Front Row Geek: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Art of Invisibility

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Art of Invisibility

(– ***Spoilers For The Above*** –)

The irony of the Ninja Turtle phenomena of the late eighties/early nineties is the discrepancy between the huge marketing potential for the green foursome on multiple platforms (graphic novels, video games, movies, cartoons, action figures, live action television shows, on ice, etc), the attempt to cash in on that potential, and the unique failure to do so. It was bubble like, that perhaps better invested in would have yielded greater results than the retro, 80's, nostalgia, cash grab, quasi-renaissance that the franchise is experiencing now. No the crime fighting brothers have never truly ceased to exist in the overall consciousness of pop culture, but they have waned in their popularity and influence over said popular cultural sphere. An oddity at that, the series was arguably more popular with my generation than Transformers or G.I. Joe, not really arguably, the turtles could be experienced on far more platforms than either of those series combined, yet there is a tendency to misremember the past.

There has been a reconstructed past, where the turtles were a passing fad, and the giant robots and muscular soldiers dominated the pop culture landscape. No doubt this ruse has been perpetrated on an unsuspecting public by the generation of men who grew up in the decade before mine,who saw the turtles benefit from the foundation laid by the Transformers, G.I. Joe's, Go-Bots, Voltron, Thunder Cats, Robotech, etc, the turtles came about at the right time and was able to cash in. Yet it was all very tongue in cheek, as the creators of the turtles have intimated in recent years, their creations were a joke to begin with. A joke that grew larger and encompassed more people than they could have ever imagined, but if they were not serious when they constructed it, how could it have become as popular as it did?

The mythology of Ninja Turtles, the archetypal characters, the relatability, and the foundation of psychology, the cross sections of spirituality combined with the philosophy of ninjutsu, and they joked their way right into a four quadrant story, aimed at kids, which turned into a marketing bonanza and spawned a million copycats. It was as if the investors saw it as a passing fad and treated it as a cash grab, in the era of Oliver Stone's Wall Street, they were buying low and selling high, except the stock never really crashed, the bubble never popped. The turtles had staying power, and even when their popularity faded somewhat in the late nineties early 00's they still had an audience all over the world and still do. It seems the current investors have adopted the former's philosophy of cash grab mentality, rather than learning from the mistakes of the past and building a franchise on the already firm and well established foundation of the original property, especially the good will created by this film.

A great film by the way, never quite equaled in any form afterward,only bested by the original comic book, which was 'dark and gritty' before those words became synonymous with the industry pitch, the whole enterprise was mishandled from the start and seemingly continues to be, although the Bay film remains to be seen, pre-production has been rocky at best.

The original film was modeled after the success of Burton's Batman, some cheese, a little wink wink with the audience, but a film marketed for children and filmed for adults. There is never a flat frame, we are constantly invited into the world of the Turtles with deep focus, and interesting framing. Obviously this is pre-Cgi era, however that makes the achievement even more impressive. The rhythmic editing coupled with the well timed sound design creates an almost poetic flow to the scenes, woven together with gorgeous sets and costume design captured with beautiful cinematography, which in some scenes is quite stunning. There is a scene in this film, which stood out to me as a child but at the time I knew not why, now I know it is an artistic expression by the filmmakers to add soul to what was supposed to be a soulless corporate scheme.

Watching this film we get the sense that the filmmakers actually studied the philosophy and religion being espoused by a giant Ninja mouse. There is care and love put into every scene, and no I am not decrying the work of crews on films that don't turn out so well, I am merely applauding the outstanding work done on this film, by all involved. The film is a treasure and a lingering artifact from the era of 80's film making marked by practical effects, a child's story told for adults. It's full of mystical and sagely advice, and underpinned with a spirituality and a soul that is seriously lacking in most product made for kids today. It's full of emotion and mournfulness, it's meandering and thoughtful, unafraid to take risks. The action pales in comparison to anything from the past twenty years, and there are a myriad of cheesy one liners, but none of that detracts from this gem of a movie that will no doubt leave you contemplating and smiling.

The characters are round and whole, multidimensional, mostly played by fully formed adults, with one supporting turn from a teen. There is a youthful presence however, and my girlfriend rather astutely made the observation that it was smart to make the young thieves, with souls hanging in the balance, the same age as the target audience. They run rampant over a pleasure island type warehouse where the foot clan make their residence. Overall a superb screenplay that feels lived in and organic. The characters bounce off of each other and change with the scenes. At one point they are forced to retreat to a farm and the characters are scattered all over a large house. Casey Jones makes breakfast and chops veggies with Leonardo's sword. I'm not sure if this was written in the original script, but it reveals character and makes connections with the new environment in a way that cgi and a million fight scenes never will.

4 out of 5 stars

@WBPreston_

Frontrowgeek

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