Scan and Pan
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
TMNT
The story begins with Leonardo (James Arnold Taylor) living in a Central American jungle and protecting villagers from harm. After his human friend April O'Neil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) tracks him down while trying to find a rare artifact, he returns to New York City to reunite with his brothers Donatello (Mitchell Whitfield), Michelangelo (Mikey Kelley), and Raphael (Nolan North), and their sensei Splinter (Mako). Although it's not a happy reunion at first for Leonardo and Raphael, soon all four brothers find themselves fighting against monsters and living statues that are connected in some way to mysterious tycoon Max Winters (Patrick Stewart), with the fate of the world in the balance of course.
Writer/director Kevin Munroe makes his feature film debut with an entertaining animated sequel to the live action films of the early 1990s. It's crafted to appeal to audiences of all ages, and it compensates for being light on plot with lots of action and an overwhelming sense of fun. It may be nowhere near as adult as the original comic book, but Munroe strikes a reasonable balance between being kid-friendly and older fan-friendly. The material is treated with respect but the film never takes itself too seriously, resulting in an hour and a half of fun, and isn't that all you really need from a film about mutant turtles fighting monsters?
The digital animation is generally good, a few quibbles about the design of the human characters aside, and it's used to its best advantage for some eye-popping action sequences. Simon Murton (Riverworld) contributes some impressive production designs, including a noirish New York City and an art deco skyscraper owned by Winters, that help bring the story's world to life. Klaus Badelt (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl) adds a solid score that's appropriately heroic sounding.
An animated film is only as good as its voice cast, and it's a great one here. Taylor, Whitfield, Kelley, and North capture the personalities of the Turtles, while Stewart's mellifluous voice is spot on for the world-weary Winters. April O'Neil is more of an action hero here than in the earlier films, so Gellar's voice is perfect for her. Mako (who died shortly after recording his lines) brings both dignity and humor to Splinter. Chris Evans (Fantastic Four's Human Torch) as vigilante Casey Jones, Ziyi Zhang as Karai (the new leader of the ninja Foot Clan), John DiMaggio (Bender on Futurama) as Colonel Santino, Clerks writer/director Kevin Smith as a diner cook, and Laurence Fishburne as the narrator also make good contributions.
Turtles fans of all ages should be suitably entertained by what is ounce for ounce one of the more entertaining comic action films to come along in awhile. I had a smile on my face from start to finish.
[4 stars out of 5]
Cowabunga, dudes! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles return in a digitally animated film that's loads of fun and has a great voice cast.
The story begins with Leonardo (James Arnold Taylor) living in a Central American jungle and protecting villagers from harm. After his human friend April O'Neil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) tracks him down while trying to find a rare artifact, he returns to New York City to reunite with his brothers Donatello (Mitchell Whitfield), Michelangelo (Mikey Kelley), and Raphael (Nolan North), and their sensei Splinter (Mako). Although it's not a happy reunion at first for Leonardo and Raphael, soon all four brothers find themselves fighting against monsters and living statues that are connected in some way to mysterious tycoon Max Winters (Patrick Stewart), with the fate of the world in the balance of course.
Writer/director Kevin Munroe makes his feature film debut with an entertaining animated sequel to the live action films of the early 1990s. It's crafted to appeal to audiences of all ages, and it compensates for being light on plot with lots of action and an overwhelming sense of fun. It may be nowhere near as adult as the original comic book, but Munroe strikes a reasonable balance between being kid-friendly and older fan-friendly. The material is treated with respect but the film never takes itself too seriously, resulting in an hour and a half of fun, and isn't that all you really need from a film about mutant turtles fighting monsters?
The digital animation is generally good, a few quibbles about the design of the human characters aside, and it's used to its best advantage for some eye-popping action sequences. Simon Murton (Riverworld) contributes some impressive production designs, including a noirish New York City and an art deco skyscraper owned by Winters, that help bring the story's world to life. Klaus Badelt (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl) adds a solid score that's appropriately heroic sounding.
An animated film is only as good as its voice cast, and it's a great one here. Taylor, Whitfield, Kelley, and North capture the personalities of the Turtles, while Stewart's mellifluous voice is spot on for the world-weary Winters. April O'Neil is more of an action hero here than in the earlier films, so Gellar's voice is perfect for her. Mako (who died shortly after recording his lines) brings both dignity and humor to Splinter. Chris Evans (Fantastic Four's Human Torch) as vigilante Casey Jones, Ziyi Zhang as Karai (the new leader of the ninja Foot Clan), John DiMaggio (Bender on Futurama) as Colonel Santino, Clerks writer/director Kevin Smith as a diner cook, and Laurence Fishburne as the narrator also make good contributions.
Turtles fans of all ages should be suitably entertained by what is ounce for ounce one of the more entertaining comic action films to come along in awhile. I had a smile on my face from start to finish.
[4 stars out of 5]
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