Shredder. Meanwhile, strange things are happening in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. An army of ancient creatures threatens to take over the world and the Turtles must unite again to save it.
It is the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film made with Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI)
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
by Imagi Animation Studios
Imagi Animation Studios
Imagi Animation Studios is an animation studio that was established in 2000 by Imagi International Holdings Limited , a listed company on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.-Background:...
. The previous films in the series were all live-action. It is the first film in the franchise in 14 years. Chronologically, the film takes place after the original films. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was released on March 23, 2007, in a number of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an and Asian countries, on March 23, 2007, in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, and April 5, 2007, in Australia as well as subsequently in numerous other countries. It was the #1 film in the U.S. on its opening weekend, bringing in $25.45 million. It made its television debut on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (United States)
Cartoon Network is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting which primarily airs animated programming. The channel was launched on October 1, 1992 after Turner purchased the animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1991...
on November 1, 2009.
The film features the four Turtles (Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo) as well as Casey Jones and April O'Neil
April O'Neil
April O'Neil is a fictional character in the Mirage Studios franchise Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In each of the many TMNT continuities, she is a good friend of the Turtles: Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo.-Comics:...
. The main villains are Max Winters, the Stone Generals, Karai
Karai
Karai is a fictional character in several incarnations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, where she is usually a high-ranking member of the Foot Clan. In some incarnations of the character she is also related to The Shredder.-Name:Karai is a Japanese word commonly used to describe...
, and the Foot Clan
Foot Clan
The Foot Clan is a fictional ninjutsu clan in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe and the Turtles' main antagonists. It is usually led by the Shredder. The Foot Clan was originally a parody of the criminal ninja clan the Hand in the Daredevil comics...
. Voices are provided by Chris Evans
Chris Evans (actor)
Christopher Robert "Chris" Evans is an American actor. He played Cary Baston on the television series Opposite Sex, and transitioned to a film career, starring in several hits, including Not Another Teen Movie , Fierce People , Fantastic Four, sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer , and...
, Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...
, Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
, Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun...
, and Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
, who provides narration. It is also the last film starring Mako
Mako (actor)
, born , was an Oscar- and Tony-nominated Japanese actor. Many of his acting roles credited him simply as Mako, omitting his surname. -Early life:...
.
Plot
The film opens 3,000 years before the 21st century, during which time a powerful warlord named Yaotl and his four generals discover a portal opening into a parallel universeParallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
which is said to have a great power. Upon opening the portal, the warlord is exposed to this power and made immortal, but his four generals are turned to stone. The portal also releases 13 immortal monsters that destroy Yaotl's army, as well as his enemies. Afterwards, the monsters escape into the world, and Yaotl is left alone on the battlefield with his stone generals.
The film then cuts to the twenty-first century. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have grown apart. After the defeat and demise of the Shredder, Master Splinter has sent Leonardo away to Central America for training. The rest of the Turtles have settled into lives in New York:
- Donatello works as an IT specialist and has become the de factoDe factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
leader. - Michelangelo works as a birthday party entertainer called "Cowabunga Carl".
- Raphael continues fighting crime at night while disguised as the vigilanteVigilanteA vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
"Nightwatcher".
April O'Neil
April O'Neil
April O'Neil is a fictional character in the Mirage Studios franchise Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In each of the many TMNT continuities, she is a good friend of the Turtles: Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo.-Comics:...
, seemingly expanded from her antique store "2nd Time Around", now operates a company that locates rare relics and acquires them for collectors with the help of her boyfriend Casey Jones.
While on a business trip in Central America, April meets Leonardo, whom she advises to return to New York, but he is hesitant to do so out of fear that he has not completed his training. April then tells him how the other Turtles have drifted apart, then leaves Leo to ponder his next move. April returns to New York with a stone statue for her client Max Winters, the wealthy CEO of a financial empire. Leo stows away on board a plane and returns shortly afterwards. April and Casey deliver the statue to Winters at his corporate office, after they leave, Winters is then visited by Karai
Karai
Karai is a fictional character in several incarnations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, where she is usually a high-ranking member of the Foot Clan. In some incarnations of the character she is also related to The Shredder.-Name:Karai is a Japanese word commonly used to describe...
and the Foot Clan
Foot Clan
The Foot Clan is a fictional ninjutsu clan in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe and the Turtles' main antagonists. It is usually led by the Shredder. The Foot Clan was originally a parody of the criminal ninja clan the Hand in the Daredevil comics...
