Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
0 Plays2 seconds ago
This week on the Everything Actioncast, Zach and Chris experience Turtle Power and celebrate the 35th anniversary of 1990's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Required viewing for all '90s kids, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fused the original, gritty comics with the more kid-friendly animated series and found the Turtles meeting reporter April O'Neil (Judith Hoag) and coming into conflict with the Foot Clan, led by their intimidating leader Shredder (James Saito). Zach and Chris discuss Raph almost getting beaten to death, Turtle Power vs Ninja Rap, the eternal awesomeness of the Foot Clan lair, try to figure out Shredder's ultimate goal, Danny never getting any comeuppance, and more.
You can rent or buy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on platforms like Prime Video and Fandango at Home. Next week, we're staying in the world of comic books and discussing Sin City for its 20th anniversary.
We want to hear your comments and feedback. Send them all to contact@everythingaction.com. Also, let us know your suggestions for movies for us to discuss.
Also, subscribe, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, & Spotify.
Check us out on Twitter (@evaction), Facebook (www.facebook.com/everything.action), Bluesky (everythingaction.bsky.social), Threads (@everything.action) and Instagram (@everything.action).
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Everything Action Cast
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Everything Action Cast, the official podcast of EverythingAction.com.
00:00:18
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Everything Action Cast, the podcast will week of March 24th, 2025. your host, Zach. And I'm your co-host, Chris.
35th Anniversary of TMNT 1990
00:00:28
Speaker
And this week we are experiencing Turtle Power and is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the original T-Mantee movie that came out in 1990.
00:00:36
Speaker
A a ah you know formative movie for all 90s kids.
00:00:41
Speaker
Required watch. Yes. It came out March 30th, 1990. So when we're rememberre recording this, it's going to be up to something weekend. But if you're hearing this when it goes out, you know it's yeah ah a turtle a Turtle Weekend celebration of T-Mantee.
00:00:58
Speaker
Although, I was thinking about... I think I i watched Secret of Use more, though, as a kid. um I think I might have had that on a VHS and not the original one. I know I definitely had the the Pizza Hut like behind the scenes of the Vanilla Ice Ninja Wrap VHS. I don't know if you got that, Chris.
00:01:16
Speaker
didn't have the... i didn't have the the secret of the ooze on VHS until like way later. I think I had like a rip of it. Well, there was, there was a separate, like if you went to pizza, they just, they gave you like, it was like a five minute VHS.
00:01:29
Speaker
like It was like, was just like, it was behind, it was like two minutes of like behind the scenes where like the vanilla is just going like ninja, ninja, like describing the lyrics. And then it's the music video and that's it.
00:01:40
Speaker
So I know, I know for sure we definitely had that. I didn't, can't remember if we had like the actual movie or not. I, I, The first TMNT I had is just like this one. And it was like... the I don't know where our parents got it. But it was definitely like the green and black box. yeahp And it got like... Worn the hell up.
00:02:02
Speaker
I still have it. The box is little faded. Because you know you leave it around. You sit on the box by accident. You draw on it because you're little.
00:02:12
Speaker
so definitely like And it was like a yearly watch. It was like, hey, it's November. I'm on TMNT for like a week. Yeah. I feel like... i feel like nick like i It was like another year or two before I was like fully into Turtle Mania because I was like four at the time.
00:02:34
Speaker
But they are like six or seven like just full on you know Turtle Mania. see i have an older brother, so he was, like, obsessed. And it was easy for me to get obsessed with it.
TMNT Comics vs. Movie Adaptations
00:02:48
Speaker
ah you Are you the oldest? I'm the oldest, yeah, so... Okay, so if you didn't get it, like, your brothers aren't gonna get it until, like, it's pretty much the, like, when you get into it. and
00:02:58
Speaker
My brother, like, understood what's going on a little bit more, because he's, like, a little older, so when there's, like, more emotion and there's, like, reason to fight, it's like, yeah, okay, then I get it, you know, like,
00:03:10
Speaker
but TMNT to me was just, like, I didn't know that really there was a color difference yet. I just thought, like, they just thought, because you they also don't really spend a good time telling you about the weapons.
00:03:23
Speaker
Like, this is, besides Raph's Psy, there is, and then maybe Michelangelo's nunchuck for the one scene. But as a kid, you're like, what magical weapons are these? Like, Psy's are real, you know? Like, these are things.
00:03:37
Speaker
Why does Dantelo just have a giant stick? Yeah.
00:03:42
Speaker
um And this is the only ah movie that really has them use the weapons like a weapon. Yeah, because they got hit by the... I think especially UK really hit them hard with... You can't have ninjas. You can't have them using nunchucks as weapons. I think it was like the last couple of seasons of the the cartoon. like Michelangelo had a grappling hook instead of nunchucks. That was his weapon.
00:04:09
Speaker
Yeah.
00:04:11
Speaker
And they weren't Ninja Turtles, they were Hero Turtles. Yep.
00:04:18
Speaker
But yeah, this first movie, though, um you know, yeah, weapons at full display. Also, much more based on the comics than you would expect, because the cartoon had been going on for two years before this movie came out.
00:04:32
Speaker
So, you kids were, like, aware of the cartoon itself. very much, but then this is a hybrid of the comics, which are, you know, obviously everyone knows now, much, much darker, much more adults, much, much like, uh, like blood. And remember that blew my mind when i first read the comics, like, yeah like ah like the first trade at like the library when i was a kid, it's like, oh, there's blood. Why? It's like, I just killed this guy.
00:04:57
Speaker
like
00:05:00
Speaker
they blew up Shredder with a grenade.
00:05:05
Speaker
But it's a mix of that and the cartoon. and Well, okay. They also, like, stabbed Shredder. wasn't just blew him with a grenade. Like, it was... Yeah, he... It's, like, the first or second issue they kill him.
00:05:20
Speaker
I think might have been the first issue. like then those was Like, that was, like, the whole, like, first issue is, like, they introduced... Here's the turtles. They had this... They're training specifically to, like, kill Shredder. yeah Yeah, they they do... Okay, so, because here's the thing...
00:05:32
Speaker
um I think the original comic, because the turtles look little different, but then the actual serialized one they did, besides like the pilot comic, then they look a little more like closer to ah animomorphic human proportions.
00:05:49
Speaker
yeah has like Yeah. I remember there was two versions of it. Because they basically kill Shredder like in April's house. like in In the like shop when they meet.
00:06:02
Speaker
but think I think they have a battle on the roof like they have and this movie, but then it's much more brutal. They're like, we're here to like get revenge for our sensei, and they like and they yeah they kill him, they stab him, and then I think the final thing is they throw him off the roof and throw grenade at him, and he blows up.
00:06:18
Speaker
I think it's his grenade. it's his Yeah, he pulls out a ninja grenade. Because then after that, then his body gets washed up by mutated worms. Okay.
00:06:29
Speaker
That's later. but That's when I was like... i remember I was in college. like I got like a collection and I was reading through it. And I was just like, what is this? like it's It's not an easy read. And I'm a big fan of the series. But it's like, you really have to like reset your whole mind and your turtle sense. And then...
00:06:48
Speaker
um Like, there's there's better versions of it now, but it's just, like, an early attempt. And you could tell when they were writing it, you you could feel, like, the creator sort of, like, now what?
00:07:00
Speaker
Like, they just didn't know what to do next. um Like, April o O'Neil isn't, like, human. She's actually, like, a wish. Like, her parents wished her to come true.
00:07:11
Speaker
I'm not even kidding. This happened, man. Like, think I said talked about the podcast years ago, but it's, like, I think when I read that, I was like, what the hell? There's like a intergalactic fugitive robot that shows up for many issues. That's later. That's after the wish April.
00:07:29
Speaker
her parent Her father and mother wished her as a drawing to come true and she did.
00:07:37
Speaker
That's in the original like one of the original series, man. yeah yeah definite A lot of refinement before they got to the movie. Yeah, the comic definitely got weird. But, I mean, it it is kind of... it's If you're a fan of comics, I mean, there's, like, so so many shots in this in the movie that are, like, right from the comic.
00:07:54
Speaker
Oh, wait And, like, specific arcs are, like, right right from the comic. and i think people agree You don't need to keep super close to the source because like you get you know sort of silly with it. It doesn't translate well.
00:08:07
Speaker
I think at the time people saw this they' like, this is a pretty good adaptation. It's really hard to argue because it's like, how do you do it within a tight hour and a half? like This movie feels like it could be two hours. It feels like it should be longer, but it's not. It moves super quick.
00:08:23
Speaker
Oh, man. yeah it's Yeah, the pacing is crazy. Yeah. And, you know, it's something that, like, Marvel movies couldn't really grasp, but this does it so well. At least to me, it does.
00:08:36
Speaker
I don't know. I got to really review it as, like, doesn't have the nostalgia blinders on. And that's also important for us. Like, even though we're fans, we also are movie critics. And there are some rough things in this movie.
