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TMNT is a 2007 computer-animated fantasy action film based on the comic book characters the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Written and directed by Kevin Munroe, the film features the voice talents of Nolan North, James Arnold Taylor, Mikey Kelley, Mitchell Whitfield, Chris Evans, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kevin Smith, Patrick Stewart, Zhang Ziyi and Laurence Fishburne (who provides narration). It was the last film that Mako Iwamatsu made before his death and was co-produced by the Turtles' co-creator Peter Laird for Warner Bros. Pictures.

TMNT was the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film made with computer-generated imagery (CGI), created by Imagi Animation Studios, as well as the first feature film in the franchise in 14 years. TMNT co-creator Peter Laird stated it takes place in its own universe separate from the previous films, which was supported by its depiction in Turtles Forever.[1] However, director Kevin Munroe says the film exists in the same continuity as the other films, which was supported by the memento wall at the end of the film.[2] The film sees the four Turtles (Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo) grow apart after their final defeat of Shredder, when strange things are happening in New York City as ancient creatures threaten the world and the Turtles must reunite to save it.

TMNT premiered theatrically on March 23, 2007. It was a moderate commercial success, grossing $95 million worldwide for a budget of $34 million, but received mixed reviews from film critics, with criticism for its plot and cast, though was praised for its animation. Its release coincided with tie-in products including toys, comics and video games. It was the last Turtles film distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures before Viacom, owner of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, acquired the rights to the franchise from Mirage Studios in 2009.

Plot[]

The film opens up with the Turtles on one of their late-night rooftop parkour runs all the while being trailed by a mysterious narrator (Laurence Fishburne), who cryptically tells their tale in the form of a dark muse; They are a quartet of genetically altered anthropomorphic freshwater turtles who reside in the sewers of New York City who have been named after four of the great masters of the Italian Renaissance and trained as ninja warriors. As teenagers, the brothers have secretly protected the city from many creatures and foes before defeating their arch enemy, the Shredder. The narrator then warns of a new threat on their horizon originating 3 millennia ago in Central America.

The narrator tells the story of a warrior king named Yaotl and his 4 generals in their quest to conquer all the kingdoms of the world. The five of them and their conquering army arrive on the doorstep of their latest quarry and lay waste to the enemy soldiers. The narrator further elaborates about a discovery Yaotl had made in his quest: The Stars of Keekan, which align once every 3,000 years and allow access to an entirely different world when the right steps are taken. During the battle, the warlord performs the ritual that opens the portal and doing so grants him immortality, but at a price; his brotherhood is turned to stone and the portal allows entry for thirteen monsters onto Earth. The monsters run wild and ravage Yaotl's army and his enemies at the same time, turning the battlefield into a graveyard. The narrator states that the warlord was left to eternally walk the Earth, unable to die or forget his horrible mistake. The narrator closes the curtain on this tale by stating that the monsters that were unleashed continue to plague mankind to this very day.

In present day Central America, Leonardo has been living there on an intensive training retreat all the while protecting a small village from the shakedown protection racket of a gang of bully soldiers lead by Colonel Santino. Under the guise of the Ghost of the Jungle (a myth invented by the townspeople about an unseen warrior who punishes those who prey on the weak), Leonardo ambushes the soldiers in the jungle and makes quick work of all of them, returning everything the soldiers extorted from the villagers. Meanwhile, April O'Neil visits that same village on a quest of her own when she is exploring the jungle and falls into an underground cave where she is greeted by Leo. She explains that she's on a mission for the import/export business she runs to recover a collection of 3,000-year-old statues for the tycoon that hired her. She and Leo catch up and she explains that the Turtles have grown apart since Leo departed. She does explain how they've been keeping busy all this time; Donatello is working as tech support over the phone, Michelangelo is carving out a worthwhile, but miserable, living as a party mascot for children's birthday parties dubbed "Cowabunga Carl", and Raphael just sleeps all day. However, unbeknownst to everybody, he secretly fights crime as the nocturnal vigilante known as the Nightwatcher. April explains that the time has come for Leo to return home now that his training period has been over for at least a year, but Leo is reluctant because he fears of not being able to return as the leader his brothers need him to be. April tells him that his brothers are lost without their brother and their leader and he vanishes as mysteriously as he arrived.

Back in New York City, Mikey has just returned home from a hard day's work, but is greeted only by empty air. When he turns on the TV to find a newsreport about the latest Nightwater sighting, he becomes nostalgic for his days as a warrior and a hero. That's when Donnie walks in and simply tells him to forget about those days and get on with his new work ethic. However, Raph doesn't waste time telling Donnie he is unmoved by his "has-been" talk, believing the Nightwater's work ethic is more worthwhile than what either of them have going on since it involves cleaning up criminal scum. That's when Donnie cites his and Mikey's actual contributions while all Raph does is sleep all day (he's only saying that because he doesn't know Raph and the Nightwatcher are one and the same). Tension spikes when Donnie denounces Raph's less-talk-more-action attitude and Master Splinter has to break up a quarrel when Raph makes his point about fear being the best leverage. When Raph leaves, Splinter explains that with the team disbanded and their brotherhood stale, their home has become nothing but a hollow shell of its former self. He's just barely managing to hold his family together while instructing the brothers to recognize each other's strengths and weaknesses, as that is the best way of restoring their family to what it once was.