, whom he hires to scour the city searching for the 13 beasts, who will be drawn to New York before the reopening of the portal, scheduled to happen in days. Later, as Nightwatcher, Raph encounters Casey, who reveals his knowledge of Raph's double identity and joins him in hunting criminals (while arguing over who is the sidekick). Meanwhile, Winters reanimates his generals with advanced technology, but they remain stone.
Leo returns home to the sewer of the Turtles, where he faces Splinter. Splinter, desiring him to reunite his brothers as a family, forbids the Turtles from fighting until they can act as a team again. While training, the Turtles encounter one of the thirteen beasts battling with the Foot Clan. Seeing the Foot losing the battle, the Turtles defy Leo and Splinter's orders and engage the beast as well. The beast easily defeats the Turtles, but before it can kill them the four Stone Generals arrive and capture the beast, spiriting it away in a disguised garbage truck. The next morning, Leo and Raph quarrel, and Splinter berates the Turtles for disobeying him after finding out about the damage they caused. Raphael leaves, clearly upset. He goes to April's apartment to get Casey. As he is about to explain what's going on to Casey, they encounter one of the monsters, and witness its capture by the Foot and the Stone Generals. The Generals spot them, and Raph is hit by a dart fired by a Foot ninja. They are pursued by one of the generals until a police helicopter chases the general off. Casey takes the unconscious Raph to the apartment, while April calls the Turtles for help. While examining Raph, they learn the identities of Winters and his Generals from April. After being revived, Raph suggests they pursue Winters. Leo denies him, saying they won't go anywhere until they get Splinter's blessing. Leo refuses to argue about Splinter's orders, so Raph quits the team. He goes out alone to investigate as the Nightwatcher.
Leo, Donny, and Mikey return to their sewer home to plan their next move, where Donny discovers the reopening of the portal will be directly over Winters' Tower. Splinter calls Leo aside and tells him that his team is not complete, and that he knows what he must do. Meanwhile, 11 monsters have been captured, and General Aguila questions Winters' actions. Believing that their leader is planning to betray them, the Generals conspire to betray Winters, wanting to remain immortal. Meanwhile, Raphael encounters one of the remaining monsters in a diner, but manages to drive it off. Leo finds the Nightwatcher at the diner, and chases him across the rooftops. He corners him, and the two engage in a fight. Leo gains the upper hand, knocking Nightwatcher's helmet off while delivering an uppercut to his face, revealing Raph. Raphael, being resentful of Leo's self-righteous authority and feeling like his brother abandoned him when he left, duels with his brother. Raph ultimately wins when he breaks Leo's swords with his sai. Raph, horrified by his own rage towards his brother, flees the scene. The Stone Generals then seize Leo, intending to substitute him for the thirteenth missing beast. Raph turns around in an attempt to save his brother, but is too late.
Raph returns to Master Splinter and reveals the fight, deciding to make amends by rescuing Leo. Thereafter Splinter and the Turtles, accompanied by Casey and April, travel to Winters' Tower. As the portal opens, Winters discovers the treachery of his generals and begs them to help him repair the damage he caused 3000 years ago, but they refuse. The Turtles, along with April, Casey, and Splinter, manage to get inside the tower. Winters is knocked out by his generals, but he quickly regains consciousness. He then reveals the truth to the heroes: he wants to return all 13 monsters to the portal so that he will be free of his curse of immortality. The Generals then reveal that they wish to preserve their immortality, but also to use the portal to bring in more monsters to finalize their conquest around the world. Having refused to betray Winters in exchange for immortality, April, Casey, and the Foot Clan decided to work together and search for the final monster while the Turtles fight off the Generals. As for Splinter and Winters, they fight off numerous other monsters emerging from the now open portal. After a long battle and a death-defying search, April, Casey, and Karai crash into the tower, with the thirteenth monster right behind them. The monster crashes into the Stone Generals, pushing them into the portal with it. The generals turn human again, screaming as they all disintegrate in the portal. The portal closes, and the heroes cheer in victory (while April and Casey kiss).