00:08:49
Speaker
Well, it's also post, ah you know, Batman 89. So we had, like, you know, one movie. so that was like the turning point for like comic book movies of the, of the era.
00:09:01
Speaker
But then they kind of like, didn't, they didn't follow up on that because they were like, let's do a pulp hero. Let's do the shadow and the phantom.
00:09:11
Speaker
and this And this is like, this is ah ninety ninety the same year that Dick Tracy came out. I still like that movie, too. Yeah, I mean, Dick Tracy's great, but, like, like it is it is a weird direction of, like, that's what they took from Batman 89. It was, like, we need to make, ah like, radio serial heroes and pulp heroes and not popular comic book characters.
00:09:33
Speaker
Like, X-Men or Spider-Man or... I guess it was... was When did, like, the canon put out, like, their Spider-Man movie... or is mean I can't remember if that came out or not. Canon was like a concept in the 90s.
00:09:44
Speaker
Yeah. But then they ran of money. That was like 94? 93? They did promotions. And then, you know, because Canon just loves doing like stunts like that.
00:09:57
Speaker
um But then i think like three of the movies started failing. So they completely like were shuttering it. And then they basically made that Death Wish movie. And that was it. Yeah.
00:10:10
Speaker
i think it was I think it was a set for either Masters Universe or Spider-Man or like what they were going to use for those. like They just used them for Cyborg or something. Don't fan damn it there. like Have him wander around this wasteland.
Jim Henson Studios and TMNT Success
00:10:28
Speaker
But yeah, the this classic TMNT movie, it does everything right for just introducing the characters and just the like ah soundtrack really builds on it.
00:10:42
Speaker
that hi and the da the yeah that is it I don't know i if that's an underrated part of the movie, but like that's one of my favorite movies. The score is awesome. sort the turtle theme, the Foot Clan theme, like that's what the first like probably the first thing you hear is like the Foot Clan theme, where it's like da-da-da-da-da. While all these like petny like crazy crimes are happening.
00:11:06
Speaker
i still i don't get how they rob the whole truck. Say that again? i i still don't understand how they rob that whole truck. ah the The guy's unloading that the boxes from the truck, and then the Foot Clan steals every box out of it within 10 seconds.
00:11:23
Speaker
In the intro? Yeah, I mean, they're just... Ninja magic, I guess. Ninjas, math, I don't know. It's cool, but it also makes it seem like, what happened to those guys later on in the movie?
00:11:38
Speaker
and Where was that team? Because it doesn't translate to fighting. Are they just good at stealing? And that's it? And it's also a common thing of, like, it happens a ton in this movie where people just, like, like disappear reappear.
00:11:54
Speaker
i guess because of ninjutsu. like Like, the turtles can, like, disappear at will. The footclank can appear and disappear.
00:12:04
Speaker
sometimes they show where they went, but most of the time it's just like, they just vanished. Within, like, the span of, like, two seconds, they vanished.
00:12:15
Speaker
I think like when, I think it's that Michelangelo's like hiding under the table in April's apartment and then like Dane looks back and they're gone. It's just like, where'd you go There's nowhere could have gone.
00:12:27
Speaker
I mean, that's a fun like little thing that they're masters of like, they're Batman yeah basically. So, and they basically have to just use their environment. They're one, it doesn't matter about their size, just they're quick.
00:12:42
Speaker
um And plus they've been doing it for years. Mm-hmm. Because how else are they going to have all their weapons and then like their pizza money? Where are they getting money from?
00:12:56
Speaker
think they're just stealing it from they steal it for the people they beat up. Yeah. yeah
00:13:02
Speaker
But isn't the fight where they save April, isn't that their first fight ever?
00:13:07
Speaker
I think that's their first like like unassisted fight without Splinter maybe. Maybe. But that's fine. like It's the allure. I would like more, but it's just it that happens in the comic. It's just sort of like, Master, we've done it. We've achieved first victory.
00:13:27
Speaker
So now we we're ready for the final test. And Splinter is like a psycho back then. Oh, in the comic, yeah. Comic Splinter is bloodthirsty.
00:13:38
Speaker
And he's like, you're already my assassins, basically. Like, they're his assassin's son. yep More than, like, a loving father. This one, he's a little more cautious, but he's sort of less like, hey, let's just, like, wait. Let's just, like, chill. Let's meditate.
00:13:54
Speaker
Yeah, let's let's do this. Because I think in the comic version, he's not. He's like, tonight you're ready to, like, hunt, basically. Mm-hmm. is In a weird way, now that we saw that Crave of the Hunter movie, that's kind of what Splinter is in that.
00:14:10
Speaker
He's like, I built you to be this like perfect weapon, now you're ready to hunt, like yeah let's go get revenge off like my master's ex-rival. Mm-hmm.
00:14:24
Speaker
which it what's it That backstory is also crazier than remembered it being in the movie, where like you you literally see Amato Yoshi get slashed to death by Shredder, and then it' like he comes home and his wife is just dead on the floor.
00:14:38
Speaker
you know what's even crazier? That's like the third act of the movie. That is, yeah, it's crazy, because Splinter just, like, he cause he explains to April... their backstory, but then he just, like, leaves all that part It's like, you need to know... Yo, explains this part to Danny.
00:14:54
Speaker
Yeah. The only person who knows his day is Danny. Yeah, the only person who knows is, like, secret about who Amato Yoshi is, like, Shredder, Oroku Saki.
00:15:05
Speaker
Do the turtles even know?
00:15:09
Speaker
feel like Spencer had told him because, like, at the end in the final fight, when, like, he, like, reels his face, it's like, I think Leonardo or someone's like, oh, it's him. It's it's the the one he's been talking telling us about, like, Because I see the scratches on his face. Oh, okay, okay.
00:15:22
Speaker
Just because i feel like that's something he should have said in the exposition dump sleepover part. But it happened so late that when it happened... like In my head, I always imagine that happening earlier or like at the halfway point.
00:15:39
Speaker
But when Splinter pretty much explains like the whole reason why the Foot Clan is being challenged and then why like they fight similar and stuff, it's like, oh no, like... I learned from like my master, who was rivals with Iroku Saki, and he's super like pissed that he flew all the way from Japan to America to do all this. Fell down to America, and then the other like killed them both.
00:16:03
Speaker
And then got away with it. and And it makes it seem like um this happened like years ago, but technically, this only happened like...
00:16:14
Speaker
15 years ago maybe 15 maybe because because splinter says it it was 15 years since he found them in the sewer so okay so but maybe he maybe he was like wandering the sewers a little bit before that couple years or
00:16:30
Speaker
i don't know but it's not a quite exact it's weird because like other versions have retold this and it like really plays around with the um The timeline. Because it's like well. Are they exactly like teen teens? Are they like 18, 19?
00:16:46
Speaker
eat te nineteen teen You know like. Just because what they're doing. In the comic is even. Like graphic. Like they basically kill like.
00:16:58
Speaker
Humans. Monsters. Aliens. Like they go through them.
00:17:05
Speaker
Especially when. They're helping the fugitoid. And they go to like the galactic. There's like gladiator pits. The Triceratons, yeah. i then That's what it stands up. I remember like yeah there's like panels in the comic where Raph is just stabbing a dinosaur through the chest with his side. it's like The side's just coming out covered in blood and stuff. It's like, wow, this is crazy. And then you're like, oh, he's supposed to be like 17. I'm like, whoa.
00:17:31
Speaker
This is invincible before invincible.
00:17:36
Speaker
Splinter and Shredder have child soldiers. Yeah. But who's worse? it's like Actually, in the recent comics, they do a like a re-evaluation because Splinter becomes more hell-bent on
Sponsorship and Brand Discrepancies
00:17:51
Speaker
eradicating like the foot that he's willing to like murder like people in the foot to like kind of as a show of force. And he's like, well, like I'm willing to train assassins.
00:18:05
Speaker
I have no problem doing this. And it's like, whoa. So. Yeah, yeah and this one, you don't get a sense of that.
00:18:15
Speaker
It's very, like, whimsical. It's very, like, hey they're just trying to live their life eating Domino's pizza. ah and we said Which that's weird because apparently, like, all the all the all the promo was Pizza Hut. They like they paid, like,
00:18:29
Speaker
like ah like I think it was like $20 million or something to be the official sponsor. But then in the movie, it's Domino's. Yeah. Very weird. There's like very ill consistency. so I lived in New York during this time.
00:18:45
Speaker
you know I lived in there for a while when I was a big fan of TMT. um And just like I thought about it and I was like, my parents, if you're like our proper New Yorker, you're not ordering Domino's.
00:18:57
Speaker
I don't even know where the nearest Domino was back then. Like it was. It was maybe near like warehousing areas, like very like far off places where basically there aren't pizzerias because like they're not going to deliver.
