I - like many people my age - have a long history of love for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I hold a grudge against Peter Piper Pizza to this day because they cheated me out of seeing an actual Ninja Turtle when I was a kid (long story). The first live action Turtles flick is a movie that is so ingrained in my memory that I can remember where I was sitting in the theatre on opening night. I was a HUGE Turtles fan…but as I got older, my interest in the Turtles subsided. I still remained interested in comics and cartoons and every other geeky thing you can think of, but for some reason, I just couldn’t get into the Turtles again. Not even when they came back on Fox with their newest cartoon show (which I think is very good…I just can’t seem to get into watching it)…

So, I was apprehensive about seeing TMNT. I knew the trailers looked pretty good, but - just like the current cartoon and comics - I didn’t think I was going to be able to really get into it. Still…we needed a review for the site…so I bought my ticket this afternoon, and sat down in good old theater 4 at the Hollywood Jewel where I live. Theater 4 is very important to me (and my group of buddies from school). Theater 4 is where I sat with my friends after years of waiting, and watch Star Wars: Episode 1 make me question my youth and what I was doing with my free time. Theater 4 may have changed my life…because it was there that I saw just how bad something you loved as a kid can be when you see it with older eyes.

Luckily, Theater 4 redeemed itself today - because today I walked out of that theater after watching TMNT and I felt like I was 12 years old again. I got in my car (cause ya know, 12 year olds do that) drove to the comic book store and immediately picked up some Turtle books.

Folks…The Turtles are BACK.

It’s hard to even think about where to start telling you everything this film did right. Be warned that there will be some minor spoilers ahead…

The film starts off with a quick history lesson for those that may not remember the Turtle’s origins, but quickly moves on to the film’s main story. As we open, the brothers seperated. Leonardo has been in Central America training to improve his leadership skills. His brothers back home seem to have started doing their own separate things…Mike and Donnie have odd jobs, and Raph is sleeping all day and hitting the streets as a vigilante at night.

I don’t want to get too much into the story other than to say that they are all brought back together by April who is helping a billionaire obtain some statues that are of great importance to him. This is the first of two things that I wish had been explained better in the film…why is April doing this? Wasn’t she a reporter? What happened? BTW - the other thing I would like answered is why all the monsters in the film happen to be in New York…maybe I missed that explanation…

April is with Casey in this, who is still trying to be a hero in his own right, and he and Raph have some good scenes together. In fact, for all the fantastic fight scenes, and all the epic looking visuals (and this flick looks EPIC) it’s the smaller scenes between characters that make this movie work. This is a family movie…as in a movie ABOUT family. For all the action, and all the monsters and dazzling effects, the core of this movie is about a family that has drifted apart, coming back together.

Writer/Director Kevin Munroe has earned himself a life-long fan in me after this movie. Everything about this movie works as a Turtles movie…it’s a movie fans of the cartoon shows can enjoy…and it’s a movie fans of the comics can enjoy. They even kept the back story vague enough so that you can pick your own. Either the previous films, the animated series, or the comics can all serve as the back story for this flick.

The animation itself was stellar as well. This is Pixar level of quality…maybe better. In fact, I will go so far as to say this is one of the most visually stunning animated films I’ve ever seen.

If you have ever been a Turtles fan in your life…you owe it to yourself to go see this movie THIS WEEKEND. I don’t know what to expect for the box office for this movie…but you need to throw your dollars at it now! There are hints in the film of a sequel to come, and we all need to get our butts in the theater to make sure it gets made.

Want another look at the film? Head over to our sister blog Filmsy, and read their take on TMNT.