Karai warns them to enjoy their victory while it lasts, on grounds that they will soon contend with a familiar foe (implying the Shredder's return and a future sequel). She and the rest of the Foot Clan then depart. Winters, now mortal again, honors the Turtles and Splinter, thanks them for the fulfillment of his wish, and disintegrates away before their eyes to a peaceful afterlife. Later, Splinter proudly places Winter's helmet among his trophy collection, as well as Raphael's "Nightwatcher" helmet and Michelangelo's turtle costume. The collection also includes items from the previous films
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film series)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a film franchise based on the comic book series of the same name by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles :...
, including Shredder's helmet, the broken canister of the mutagenic "ooze" which gave the Turtles and Splinter their present forms, and the Time Scepter. An epilogue narrated by Raph's voice then shows the Turtles unitedly patrolling New York City, and concludes the film with the much-repeated catchphrase "I love being a turtle!"
Cast
- Chris EvansChris Evans (actor)Christopher Robert "Chris" Evans is an American actor. He played Cary Baston on the television series Opposite Sex, and transitioned to a film career, starring in several hits, including Not Another Teen Movie , Fierce People , Fantastic Four, sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer , and...
as Casey Jones - Sarah Michelle GellarSarah Michelle GellarSarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...
as April O'NeilApril O'NeilApril O'Neil is a fictional character in the Mirage Studios franchise Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In each of the many TMNT continuities, she is a good friend of the Turtles: Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo.-Comics:... - Mako as Master Splinter (see below)
- Patrick StewartPatrick StewartSir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
as Max Winters - Zhang ZiyiZhang ZiyiZhang Ziyi is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun...
as KaraiKaraiKarai is a fictional character in several incarnations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, where she is usually a high-ranking member of the Foot Clan. In some incarnations of the character she is also related to The Shredder.-Name:Karai is a Japanese word commonly used to describe... - James Arnold TaylorJames Arnold TaylorJames Arnold Taylor is an American voice actor, Impressionist, and Announcer. He is the current voice provider for Fred Flintstone as well as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and also the movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Johnny Test in Johnny Test...
as Leonardo - Mitchell WhitfieldMitchell WhitfieldMitchell Whitfield is an American actor.He guest-starred in several episodes of Friends as Dr. Barry Farber, Rachel's orthodontist ex-fiancé whom Rachel left at the altar on their wedding day. He also appeared in Dharma & Greg; Murder, She Wrote; Diagnosis Murder and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...
as Donatello - Mikey KelleyMikey Kelley-Biography:He was born in Quincy, Massachusetts.Kelley was the voice of Michelangelo in the 2007 animated film TMNT.He landed his first major animation role when he was cast as the lead in Steven Spielberg's Invasion America for The WB Network...
as Michelangelo - Nolan NorthNolan NorthNolan Ramsey North is an American actor and voice actor born in New Haven, Connecticut. He has been described as "the nearest thing the games industry has to a bona fide leading man."-Biography:...
as Raphael / Nightwatcher - John DiMaggioJohn DiMaggioJohn William DiMaggio is an American voice actor. A native of North Plainfield, New Jersey, he is known for his gruff, deep voice and New Jersey accent, which he uses to voice mainly villains and anti-heroes.-Filmography:...
as Colonel Santino - Paula Mattioli as General Serpiente
- Kevin Michael RichardsonKevin Michael RichardsonKevin Michael Richardson is an American actor and voice actor who currently stars as Cleveland Brown, Jr. in The Cleveland Show...
as General Aguila - Fred TatascioreFred TatascioreFrederick "Fred" Tatasciore is an American voice actor who portrays secondary characters as well as monstrous-looking types...
as General Gato - Frank WelkerFrank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
as General Mono - Kevin SmithKevin SmithKevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
as Diner Cook - Laurence FishburneLaurence FishburneLaurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
as Narrator
Actor Greg Baldwin
Greg Baldwin
Greg Baldwin is an American actor. Raised in Spring, Texas, he currently resides in the San Fernando Valley with Melissa Baldwin, his wife of twenty-six years and their two children, Sydney and Cooper...
is credited only for providing "additional voices", but he also performed a substantial portion of Splinter's dialogue, despite Mako Iwamatsu being the only actor credited for that role. Baldwin had already mimicked Iwamatsu's voice when he took up the late actor's role as "Iroh" in the concurrently-produced cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender is an American animated television series that aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. The series was created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who served as executive producers along with Aaron Ehasz...