00:19:12
Speaker
like If you imagine this back in the day, like there were places that just didn't do delivery. They're like, no, like you have to come here to go get it. So Domino's did really well in areas where it's like, we will come deliver.
00:19:24
Speaker
um Though no one's... like No Domino's is going to deliver to a sewer grate. Yeah. i just I just looked for two... like they They ended their 30 minute or less thing, which was like their big, that was like their big selling point.
00:19:38
Speaker
It's like you're going to get peach in 30 minute or less. They ended that in 1990. like when this movie came out, like they stopped doing the 30 minute or less thing. I'm thinking it's because of Michelangelo. Probably. Maybe because like they saw this movie and then they all try to do this like thing.
00:19:54
Speaker
People are trying to order it. They're basically trying to be right outside their limit, timing it, and you're thinking, okay, you're outside the 13-minute window like to get to traffic-wise. And then it's like, oh, can you deliver it like one block across or something? So it's like very difficult for the delivery dryer.
00:20:11
Speaker
So that way it's like, okay, and you're about two minutes late. But yeah, you maybe cross like this insane road. They're like, doesn't matter.
00:20:19
Speaker
yeah I don't think I ever had the... like 30 minute or less thing. I've had drivers completely blow the 30 minute delivery time and then just be like, that's on you. But I never had a like, oh, you get a deal because I'm late.
00:20:33
Speaker
Yeah, or it's free. Oh my god. Have you ever got that? No.
00:20:39
Speaker
We live well without my parents live way outside like the ah delivery zone or anywhere. So we had to drive to get it was a pickup always. Hmm.
00:20:52
Speaker
So, yeah, the pizza in this movie is fantastic looking, even though that was supposed to be a Domino's pizza that they got when they slice it up in the beginning.
00:21:03
Speaker
Yeah, like the cheese pull, although and think it was like it looked like but but it was like a sausage olive or something. but i couldn't tell what toppings were, but if it was olives, no, thank you. But wasn't it was all, like, added on top. wasn't, like, baked into the pizza.
00:21:19
Speaker
It was, like, mostly a cheese pizza and then, like, a handful of toppings, like, sprinkled on top. i but Yeah, but I bet they just, like, what's the cheapest pizza can get? Cheese? All right. And then we'll like, throw crap on it. Because this was, I mean, this was, this was like, an independent movie.
00:21:36
Speaker
i think i think there was i think it was actually, it was the most successful independent movie until Blair Witch Project came out.
Financial Triumph of TMNT Movie
00:21:45
Speaker
cause It cost like $13 million. It made like $200 million.
00:21:53
Speaker
So yeah. i mean yeah this movie This movie was huge. So we're talking about like production-wise. It's pretty funny to think that like Jim Henson Studios did this too as like an indie project because you figure that would like ferry more weight to it or something. like More investors, but...
00:22:13
Speaker
It's like, nah, it just seemed like it was all the extra people in the Jim Henson like costuming department, the B team that put together the suits, which still hold up to the day. like the the The turtle design and law just it feels great.
00:22:31
Speaker
like It's not realistic, which I don't mind, but I like that it's like a cool-looking rubber suit. Yes. And I don't know why don't know why in the future it gets worse looking.
00:22:47
Speaker
I mean, i think I think it's still basically the same ones in 2, and then 3, they totally change it, and then don't even talk about, like, next mutation.
00:22:57
Speaker
I think in 2, they look a little lighter. They're not as dark looking. Maybe. it i know 3 is when they give they gave them all, like, spots for some reason. They made them look like actual turtles, and it just comes out weird.
00:23:12
Speaker
Yeah. And then the lip sync is definitely way like not up to snuff in the third one compared to this one.
00:23:20
Speaker
We're excited. This one is like, they had like this tech, very specific tech where they could like have someone puppet the lip movement and they would like be basically able to match the dialogue, what people are saying.
00:23:33
Speaker
And then 3 is kind of just like, they're just flopping the mouth open like a puppet. Just like a puppet. Just to be like, it looks fine. They're talking.
00:23:48
Speaker
i think did it um Wasn't there a Donatello head from this movie like up at an auction recently? Or it's like right now? Like PropStore.com or something had it, but it was so it was like horrific. It was like deteriorating. It's almost gone.
00:24:02
Speaker
Yeah, like a zombie costume now. Like a zombified turtle.
00:24:09
Speaker
I'm not sure if it was this one or the second one.
00:24:14
Speaker
yeah it was It was definitely what the mask mask like like the head from like this one to the second one. and
00:24:21
Speaker
but the like like lower ja one I think the third costumes, they just threw into a fire. Probably, yeah. The whole the whole like lower jaw of that like auction head is just falling off.
00:24:37
Speaker
But it yeah, it is it is great to go back go back and just see like see them in pristine condition. And it's it's it's so crazy that like they could like actually like have you know guys in there doing like these crazy martial arts moves inside them while they're doing all the puppetry.
00:24:54
Speaker
i think, i think i've obviously, the most famous Ernie Reyes Jr. is in like the Don Tello suit.
00:25:02
Speaker
ah That's cool. like It's cool that the people in the suit are actual stuntmen that look. But like you know they they knew they understood like the movement. because I feel like the stuntmen were also in there doing other things. They didn't have an team for the stunt work and then a B team for like the dialogue team. right like I feel like they were just used for all of them.
00:25:30
Speaker
The doubles, basically. They weren't stunt doubles. were just like double everything.
00:25:36
Speaker
Well, think um Josh Pei, who plays Raphael, was also... like he was He was the voice for Raphael, and he was the like in the suit for Raphael. So he was the only one doing both.
00:25:49
Speaker
cause Because everyone else, like it was like there was one person doing the voice, one person in the suit.
00:25:57
Speaker
Now, does that actor know to do stunt work? Crazy. I guess so.
00:26:11
Speaker
i mean, that's Discord 9DB, so I don't know. Someone just, wrote it out, but yeah, like, um...
00:26:19
Speaker
there Yeah, they said that he's the only one that was actually actually doing both things. And was in ah his he was idea to, like, use, like, ah like a crazy broken accent for Raph...
00:26:31
Speaker
He shows up in the movie as the guy in the cab. yeah the all all the guys who All the guys who are in the suits have like a cameo as someone else in the movie. I think the guy plays Michelangelo is the pizza delivery guy.
00:26:45
Speaker
Really?
00:26:53
Speaker
so ah Let's go back to like the the pacing of the story.
00:27:01
Speaker
So basically, after a successful night of, I guess, unsupervised ninja fighting, Raph, like, leaves behind a Psy.
00:27:10
Speaker
Where he's more mad about that, but I think also because, like, he has to wait to find another one. Like, i don't think that gives away the identity. I think it's just like, shit, you lost your equipment.
00:27:22
Speaker
We don't know when you get another one. when When our Psy's gonna wash down the sewer.
00:27:29
Speaker
Splinter's like, calm down. It's okay. Yeah, there's that there's a whole like super intense scene where Splinter's talking Raph, like, you and you need to control your anger.
00:27:39
Speaker
Your anger is your greatest enemy. But it's like it's like super close up to like both their heads. it's like It's like super intense scene. and There are some interesting shots in this movie.
00:27:52
Speaker
Because the camera work is like all over the place. it like changes It's a very 90s movie because of like, I guess, someone whoever directed this or the cinematographer was inspired by basically like ninety s hip hop rap videos.
00:28:07
Speaker
The one that always leaves out to me is when but they get back to the lair and find Spinderegon, and there's that crazy ah shot where Raph is screaming into his primal scream. um my god.
00:28:17
Speaker
And this whole camera's shaking. That is definitely like... I feel like they accidentally invented that kind of rough cut because they just had a shoulder-mounted thing, and someone was running around that room and then like tripping. Yeah.
00:28:32
Speaker
And think is there so like the frame rate's off. it's like It's like this crazy frame rate on it, too. They do that again when Raph is charging at the foot in the subway. Right after April like insults the ninjas for her Sony like payments.
00:28:51
Speaker
Which is just an... I don't know if that was a real thing. like Installment plans on your Sony products. On your Walkband. Mm-hmm. I don't think Dismant would have but would have been it out yet. It was 90. It's still a few years away.
00:29:03
Speaker
Yeah. ah So I just think that's like a very creative shot because it feels like what it is to as Raph rushing into that and like your adrenaline's pumping. Have you ever like dashed into like something that crazy?
00:29:19
Speaker
Do you remember playing sports or anything like that, Zach? I don't think so. What? Not that that that level. Oh, man. I used to play soccer as a kid, and i remember like just the intensity of a quick burst of, like can I like dash and try to like rush this?
00:29:33
Speaker
Your vision can blurs, especially if you're not in shape. As a kid, I wasn't like that, so trying to speed into something is like... I always think about that. I always use it a reference point where it's like, yeah, no, it's just blurry. like You just like almost are having like an anxiety attack.
