If you're a fan of any of the Ninja Turtles animated shows, this deserves a watch. Enjoy it, and then see my comments below the video. But watch the video first, cuz there will be SPOILERS.
Well, I suppose I'll address the one negative up front, cuz it's all positive from there. As someone who grew up on the 1987 series, I feel the goofiness was taken way too far.
So like, yeah, okay, the 80s was a time when cartoons were a thing, and it shows. I mean when you look at some of them, you see things like dinosaurs, giant wasps, a weird alien who talked like Pee-Wee Herman and ate porcelain, a video game boss who escaped her arcade cabinet... I could go on. But the original show was more than what was on the surface. As a kid, my favorite turtle was Leo, cuz he was very not-cartoony. Some of the battles in the first couple seasons between him and Shredder - and between Splinter and Shredder - were nothing short of epic! Or when Krang went Kaiju size... or the season-ending episodes when the turtles took down the Technodrome... I mean, those were truly awesome! But this modern take on what (to me) has always been the original Tturtles... well you don't see like any of that till the very end. Like when 1987 Donnie's "exploding ninja stars" damage one of the Shredder's mechanical legs. And I mean, 2017 Donnie does compliment the Turtle Van. But the turtles are constantly laughing, even when the REAL 1987 turtles would not. It got so bad that 2017 Mikey screamed at them, "CAN'T YOU GUYS BE SERIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING?!" And I've seen the entire 2017 series - that Mikey was just as goofy! Not that I think that's bad - a show with a name like "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" should always have an element of goofy. But Donnie not knowing his tech stuff? Really? And mutant bananas? And what is with all the noogies?! :-DAnd the 1987 villains SO WIMPY! You know what I would have liked to see? Karai battling the same Shredder who single-handedly took on all four turtles! Or giant Krang and giant Shredder duking it out for more than 5 seconds! 1987 Shredder and Krang were trembling in fear of the 2017 villains. Okay, I'll buy the "Dimension X tech is so inferior" thing - we're talking CRTs and floppy disks and stuff (I distinctly remember Shredder holding a floppy disk in one episode) compared to what looks like legit future tech. But come on! I mean 1987 Shredder was a ninja master... vs. the red-slug version of 2017 Shredder, it should have been a no contest. And like I said, I think he'd even give Karai a run for her money (she'd still win IMO, cuz she's awesome, but he wouldn't be afraid of her).
Oh, and Krang would probably have known about the Utroms (sorry if I'm butchering the spelling, lol). Not that they're the same - they're not - but I mean they're so similar! Obviously, we know in real life, the writers got some ideas from Krang when they invented the Utroms, but still, Krang seemed to be the brains of the operation (cheesy pun totally intended).I hear you, loud and clear! In fact, I'm with you, all the way! I'm a fan of the 1987 turtles AND the 2017 turtles, which means there's a lot to love here! And I mean frankly, there's a reason it gets 4.5 out of 5 pizzas! This movie is totally awesome!
So first off, the plot makes total sense for a Turtles flick. It's got lots of action, it's got laughs, it's got the classic themes of good vs. evil, and the power of a family that stands together. It had the kind of scenes you would want to see in this kind of movie: two Shredders, eight turtles, dimensional portals, mutant monsters, the Technodrome... just so much cool stuff. And things you would never imagine seeing in a Turtles movie - Krang, Shredder, Karai, and the True Original Turtles - the ones from the comic books - all fighting on the same side?! Super cool! And speaking of villains being surprisingly out of character, one thing I kinda thought was amzing was how Karai of all people saved them. Her character is probably the coolest (from a writer's perspective) of any of them. Because any writer (even a wanna-be like me) knows that effective villains need believable motives. Cartoons often lack that kind of depth, because they're... well... cartoons. Even the 2017 turtles, which are objectively less "cartoony", don't really have that... usually. But Karai is probably inspired by another character from the 1987 series: Lotus Now there's a fight I'd like to see - her vs. Karai! These ladies have a lot in common - arguably the deadliest fighters in the entire series, both "bad guys", and neither of them "evil just cuz". And both of them have this werd kind of "thing" with Leo. In fact, as I'm making this edit, I'm listening to a reaction video to Lotus where the guy took one look at her (after hearing her name) and going "Karai??" I'm sure one was inspired by the other, depending on which came first. But Karai always seemed darker, deadlier and scarier than Lotus (and also prettier than any cartoon has a right to be, lol). So to see her rescue the turtles was kind of an awesome twist! And speaking of awesome twists, that ending! Now granted, everything's a "multiverse" these days, and it does get old... but like I said, for Ninja Turtles that makes sense. As far as I'm concerned it always has been (but then again, I didn't read the comic books). So seeing the comic book versions of the characters was fun! And there were nods to everything from the 90s movie to the live-action movies in the 20-teens, and I mean the whole thing is just so cool! Kind of a "hey, whichever version is your favorite, they're all totally awesome!"Glad you asked! As I said, back in the day, it was Leo. I loved his double katanas and his personality and his fearlessly taking on anything. But now, many reboots later... I kinda don't have a favorite. I know it sounds like a cop-out, but I've found something to love about all four of them:
Man, it's time for bed here... and I could really go for a slice. Good night, ladies and geeks!