, and used this precedent to successfully lobby to join the cast of TMNT as Splinter following Iwamatsu's death. Other additional voices were provided by Dee Bradley Baker
Dee Bradley Baker
Dee Bradley Baker is an American voice actor. He is noted as his long-running-role as Klaus Heissler in American Dad! and other various characters including Squilliam Fancyson in the hit TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, Nightcrawler in X-Men: Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance...
, Jeff Bennett
Jeff Bennett
Jeffrey Glenn "Jeff" Bennett is an American voice actor and musician, listed "among the top names in the voice-over field", best known as the voice of Johnny Bravo in the series of the same name...
, Jim Cummings
Jim Cummings
James Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...
, Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle is an American voice actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. To date, she has released four solo albums and has featured on the tribute album Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash and film soundtrack of Loggerheads...
, Crispin Freeman
Crispin Freeman
Crispin McDougal Freeman is an American voice actor, and Mythology scholar. His roles have included Alucard from Hellsing, Kyon from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Karasu from Noein, Togusa from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, as Holland Novak from Eureka Seven, Touga Kiriyu in...
, Chris Edgerly
Chris Edgerly
Christopher "Chris" Edgerly is an American actor and voice actor.Edgerly was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, he moved to Savannah, Georgia at the age of two with his mother, and two brothers...
, Kim Mai Guest
Kim Mai Guest
Kim Mai Angela Guest is a voice actress of European and Vietnamese descent. She is known to speak fluent French and Italian.- Anime/Animation roles :* .hack//Liminality - Narumi* .hack//SIGN - Subaru...
, Jennifer Hale
Jennifer Hale
Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-born American actress and singer best known for her voice over work in video games like Grandia II, the Mass Effect trilogy, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Tales of Symphonia, the Metroid Prime trilogy, the Metal Gear Solid games, Brütal Legend, and Disney's...
, Jess Harnell
Jess Harnell
Jess Q. Harnell is an American voice actor and singer, best known for voicing Wakko Warner on Animaniacs. Harnell has been the announcer for America's Funniest Home Videos since 1998.-Life and acting career:...
, Phil LaMarr
Phil LaMarr
Phillip "Phil" LaMarr is an American actor, comedian and voice actor. One of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series MADtv, he is also known for his small, but memorable role as Marvin in Pulp Fiction...
, Paul Michael Robinson
Paul Michael Robinson
Paul Michael Robinson is an American actor, photographer, producer and model. He is most well known for playing the sexually inexperienced, alien leader Haffron from the classic Emmanuelle in Space...
, Tara Strong
Tara Strong
Tara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:...
, and Billy West
Billy West
William Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival...
.
Production
The first of three films released in the TMNT franchise by New Line CinemaNew Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
in the early 1990s was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American live-action film adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise directed by Steve Barron. The film was followed by three sequels: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993, and...
. Subsequently, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze is a 1991 American live-action film, It is the second Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, being the direct sequel to the 1990 film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Secret of the Ooze was then followed by a third film in 1993, and a fourth...
was released in 1991, and finally Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III is a 1993 American live-action film, the second sequel of the 1990 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. It was produced by Clearwater Holdings Ltd. and Golden Harvest. This was the last Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film released by New Line Cinema and...
in 1993. A CGI TMNT movie was first announced in 2000
2000 in film
The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
, with John Woo
John Woo
John Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
supposedly at the helm. That movie languished in development hell
Development hell
In the jargon of the media-industry, "development hell" is a period during which a film or other project is trapped in development...
, and Woo ultimately moved on to other projects. TMNT, executive produced by Peter Laird, Gary Richardson, and Frederick U. Fierst, departs from the previous films' live action style, and is the first TMNT film to be CGI. Writer/Director Kevin Munroe, who had previously worked with video games, comics, and television animation said that he wanted to do total CGI instead of live action and CGI turtles because it would be easier for the audience to "suspend disbelief for such an offbeat story" as there would be no break in the reality between CGI and live action. Producer Tom Gray explained that the decision to depart from the live action franchise was due to escalating budgets for the three films, and with each film making less than its predecessor, a CGI film became a reality. For example the first film made $135.2 million on a budget of $13.5 million, and the third made $44 million on a budget of $21 million. Golden Harvest
Golden Harvest
Golden Harvest is a film production, distribution, and exhibition company based in Hong Kong. It played a major role in becoming the first Chinese film company to successfully enter the western market for an extended period of time, especially with the films of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan...
's rights expired, and Gray, at an animation company, said the question arose there over a CGI TMNT film in 2004.