The next morning, April has just returned to the city with one of the statues she was paid to retrieve. Unfortunately, she is held up by the absence of her boyfriend, Casey Jones, who was supposed to be there by now with the delivery truck. When she gets him on the phone and chastises him for his unreliable work ethic, he inquires about a message she left him about her chat with Leo. With a heavy heart, she informs him that he's not coming back to New York and tells him to get a move on unless they want to lose the biggest client they have.

April and Casey deliver their package to Winters Corp and are cordially greeted by industrialist, Max Winters, who hired her to retrieve the statue. Before departing, he allows her to take one last look at the artifact, revealing it to be the solidified body of the 4th of Yaotl's brethren, General Aguila. He cryptically explains that while these statues may appear to be only stone, they are like family to him. After April bids him farewell, he is greeted by Karai, the new leader of the Foot Clan he has hired to be his eyes and ears around the city, stating that he has some "friends" coming that he would like them to greet and bring to him.

Later that night, Raphael (under the guise of the Nightwatcher) intercepts a crook he busted the previous week and prepares to pummel him senseless when Casey arrives, looking to get in on the action. Smalltalk sparks between the two of them and Casey secretly reveals that he has known it's Raph under that helmet from the beginning, saying that the Nightwatcher looks no different from an iron-clad turtle. The two of them gift-wrap the crook for the police and vent their insecurities on one of the rooftops. Raph explains that he became the Nightwatcher because he felt like he couldn't just sit and wait for Leo, the "fearless hero" of the group, to swoop in and save the day while New York City is crawling with crime and villainy. He feels as though Leo abandoned his brothers and duties to the city when Splinter sent him away for training and hopes to never see him again. Casey tells him the best thing to do would be to find a way of working things out with Leo should he return. He then goes on to explain that his own insecurities stem from the thought of living a mundane life and settling down with April is in part why he continues his own vigilante career with Raph, because the thought of it makes him nostalgic for the glory days and he fears that he won't be able to return to April as the adult she needs him to be (Casey only succeeds in boring Raph to sleep at this point).

In the bowels of Winters Tower, Winters has all four Stone Generals together, and uses mysterious technologically advanced amulets to reanimate them. While he can't turn them back from stone, the amulets succeed in restoring their minds and mobility, awakening them from their 3,000-year slumber.

That night, Leo returns to New York City and presents himself before Master Splinter. He humbly apologizes for so-called failure, but Splinter presents him with a golden amulet, telling him that he has come back stronger than before. While he owes Splinter no apology, he suggests trying to rekindle things with Raphael and forbids him and the others from any surface activity until he can restore their team comradery. They share a hug and informs Raph, who has been eavesdropping on their reunion, of his brother's return. Raph's greeting is a snub and heads for bed while informing Donnie and Mikey of Leo's return. The two of them are ecstatic to see their brother after over a year.

Leo takes them to the rooftops for a training exercise. He reestablishes himself as the leader of the group, informing them that he promised Splinter he'd get their team back in shape while at the same time looking forward to ending the Nightwatcher's career one way or another. Raph disagrees with Leo's denouncing of the Nightwatcher, claiming that "he" was the only one left to pick up the slack while Leo was away. Just then, the four of them hear a loud, ominous roar coming from a high-rise construction site. Against Leo's wishes, the brothers charge off to investigate. They reach the site and momentarily enjoy the sight of a Foot Ninja battalion going toe-to-toe with Bigfoot, the first of the thirteen beasts. Looking to get in on the action, Raph leads Mikey and Donnie into a cutthroat duel with the monster, much to Leo chagrin for them deliberately disobeying his direct orders from Splinter. He tries to join in but is met with a chilly reception from Karai. When he fights her off, she orders her ninja to retreat, and as they do, Leo yells to her, asking who she's working for now that the Shredder's dead. When she disappears, Leo finally joins the battle without discovering any apparent weakness on the monster. The struggle leads to Leo, Donnie, and Mikey falling and crashing through the floors of the high-rise while Raph dives down to intercept them. On the ground floor, the beast has them stuck between a rock (it) and a hard place (a floor of steel rods) when rubble collapses on them, followed by the timely arrival of the Stone Generals. They easily apprehend the beast and disappear in a garbage truck as mysteriously as they arrived. The brothers dig themselves free from the rubble and flee the scene when they hear police approaching.

Back at Winters Tower, Karai gives Winters her status report, infuriated that when he hired them to patrol the city, he withheld information regarding monsters. Nonetheless, he expects Karai to uphold to the letter of their agreement and the generals present him with Bigfoot. With the first beast acquired, he teams the generals up with the Foot Clan to help them capture the remaining 12 of the immortal beasts in a timely manner.

Back in the lair, the brothers recover from last night's disastrous monster fight as well as the tension spiking from Leo's orders being belligerently ignored. When Splinter strolls by, the brothers simply act casual until he turns on the TV and sees the news report of the construction site incident. He summons them to his sanctum and chastises them for disobeying his direct orders and expresses his disappointment in Leo for allowing such recklessness to occur on his watch, because him being the team leader makes him responsible for his brothers' actions. He explains that he trusted Leo with the task of bringing order to the chaos of this family because they can't return to the surface to fight evil if they continue to be at war with each other. Raph, however, personally makes it his mission to find whoever is responsible for the monster sighting and leaves to meet up with Casey.

With the help of the Stone Generals, the Foot Clan roams the city searching for the thirteen monsters that Winters is looking for and apprehend them with ease. They succeed in capturing 9 of the other beasts, bringing their grand total to 10 out of 13.

