TMNT 2007!

I have a lot to say about the new TMNT movie, but I want to open with this comic strip:

And now, I'll regale you with photos from my own fangirl moviegoing experience:









Clearly, we had a good time. :) Amy's brother wants to buy a set from me, too, I'll have to get his measurements and make him one....

Anyway, my comments about the movie! I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that I think the filmmakers really took care of the fans in this one. There were a lot of fun subtle references to other movies and other fandoms, the animation of the turtles was clearly gone over and gone over until they got it exactly right, and the plot has just the right amounts of cheese, humor, and sincerity. There was this wonderful feeling that the movie was really speaking to people who grew up with these characters, and who have been waiting a long time to see them again on the big screen. It was like a big reunion, and I loved that. I also think the strip I posted above is right; a lot of critics aren't going to like it because they think it's supposed to be a funny, light kids' movie. It is funny, and I'm sure kids will adore it, but it's also extremely...adult, in the feelings the movie expresses. There's a lot of themes of family, and of confusion, and jealousy, and this sort of "what am I doing with my life" sensation that I think a lot of the 20-somethings who have loved the TMNT from the start are really going to relate strongly to. At least, I know I did. It sounds totally corny, but I really did grow up with these characters, and the universe they populate, from a formative age. To go back to my original point...I think this new movie is really aware of that. I think it was made with great sensitivity to the fans, and what the movie was going to mean to us. So thanks, to everyone involved--you succeeded.

PS--With the exception of the human animation. The Turtles looked AMAZING, they had so much texture and reality to them that I was blown away. But the humans looked quite ridiculous. They had overly-large heads and emaciated bodies, especially the women; really, they looked like dolls. That's the only bad thing I have to say about the movie, and I think it can easily be ignored in my general feeling of bliss and love, but every time I see April walking by with a waist that's half the width of her head, I want to scream "WOMEN DON'T ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE THAT, DUMBASSES!" Ok. Got that off my chest. Another technical note: the voice casting was absolutely perfect. I adored every choice they made. They all sounded just like themselves, without being any of the actors who have played them in the past. Even my beloved Sarah Michelle Gellar made a great April, though every time she spoke I thought "Buffy!"