Munroe stated in terms of the story line that ideas were floated as extreme as the Turtles being in space, but eventually it just came back to New York City, and the theme of the family that had fallen apart. When developing the screenplay, Munroe wanted to take on a less lighthearted tone or "less Cowabunga" and place an emphasis on dark elements as shown in the original comics to appeal to the mature audience. "I had a very specific tone because mixing that sort of action and comedy is a very specific thing. Most people were just coming and wanting to make it too funny. I think that version of the movie could do really well, but we wanted to do something where it sort of pushes the envelope a little bit more and says that animation is more than just comedic animals bumping into each other and farting!" Munroe said that in design and in the rendering of the animation, he was after the feel of a comic book.
Development and pre-production
Pre-production
Pre-production or In Production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- In film :...
for TMNT began in June 2005
at Imagi's Los Angeles facility and then the state-of-the-art CG animation were produced in Hong Kong, followed by post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
in Hollywood. In designing the New York backdrop, art director
Art director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
/concept artist Simon Murton stylized the familiar Manhattan skyline and urban landscapes to make them appear uniquely "TMNT." "We began with cinematic cues from certain black-and-white films from the 1940s and '50s," notes Murton. "I really wanted to push the lighting and the environments to create the look and feel of an alternate reality." The animators that worked on the fight sequences were inspired by Hong Kong action films
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
. Animation director
Animation director
An animation director is the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated film or animated segment for a live-action film...
Kim Ooi explains since it was in CG, they were able to "push and stylize beyond the limits of live action." Imagi used Maya
Maya (software)
Autodesk Maya , commonly shortened to Maya, is 3D computer graphics software that runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS and Linux, originally developed by Alias Systems Corporation and currently owned and developed by Autodesk, Inc. It is used to create interactive 3D applications, including video...
with Pixar’s RenderMan
RenderMan Interface Specification
The RenderMan Interface Specification, or RISpec in short, is an open API developed by Pixar Animation Studios to describe three-dimensional scenes and turn them into digital photorealistic images...
for the production pipeline’s back-end.
The cast is new compared to the older films. Jim Cummings
Jim Cummings
James Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...
and Frank Welker
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
(who voiced Tokka and Rahzar
Tokka and Rahzar
Tokka and Rahzar are two fictional mutant villains in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe. They first appeared in the 1991 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. Rahzar was played by Mark Ginther and Tokka was played by Kurt Bryant...
in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze) are the only past TMNT actors to appear in this film. Cummings has previously contributed voice-work in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson. The pilot was shown during the week of December 28, 1987 in syndication as a five part miniseries and began its official run on October 1, 1988...
series. TMNT was Mako Iwamatsu
Mako (actor)
, born , was an Oscar- and Tony-nominated Japanese actor. Many of his acting roles credited him simply as Mako, omitting his surname. -Early life:...
's last film prior to his death. Mako was announced as the voice of Splinter
Splinter (TMNT)
Master Splinter, or simply Splinter is a fictional character in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe. -Origin Story:Splinter has two origin stories, and which one is used depends on the medium...
at the San Diego Comic-Con
Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
on July 20, 2006. He then died the next day. A dedication to Mako appears at the end of the film's credits. This is the second TMNT film to include a dedication, the other being Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze is a 1991 American live-action film, It is the second Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, being the direct sequel to the 1990 film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Secret of the Ooze was then followed by a third film in 1993, and a fourth...
, which was dedicated to Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
.
Promotion
The first teaser-poster featured the logo of the 2003 TV seriesTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated series, mainly set in New York City. It first aired on February 8, 2003 and ended on November 21, 2009...
, which was eventually abandoned and then recovered in 2004. In addition to the main poster, there were several others including individual ones for each turtle.
At the 2006 Comic-Con
Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
, the TMNT panel screened an exclusive preview that contained a Splinter voice-over with shots of monsters, jungles, foot ninjas, facial tests, concept designs, muscle tests, dynamic fight tests, and some comedic scenes. Also, a sneak peek booklet containing storyboards, environment designs, and character designs by comic artist Jeff Matsuda
Jeff Matsuda
Jeff Matsuda is a Japanese-American concept artist, comics artist, and animator. He served as the chief character designer for both Jackie Chan Adventures and The Batman, and is the president and creative director of X-Ray Kid Studios. Matsuda was discovered by Rob Liefeld after submitting some...
was distributed.