While April practices her sword-fighting skills, Casey sneaks away to meet up with Raph on the roof and Raph tells him about the possibility of bigger problems on the horizon instead of criminals. That's when they see the Succubor soar past them and they follow it until it crashes to the ground below them. They witness Foot ninjas wrap up the monster as the generals arrive and Casey notices something oddly familiar about the walking statues when he knocks over a few rocks from the ledge they're standing on. The falling rocks alert the ninjas, who see them and shoot them with a barrage of tranquilizer darts, one of which strikes Raph. Looking to eliminate any witnesses, General Gato comes after them. Raph detonates a smoke pellet to cover their escape, but his efforts at putting distance between the two of them and the ferocious stone warrior prove difficult at best as the tranquilizer poison is slowly overwhelming Raph. Casey loses his signature mask to Gato and they find shelter in a maintenance shed, but Gato hears them and the boys are just barely able to keep him at bay long enough for police to arrive. That's when Raph finally passes out and Casey evacuates him back to his place. He and April take care of Raph until the brothers arrive.

April and Casey are overjoyed to see that Leo has returned when they arrive. When Donnie examines Raph, he finds the remaining half of a large stone glaive lodged in his carapace, one that was thrown at him by Gato. He takes a close look at it and recognizes its engravings as South American in origin and hands it to April. Casey informs her that the living statues that were gunning at him and Raph were the same statues April collected for Max Winters and to her shock, she recognizes this engraving as the signature of Yaotl, the mythological warlord from a story told around a campfire. She goes into detail, much like the mysterious narrator did at the start of the film, all the while a montage of Winters and his collection of historical self-portraits reveal his true identity as Yaotl, the exact same immortal warlord from the story, and the stone generals are his brethren he accidentally turned to stone in exchange for immortality all those years ago. April sticks to the belief that this is nothing more than a myth, but Donnie believes otherwise when he finds Winters Corp branding on the dart they pulled out of Raph's arm. Finally knowing who's behind all this madness, Raph demands where to find Winters and the generals, but Leo vetos anything of the sort until they report back to Splinter. Raph is infuriated that Leo thinks it's his place to be issuing orders after over a year abroad and Leo states that while he's open to whatever Raph has to say, he refuses to debate Splinter's direct orders with him. Not wanting to waste time dealing with Leo's adjustment period any longer, Raph outright quits the team to investigate Winters himself.

Raph, as the Nightwatcher, surveils Winters Tower while Winters is relaxing by his fireplace. Just then, Aguila walks in to report of two more creatures remaining to be captured and Winters is ready to close the book on this quest, promising Aguila that he will be free of the stone curse in due time. However, Aguila questions Winters' agenda, pointing out that breaking the curse would take away their immortality. Winters simply orders him to not question his command and he left standing suspicious at what this means for him and the other generals.

In the Lair, Donnie and April research celestial maps and estimate that the Stars of Keekan are due to align in the next 24 hours directly over Winters Tower, realizing that the 3,000-year legend is correct. This also means that the portal to the realm of monsters will open, allowing the monsters on the other side to roll straight onto Earth. And when they do, they're overrun the city within hours, the country within days, and the world within weeks. Out of nowhere Leo storms off, declaring that Raph is a liability. However, Splinter encourages him to make amends with him, stating that this team he's trying to restore to its former glory is incomplete, and Leo heads off to find him.

Later that night, Aguila meets up with the other generals who have just captured the 11th monster and informs them that Winters plans to break the curse. Seeing this as betrayal for their wish to preserve their immortality, they conspire against him by avoiding the capture of the 13th monster.

Meanwhile, Raph continues his evening patrol when he intercepts a police scanner calling in a silent police summons at a nearby diner and he charges off to investigate. He arrives and finds the culprit is none other than the 12th monster, the Jersey Devil. The monster proves itself to be a surprisingly formidable opponent, but it's no match for Raph's witty use of smoke pellets. After Raph's frustratingly vain attempts to convince the diner manager that the Nightwatcher's on the side of the angels, he is intercepted by Leo and a chase ensues. They jump from rooftop to rooftop as rain starts pouring down until Leo has the Nightwatcher cornered at a dead-end rooftop. Leo give him a full-on lecture about how he disapproves of the Nightwatcher's work ethic and gives him one chance to walk away and renounce his vigilante ways. Knowing that Leo doesn't know Raph is the Nightwatcher, Raph takes this as an opportunity to challenge Leo to a long-awaited duel. Leo mocks his opponent to no end while the Nightwatcher proves no match for him and the battle ends when an uppercut from Leo knocks off the Nightwatcher's helmet, revealing to Leo's horror that it's Raph under that helmet. Now that the cat's out of the bag, Raph finally vents his pent-up rage by totally denouncing Leo's supposed sense of superiority after being gone for so long. Leo in turn denounces Raph's methods of pursuing justice in his absence as recklessly endangering the safety of their family. The boys continue to chastise each other until their anger reaches a boiling point and an all-out duel ensues. When they reach an impasse, Raph snaps both of Leo's katana apart with his sais and Raph comes out the winner with Leo pinned to the ground. Realizing how close he came to running his weapon through his own brother, Raph sees just how dangerous he is when he lets his anger get the better of him and he runs away in shame. Leo is left standing crestfallen at what just transpired when he is hit with a poison dart and ambushed by the Foot and the Generals. He tries to fight back but is weakened to the point of paralysis by the poison. The Generals take a closer look and see that he's no human, much less the final monster, but nonetheless decide that he will be an excellent part of their master plan. Hearing Leo's scream in pain from being further poisoned to the point of unconsciousness, Raphael rushes back to help his brother, but by the time he catches up with them, they've already gotten away with Leo.