00:29:51
Speaker
Because you are. so That's what it looks like. But it's funny because like Raph is doing this as like a trench coat looking monster.
00:30:02
Speaker
So let's say you're the Foot Clan. You just knocked out this. well like One, why is like the one? Not everyone that Foot Clan is Japanese.
Foot Clan's Role and Operations
00:30:10
Speaker
Like we established that based on the community of who they're recruiting.
00:30:15
Speaker
Yeah, they're they're training like street punks to become ninjas. So did they train a street punk to have a fake Japanese accent? No, I think... Is that that might be like the is that who like Tatsu beats the... Almost kills?
00:30:29
Speaker
No, that's a different person. Tatsu, that guy gets inaugurated later. Mm-hmm. Because there's someone named... like Yeah, there's like one of them one of the guys... Shinso is like the guy that Tatsu almost kills, and he's Japanese.
00:30:45
Speaker
or ah Or he's one of Foot Clan people. yeah but yeah, most of them are just like, yeah, they're like New York street punks. So that poses the question where like, is that what happens when you reach like top level? You adapt like a Japanese accent?
00:31:01
Speaker
So Shred tells them, like, you have to talk with a Japanese accent so that they will not know who it is. and that would I mean, that's pretty hilarious if that's just like a requirement later where it's like we need to mask our identity.
00:31:13
Speaker
So it's like they all think we're Japanese. Like Shredder turns out to not be Japanese in the end. Like he turns out to be like a ah Jewish man. You're like, what?
00:31:26
Speaker
So it just seems weird that you you basically you couldn't have foot soldiers that are more like street-level local people?
00:31:39
Speaker
Because they do that in the second movie, but in the first movie, they're like, no, no, no. all the It seems like all of the foot soldier people that wear the outfit and all that, like they were the original Foot Clan guys that follow Shredder into his organization. like He imported them?
00:31:55
Speaker
Maybe, yeah.
00:31:58
Speaker
but you see Well, you see them, like they have, like along with all the awesomeness of the Foot Clan headquarters, which are the arcade machines, the gambling, cigarettes, the craps table, the skateboard park.
00:32:12
Speaker
um There is like a there's like a ah got boxing gym. They're doing like you know kickboxing and training fighting training. So I guess my my assumption was that if you like along with you know just hanging out in the coolest headquarters ever.
00:32:26
Speaker
your you train, and if you like like train... if your skills got to a certain level, then you you like graduated to be like a ah Foot Clan guy. have to wear like the the dragon... Whatever its the dragon dojo, or whatever he like sure calls it.
00:32:45
Speaker
So you gotta stay long enough too in the Foot Clan to train, and then get to like a certain level...
00:32:54
Speaker
I mean, that's the cool thing. it's You can kind of figure out the structure. It just sort of is weird to me that the ah speaking guy in the thing, like everyone that talks in the foot clan that is like high up just all have like broken Japanese like accent.
00:33:12
Speaker
Like there definitely is like voiceover like ADR in. hmm.
00:33:19
Speaker
I prefer the versions where it's like they're just street kids and and like punks that now learn new jitsu and sort of embrace the like ninja persona.
00:33:30
Speaker
um The comics do a really good job of showing that we're like um there was like a family of brothers and one issue where it's like how the foot clan is sort of like deceptive where it's like one older brother fights the turtles dies and then like his younger brother joins and like is now it's part of the cycle.
00:33:53
Speaker
Well, we were talking before the podcast, too. Like, what what is the Foot Clan's goal in this movie? Like, they're just, like, Church, he has this armory of ninjas, but then he never really mentions any plans for taking over the city or taking over the world or doing His nefarious plan is we're steal car stereos and VCRs and think it's like a box of Archie Comics in the background at one point. I think it's just a terrorizing by a band of black market. It's just to make money. guess so. then he's providing his boys with the coolest hangout.
00:34:32
Speaker
like his boys with like the coolest hangout I mean, look all the power takes to run like an arcade. Look how much like fucking cigarettes he has to buy. Look how much he like training equipment.
00:34:43
Speaker
And then, like let alone, i don't know how much money is to lease that warehouse slash like air carrier. like it's It's a pretty big building that they're It looks like an old fort or something. like An abandoned like fort outside the city or something. but I guess the warehouse was like, Sam Rockwell was like, oh yeah, go check out the ah warehouse over there.
00:35:04
Speaker
So, yeah, it's like a crazy setup that he's got going on, and it's funded through basically stealing stuff and selling it to another criminal organization.
00:35:16
Speaker
But they don't get that far. It's basically Shredder has been establishing his own like business, and he likes to throw ceremonies for headband awarding.
00:35:29
Speaker
it's like It's like Shredder and like Dom Toretto in the first Fast Furious movie have the same plan. and We're just going to steal steal this shit and then sell it. And then live our awesome lives. if i It funds like the awesomeness of the Foot Clan. It's like these stolen car radios.
00:35:48
Speaker
Technically, Dom does all that stealing so he can fund race wars. Yeah. where Shredder does all the stealing so he can build his private army.
00:35:59
Speaker
Yeah. And buy them slot machines and dark arcade machines and a skate park.
00:36:08
Speaker
I mean, I get it. It's pretty cool. You know, the crazy thing I was reading, too, is like, um ah apparently, so that's like, it's it's a cement factory in South Carolina, and they also filmed the Super Mario Brothers movie there and The Crow.
00:36:22
Speaker
All those from that same location.
00:36:27
Speaker
So it's like, it's like, um it's ah whatever Bowser, was it in like Dinopolis or whatever in the Super Mario Brothers movie? Or like Dino Hat, whatever it's called.
00:36:40
Speaker
that's That was filmed at the cement factory. And then ah Top Hat's light club in the Crow is in that cement factory. Wow. That's a lot going on in that one building. And yeah, you like, you know, like tear everything out of there. Like the next movie comes in, I have to build all this stuff back up.
00:36:59
Speaker
I like how they probably couldn't reuse any props. They're just like, this makes no sense to share between them. Yeah. That Dino Hat doesn't have a sick skate park. Well, it was like the 90s, where like almost every movie required someone using a skateboard.
00:37:16
Speaker
And there was there's like multiple movies around this time, too, where it's like you know the ah like the the crazy cool lair. Double Dragon one that comes to mind, too, where it's just like the... What's the smallest group called? The Power Corps whatever? They have their crazy hideout.
00:37:33
Speaker
They have arcade machines and you know everything else going on.
00:37:43
Speaker
i mean, i think every night he was like, yeah, I would join the F.A.C.L.A.N. if I could hang out there. It seems pretty cool. It seemed like um it was a great like daycare.
00:37:55
Speaker
was a great like gym training place. If you need it, like, I don't know, parental guidance, Tatsu's there give you encouragement.
00:38:08
Speaker
Maybe some tokens to play. just as As long as Tatsu doesn't get mad. like If he gets mad, ah he might murder you. but I mean, 90 step parents were like that. Mm-hmm.
00:38:20
Speaker
The um ah crazy thing, though, is that there's brainwashing in a lot of them. I don't know how Shredder... his He has Jedi mind tricks.
00:38:32
Speaker
you know Maybe. Later on, when Dany's having a nightmare, he keeps thinking about the Shredder, and he's just like, well, time to go like fib to the Shredder. Well, he has that speech about yeah the the outside world does not care about you.
00:38:46
Speaker
I care about you. I am your father.
00:38:51
Speaker
And Tatsu is your, I guess his analogy is your mother. say Weird, right?
00:39:00
Speaker
or Or the weird uncle that might beat you.
00:39:08
Speaker
Yeah, and ah also, like, yeah, Danny, Danny also never gets, like, when I realized, just kept watching it again but for this, is, like, um he, like, never gets any comeuppance for, like, his horrible, horrible decisions that he, like, causes, like, horrible tragedies to follow everyone. Because he's the one.
00:39:24
Speaker
Technically, his father, he just ran away from his father, whatever. He stole 20 bucks from April. but he tells. Everything else is the worst. but Yeah, he tells he tells Shredder, like, everyone the Foot Clan where April and the Turtles are, which causes Raph to almost die, and April, like, entire, like, apartment slash store to burn down. And then also, like, tells them where in the, like, like and he he doesn't tell them where Splinter is, because, like, that one ninja, Foot Clan ninja follows them and realizes where they are.
00:39:58
Speaker
But doesn't... it doesn't tell like hes when When he runs away and Danny's in... They find him in back in like the lair. doesn't tell him like he' tell them, like, oh, hey, your splinter is like held by the Foot Clan.
00:40:11
Speaker
And also, like... Oh, you're right. He doesn't mention that. He's just like, oh oh, hey, April, cool cool pictures. Yeah. Can I have one? Well, I mean, he's brainwashed. That's, like, the point, I guess, to show that he's got...
00:40:23
Speaker
but They don't really do a good job showing that in a way. It just seems like he's a prick and he only joins the winning side.
