In Japan, awesome things are never awesome enough apparently. That, or every person who makes decisions over there are on life-long drug binges. And why does everything in Japan have to turn into a giant robot? And why are their intro songs so...retarded?
I warned you about our love for the Ninja Turtles. And this is the perfect endcap for Michael Jackson Rat Month in my opinion (Splinter, duh). Most people who grew up in the '80s and '90s probably had some kind of relationship with the Turtles, and if it wasn't a deep burning love, it was at least on the level of thinking they would be a good date, if not a lasting relationship.
Anyways, Secret of the Ooze was the second feature film in the turtle franchise, not a typical candidate for this site, though to some that’s arguable. Most of you have likely seen it and loved it despite it's divergence from all previous canon. I think most kids were pumped to see Bebop and Rocksteady in rubber suited glory, but disgruntled creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were annoyed with the direction the characters took in the TV show, so they created Tokka and Rahzar, the wolf and snapping turtle mutants. These dudes ruled!
I may be the only person who thought so because they never truly made the transition into lasting roles in the series. They made one appearance on the animated show, and a rather ridiculous one at that, peek the first part of the episode below:
Rahzar sounds waaaay too intelligent to be terrorizing a mall, he should probably be trying to sell the mega-recliners at the center kiosk, explaining all the relaxing features they boast. Tokka can ring customers up.
Here’s the Archie comics adaptation of TMNT2. I don't really remember buying this as a kid, but who knows. It may have been my brother's and came into my possession when he surrendered portions of his comic collection to me. Or maybe he doesn't know I have it...Thanks Chris! This features art by long time turtles artist, Jim Lawson and writer Steve Murphy (aka Dean Clarrain). The scan is only ok, but it should be good enough to satiate the other turtle nerds out there.
My 11-year old mutant love aside, what most people probably remember about this movie is the questionable career move Vanilla Ice made in delivering "Ninja Rap" to the film's soundtrack. His intentions were probably right on, the "movie single" was pretty big in the '90s and his career was pretty hot then and figured he could brush off any ill effects. And he probably could have, but as time proved, he never really made super savvy decisions, Roll 'Em Up, anyone? In context though, "Ninja Rap" really is one of the better tracks, and that's a statement on how ridiculous the rest of the soundtrack is. No other huge names really appeared on the cd, but I think you'll find it fun anyways. Watch Ice and grab the album below!
Now this is WAY off content, apologies, but I’m obsessed...
I also think any video game loving kid of this time also had an appreciation for the turtle games, especially the arcade version. Kids would crowd around that thing for hours and around this time in gaming, the only place you could get real 4-player action was at an arcade, my local one being Alladin’s Castle, man that place ruled! And what better game to have four friends on than one where you can be a Ninja Turtle? This also set the precedent for all future turtle games of that generation following the first TMNT release for NES, which was hard as balls, for younger me anyways. Tokka and Rahzar didn’t hit the game franchise until the NES game TMNT 3 - The Manhattan Project and then reappeared in the SNES follow up TMNT 4 - Turtles in Time.
Keep and eye out for more Ninja Turtles in the future, because really, can you ever get enough? And keep on eye on Ninja Pizza for all things TMNT related!
Cowabunga dudes! The world’s beloved shellbacks turn 25 today, and even though I am convinced that franchise was created by the secret National Get Kids to Love Pizza committee, I’m super excited that /Film is reporting that there's a new live-action film on the way for 2011! While many may groan and whine about this ruining their childhoods, there's been a ton of Turtles crap released since the original films. There was the live-action series, animated series and CG film, which I personally have had no direct experience with (though I have seen that the live series introduced a female turtle named Venus deMilo, hawt, though the original creators kind of hate her). I think this news is great; the turtles haven't really ever left popular culture, and this could be a great chance to revive the franchise a third time. Adults who grew up loving the turtles can bring their kids and get them hooked.
If you’ve had some recent turtle exposure, let us know what you’re digging about the newer films or series. And until the 2011 film hits, allow me a moment to be the Rufus to your Wyld Stallions and take you back in tyme through the TMNT timeline, in video form:
Ah the series that started it all, including me trying to take out my brother with flying kicks and invisible nunchucks.
With absolute perfect timing, New Line released the series of live action films, the third one completely blowing chunks. Note the non-Japanese accented voice on Shredder in this trailer for the first film:
And who could forget the hit song by Partners in Kryme...
Extra treat: Barbara Walters interviews the heroes in the half shell:
I remember seeing the MGM Studio show in Orlando as a kid...
...but much more impressive in my mind, is that our very own Clarence caught them on tour with their bitching rock band! The costumes evolved tenfold by that point...
The next television series, the Next Mutation, apparently followed film continuity though it was never explicitly stated as such.
This series was followed by a second successful animated series in 2003, with a couple incarnations, including them time traveling, of course. And most recently, the dudes were in 2007's cgi TMNT to somewhat mixed reviews. I’m going to go ahead and skip those videos in favor of using this space for the first film poster. I remember seeing this for the first time and nearly pissing myself with anticipation. My mom surprised my brother and I by taking us for an opening day matinee after school, our homework could wait! God I miss that kind of childhood anticipation.
Sorry to tease you guys earlier with the Partners in Kryme video, but I figured at this point in the post, you’d either have given up and left or are ordering a shitload of pizzas and calling your friends over to watch the movies. If you’re in the latter group, play this for your friends when they arrive, instant party!
UPDATE: Thank You Clarence! He has painstakingly scoured the webs to bring you the same joys that he felt as a young prepubescent boy, ie here is the companion album to the Out of Their Shells Tour, link below! This album really has all the qualities of various early ‘90s pop music styles mixed with pizza and ninja lyrics shat out into 10 ridiculous tracks. Is it just me does that opener sound like a lost Bon Jovi tune?
We could easily talk for days about all things Ninja Turtles, I gladly fed the original arcade game so many precious quarters of mine, but we’ll save that for another time.
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