Raph furiously returns to the lair and goes to Splinter for advice, much like Leo did earlier. Raph takes full responsibility for his horrible mistake and admits to his master he now sees why Leo is the "better son" and why Raph was never cut out to be a leader. However, Splinter tells Raph that the problem was that he has always been too hard on himself, always baring the weight of the world's problems on his shoulders. As admirable as he is for wanting to be a protector of those who cannot protect themselves, he needs to understand that while he may not be Splinter's favorite student at times, that doesn't make him Splinter's least favorite son. He goes on to say that Raphael is "strong, passionate, and loyal to a fault" which are qualities of a great leader as well, but only when they are tempered with compassion and humility. As flattering as Splinter's words are, Raph presents him with the full extent of his mistake in the form of Leo's broken katana handles, revealing that he's been taken. Splinter decides that the time to hide is over, and they must return to the surface to finish what they started. With the rest of the gang back together, Raph declares that they're going to race to rescue Leo save New York City.

As the gateway prepares to open, the top of Winters Tower opens up and the pentagram containing the monster cages prepares for the alignment of the Stars of Keekan. Leo is inside one of those cages, revealing that the generals plan to substitute him for the 13th monster and by the time Winters discovers the truth, it will be too late.

April and Casey suit up and prepare to face Armageddon. April gives Casey a new and improved version of the mask he lost to Gato and they're ready to rock. However, Karai prepares as well by acting as security detail for Winters Plaza. Thankfully, Casey is able to distract her long enough for the gang to hop the fence.

The Stars of Keekan finally align and Winters appears before the portal's opening, clad in the same armor he was wearing when it opened the last time. However, when he prepares for the moment he's been awaiting these last 3 millennia, he notices one of the cages shorting out and recognizes the Generals' treachery. That's when Aguila explains that they're taking over Winters's plan so they can preserve their immortality. Winters tries to convince him that immortality is more of a curse than a blessing and it's worth breaking it if it means undoing the damage that was done all those years ago. But Aguila refuses to hear any of it, declaring that if Winters's time is coming to an end, the age of the Generals is just beginning.

The Turtles, Splinter, April, and Casey breach the inner perimeter of Winters Plaza and fight their way through the Foot Ninja cordon guarding the stronghold. When they reach the tower, they seal off the ninja's access when Casey deliberately activates the security system, sealing the front door. When they reach the pentagram, they find the cage containing Leo and spring him. He recovers just fine and Raph gives him a new pair of katana blades, telling him that they'll be needed if he's going to lead them to victory. Leo responds by saying he's going to need Raph and the team as well. With that, the team's comradery is finally restored.

Just then, Winters comes crashing down at their feet. They think him dead at first, only for him to prove his immortality by springing to life. When he comes to and is beset by April, Casey, Splinter and the Turtles, April, believing Winters is the villain, tells him that it's high time they send all the monsters back to where they came from. However, Winters reveals his true intentions are all about penance - to send the thirteen monsters back from whence they came to redeem himself and his generals of the atrocities they've done to the world. More importantly, returning the monsters to their homeland is his one chance to break the immortality enchantment upon him, or else it will continue for another 3 millennia, which to him is a torment he can no longer bare. The Generals show up and reveal their true plans to not only preserve their wish for immortality, but also use the portal to bring out a new army of monsters so that they can finish their conquest of the world. Aguila demands the Foot Clan's allegiance to them, but Karai states that they are honor-bound to work for Winters, which means Karai and the Foot will work with April and Casey to find the thirteenth monster and return it to the portal before it's too late. Finally reunited as a real team for the first time in forever, the Turtles challenge the Generals to a final showdown. While they're kept occupied, Splinter and Winters throw back any new monsters that come through the portal. Meanwhile, April and Casey find the thirteenth monster, the sea monster, and race back to the tower in the Party Wagon with it in hot pursuit. With time running out, the turtles force the generals into the portal hoping to defeat them for good. However, they rise right back out. Aguila explains that as long as they are made of stone with the curse still in effect, there is no way of defeating them. That's when April and Casey burst into the tower with monster. They get out of the portal's path at the last minute while the generals are dragged into the portal along with the monster. With the last monster added to the portal just in time, the generals disintegrate as they're flesh and blood is restored and they are sucked up into the portal as it finally closes, ending their threat and restoring balance to the city once and for all.

The turtles cheer in victory and April and Casey share a victory kiss. Karai and the Foot part ways with the Turtles, saying they're every bit of warriors as she was led to believe. She advises them to savor their victory, saying that in the near future, they will have further business together that involves familiar faces from their past. The Turtles realize that can only mean one thing and she disappears in a puff of smoke. Leo thanks April for helping him find his way home and the gang notices Winters overjoyed at the events that just transpired. Donnie says that it's because his mortality has finally been restored. Winters explains that he's had his eye on April for a long time, secretly knowing that she would be the one to help him find his way home. He also gives his thanks to the Turtles for "making a very old man very, very happy." With that, he disintegrates into golden sparkles, finally ascending to the afterlife as the sun rises.

Back in the sewer lair, Splinter puts Winters' helmet on the trophy shelf in honor of Winters' redemption. Raph asks, "You got room for one more?" and hangs up the mantle of the Nightwatcher by adding his helmet to the collection. Michelangelo then asks if he can put his Cowabunga Carl mascot head there too, looking for any excuse to get rid of it.