00:40:34
Speaker
Yeah, but there's there's there's never like none the turtles or April. no no No one ever like gets like the realization that like Danny betrayed them and like caused all everything that happened. And he doesn't get like a big like I'm sorry moment.
00:40:49
Speaker
He doesn't come back for the movies. That's his this sorry moment. he He's replaced by Irie Reyes Jr., who's a much a much ah much better character. much Much more fun, trustworthy character.
00:41:02
Speaker
don't think I would like the second movie much more if Danny got like training and was basically Kino and stuff. Can you imagine that version that could exist?
00:41:17
Speaker
I feel like that actor stopped acting after this, right?
00:41:21
Speaker
i don't i mean I don't know if he did like a lot. If he did a couple more things.
00:41:28
Speaker
That was definitely jumped out at me. It's like, wow, he never apologizes or no one like calls him out about, like hey, you betrayed us and like destroyed April's life, basically.
00:41:42
Speaker
he burnt down in her house. and then yeah and like Because of him, like the fucking follows them to April's apartment and then Raph gets beat almost to death. Beaten into a coma.
00:41:55
Speaker
Yep.
00:41:58
Speaker
ah So Michael Turney, who played Danny, yeah, he's still around. He's more of a director. Okay. okay or Short film guy now, but.
00:42:09
Speaker
Yeah, he hasn't done any major acting in a while.
00:42:15
Speaker
just Next time we see him in a con or something, be like, hey man, I what you did. You ratted on the turtles. I think he just got NECA figures. that He's got NECA for him.
00:42:26
Speaker
Danny and hide in the closet action.
00:42:32
Speaker
Danny and weasel- weasel-ly, uh, betrayal mode.
00:42:41
Speaker
I'm trying to think if they mention Splinter at all, like, when he like when he's, when they all get back to from the the farmhouse. But, like, he definitely does not bring it up and say, like, hey, there's giant turtles. ah There's a giant rat being held by the Foot Clan.
00:42:53
Speaker
Are they related? And even, like, when Casey finds out the Foot Clan hideout, he's just, like, he's not even, like like, oh, you little shit. Or, like, just, like, oh, hey, let's get out of here.
00:43:06
Speaker
It's me your buddy Casey.
00:43:13
Speaker
You know, ah
00:43:17
Speaker
I think because he's supposed to be like super young, maybe he's supposed to be 14. Maybe 13. Yeah. yeah
00:43:29
Speaker
just He's just like not going to school because he's you know he's like stealing people's like wallets and stuff. So he's already like ah he's like he's ah he's like a delinquent and then the fuck man's not helping anything. He's treating to be criminal ninja. Yeah.
00:43:41
Speaker
criminal criminal ninja
00:43:46
Speaker
And his his dad's not that bad. i don't know. what it's like He's just like, my dad hates me. No, Charles is actually just doing his job. He's a single dad,
Casey Jones and April O'Neil Dynamics
00:43:58
Speaker
it seems like, right? Because he's just like, no mom. He's just driving his son to school and then deal with April pissing off the police captain every news broadcast.
00:44:09
Speaker
Now, is it weird that I thought April and Charles had a thing?
00:44:18
Speaker
I don't... yet maybe Maybe he wants to deep down, but ah like yeah she's definitely not interested. Yeah, yeah. I mean, but it's like, in the way they talk, and it may it seem like we dated once, so you get you know, whatever, but... Well, they're very they're very casual about just, like, strolling into people. Like, he just casually strolls into her apartment, and like just like, hey, I'm here. my son's here. gonna walk into your bathroom.
00:44:42
Speaker
Yeah, you see, and I was like, did they date before? What's going on?
00:44:51
Speaker
I do love the April Casey dynamic, though. They have like a really great like bag of... like I think Donatello calls it out, but it's like the moonlighting thing where they're like arguing with each other, but then it's just like, well, we're actually perfect for each other. Yeah, everything everything with Elias Kataeus is fantastic. like He is such a great great Casey Jones. yeah like he didn't He didn't say Goongala. That's the only thing that was missing.
00:45:19
Speaker
Hmm. Yeah, it's a pretty good like comic description of him um and and is like really rough demeanor and his just like want to be vigilante.
00:45:33
Speaker
You know, he's just like having fun with it. He's not like the Punisher where he's got like some crazy backstory vendetta. He's just someone that just loves the beat up criminals. Yeah, I mean, he was going to beat up those like two guys that Raph fights, like probably much more severely than Raph was going to.
00:45:53
Speaker
Because that's like their whole like first group encounter, is Raph chases him into the park, and then Casey's like, oh yeah, going to teach him a lesson. And Raph's like, not that kind of lesson. Because he's going to beat him close to death with baseball bats. True. True.
00:46:07
Speaker
true True. But I think in the original it was like that. it wass just like a mass vigilante going around and whacking people. And then they kind of make his like fun personality. they like Almost like a Californian dude surfer vibe when he when he talks and his attitude towards things.
00:46:26
Speaker
But when when you know you think about the TMNT version of the cartoon... And he's the Punisher. Yes! He just straight up talks with an accent. You never see his face.
00:46:38
Speaker
Yeah, he's he's much more like Jason Voorhees on the side of the turtles for some reason.
00:46:46
Speaker
there There is that one that one episode that's great on the cartoon where like he goes to like try to get a job in like a corporate office and he's just like in a suit and he wears his mask. like, you're hired.
00:46:58
Speaker
I like your moxie, kid. like your insanity. Come on. yep I got the job.
00:47:08
Speaker
But you know what's even ah funnier? Is that like
00:47:15
Speaker
like I also feel like having Casey Jones throw throughout all the movies would be good. Because it like the dynamic's fun. it has a great pacing. But I don't know why he didn't want to return for the sequel.
00:47:30
Speaker
Because like later on in the dynamic, like this is the cool introduction. You establish a lot of the characters. And then it's like as if Casey Jones doesn't exist in the next movie. Yeah. But then he's back in three.
00:47:42
Speaker
The weird ancestor of Casey.
00:47:48
Speaker
Well, I think it's it's but it's both because like he's he's like hanging out with like the samurais. Oh, yeah, you're right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, I'm going to take these guys out of the town, drunk and do karaoke and stuff. Let's go, guys.
00:48:01
Speaker
You know, in my brain, I thought that kind of happens in like this movie or something. Because 3 is really bad, but the Casey parts are fun. Mm-hmm.
00:48:13
Speaker
Yeah, because it's it's just him and these three like random Sam, four random Sam guys just like hanging out in New York. Drinking, learning about hockey. It's great.
00:48:23
Speaker
But in this one, like Casey has, he didn't even get the big speeches, did he? ah He doesn't meet Splinter. He doesn't have time to hear like the wisdom voice of the family.
00:48:38
Speaker
He just sort of gets the wrath and then April. like That's it. That's his introduction to the family. And even then, he witnesses a house burning.
00:48:51
Speaker
and ah but ah ah Like arson charge. And then he's forced to live in the country for what feels like weeks. Yeah, at least at least the week. Well, it's it's crazy because every time they cut back to Splinter, they're like, they they they keep saying like, oh, it's been a couple days and he hasn't talked. Or it's like, Splinter's like, oh, Denny, I haven't seen you in a couple of days. so like Yeah, like weeks are passing.
00:49:22
Speaker
KCOS is like a ah pretty fast because like last time he sees Raph was like they had a fight in the the the park and he's like like he beats him up and he's like I'm out of here and then like next time he shows up he's like he's like rescuing him and he's like hey what do you do my friend over there so it's like when he decided like oh this this like weird turtle guy is my friend
00:49:41
Speaker
I don't know. Casey just seems like a loon with no job. He's he's like he' was impressed by the fight, I guess. he's like that was That was a good fight. like This guy's cool. i guess he watched like touch I think he watched Raf getting beat up on the roof, and then that's why he wanted to come over.
00:49:58
Speaker
What are the odds that he right across from April? what are the odds that he lives right across from april
00:50:08
Speaker
I don't know. Okay, so not only does he live across from April, who, like, yeah so
00:50:20
Speaker
I'm trying to, like, map out in New York where they are. Because in the beginning, they're at Central Park where they meet up at Raph and Casey. Yeah. casey So that's on like 61st.
00:50:34
Speaker
And then I'm assuming is, I think that is, I think second time around they say isn't it? I think it's, I mean, I don't know if this is stream. Bleeker or and Bleeker. 11th Ave. So that's like, that's like 50 Ave's away from like 61 to 11th. Right. And then it's like, so that's supposed to be kind of around where like Chinatown is in terms of like,
00:51:01
Speaker
the location of Manhattan.
00:51:05
Speaker
And then Casey lives two blocks away.
00:51:12
Speaker
do we ever do do we ever see his I don't they say where he lives or he's we oh cause we never see his house or apartment and he's on the roof. Yeah.
