TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1990)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *cosmological, sociological*

An interesting academic question: if there had been no 1989 BATMAN, would TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES have been made, given that many studios didn't initially want to distribute the completed film, based as it was on a popular kid's cartoon? And if it had been made, would the Turtles alone have had the moxie to transform the course of live-action superhero films? To the second question I would say, "not at all." The Turtles were always a much more lightweight creation than Batman, both in the original comics-- partly parodying the Miller DAREDEVIL of the 1980s-- and in the cartoon-show adaptation. 

Still, the makers of the initial TURTLES knew how to boil down the essence of the characters' appeal, which is more than one can say of the same-year, BATMAN-inspired flop DICK TRACY. The four raucous turtle-teens make their home in New York's sewers, along with their ninja-master, humanoid-rat Splinter, but all of them seem to be totally cool with their existential situation as mutant, shell-backed reptiles who alternate between fighting crime and eating pizza. 

To be sure, this New York isn't much less strange than Gotham City. A Japanese clan of criminal ninjas has moved into the big burg, becoming a major player in all sorts of minor and major crimes. (I think the minor crimes are designed to bring young American kids into the ranks.) The Fagin-esque leader of the Foot Clan (named for Frank Miller's ninja-crew "The Hand") is The Shredder (James Saito), a Japanese who, unbeknownst to anyone, has a hidden connection to noble ninja-rat Splinter.

Just as '89 BATMAN didn't waste a lot of time on reprising the hero's origins, there's only a quickie explanation as to how the Turtles and their rodent-master become intelligent animal-humanoids. This allows the script to develop the human characters so that at least some of them are as broadly interesting as the fighting terrapins. Danny (Michael Turney), one of the young kids inducted into the Foot, isn't one of the better support-players, being no more than a "good kid gone wrong" and an identification figure for younger viewers. More successful are two characters from the comics: brassy reporter April O'Neil (Judith Hoag) and hockey-masked vigilante Casey Jones (Elias Koteas). I don't know if the two had a romantic relationship in the comics, but an abrasive affection works very well to give viewers a break from all the turtle-power.

Given that the Turtles are played by actors in heavy costumes, albeit sometimes abetted by minor motion-capture stunts, no one should expect even middle-range kung-fu stunts. But the jokes land more often than not, and there are a handful of serious moments to keep the comedy under control, as when Shredder captures Splinter and the Turtles are unable to form a counter-plan. All things considered, it's a fun little outing, and its box office success certainly played a role in getting more comic-book characters adapted to the big screen. So, even though it's far from great, it does have its own level of importance.