The Turtles end the film with a rooftop parkour run in the dead of night all the while Raph narrates his own triumphant muse:

"We live together, we train together, we fight together, we stand for good, together. We are ninjas. We strike hard, defend, protect and fade into the night. And there ain't no bad guy or monster gonna ever change that. That's what's important. That's why we'll always be...brothers.

The movie cuts to black once for all with Raph triumphantly unsheathing his sais to the audience when making a longjump and closing the curtain with one last utter of their catchphrase:

"Oh, I love bein' a turtle!"

Cast[]

Actor Role
Nolan North Raphael/Nightwatcher
James Arnold Taylor Leonardo
Patrick Stewart Max Winters
Chris Evans Casey Jones
Mikey Kelley Michelangelo
Mitchell Whitfield Donatello
Mako Iwamatsu / Greg Baldwin Splinter
Sarah Michelle Gellar April O'Neil
Laurence Fishburne Narrator
Zhang Ziyi Karai
John DiMaggio Colonel Santino
Paula Mattioli General Serpiente
Kevin Michael Richardson General Aguila
Fred Tatasciore General Gato
Kevin Smith Diner Cook

Additional voices provided by Dee Bradley Baker, Jeff Bennett, Jim Cummings, Grey DeLisle, Chris Edgerly, Kim Mai Guest, Tom Kenny, Tress MacNeille, Jennifer Hale, Jess Harnell, Rob Paulsen, Phil LaMarr, Paul Michael Robinson, Tara Strong, and Billy West.

Production[]

The first of three films released in the TMNT franchise by New Line Cinema 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.[3]

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.[4] 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.[5] 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.[5] Golden Harvest's rights expired, and Gray, at an animation company, said the question arose there over a CGI TMNT film in 2004.[5]

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.[5] 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!"[6] Munroe said that in design and in the rendering of the animation, he was after the feel of a comic book.[5] Development and pre-production for TMNT began in June 2005[7] 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.[7]

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."[8] 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".[8] 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.[9] A dedication to Mako appears at the end of the film's credits.[10] 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.

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Promotion[]

The first teaser-poster featured the logo of the 2003 TV series, 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.[11] 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. 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, another film by Warner Bros.. It was 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 2003 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 was 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.

Marketing and tie-ins[]

At the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con, the TMNT panel screened an exclusive preview that contained a Splinter voice-over with facial tests, concept art, muscle and dynamic fight tests, and a few comedic scenes.[11] A sneak peek booklet containing storyboards, environment designs and character designs by comic artist Jeff Matsuda was also distributed at the convention.[12] Several tie-in products were released in 2007. The McDonald's fast-food chain had the film-based toys to collect with the purchase of a Happy Meal.[13] A series of action figures based in the film's characters was released by Playmates Toys.[14] A novelization, adapted from Monre's screenplay by Steve Murphy, was published by Simon Spotlight.[15] A five-issue prequel comic miniseries was published by Mirage Studios.[16]

Video game[]

  • TMNT is the video game version of the 2007 CGI movie. It was released three days before the actual movie's release.[17] Ubisoft secured the rights and released the games on March 20. Ubisoft won the rights from Konami, who had produced all the previous games.[18] The game is available for PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PC, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, GameCube, Wii, and Xbox 360 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 Time. There is no multi-player mode in the GBA version. "The TMNT movie is all about the emotions associated with family and teenage angst," said Nick Harper, the game's creative director. "We've taken that philosophy and turned it into gameplay mechanics that will be fun and challenging.[19] The game features collaborative team-ups between the Turtles. The game also features single-player campaigns for the brothers.
  • TMNT: Power of 4 is the mobile game version of the 2007 CGI movie. It was produced by uclick and developed by Overloaded.
  • In addition, characters from the film are available in Ubisoft's 2009 Wii and PlayStation 2 fighting game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash-Up,[20] while artworks from the film are available in this game as unlockable content.[21]

Release[]

The film was originally set for release domestically (USA and Canada) on March 30, 2007, which would have been the 17th anniversary of the release of the first TMNT film. The March 30 date was advertised in the teaser trailer[22] and early posters, but the release was moved up to March 23. A home media edition of TMNT was released on August 7, 2007, for the DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray.[23] In 2009, a box set with all four TMNT films was released to celebrate the franchise's 25th anniversary.[24] The DVD release contains several Special Features, including commentary on the feature by writer/director Kevin Munroe; an alternate opening and an alternate ending to the film; and interviews with some of the featured voice talent as well as the filmmakers.

Soundtrack[]

The licensed soundtrack Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Music from the Motion Picture was released by Atlantic Records in 2007.[25]

Reception[]

The film received mixed reception from critics but performed well commercially at the box office, making almost three times the production cost.

TMNT ranked number one at the box office on its opening weekend, beating out 300 (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.[20]

Critical response[]

SuperHeroHype.com posted a review 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.

Mainstream critics were less impressed with the film, resulting in mixed to negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 33% based on 113 reviews, with selected top critics giving it an even lower score of 18% based on 22 reviews.[26] 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." In contrast, users of RottenTomatoes.com rated the movie with a "Fresh" score of 63% as of June 15, 2010.[27]

Box office[]

TMNT ranked number one at the box office on its opening weekend, beating out 300 (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.[28]

Home media[]

TMNT was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on August 7, 2007, for DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray Disc.[29][30][31]

Languages[]

  1. English
  2. French
  3. Spanish

Bonus content[]

The DVD contains the following bonus features:[32]

  1. Commentary by Kevin Munroe
  2. Alternate opening, with Splinter telling the backstory and alternate ending with April O'Neil and Casey Jones
  3. Deleted scene: Michelangelo sneaking food to Splinter
  4. Side-by-side comparison of storyboards and CGI action
  5. Interview with voice actors Patrick Stewart, Sarah Michelle Gellar

In 2009, a tetralogy with all four TMNT films was released to celebrate the 25th anniversary. It is also available on Blu-ray.