The teaser-trailer
Teaser trailer
A teaser campaign is an advertising campaign which typically consists of a series of small, cryptic, challenging advertisements that anticipate a larger, full-blown campaign for a product launch or otherwise important event. These advertisements are called "teasers" or "teaser ads"...
was released in July 2006 and was attached to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by...
. It starts out with the camera moving above the buildings on a dark night. When it finally stops moving, the Turtles open their eyes and all that can be seen is the whites of their eyes against the dark background. Then, the Turtles start maneuvering across the tops of the buildings, finally jumping down and landing in a dark alleyway. As each one lands, they perform kata
Kata
is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practised either solo or in pairs. The term form is used for the corresponding concept in non-Japanese martial arts in general....
with their respective weapon. After Leonardo finishes with his kata, Michelangelo can be seen falling into a dumpster. As Donatello opens the dumpster, Michelangelo says "I'm okay." A police siren is heard and then the car pulls up. The officer shines his light down the alley, but the Turtles have already disappeared. The camera pans down the alley to show a manhole cover being slid back into place, with the name "TMNT" on it. The movie's full trailer was attached on December 15 to the films Eragon
Eragon (film)
Eragon is a 2006 fantasy-adventure film based on the novel of the same name by author Christopher Paolini. The cast includes Edward Speleers in the title role, Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Alun Armstrong, Joss Stone, and the voice...
and Unaccompanied Minors
Unaccompanied Minors
Unaccompanied Minors is a 2006 comedy film directed by Paul Feig and starring Dyllan Christopher, Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Brett Kelly, Gina Mantegna, and Quinn Shephard. Unaccompanied Minors has been rated PG by the MPAA for "mild rude humor and language"...
. It is currently available on Apple Trailers, MTV.com, and Yahoo! Movies. It also debuted on the G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
show Attack of the Show!
Attack of the Show!
Attack of the Show! is an American live television program shown weeknights on G4, G4 Canada and Fuel TV in Australia. The program is hosted by Kevin Pereira and Candace Bailey...
.
On February 26, two television spots debuted and began airing. Later, two more TV spots, geared specifically toward the young children demographic aired on 4Kids TV
4Kids TV
4Kids TV was a Saturday morning television programming block on the Fox Broadcasting Company. The block was part of the Fox Network schedule...
, the channel that broadcast the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated series, mainly set in New York City. It first aired on February 8, 2003 and ended on November 21, 2009...
.
In February 2007, Warner Bros. began an online campaign by creating a MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page for each of the Turtles . Within a week before the release date, several clips were unveiled through various websites.
The McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
fast-food chain promoted TMNT, having eight toys to collect with the purchase of a Happy Meal
Happy Meal
A "Happy Meal" is a meal specifically marketed at children, sold at the fast-food chain McDonald's since June 1979. A toy is typically included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a small box or paper bag with the McDonald's logo....
. There is a novelization
Novelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
based on the film.
The film was originally set for release domestically (USA and Canada) on March 30, 2007, which would have been the seventeenth anniversary of the release of the first film. The March 30 date was advertised in the teaser trailer and early posters, but the release was moved up to March 23, 2007.
Video game
- TMNTTMNT (video game)Critical reception of the games has been average at best, with IGN giving a score of 6.0 out of 10 for the GameCube, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and PC versions...
is the video game version of the 2007 CGI movie. It was released three days before the actual movie's release. UbisoftUbisoftUbisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
secured the rights and released the games on March 20. Ubisoft won the rights from KonamiKonamiis a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
, who had produced all the previous games. The game is available for PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, PSPPlayStation PortableThe is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, PCPersonal computerA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy AdvanceThe is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, and Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
game systems. Reviews for the games ranged from horrible to mediocre to exemplary, due to the vastly different games produced. The home console games were identical, and given bad to mediocre ratings; the PSP and Nintendo DS games were identical to each other but not the home console versions, and were given abysmal ratings; and the Game Boy Advance version was entirely separate, but received good ratings in contrast to the other versions. It was lauded for its excellent use of the side-scrolling beat-'em-up style, which evoked nostalgia for older games in the series such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in TimeTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in TimeTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, released as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Turtles in Time in Europe, is an arcade video game produced by Konami. A sequel to the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game, it is a scrolling beat 'em up based mainly on the 1987 TMNT animated...
