Once again, it's time to kick shell

I, am so, freakin, ready for this.

This whole concept of a CG TMNT movie has been floating around for a little over a year now. At some point Ang Lee was connected to it, I think. Finally, it's seeing the light of day, and from the (very short) sound of it, it's going to be the same voice work as the new TV show.

Which, by the way, I actually like. The people I talk to give it flak for not having a technodrome, or Krang--well, it does technically, but not really--or Dimension X. But the reason I like it is, frankly, because it doesn't have those things. I mean, original TMNT was about Generation X'ers, and cowabunga, and being a wise ass while driving flying convertible. I mean Krang was always like your crazy grandmother, and Shredder was totally portrayed as a "Square". Which was fine, for the early 90's.

But that formula doesn't work anymore. Hell, it barely worked when they made that obviously transitional TMNT II: The Secret of the Ooze, with Vanilla Ice. I think that if they tried to recreate the original series, it would feel like TMNT II: The Secret of the Ooze. TMNT III was alright, though it had one-too-many penis jokes, considering they're turtles.

I think the new series works really well in a lot of ways. Firstly, it has all of the likeable elements of "The Next Mutation"--a short lived live action TMNT show made in '97/'98. While it was a terrible Power Rangers rip off--ironic, since they made a guest appearance on Power Rangers: In Space, the show had good writing, and focused a bit more on mature themes without having to throw in cock jokes or anything like that.

What the new TMNT does best is have long-standing story archaic. There are plenty of characters that show up every so often that are really interesting, but there are also ones that are always there, and the relationship the Turtles have with these characters seem to develop everytime. It's sort of like Gargoyles to me in that way, because the writing is really sharp, and keeps the viewers interested and makes them think 'bout it on a deeper level than most cartoons--like say, Duck Dodgers, which is still fucking awesome.

The characters are also a bit sharper. Casey Jones isn't just a random sadomasochist who sports a Jason mask--well, not after the first few episodes--and April O'Neal isn't just some dumb rain-coat wearing bimbo reporter who Lois Lane could eat for breakfast. April is actually smart, and the way they write her and Casey together is perfect. They also did a really smart thing by making Raphael the loose cannon instead of having two wise-asses.

Also, the new TMNT is just on a much larger scale. They've already traveled space a bunch of times, gone to a Battle dimension, and are now apparently heading to the future for the fifth season. This show is awesome, and it actually makes me really happy to know it's out there, because TMNT and Gargoyles are actually two shows that really contributed to my sense of style and geekyness, and I would hope that kids have something other than Spider-Riders and Yu-Gi-Oh-My-God-This-Show-Sucks to watch.

Peace,
Ram