00:51:24
Speaker
you know, it's funny, like as a kid, you know, I went to my apartment's roof. I'm like, oh, it's like just like in the movie. Like I live in Brooklyn where like, yeah ah you know, there aren't like skyscrapers. There aren't like anything taller than like a 10 story building, at least in some parts.
00:51:39
Speaker
Maybe 15 stories, but like. Other places like for roof like that and for. Like. April's sky dome that also houses like her antique store, her dad's antique store under it.
00:51:56
Speaker
Mm It's a big building. like She could have sold that. That's prime real estate. I don't know why. she could She says she's losing money. She's like, I lose money on this place. like because Yeah, she's not renting it or anything.
00:52:12
Speaker
ah shi oh you it's like She's like, I opened up randomly. so it's like there's no no's No one's showing up to this like antique store because it's you didn't you never know when open. You're just like, oh, is it open today? No? Okay.
00:52:24
Speaker
Oh, it's open at like 5 o'clock on a Thursday? Alright. For an hour? Okay, I mean, that's just logistics. The more I thought about it, I was like, yeah, no, she needed like a business partner. She she tried to run all this, like be a landlord, be a be antique shop owner. She kind of does it in the ah the comic.
00:52:51
Speaker
But that's after. like After she's fired at being a rap reporter. Actually, she used to be... Well, the comic... Yeah, the she's a lab assistant. She's not a reporter at all in the comics, don't think.
00:53:02
Speaker
And then she gets fired from that. Then she opens up the shop. like After she moves to her parents' like Connecticut home. Where that's where they were. They were in Connecticut. And they were there for a month in the comic. They were there for a while.
00:53:21
Speaker
So, in the movie, it just seems like they're there for, like, a week of training where they get, like, crazy better.
00:53:29
Speaker
Well, Raph comes out of his coma, which, like, that was always, like, so disturbing. Just, like, Raph just in the the bathtub, just, like, lifeless. And they don't know like, they don't go to a vet. They don't do an IV drip.
00:53:44
Speaker
Abrus comes and, like, like drip drips water on him. Which is also, is he like just like lying face down in water? but it's Lying sideways, because he doesn't fit the tub.
00:53:56
Speaker
Yeah. It's like, i don't know, just put water in there, I guess? he'll That's, he'll be okay. yeah We never had deal with this, just, we'll just drip him in there.
00:54:08
Speaker
I think in the comic, it's Leo that gets knocked out. I think so, yeah.
00:54:14
Speaker
I think because without Leo, they don't have any guidance either. because like I think Splinter gets taken in away. Yeah, and then then Leo gets can are knocked out, and then it's them trying to figure it out. Because at that point, it's been like the Leo show, and then now they need to figure out how to work together.
00:54:35
Speaker
So... It's a little drama, and especially as a kid, it's like, you really get to appreciate your family better. It's a good lesson about, like, caring and all that, and, like, I guess family, because holy shit, the speech Splinter gives and the force goes fire thing.
Themes of Family in TMNT
00:54:52
Speaker
Super emotional. Yeah. it's It's like, hey, I might die, that's okay. Like, I love you. Like, whoa. Like, whoa. oh
00:55:04
Speaker
and would It would have been messed up if he actually did pass away, like a Force ghost, so like, and then his spirit is free or whatever, then just like, oh, now they want revenge. Yeah, that was like his, like in ah Last Jedi, where Luke like, Force like, teleports himself, or like, Force projects himself. that's like it's like It's like Splinter's like dying action, it's like the Force like, Force projects himself to the fire.
00:55:29
Speaker
Well, it seemed like, yeah, if you do a force projection or some sort of spirit summon, like that's all of your energy because then the payment is you die. Because Leia does that sort of in a follow up movie. So it's like.
00:55:45
Speaker
Oh, no, like going on that trend. Anytime you're doing a spiritual like. What is it called? Look what the Doctor Strange does.
00:55:56
Speaker
Astral projection? Yeah, astral projecting. It's like, oh no, the consequences, basically you die. At least in the Star Wars series, seems like that's what happens. In the Turtles universe, that's you reach a certain level of like love. You can insert astral projecting.
00:56:12
Speaker
Like the the Jitsu level? i think they said you because I think in some Jitsu things, in some whatever lore, they said they can do that. I guess that was like their first says there's their final test. They just need needed to make sure their minds were as good as ah strong as their bodies. then Now they're ready to like for the final challenge.
00:56:36
Speaker
because because they're yeah Because their minds were so in tune now, they they like summoned him. could fight And then, yeah, the final battle...
00:56:50
Speaker
and then yeah and then yeah the the final battle is pretty great. There's tons of foot guys. There's lots lots of goofy lots of goofy turtle... like ah you know All the wacky gags of... Michelangelo and Donatello especially have like a lot of like wacky gags in in their fight scenes.
00:57:11
Speaker
There's the whole like Wheel of Fortune thing with Michelangelo like early on. There's a lot of like pop culture references that kind of went over the heads for kids. like Even now, I have to remember certain things.
00:57:22
Speaker
When they talk about like moonlighting, when Casey and April are ah but arguing. Well, they won't day, yeah. And then... yeah like just other kind of things, other pop references that they really try to hold back.
00:57:39
Speaker
um But they just couldn't get away with it because this is something for like the parents to kind of like watch.
00:57:47
Speaker
Yeah, it's like yeah it's like you you know you know that thing, right? that's what you You watch that show. i mean, they were just like doing the odds of like what kind of parents would be in the audience.
00:58:00
Speaker
ah I mean, this is the era of like the yuppie parents that are like, oh, I don't know. I don't want maybe I don't want my sons and daughters to grow up with the what a ninja is.
00:58:11
Speaker
think I told the story where like we knew someone in college that mean you knew someone in college didn't watch Ninja Turtles because their parents are like afraid.
00:58:22
Speaker
So it's like if they saw the movie, maybe it's like, oh, But then even then, it's like what they would know. think they would watch Moonlighting. They're going to probably say Moonlighting was too violent for them.
00:58:36
Speaker
And Michelangelo does like James Cagney impressions. That feels very dated. Yeah. the ah cagney The the like... Rocky. Rocky. It seems weird because like I thought, i think as a kid, I saw this before saw Rocky, so I didn't know what they were doing. Well, it's weird because you think they would be, like, it kind of makes it seem like they're playing like charades or some sort of game, but it's just, Michelangelo is just doing impressions to like make it, to impress April.
00:59:03
Speaker
like but he's like I can do impressions. I mean, I guess, like but here's the crazy thing. I don't think April quite knows how young they are. I think she just gets that they're turtles, but these are a bunch of like 16, 17 year olds that are eating pizza in her house. And then just like one of them is doing that point, like 40 year old impressions. Yeah.
00:59:32
Speaker
but well I think Splitter tells her that like they're like like they're 15 because it's like 15 years ago I found baby turtles and then grew up well she's not quite listening she's still in shock
00:59:47
Speaker
I think later on it dawns on her so that's why she's sort of like well I guess it's you Casey because you know you're human yeah you're the safe love interest it was you or Charles maybe Danny ah
01:00:08
Speaker
But yeah, we gotta talk about like the battle against Shredder. good Shredder like is like, i need to take this, ah I need to handle this myself. Oh god, the Shredder part is honestly the best part.
01:00:20
Speaker
It hypes up, it's worth the payout, like the payoff. It's like dropping down from the sky, basically. From a smaller building.
01:00:35
Speaker
Although he's very considerate of letting them take turns. and like he's not like like like Because he could probably instantly like kill all of them. but he's like he's like liing them like i guess he's toying with them and like having his maniacal fun.
01:00:51
Speaker
Well, yeah, he's torturing them. And then he just wants to kind of see what they know. Mm-hmm. And then i say I get, that's the point at the end. As soon as he realizes they don't know, he's winning, he's ready for, like, the kill. Like, he's just, like, he's what he's ah he's enjoyed this long enough, I guess.
01:01:11
Speaker
But I do like that it's a drawn-out fight. Like, the Trois have to sit there, like, recuperate. they have, like, breaks. Yeah. You wouldn't really see that in a modern movie with, like, the bad guy kind of, like, letting them have, like, a breather.
01:01:24
Speaker
Mm-hmm. have like a half time. The only thing think of is like Phantom Menace. when the Like the barriers go up and then like they have to wait for the barriers to go back down. Yeah, I think you're right. That's the only other time I've noticed that more.
01:01:38
Speaker
Like Shredder's even like kind of like pacing the background like Darth Maul was in this movie. It's like, alright Shredder's come waiting. I'm waiting.
01:01:51
Speaker
But yeah, Splinter shows up and gets to do his big reveal. Like, it was me. I'm the rat.
01:02:01
Speaker
And then i still i still don't quite understand his moves he does. like like Or like, Splinter must have like a lot of like like hidden strength because he's able to like flip Shredder over his head basically when he runs at him and like with nunchucks and then like flip him off the building.