Critical response[]

TMNT received mostly mixed to negative reviews from film critics. The film has a 34% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 117 reviews with an average rating of 5/10, and the consensus being "TMNT's art direction is splendid, but the plot is non-existent and the dialogue lacks the irony and goofy wit of the earlier TMNT movies."[33] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score from film critics, calculated an average rating score of 41 out of 100 based on 21 reviews.[34]

Claudia Puig of USA Today gave a negative review, stating that the film "is trying for a new image. But it takes more than an awkward title attempting to sound cool to overcome its mundane plot and silly dialogue."[35] Michael Ordona of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "despite the doll-like cartoonishness of the human figures, the filmmakers seem to expect us to take this animated romp seriously. Too seriously."[36] Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe called the film "a junk-food pastry. The plot is the wrapper. The action is the oily sponge cake. And the message - family, family, family - is the processed cream filling."[37]

Conversely, Todd Gilchrist of IGN gave the film a positive review, calling it "a fun, action-filled adventure that will satisfy longtime fans and generate a legion of new ones, whether it be by virtue of simple storytelling, solid CGI, choreographed action, or just the spirit and energy that only the Turtles can create."[38] Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post felt that the film "is technically superb and quite enjoyable as long as you don't bang your head against the plot, which will cause hot flashes, premature aging and fallen arches."[39] According to Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the film is "not so dark or scary as to keep most kids away" and it "has a cool, noirish sheen. There's an attention to detail in the visuals and sound design that pushes it up several notches above most kiddie fare."[40]

Award Category Winner/nominee Result
2008 Annie Awards[41] Storyboarding in a Feature Production Sean Song nom

Trivia[]

  • In the scene where Splinter is storing Winter's elm, Raphael's Nightwatcher helmet and Michelangelo's Cowabunga Carl Head at the end of the film we can see homages to the other films, as well as the Mirage comics. The "shrine" in Splinter's room holds the TGRI canister, first movie Shredder's helmet and staff, a live-action movies' Foot Ninja mask, the Time Scepter from the third movie, Walker's hat, a helmet and mask that the Turtles wore in the third movie, and finally Lord Norinaga's armor and helmet, Mouser parts, a Triceraton space helmet, Master Splinter's robe from the first three movies.
  • TMNT was the fourth film in the series to be released in March.
  • The whole original script for the movie can be found here.
  • 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.
  • One of the names for the film in pre-production was "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Immortal".
    Immortal
  • During Raphael's finishing lines, the phrase "We strike hard and fade away into the night" was used. That was also the ending line in the first TMNT comic. Also, the very last line, "I love bein' a turtle!" has been said in the live-action movies and 2003 series opening up till season 4.
  • In several parts in the movie, it has been shown that Raphael is left-handed. During the "Breakfast scene", Raphael is fully seen eating his cereal with his left hand.
  • While Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello all have brown eyes, Michelangelo has blue eyes. According to the film's director, this was done to make Michelangelo seem a bit more innocent and younger than the other turtles.
    • It should be noted that Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello all have a different shade of brown eyes. Leonardo has a golden-amber color, Raphael has a dark hazelnut color, and Donatello has a chocolate brown color.
  • The first entirely animated Ninja Turtles movie. Also being the first CGI movie in the series.
  • According to Kevin Munroe, he has stated that they are in the 18–19 years old range.
  • This was Mako's last film. He was announced as the voice of Splinter at San Diego Comic Con the day before he died. Fortunately, he had finished the majority of his acting. This film is dedicated to him.
  • Some of the thirteen monsters are based on actual 'monsters' from a popular myth - the first one that appears in the unfinished building is based on the Yeti, the next one to be captured is obviously the Cyclops, the one that eats a pigeon on a building is clearly modeled on gargoyles, and the one in the diner brings to mind the Jersey Devil.
  • The "other dimension" from where the thirteen monsters originated is likely either a reference to or meant to be Dimension X from the 1980s cartoon.
  • Even though Karai made an appearance in the movie and was known by the Turtles, she was never introduced into the movie universe and was probably put in to have more elements from the 2003 TV show in the movie.
  • The lyrics of the beginning of the song "Shell Shock" by Gym Class Heroes in the ending credits make a reference to Bebop and Rocksteady - "Skidilly beat bop we rock, Steady over kicks and snares".
  • Released in 2007, TMNT was the first major feature from Imagi. It was also the latest incarnation of the Turtles on the big screen, after a fourth live-action film failed to get off the ground in 1994 and 2001.
  • Munroe already had the blueprints in place for future films. TMNT 2 would have loosely adapted the Turtles’ 13-part comic book saga City At War: Michelangelo feels like the “odd man out” among his brothers, not being taken seriously. With the best of intentions, the character runs away and joins the Foot Clan, donning a black bandana. Meanwhile, the Turtles travel to Japan and cross paths with Karai in an adventure resulting in the return of their arch nemesis, Shredder. (Fans hoping for the return of Bebop and Rocksteady would have been out of luck. As with the ’90s live-action movies, the legal rights to use Shredder’s most famous minions were not part of the package.) TMNT 3 would have featured the Triceratons as well as the Technodrome’s arrival from Dimension X, with Donatello being a catalyst for these events. “To me, that would have been the great third part to that trilogy,” says Munroe. “The first movie is about family and reclaiming the city. The second movie is about the boys growing up, losing Splinter and then inheriting their father’s war. And the third movie opens up their world on a level no one would have seen in a Ninja Turtles movie before.”
  • Many design elements were carried over to Back to the Sewer.
  • This movie is considered to be a continuation of the story arc from the original movie trilogy and The Next Mutation. If you observe closely enough, you see Shredder's helmet (relating to the 1st TMNT film), the TCGI Canister (relating to the 2nd TMNT film), and a time scepter staff (relating to the 3rd TMNT film),
  • A poster of the film is featured within the IDW Ninja Turtle's Lair in the alternative cover for TMNT #102.
  • According to James Arnold Taylor, established voice artists already recorded some of the character including April O'Neil, Casey Jones, and Winters before the Weinstein Company became involved with the film and replaced them with celebrities.[42]

