Product Description

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles return in an all-new CGI action adventure, written and directed by Kevin Munroe. After the defeat of their old arch nemesis, The Shredder, the Turtles have grown apart as a family. Struggling to keep them together, their rat sensei, Splinter (Mako), becomes worried when strange things begin to brew in New York City. Tech-industrialist Maximillian J. Winters (Patrick Stewart) is raising up an army of ancient monsters, and only one super-ninja fighting team can stop them-- Leonardo (James Arnold Taylor), Michelangelo (Mikey Kelley), Donatello (Mitchell Whitfield) and Raphael (Nolan North)! With the help of old allies April O'Neil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Casey Jones (Chris Evans), the Turtles are in for the fight of their lives as they once again must face the mysterious Foot Clan, who have put their own ninja skills behind Winters' endeavors.

DVD Features:
Alternate endings
Audio Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Interviews
Storyboards

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13275 in DVD
• Brand: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2007-08-07
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 87 minutes

Amazon.com
From a visual standpoint, this CG feature starring the venerable '80s and '90s superheroes the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is nothing short of slam-bang; the computer animation has a scope and look that transcends both the original comics and animated series and the three live-action features that preceded it. Writer/director Kevin Munroe creates a striking animated world for the four heroes in a half-shell to live, play, and fight in, and the action sequences are occasionally breathtaking in their speed and complexity. But where TMNT stumbles is its bland plot, which picks up after the last of the live-action features with all four teen turtles in disarray, and abandons longtime villain Shredder in favor of an industrialist (well voiced by Patrick Stewart) who recruits the Foot Clan (including Karai, played by Zhang Ziyi) to revive thirteen ancient monsters to aid in his world domination scheme. It's a simple and fun story for kids, but longtime Turtles fans will miss the wry humor and smart sense of irony of the original comics (created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, who gets an executive producer credit here) in this storyline. Still, for most adolescent audience members, such concerns won't matter a whit in the face of the abundant action. --Paul Gaita

On the DVD
The supplemental features on TMNT are a decidedly mixed bag: Viewers are offered a great deal of extras, but all run far too short to prove particularly useful to serious Turtle fans. The deleted and extended scenes will undoubtedly be the chief feature of interest, but the alternate opening and ending, as well as several other clips are presented only in early test form ("Roof Top Workout" is presented in storyboard form and then in pre-visualized form). Also, one cannot view the deleted/extended scenes without hearing commentary by director Kevin Munroe (who also provides an informative if somewhat dry feature-length commentary track). Having said that, some of these scenes (most notably "Splinter Gets Cake") do stand on their own, and might have helped to enliven the theatrical version of the finished film. Also included is a brief featurette comprised of interviews with the voice talent cast, and "Donny's Digital Data Files" explores the CGI design for the characters and their environment; again, their brief running times (the info-heavy "Donny" clocks in at less than two minutes) will render them somewhat extraneous to hardcore Turtles devotees. The Internet Reel is a promotional collection of clips from the film, while trailers for several other kid-friendly Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera films and DVD collections (Fred Claus, The Last Mimzy, Birdman and The Galaxy Trio) round out the sorta-special features. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews

Both old & new school....Great, gorgeous & clever ..." I do hope there's more of them..."
The Turtles triumphant return to the big screen. This time round its computer generated, which adds substantially to the emotional range of the characters. The art directors hedged their bets by stylizing the human designs rather than the risky attempt to do any ultra-realistic representation. But, the turtles are animated to gorgeous mutant perfection, as you'd expect. This allows for the terrific dynamic between the brothers, especially the expressiveness necessary to convey some of the more charged moments between Leonardo, just returned from South American soul-searching and brother Raphael chafing at the need to follow any orders. The siblings deal with these issues in a way that none of the other incarnations of character have taken on, the series has grown up with it's audience, those of us who were fans of the original books, movies and TV shows. It will still appeal to its new generation of Turtle fans, but it is surely the most clever and best written of any non-comic version. While the film still combines elements of the currently running comic book series with the original film series and the currently running Saturday morning fare. Don't worry, it combines the best elements...really. Throw-backs include some sewer skatin', Splinter joinin' the fray and a "I love bein' a turtle" closer. Not to mention a timely soundtrack, like a particularly effective use of a cover of "Black Betty" during Raphael's scuffle with the Jersey Devil appropriately enough in Kevin Smith's kitchen.

The voice talent is particularly notable in TMNT: Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar is an excellent April, Patrick Stewart is a perfect mult-millenium-aged warrior-king, the venerable Mako (Aku of SAMURAI JACK & that wizard in CONAN) is a natural for Master Splinter, cameos from Kevin Smith a.k.a Silent Bob (as a cook), Laurence Fishburne of the Matrix narrates, also, Ziyi Zhang, Chris Evans (as Casey Jones) and others.

The story is pretty good, if maybe complex: The Turtles have gone their separate ways, Leo off to become a better leader, Raphael embarks on a solo vigilante career in the absence of a team, Mikey does kid's parties as a Turtle-headed Cowabunga Carl, while Donny, of course, is a phone-bound tech-support. No back-story or origin of the turtles is needed nor is it supplied, we are thrown right in with a Lord of the Rings style set-up of a warrior who opens a gateway to immortality, but in doing so, releases 13 monsters upon the world and when our story begins in the present, 3000 years later, the time has come to make things right, with the help of the recently reunited Turtles, the FOOT Clan (lead by Korai, the Shredder's adopted daughter and sole heir, although this isn't referenced in the film) and some living stone warriors from the old days. The team ultimately work out their interpersonal issues and team-up for the epic climax including Casey & April.

Great, gorgeous and clever " I do hope there's more of them..."

TMNT
Leonardo is in South America learning to be a better leader. Raphael and the others are still in Manhattan, but he is distant from Donatello and Michelangelo. He is spending his nights as the Nightwatcher, a superhero who is protecting the city. Soon, strange things start happening, and April O'Neil, friend of the turtles, tries to get them back together to fight this new menace.

Using the live action movies from the 90's as a vague history, this CGI film jumps right into the story and doesn't let up until the end. This is my first turtles movie, but I have to think that CGI treats them better than the live action movies did. There are no limits to the fight scenes and camera angles as they bound across the city. "TMNT" was surprisingly good and entertaining. Kids and action fans will not be disappointed.

Nicely Done
This is the turtles for the new generation. They have taken away most of the wry humor of the comics and the 3 live action movies and made things a bit darker. They also don't call them teenagers or mutants either. They are simple ninja turles. The story is fairly simple with the tutles being in disarray and longtime villain Shredder dead. The new bad guy is an immortal trying to gather together 13 monsters. The animation is very good and if you like karate action, then this is for you. Some of the storyline is a tiny bit intense for the really young ones, but there is no blood, swearing, and a kiss at the end is the only thing sexual. It is worth a watch.