The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back like we’ve never seen them before in TMNT, the CG-animated feature film that rose to the top of the domestic box office chart back in March. Having earned more than $93 million worldwide, the pic is now available on home video complete with a number of special features that take fans behind-the-scenes of the latest incarnation of the ‘heroes in a half-shell.’
TMNT more or less picks up where the second live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie left off and finds the crime-fighting foursome disbanded and trying to find their own places in the world. When a new threat arises, rat sensei Splinter, voiced by the late Mako, must get the team back together and back in fighting shape. Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Grudge, Buffy The Vampire Slayer) voices the role of April, the human researcher who looks out for Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael as they use their martial arts skills to take on evil forces. Chris Evans (Fantastic Four) provides the voice of Casey Jones, April’s love interest, while Patrick Stewart (X-Men: The Last Stand, Star Trek: The Next Generation) is heard as Max Winters, a tech industrialist who plots to take over the world with his army of ancient monsters. Rounding out the cast of name actors is Zhang Ziyi (Memoirs of a Geisha), who plays Karai, a villainess who commands a ruthless band of ninjas, and Laurence Fishburn (Matrix trilogy) as the narrator. Also listen for a cameo by Clerks director and comic-book enthusiast Kevin Smith, who recorded dialogue for a cook in a greasy spoon.
The movie is directed by animator/comic-book artist Kevin Munroe from a screenplay he wrote with Peter Laird, who co-created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book with Kevin Eastman in 1984. Laird also served as an exec producer on the film. Thomas K. Gray and Galen Walker produced the PG-rated toon, which was animated by Hong Kong studio Imagi. The Studio is now developing feature adaptations of anime favorites Gatchaman and Astro Boy, scheduled for release in late 2008 and early 2009, respectively.
TMNT DVD bonus materials include commentary by Munroe, deleted scenes, side-by-side comparisons of storyboards and CG animaton, and interviews with the filmmakers and voice talent. There is also an alternate opening in which Splinter tells the turtles’ back-story, and an alternate ending featuring Casey and April. The disc lists for $28.98.