Quotes[]

Leonardo: How bad can be? Donnie's got probably got everything under control.
Donatello: Sir! Sir! Sir! Did you turn the computer on? Have you plugging it in? Yeah, that would help. NO I am not playing hard to get! I'm telling you sir, it's not that kind of phone line! I am not your enemy. I'm just Donnie your friendly IT tech support here to help you 24 hours a day sir... I'm sorry, ma'am.
Leonardo: Donnie's a genius. Why would he take a job like that?
April: At least he's keeping busy.
Leonardo: Well, if he's doing that, who's keeping an eye on Mikey?
April: Mike's gotten into the entertainment business.
Michelangelo: Happy birthday from Cowabunga Carl!
April: He's a big hit.
Leonardo: All right. Let's hear it. What's Raph been doing?
April: No one knows. He just sleeps all day.
Leonardo: Well what does he do all night?


[Casey quickly looks around, and picks up the alarm clock and starts bashing it on the coffee table.]
Casey Jones: It-it's broken.


Raphael: Spoken like a true has-been.
Donatello: Well, look who woke up. I suppose you think Nightwatcher is some kind of hero.
Raphael: Beats sitting around doing nothing while dirtbags run free.


Casey Jones: You think you own these rooftops? I happen to think you could use my help. And I could use a sidekick. You may have everyone else fooled, but you haven't fooled me, Raph.
"Nightwatcher": Yeah, well guess what pal... Hey, wait a minute...
["Nightwatcher" removes his helmet, revealing Raphael in the costume.]
Raphael: How'd you know it was me?
Casey Jones: It wasn't that hard, man. You look like a big, metal turtle.
Raphael: It's that obvious, huh?


Raphael: The criminal element in this city is guilty of a lot of things, but bein' quitters ain't one of 'em.


Michelangelo: Did anyone get the license plate of that thing that hit us last night? It looked like your mom dude!
Donatello: Yeah. That would make her your mom too, doofus.


Michelangelo: Leo! Is that really you? I'm dreaming, aren't I?
[Gives him a big hug.]
Leonardo: No, Mikey. You're not dreaming.
Michelangelo: Good. I had nightmares about birthday parties.


Michelangelo: I heard his [Nightwatcher's] bike, turns into a plane, or like, a jet pack. Don, you're so smart, how come we don't have jet packs?
Donatello: Yeah, that's good Mikey, except I don't even trust you with a drivers license. Have you seen the way this guy is--
[Donatello is interrupted by a roar coming from a construction site.]'


Leonardo: Alright, but remember, we're only up here for training.
Michelangelo: Y'know what I always say: Train by doing, dude.
Donatello: Mikey, when have you ever said that?


Splinter: Cody is going to break up with Donna. I just know it.
Announcer: We interrupt The Gilmore Girls for this important news bulletin.
News caster: Monsters in New York City. Are they real? A family of tourists were eye-witnesses to a major scuffle at a construction area late last night.
Splinter: BOYS!!!


Michelangelo: My compliments to ze chef!  [belches]  Anyone for desert?
Other Turtles: No!
Splinter: Yes!


[Raphael has just been revealed to a shocked Leonardo as the Nightwatcher]
Raphael: You are so smug, y'know that? You think the world revolves around you, don't you? That we couldn't possibly survive without the mighty and powerful Leonardo to guide us through our problems, huh?! Well I've got a news flash for ya: We got along just fine without you!
Leonardo: And this qualifies as "just fine"?! Dressing up like it's Halloween every night, risking the safety of our family?! I mean come on, what were you thinking?!
Raphael: Don't push it Leo! You can't leave home and come back expecting us to fall in line again, like your little soldiers!
Leonardo: Hey, I was training! Training to be a better leader! For you! Why do you hate me for that?!
Raphael: Whoever said I wanted to be led?! I'm better off calling my own shots, now get used to it.
Leonardo: You aren't ready! You're impatient, and hot tempered, and more importantly... I'm better than you.
[Raphael laughs coldly]
Raphael: Oh, y'know something, big brother? I have to disagree with you on that one.
[Raphael makes a "Come get some" motion with his sai.]
Leonardo: Don't do this, Raph.
Raphael: I'm done taking orders.


Donatello: That would be the swirling vortex to another world, I assume.
Michelangelo: Cool. I want one.