. There is no multi-player mode in the GBA version. "The TMNT movie is all about the emotionEmotionEmotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
s associated with familyFamilyIn human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
and teenage angstAngstAngst is an English, German, Danish, Norwegian and Dutch word for fear or anxiety . It is used in English to describe an intense feeling of apprehension, anxiety or inner turmoil...
," said Nick Harper, the game's creative directorCreative DirectorA creative director is a position often found within the graphic design, film, music, fashion, advertising, media or entertainment industries, but may be useful in other creative organizations such as web development and software development firms as well....
. "We've taken that philosophy and turned it into gameplay mechanics that will be fun and challenging. The game features collaborative team-ups between the Turtles. The game also features single-player campaigns for the brothers. - TMNT: Power Of Four is the mobile gameMobile gameA mobile game is a video game played on a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA, tablet computer or portable media player. This does not include games played on handheld video game systems such as Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable....
version of the 2007 CGI movie. It is produced by uclick and developed by Overloaded.
Critical response
TMNT received generally mixed reviews from film critics. SuperHeroHype.com posted a reviewReview
A review is an evaluation of a publication, a product or a service, such as a movie , video game, musical composition , book ; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theater show or dance show...
for TMNT with an overall score of 7/10, stating the film had a good balance of dark aspects and kid-friendliness. IGN.com
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
also gave it 7/10, calling it "by far, the best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie yet." The film received an 8/10 from reviewers on JoBlo.com
JoBlo.com
JoBlo.com is a website primarily focused on the film industry.JoBlo.com was started in 1998 by Berge Garabedian , a movie reviewer who is known for critiquing movies from the perspective of an average movie-goer. The website's name is, in fact, a play on the term Joe Shmoe, and registered users of...
, CHUD, and Moviesonline. Despite minor problems with the overall design of the human characters, they praise the film for its unique animation style and top notch voice acting. Comic and animation related websites like Newsarama
Newsarama
Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
, Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
, and Toon Zone were also favorable in their reviews. As of August 31, 2011, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gave the film a score of 33% based on 116 reviews. Critics generally pointed to lack of originality as the film's main flaw. Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
expressed this in his review, saying, "I guess if you read the comic strip and you played the video games and you watched the TV show and dug the earlier movies, you’ll dig this new version. For me, I didn’t do any of that stuff."
Box office
TMNT ranked number one at the box office on its opening weekend, beating out 300300 (film)
300 is a 2007 American fantasy action film based on the 1998 comic series of the same name by Frank Miller. It is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. The film was directed by Zack Snyder, while Miller served as executive producer and consultant...
(the top film of the previous two weeks), The Last Mimzy
The Last Mimzy
The Last Mimzy is a 2007 science fiction family film directed by Bob Shaye and loosely adapted from the acclaimed 1943 science fiction short story "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" by Lewis Padgett...
, Shooter, Pride
Pride (2007 film)
Pride is a 2007 biopic drama feature film released by Lionsgate Entertainment on March 23, 2007. Loosely based upon the true story of Philadelphia swim coach James "Jim" Ellis, Pride stars Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac, and Kimberly Elise, and was directed by Sunu Gonera.Pride is a film that depicts...
, The Hills Have Eyes 2
The Hills Have Eyes 2
The Hills Have Eyes 2 is the 2007 American horror film sequel to the 2006 film The Hills Have Eyes which was a remake of the 1977 horror film The Hills Have Eyes. The film follows several heroic, but troubled, U.S. National Guardsmen as they fight for survival against the mutant people living in a...
, and Reign Over Me. Weekend estimates showed that the film made $25.45 million over the weekend of March 23-25, 2007. The film grossed over $95 million worldwide during its 91 day run in theaters.
Awards
In 2008, it has been nominated for the Annie AwardAnnie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
and Sean Song for the Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Home media
TMNT was released on August 7, 2007, for DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray Disc.The DVD contains the following bonus features:
- Commentary by Writer/Director Kevin Munroe
- Alternate Opening and Alternate Ending
- Deleted Scene
- Side-by-Side Comparison of Storyboard and CG
- Interviews with Voice Talent
In 2009, a quadrilogy with all four TMNT films was released to celebrate the 25th anniversary. It is also available on Blu-ray.
External links
from Warner Bros. from Mirage Studios- Director Kevin Munroe on TMNT Animated News & Views interview
- TMNT Review on Variety.com