Bad or Good? My Thoughts on The New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie

So as most of you have probably figured out, I'm a big fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise. I loved the original comics, the 2003 show, and the 2012 show. I played with my brother's Ninja Turtle action figures as a kid, I have all three live-action movies and the CGI movie on DVD, and I have a fair amount of Ninja Turtle merchandise.

So you would think that I would be completely excited about the new movie that's coming out this year.

Well . . . that's what this blog post is about. I have some serious misgivings about the movie and also some hopes. So let's get started.

Reasons Why The New TMNT Movie Could Be Terrible

Source: idlehands1.blogspot.com

1. Michael Bay is Involved
I know that he directed Armageddon, but he's also been responsible for some pretty bad movies (cough cough Transformers), and the fact that he's involved in this project means that the movie could share the same fate as his other movies.

I just don't really like Michael Bay's style and he doesn't put a lot of thought into the characters or the story. For him, it's all about the special effects. So the fact that he's involved in a movie adaptation of my favorite TV show has me pretty edgy.

2. Megan Fox is April O'Neil
Some of you know that I can't stand Megan Fox. I honestly have never liked a movie that she was in. She doesn't strike me as a good actress and I feel that she's just there to be the sexy chick who appeals to the crowd that these types of movies attract. And the fact that she's supposed to be playing the first human that the turtles meet, a character with a lot of potential, really bugs me.

My worst fear is that the character April O'Neil will degenerate back into the useless character that's just there for sex appeal when I know that she can be so much more. And with Megan Fox playing her, that prospect seems so much more likely.

Why the Concept of the "True Geek" is Damaging

Hey everyone! 

The topic I'm tackling today may be a bit controversial but I need to say my thoughts. If you don't like what I'm about to say, then I'm sorry, but it's something that's been bugging me for a while, which is this idea of a true geek.

It started when I was reading up on the whole fake geek girl shaming issue. If you're not familiar with the issue, here's the watered-down version: various people in the geek demographic have gotten angry at girls dressing up in revealing superhero costumes and knowing nothing of said superheroes. This resulted in suspicion of all geek girls, who now have to defend themselves against the barrage of claims that they aren't real geeks. Geek girls then retaliated with arguments that they shouldn't have to defend themselves and that the geek demographic was being sexist.

Source: searchingforsuperwomen.com

Now, I could talk about that whole issue, but I actually think it's a part of something even bigger. I'm talking about the idea of being a "true geek." It comes from people saying, "you're not a true geek if you don't know who insert person here is," or "a true geek has seen every season and watched all the behind-the-scenes features," or "This is something only a true geek would know."

There's also the idea of having a "geek card," which is like the "man card." I've seen and heard these sayings all over the place from Facebook to Pinterest to various blogs. And I've said versions of these statements as well.

For a demographic of people who claim to be a part of entertainment that's posed as both morally and intellectually better than the rest of the world's entertainment, I feel like we sometimes really don't act like it.  We as geeks tend to be a little exclusive with our fandoms, rejecting those that may not fit the definition of a "true geek."

What Frozen Does Differently and Why I Like it

Hey everybody! First of all, I'm going to try and post at least once a week from now on. Whether that happens or not is uncertain, ha ha.

So I recently saw Disney's newest film, Frozen, and I was surprised by many things that this movie did that are different from previous Disney films. I know critics have given different thoughts and views on how these changes made the movie better or worse, but I'm going to talk about some of the more controversial points of Frozen, and why I liked them. Oh, to anybody who hasn't seen the movie yet, be warned that there are spoilers ahead! Just go watch the movie already!

Elsa and Anna. Source: www.neontommy.com

First of all, let's talk about how Anna's act of true love involved sacrificing herself to save her sister. This act then broke the curse of the frozen heart, saving Anna's life. I absolutely loved this part! It says so many good things about the characters and the story. I'll admit when the troll magician talked how an act of true love would save Anna, and they all immediately said, "true love's kiss," I literally groaned in the theater. I'm not even kidding. Don't get me wrong, the whole true love's kiss thing is a nice trope, but that's kind of the problem. It's been done before. Multiple times. Some examples include: Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Enchanted, etc.  And the movie made it look like that's what was going to save Anna. So when the act of true love turned out to be Anna saving her sister, I was very happily surprised. I think it worked really well and it turned a trope into something new and interesting.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Conclusion

Hey everyone!