[Raphael hands Leonardo new katana blades to replace the broken ones.]
Raphael: You're going to need these, if you're going to lead us out of here.
Leonardo: I'm going to need you, too.


[The stone Generals have just thrown Winters across the lobby of the Winterscorp building.]
April O'Neil: Winters.
Michelangelo: Looks more like fall, get it?
Donatello: Mikey, remember our talk.


General Aquila: You fight well. You should join us.
Raphael: No, thanks. I'm good.


Leonardo: They better hurry up with the last monster!
Raphael: You know my man Casey's got it all under control!
Leonardo: That's what I'm afraid of.


(while April is driving)
Casey: Can't this piece of junk go any faster?!
April: You wanna drive?!
Casey: I would as a matter of fact!
Karai: You would think they would be more concerned about the thirteenth monster.
[Foot Ninja silently nods in agreement.]


[Winters has just vaporized, due to the curse being broken. Golden particles fall to the floor.]
Michelangelo: Okay, just a little creepy. AACHOO! Oh, gross! I think he's in my no- my no-CHOO! Aw, gross. Somebody give me a hankie!
[Michelangelo makes gagging noises.]
Michelangelo: Now he's in my mouth.
[More gagging noises.]
Michelangelo: Tastes awful!


Leonardo: Well, at least his personality is still intact. [About Raphael.]


Gallery[]

Transcript[]

References[]

  1. Peter Laird's TMNT blog: Blast from the Past #654: April 1, 2005: Re: first pass and 2 other things. Peterlairdstmntblog.blogspot.com (2013-06-28). Retrieved on August 5, 2013.
  2. Director Kevin Munroe revisits Imagi’s TMNT franchise. http://animatedviews.com/+(2014-09-19).+Retrieved on September 19, 2014.
  3. Brian Linder (2001-06-30). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Real Deal. IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved on March 11, 2007.
  4. Anthony Breznican (2006-12-20). Slow to return, teen Turtles are back!. USA Today. Retrieved on March 21, 2007.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Heather Newgen (2007-01-25). TMNT Studio Visit!. Super Hero Hype. Retrieved on March 21, 2007.
  6. Martin A. Grove (2007-03-20). Turtles live again in CGI spinoff TMNT. Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 26, 2007. Retrieved on March 25, 2007.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Imagi Media Kit (PDF). Imagi.com.hk. Retrieved on March 21, 2007. Template:Dead link
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  9. More Sign Up for "Ninja Turtles". WorstPreviews (2006-12-22). Retrieved on December 30, 2006.
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  11. 11.0 11.1 Omar Aviles (2006-07-25). CON: WB Animation. Joblo. Retrieved on March 24, 2007.
  12. TMNT Sneak Peek #1. Searchlightcomics.com (2013-01-07). Retrieved on August 5, 2013.
  13. Mcdonalds Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leonardo Toy 2007: Toys. Amazon.com (2013-02-19). Retrieved on August 5, 2013.
  14. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Playmates Toys. Archived from the original on December 29, 2008. Retrieved on February 1, 2013.
  15. TMNT Movie Novelization by Kevin Munroe (Screenwriter), Steve Murphy (Adapted by) - New, Rare & Used Books Online at Alibris Marketplace. Alibris.com (2007-03-30). Retrieved on August 5, 2013.
  16. TMNT Movie Prequel (Mirage comic book) - 5 issues. Comicvine.com (2007-03-01). Retrieved on August 5, 2013.
  17. Li C. Kuo (2006-12-20). First Details on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. GameSpy. Retrieved on December 29, 2006.
  18. Brendan Sinclair (2007-01-11). Ubisoft gets turtle power. GameSpot. Retrieved on January 11, 2007.
  19. Brendan Sinclair (2006-12-26). Ubisoft's Ninja Turtles emerge from the shadows. GameSpot. Retrieved on December 29, 2006.
  20. Ubisoft. Official Site | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up™ | Ubisoft. Tmntgame.us.ubi.com. Retrieved on August 5, 2013.
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  25. iTunes - Music - TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Music from the Motion Picture by Various Artists. Itunes.apple.com (2007-03-13). Retrieved on August 5, 2013.
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  27. TMNT - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes
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  31. http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents
  32. DVD Empire - Item - TMNT / DVD-Video
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  34. TMNT. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved on September 4, 2012.
  35. Puig, Claudia (March 23, 2007). 'Turtle' chortle, 'Mimzy' whimsy. USA Today. Retrieved on September 4, 2012.
  36. Ordona, Michael (March 23, 2007). Ninja Turtles get seriously animated. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on September 4, 2012.
  37. Morris, Wesley (March 23, 2007). 'TMNT' has style, lacks substance. The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Retrieved on September 4, 2012.
  38. Gilchrist, Todd. TMNT. IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved on April 26, 2012.
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  40. Rea, Steven (March 23, 2007). Turtles, a little soft in the shell, get back in the soup. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved on September 4, 2012.
  41. 35th Annie Awards. Archived from the original on August 15, 2010. Retrieved on April 26, 2012.
  42. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0453556/trivia/

External links[]

  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Films [view]
Theatrical releases

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)  · The Secret of the Ooze  · Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III  · TMNT  · Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)  · Out of the Shadows  · Mutant Mayhem


Direct-to-video
Coming Out of Their Shells  · Operation Blue Line  · We Wish You a Turtle Christmas  · Turtle Tunes  · Turtles Forever  · Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  · Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie  · Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  · 35 Days of Kevin Eastman  · The Making of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Behind the Shells

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