01:02:19
Speaker
I think the momentum, too, of Shredder. But, I mean, also, the turtles are pretty strong for turtles, so I imagine the rat is like secretly stronger, because he had more time to train and mature.
01:02:33
Speaker
Maybe. but i mean, later on in the series, you find out like Splinter is actually more capable than you think. but But he's also he's also been like like tortured and like hung on a metal fence for who knows how long, before right before this.
01:02:50
Speaker
That's true. I just carried him off the fence, but now he's on the roof like, alright, I'll fight you, Shredder. I'm back to full strength. Yeah, flicks him off, and then he falls into the garbage truck, which is still, like, I do not understand.
01:03:11
Speaker
Turned on. i don't understand how he got out of that to come back secretly used, because you see You see his helmet crushed into the garbage truck. Like, his whole body's in that truck and he crushed. So it's like... Maybe his helmet fell off?
01:03:23
Speaker
I have idea. He, like yeah you got got ah like, somehow got out?
01:03:29
Speaker
I mean, did you see the YouTube video of, like, minor character theater? No. Where it's like perspectives of pretty popular movies like TMNT. He does a really good episode of it where it's like what it's like to be in the Foot Clan from his perspective as like Shreed Urchin kid and that is just like watching this.
01:03:49
Speaker
In the times of like the the time frame, like just from him, he's only been at this club for like four weeks. And then he sees all this and he's like, I don't understand what's going on.
01:04:01
Speaker
Like our boss just got killed by an active truck by a guy. who illegally did all this, like, now that he knows the law. Like, it's also, like, years late. It's not, like, currently, it's like, hey, like, I remember that time. It's like, because Casey Jones is not a known vigilante. That's just, like, some dude.
01:04:19
Speaker
And let alone, he came in, he beats up Tatsu, hangs out with a giant rat that, like, i don't think everyone knew the rat was there, right? no Like, some people did, but some people didn't.
01:04:31
Speaker
It was like Tatsu, Splinter, and Danny are the three people that know Splinter are back there. Yeah. So it's like, we have a giant rat? What? And then it's like, alright, in the same night, you find about the rat, your boss is on a roof having a fight with turtles.
01:04:45
Speaker
Okay. You know, you don't know the turtles are exactly bad guys. they just They just know turtles are there. Because when the turtles, when the foot fights the turtles, it's mostly the ninja ninja guys, not but ah not the skate punks.
01:04:59
Speaker
Then, the turtles go away to Connecticut for like a week. Or two. So you're not thinking about the turtles. so You know they exist, but you don't fight them. You don't know they're the bad guy, because at this point, you think, you know, you you don't know that you're the bad guy yet.
01:05:14
Speaker
Yeah. Then you find out, and that same night, your father figures a lie. Tatsu's just knocked out. Haki guy is fighting your friends, and also he killed your boss with a garbage ah collector.
01:05:30
Speaker
And Casey also gave them, like, one speech about how You think this is a family? This is the family. That's it. yeah No other, like, you know, family shouldn't do this. Like, oh, go home to your mom. Like, yeah that's not what... luck Doesn't give anything. Just goes, this all here is your family?
01:05:46
Speaker
And that's it. they Yeah. Unless, on the way there, Splinter was giving out, like, giant long speeches as they were walking the abs to house, that fight.
01:05:58
Speaker
It does seem like like you see it seem like Sam Rockwell all those guys were, like, just following them through, like, the streets of New York. Like... yeah So they're dragging a rat who is now giving life lessons about family. So by the time they get to the fight, like, they're either on their side or they're tired of a lecture.
01:06:15
Speaker
There should have been a scene. do you remember in Hot Rod when they're like it's like the... when they do, like, the John Farnham song, like, You're the Voice, and it's, like, ever since joining them the streets. It should have been, like, this, like, like big, like like, it's, like, this, like, parade of, like, people walking through a street, like, these street punks, like, walking through the streets of New York.
01:06:32
Speaker
And they're, like, hey this is pretty acceptable. Let's not do crime tonight. Let's just all hang out. That's what they get... Also, but one thing, too, like, not everyone in that clan is, like, good-hearted, you know? Like, some people are pretty evil. Like, they...
01:06:48
Speaker
They're just gonna make another Foot Clan. They didn't solve crime that night. Yeah, they're probably gonna still steal stuff. like They're gonna steal like TVs and people's wallets. there's somebody box On the way home, they're just gonna rob a store.
01:07:04
Speaker
they they have They have a giant mob now. They can just like riot and start just like smashing things.
01:07:10
Speaker
Because think about this. All the other crime... is paused because the foot clan came in and muscled in on town. That was like the point at the beginning of the movie. It's like one crime wave from them.
01:07:22
Speaker
So I guess other gangs aren't doing it or they've been pushed out of town. The only ones sapping them are the turtles. They're busy fighting Shredder. Great time to go do crime. like excuse Sam Rockwell should stuff and be like, alright guys, we got yeah the whole city.
01:07:38
Speaker
what we want city now. We all know they're right here in Manhattan. Let's just go somewhere else. Let's just go to another borough. Let's just hop on a train. They can't get us all.
01:07:50
Speaker
I was reading a apparently Skeet Ulrich and Scott Wolfe are also like kind of unnamed foot clan members in the background somewhere. Really? ah Yeah. Yeah.
01:08:00
Speaker
I mean, there's a lot of people in that warehouse. Yeah.
01:08:09
Speaker
But yeah, the finality is is great because nowadays but what would happen is they had pushed Shredder in like a beam of light. they yeah The Shredder would do something clumsy like fall in a hole like that he made or something like it's Shredder has some sort of doomsday weapon that like launches a ah a beam a light beam, which i think i think they did in Out of the Shadows, like the sequel to like the Michael Bay one, where it's like, Krang's on the roof with like the whatever sky beam thing he's doing. or yeah He's trying to open like a portal to the Dimension X, maybe, or something.
01:08:48
Speaker
And then they gotta stop him.
01:08:53
Speaker
I feel like in in in in this kind of thing, having all the turtles fight one after another, then doing the like, hey, let's all work together, figure it out. It's choreographed in a way feels realistic, especially when, you know, up but to this point, they haven't been challenged like that.
01:09:12
Speaker
So...
01:09:14
Speaker
In the first the first and the first like foot foot soldier fight in Naples' apartment, they kind of get their asses kicked. but Well, yeah. Because cause there's like ah cause there's like ah like there's like a hundred dudes. But then that's who they fight again. like it yeah They do really well the second time, and they're more confident, and they're having fun again.
01:09:33
Speaker
And they've been training for a week. And Raph is not being senseless. I mean, he's vital to it. I feel like ah they were caught off guard, which is the three of them fighting.
01:09:44
Speaker
So having Raph really evened the odds. And it's funny, because like it's not like the Foot Clan prepared with better weapons, or like more men, or ah gun.
01:10:00
Speaker
just They did the same thing. Yeah, I don't think in the final battle, they don't they't really show up. Because they bust out those big axes in like April's apartment, but I don't think they bring any that stuff in like the
Final Battle and Aftermath
01:10:11
Speaker
final battle. It's all just show up hand-to-hand.
01:10:13
Speaker
ah One guy brought an axe back. It's the guy that takes the string at Mikey. Yeah. And then Mikey does the duck. Yep. That's the only time that that guy remembered to bring the axe, and then the rest of the time, it's...
01:10:29
Speaker
It's just everyone's trying to do like a tickle fight against the turtles. Because the turtles were able to do some crazy stuff to them. like they They were able to do like a cartwheel on them. They were able to... Yeah, I think... yeah free which which too like They formed a ball, basically. That's Mikey and Raph. Mikey and Raph do that? Okay.
01:10:47
Speaker
And then... yeah i mean Even before that, they have a but a fight in the tunnel. like They throw like a bookcase at them?
01:10:58
Speaker
You know, like, it's a different fight. And i like that. It's not like the same kind of, like, you do this and do that. Like, it's... It's wackier. It's more cartoonish. Can tell something like drive-by skateboarding hits?
01:11:11
Speaker
Yep. I mean, that's what I like about it It's... And it like spills out to the like, I like that it it's not just in the sewer and that's the finality. It's like it goes from the sewer to the streets of the roof.
01:11:25
Speaker
And then like it ends right at the but like the good point. Like you don't need to know about what's happening now. There's no like the next day. It's just like we solved crime. it We stopped all crime in new York City.
01:11:42
Speaker
Don't never cry again. It's crazy because the cops show up and then... Okay, last thing. So, the police show up. bit Can they see the roof?
01:11:56
Speaker
Because like everyone in the street seems like they did, right? like They could see the fight or hear it or something. But then the cops show up and the the turtles and Splinter don't leave. They're just doing like a high-five cowabunga.
01:12:09
Speaker
And then, ah like, they're catcalling Casey and and, like, April on the street. Yeah. people In front of all the cops. People have to be seeing that.
