TMNT: One Year Later

March 23rd, 2007 was a big day for Ninja Turtles fans and animation enthusiasts, as TMNT was released to theaters in North America and elsewhere around the world. It was the very first feature-length film from Imagi Animation Studios, who are, of course, set to bring AstroBoy to cinemas in 2009. I am a HUGE fan of the Turtles, and have been since I first became aware of their existence, so I was definitely looking forward to this movie when it was announced. Not only did I enjoy the film immensely for what it was when I saw it on its release date, I also saw it as an important step towards the future of animated film making, which is where our boy Astro comes in.


Not only does TMNT look spectacular, with its use of colors, textures, and lighting, but if one takes into account how the budget of this film is a meager fraction of a comparable animated movie from a company like Pixar, then Imagi's achievements with this movie are even more incredible. The aspect of the film that I thought was best realized was the attention paid to the backgrounds. The scenery itself had a very lived-in feeling and truly captured what I would expect the TMNT universe to look like. Obviously there are some talented artists and animators working at Imagi, and they clearly know how to construct a world that contains unbelievable characters and situations in a believable and visually appealing setting.


I understand that there are people who didn't like the film, and I can understand that. Perhaps the script could have perhaps benefited from another round of polishing. But some fans were just disappointed that it did not live up to what they perceive the Turtles should be like, and the mainstream movie reviews criticized the film for all sorts of contradicting reasons that made little sense to me. The movie had to appeal to long time fans, along with those who simply have fond memories of the 80's cartoon, plus the current generation of children as well as their parents. This must have been a difficult balance to reach and I doubt there would be any way to win over everyone. Clearly the movie isn't perfect and there are flaws no matter what your position is, but when it's all said and done, I say that you just have to sit back and ask yourself if you were entertained or not. I know I was!


But beyond just being entertained or having my personal fandom satisfied, I saw this movie as being more than just a new movie staring the Ninja Turtles. I see animation as a medium with unlimited potential to tell all sorts of different kinds of stories for multiple audiences. And yet over the past few years, audiences have been fed an overabundance of generic CG animated films, most of which feature the same generic plots and annoying character archetypes. TMNT does not fit into that mold. It is, essentially, an action movie that just so happens to be animated. To me, TMNT represents the first step towards a more widely accepted variety of animated films released to the mainstream. The world needs more creative animated movies that take chances and go against the popular perception of what animation should be. It's going to take awhile longer before we get there, but I can think of no better characters than the Ninja Turtles, who have a built-in fanbase that spans multiple age groups, to lead the way. A movie like AstroBoy, itself based on a beloved franchise, is a logical extension of this ideal.


As a fan of animated films and classic anime characters, it makes me happy to know that the AstroBoy movie is being handled by Imagi, who did an amazing job in capturing the spirit of the Ninja Turtles. AstroBoy is a story that is not only historically important, but also has a unique spirit of its own to be captured as well. Time will tell if the AstroBoy movie will live up to the legacy of the title character, but judging from TMNT, I am more than willing to give Imagi the benefit of the doubt.

And while I'm looking forward to AstroBoy, I'll also be hoping for another Turtles movie!

Sayonara.