Phew, I'm glad you stayed with me throughout this whole project! I didn't anticipate it being that extensive, but I enjoyed writing and comparing the different shows. I hope you enjoyed reading it, but let me have a final say to wrap things up with my favorite turtles.

Source: www.fanpop.com

I know you may have wondered what the whole point was of doing my comparison. To be honest, when I first started it, I wasn't quite sure. All I knew was that there were some interesting differences and similarities between these shows.

Like I said earlier, I saw that the 2012 series had an interesting blend of elements from the 1987 and 2003 series. I guess I wanted to point out that the 2012 series is possibly learning from the mistakes of the previous series. At the very least, the 2012 series is focused on the characters and developing them more.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Character: Shredder

Hey everybody!

Today is all about the Shredder, the great spiky villain of TMNT!

Shredder
Also known as Oroku Saki, Shredder is the iconic nemesis of the mutant turtles. This character has been fluid in character origin and development. However, no matter what incarnation, he is a man in lethal armor with spikes and who has sworn to destroy the turtles.

TMNT 1987

Source: en.wikipedia.org

This Shredder is the classic, bumbling villain. He tries to be intimidating but fails miserably in each episode, which often ends with his humiliating defeat.

At the same time, some of his missions aren't that evil, just off the wall and slightly menacing. He's over the top, crazy, and not really all that evil. He's the classic 80s overdramatic villain. But it's funny and he's basically a villain you can laugh at for being so ridiculous. Despite him being the turtle's main nemesis, he rarely actually engages them in combat.

This Shredder doesn't develop much as a character, simply staying in the trope of the bumbling villain. However, he's actually very entertaining and he fits the campy tone of the show perfectly. He fulfills his role as the ridiculous and fun bad guy.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Character: April O'Neil

Hey everyone!

Today I'm looking at April O'Neil, the unofficial human member of the ninja turtles' team.

April O'Neil
In all three shows, April is the first human that the turtles interact with. She becomes the turtles' connection to the outside world. Her character development and personality have changed significantly from each show.

TMNT 1987

Source: turtlepedia.wikia.com

In this show, April is the classic damsel in distress. She is a reporter for the news and she's always looking for the next big story. She met the turtles after being chased by some gang members into the sewers. After the turtles saved her and she overcame her shock of their appearances, April became their ally. 

April's the hot, spunky girl who's always getting herself into trouble through her nosing around, and the turtles have to save her. She is the turtle's first human friend and, she often helps cover up some of the things that happen with the turtles to keep the public from finding out about them. While she didn't trust them at first, she proves to rely on the turtles a lot throughout the series.

April is shown with short, reddish-brown hair, and wears a yellow jumpsuit. She is displayed as a very beautiful woman, which the turtles point out often.

To be honest, I find this April a little annoying, since she only seems to care about her next big story and she's relatively useless when it comes to fighting. It seems like she's only there to be the sexy damsel in distress that the turtles get to save in practically every episode. But despite that, she has good intentions and she does prove to be a great friend to the turtles.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Character: Master Splinter

Hey everyone!

It's been a few days, but here's my look at Master Splinter, the ninjutsu master and sensei of the turtle brothers. Here we go!

Master Splinter

Master Splinter is the sensei/father figure of the family. He is the one who took the turtles in after they were all mutated and taught them ninjutsu. He is a mutated rat, often portrayed as older, sometimes elderly. The biggest differences between all the series is Master Splinter's origin. 

TMNT 1987

Source: turtlepedia.wikia.com

In this show, Master Splinter was originally Master Yoshi before mutating into a rat along with the turtles. Yoshi had been living in the sewers after Saki forced Yoshi into exile. While living in the sewers he came across the four turtles in a glowing pink ooze and got some on himself as well.

The idea was that the ooze spliced Yoshi's DNA with the last animal that he touched, which was a rat in the sewers. The turtles' DNA was then spliced with Yoshi's human DNA, making them humanoid mutant turtles.

Master Splinter takes on more the role of a teacher to his turtle students in this show. He generally doesn't take a part of any of the turtles battles with the Shredder, preferring to have them learn on their own. He does interfere occasionally when the turtles are close to being defeated.

This Master Splinter has the personality of a wise old ninjutsu master. He is always calm, collected, and willing to give his students some helpful advice and wisdom. He is patient with his students, although their antics do exasperate him from time to time. In this show, Splinter is portrayed as a short, older rat, although not quite elderly. He looks as though he could be in his late forties or fifties as a human.