01:12:19
Speaker
Yeah. But yeah I feel like that's definitely not a thing in, like, this trilogy of movies. It's like... New York is not aware of the turtles that much, or at all. like I feel like it's more of like a recent thing. like Mutant Mayhem and like the Michael Bay movies started doing that thing where it's like, oh people like people are aware become aware of the turtles.
01:12:43
Speaker
Especially Mutant Mayhem, where they're fully like, you get to go to high school now. And they they get that like like the Spider-Man moment where it's like, New York's going to help you boys. like You don't mess with New Yorkers.
01:12:57
Speaker
Yeah, well, any New York... any, uh... threat, they all the New Yorkers will just side with, uh, whoever's defending the city. Yeah. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.
01:13:10
Speaker
I think, what, like, Spider-Man did that? Spider-Man 2, yeah. Yeah, ever since then, it's just like, it's a New York trope where, like, they'll team up. They'll protect their own.
01:13:24
Speaker
Which, in real life, does not happen. It's not like a New York phenomenon where it's like someone's trying to protect the city of something or a neighborhood. It's like they'll join them by like grabbing their like cutlery or whatever and go in the street. That guy's getting beat up. Let's go beat him up.
01:13:40
Speaker
We have saved the guy who's getting beat up. yeah I feel like people just like... They have their earbuds in and they're just like, and look at my phone. I'm just going to ignore this. I'm just going either ignore or just like, time to put a TikTok of me in my head. yeah yeah Film it for WorldStar or TikTok. yeah It's time to make some content money off of this.
01:14:05
Speaker
I'm going to lie. I'm not sure if I would do that, but in most reality, it's like... Yeah, no, I'm i'm like not trying to get involved in this fertile fight. and But though, Mutant Mayhem was like nice. it was i like that twist in the end.
01:14:19
Speaker
And then I like what they do now with the Mutant Mayhem TV show, which I highly recommend. like it it If you've seen so much of the Turtles thing, it's a great like restructuring of it.
01:14:34
Speaker
And it doesn't feel strange. It's sort of like, what if you continued? What if the world got used to it? What if, um basically, you couldn't have the grim, dark realities just yet?
01:14:47
Speaker
But I'm not going to lie, in the Mutant Mayhem things, they introduce some weird, like, Tales of the Mutant one. Like, they they introduce some, like, life choices in there. There's, like, ah there's a few, like, oh, that's dark if you think about it, but let's not. And even the show tells you that. It's like, don't worry about it. Like, we just have no time.
01:15:06
Speaker
Deal with this later.
01:15:11
Speaker
But yeah, I also like that in this one, um no one cares about the mutation. No one cares about the like, let's try to let's try to like cage these turtles for their blood, or we need to figure out like their secrets to their fighting. It's just, we need to kill you.
01:15:28
Speaker
That's it. Like, whatever you are, we don't care. The foot is there to just be like, Shredder's just like, I need you not to exist. you arere You're the only threat, you know the old ways. Yeah, the threat isn't the police. The threat isn't another gangster rival. It's just four turtles who love pizza.
01:15:51
Speaker
Who have turtle power. And it's not like a beam. It's not like turtle power is like a weapon. It's just like, you know?
01:16:01
Speaker
Are you a turtle power, Chris, are you a ninja rap?
01:16:07
Speaker
I think I'm Ninja Rap guy. Turtle Power's okay, but they also, like, it does a thing where, like, it recaps the whole movie. hu And then, uh... It's not, like, quite a song in a way that's, like, danceable. least Ninja Rap is, like...
01:16:25
Speaker
You can sort of dance to it, I guess.
Turtle Power vs. Ninja Rap
01:16:27
Speaker
You you can sort of sing. That's the yeah. but Because if you start talking over Turtle Power, like you miss out a lot about the lyrics. like If someone's talking to you while that's playing, you can't...
01:16:40
Speaker
join back in the song. It's like the whole recap. It's just like a breakdown. and Yeah, Turtle Power is like you need to do work to be able to perform it. You need study it and memorize the lyrics.
01:16:53
Speaker
And then Ninja Rap is just like, go Ninja, go Ninja, go. Just like keep saying that over and over again. You're good. ah yeah yeah You can zone out while listening to it and come back in for the chorus. Turtle Power, I mean, the there are some parts where if he's not spelling turtles,
01:17:08
Speaker
He is just, like, even the core is just the T-R-T-T-U-R-T-L-E power. T-U-R-T-L-E power. Which, great effect. The, like, reverberation, the, like, echoing of it, and then the, like, it sounds very robotic in a way, as if, like, turtle power is, like, some sort of, like, command word.
01:17:31
Speaker
hu It's funny in Turtle Power, like the lyrics, state they like there's like factually wrong statements. They're like, Raph, he's the leader of the group. It's like, is he? Maybe in the later movies, but not this one.
01:17:44
Speaker
Well, you think about it, this movie's like a Raph-heavy movie.
Raphael's Prominence in TMNT
01:17:49
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like every every Turtle movie is like a Raph-heavy movie.
01:17:57
Speaker
Yeah, like he's like the Wolverine of things. A lot of it is... Wow, I didn't realize that. He basically goes to the Wolverine arc of things, where... First one, he gets knocked into a coma, and then becomes a better brother from it.
01:18:12
Speaker
Yep. Okay, second one, he trains... What's his face? Like, him and... ah Ernie Reyes Jr. Yeah, but it's Kino. Yeah, he trains Kino like him and Kino infiltrate the Foot Clan.
01:18:30
Speaker
Yep. Benounce to ah the everyone else, I think. And then Raph gets kidnapped again. So he gets kidnapped. Yep. And then the third one, he falls in love with feudal Japan and wants to stay.
01:18:44
Speaker
I think. Or is it Mikey? Well, I know there's like ah there's like a prince, there's like Mitsu, like the princess or whatever she is. Then, yeah. think it's I think Michelangelo's like the one is's like, oh, Mitsu, like, I love you. or but I think, but who wants to stay? i think one of them wanted to like stay.
01:19:03
Speaker
think it was Raph. think Raph falls in love with like the idea because they accept him there. and mike Mikey and Raph want to stay there because Mikey's like, I found Mitsu and she's like she's like into me, man. And Raphael's like, yeah, and then they respect me. like i can be so i I can be a warrior and like they won't be like giving me like weird looks or anything. like I'll be like an actual respected person here. It's
01:19:26
Speaker
a good thing they speak English.
01:19:30
Speaker
And then there was the whole, like, the Team NT animated, like, the CG movie, like, he wins the fight against Leo, and he's also, like, the, what is it, the Night Stalker for his, like, vigilante form.
01:19:41
Speaker
It's, like...
01:19:45
Speaker
I mean, that, I mean, like, him winning the fight against Leo is, like, just, like, that tells you everything. It's, like, yeah, Raph is the most popular character now. If he had any doubt about it before, like, there's no doubt now.
01:19:55
Speaker
Yeah.
Nostalgia and Future of TMNT
01:20:02
Speaker
And I think even like the Michael Bay movies, I think he gets like, you know, he gets like, if that's on a storyline, like a major subplot. I think only in the like out of the shadows, isn't that so wrath heavy.
01:20:21
Speaker
But yeah, any last thoughts?
01:20:25
Speaker
no i mean's yeah Still great. Still a ton of fun. um you know if it's It's a super important definitely ah 90s kid movie. like This is one of the classics.
01:20:42
Speaker
and yeah Those Jim Hudson costumes are still ah amazing. Just make a fourth movie in this. I don't know what how much it takes. I would love they just made ah another movie like this.
01:21:01
Speaker
So, yes, that had me at 35th anniversary, Turtles.
Upcoming Sin City Discussion
01:21:07
Speaker
And we're going to be sticking in the world of comic books next week. We're diving into sin City, which is celebrating, I think it's its 20th anniversary. Yeah.
01:21:23
Speaker
20th anniversary, it came out in 2005 next week, so we'll be diving into all the other the Frank Millerness of Sin City next week. And how do we say, got all of our usual, we've got news, reviews, trailers, we have our commentary for the for March, which is Craven the Hunter.
01:21:38
Speaker
um We watched that with Phil and Joe from Digital Pimp Online. So you can sync that up, watch it along with us, get into all the final film of the Sony Spider-Man universe.
01:21:54
Speaker
And we'll have ah we obviously we'll we'll have another commentary in April. which like so for try to figure out what that one is going to be, stay tuned for that.
Closing Remarks and Social Media Info
01:22:03
Speaker
And yeah, so for Chris, I am Zach, and we'll see you next week. For more For Everything Action, head to www.everythingaction.com. You can also find us on Facebook. at facebook.com slash everything.action and follow on x at evaction we're also on instagram and threads at everything.action find episodes of the podcast on apple a podcast spotify or your at podcast app of choice and be sure to rate and subscribe