TMNT (2007)

Director:

Kevin Munroe

Writers:

Kevin Munroe (written by)
Peter Laird (characters) ...
(more)

Release Date:

23 March 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

Tagline:

Raising Shell In 2007

Plot:

The continued adventures of the four adolescent mutated turtles gifted in the art of the ninja, as they attempt to stop a mysterious evil that threatens to end the world.

Plot Keywords:

Turtle | New York City | Ninja | Monster | Martial Arts

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Nolan North	...	Raphael / Nightwatcher (voice)
James Arnold Taylor	...	Leonardo (voice)
Mitchell Whitfield	...	Donatello (voice)
Mikey Kelley	...	Michelangelo (voice)
Mako	...	Splinter (voice)
Sarah Michelle Gellar	...	April O'Neil (voice)
Chris Evans	...	Casey (voice)
Patrick Stewart	...	Winters (voice)
Ziyi Zhang	...	Karai (voice)
Laurence Fishburne	...	Narrator (voice)
Kevin Smith	...	Diner Cook (voice)
John Di Maggio	...	Colonel Santino (voice)
Paula Mattioli	...	General Serpiente (voice)
Kevin Michael Richardson	...	General Aguila / Additional Voices (voice)
Fred Tatasciore	...	General Gato (voice)
Dee Bradley Baker	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Dee Baker)
Greg Baldwin	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Jeff Bennett	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Jim Cummings	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Grey DeLisle	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Chris Edgerly	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Kim Mai Guest	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Jennifer Hale	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Jess Harnell	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Phil LaMarr	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Paul Michael Robinson	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Tara Strong	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Billy West	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Jason Broad	...	Background Voices (Wallah) (voice)
Willow Geer	...	Background Voices (Wallah) (voice)
Andy Hirsch	...	Background Voices (Wallah) (voice)
Barbara Iley	...	Background Voices (Wallah) (voice)
Terry Maratos	...	Background Voices (Wallah) (voice)
Jeremy Maxwell	...	Background Voices (Wallah) (voice)
Tracy Metro	...	Background Voices (Wallah) (voice)
David Michie	...	Background Voices (Wallah) (voice)
David Randolph	...	Background Voices (Wallah) (voice) (as David J. Randolph)
Vernon Scott	...	Background Voices (Wallah) (voice)
Andreana Weiner	...	Background Voices (Wallah) (voice)

Directed by
Kevin Munroe

Writing credits
Kevin Munroe		(written by)
Peter Laird		(characters) &
Kevin Eastman		(characters)

Produced by
Michael J. Arnold	....	line producer
Kyle Clark	....	producer (studio segments)
Frederick U. Fierst	....	executive producer
Thomas K. Gray	....	producer
Felix Ip	....	co-producer
Francis Kao	....	executive producer
Peter Laird	....	executive producer
Gary Richardson	....	executive producer
Galen Walker	....	producer (as H. Galen Walker)
Paul Wang	....	producer

Original Music by
Klaus Badelt

Cinematography by
Steve Lumley

Film Editing by
John Damien Ryan

Casting by
Dawn Hershey

Production Design by
Simon Murton

Art Direction by
Mon Cheung
Simon Murton
Ahtam Tam

Production Management
Brad Arensman	....	post-production supervisor
Shanna Bassinger	....	production manager
Jojo Chuk	....	production manager
Justine Lam	....	production manager
Shuk Fan Leung	....	production manager
William Maurer	....	production manager
Mo Mou	....	head of production
Kris Zhai	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tom Tanaka	....	assistant director

Art Department
Greg Bartkus	....	assistant art director
Jonathan Carlos	....	art department coordinator
James Doh	....	storyboard artist
Trevor Goring	....	storyboard artist
Anson Jew	....	storyboard artist
Jeff Julian	....	concept designer
Steve Jung	....	concept artist
Steve Jung	....	illustrator
Steve Jung	....	matte painter
Dave McCaig	....	color designer
Samir Patel	....	layout
David Schwartz	....	storyboard supervisor (as Dave Schwartz)
Rhoydon Shishido	....	storyboard artist
Adam Tankell	....	graphic designer
Francis Tsai	....	conceptual designer
Seth Wilder	....	graffiti artist
Simeon Wilkins	....	storyboard artist
Andy Chung	....	concept designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
J. David Atherton	....	production sound mixer
Petra Bach	....	adr supervisor
Ron Bartlett	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bradford Bell	....	foley recordist
David V. Butler	....	adr editor
Christopher Carmichael	....	assistant sound engineer
Russell Farmarco	....	adr editor
John P. Fasal	....	sound effects recordist (as John Paul Fasal)
Eric Flickinger	....	sound recordist
Cameron Frankley	....	sound designer
Cameron Frankley	....	supervising sound editor
Doug Hemphill	....	sound re-recording mixer (as D.M. Hemphill)
Doug Jackson	....	sound designer
Jason W. Jennings	....	sound designer
David Jobe	....	foley mixer
Ryan Juggler	....	supervising foley editor (as Ryan B. Juggler)
Randy Kelley	....	sound designer (as Randall Kelley)
Randy Kelley	....	sound effects editor
Ai-Ling Lee	....	sound designer
Ai-Ling Lee	....	sound effects editor
Jon Michaels	....	assistant sound editor
Alyson Dee Moore	....	foley artist
John Roesch	....	foley artist
Carlos Sotolongo	....	adr mixer
Jamie Thomason	....	dialogue editor

Visual Effects by
Desmond Chan	....	lead technical director
Tony Dustin	....	digital film colorist
Sean Ermey	....	character animator
Joshua Gunther	....	visual effects
Earl A. Hibbert	....	pre-visualization artist
Rodney Montague	....	visual effects producer: main title sequence
Kith Ng	....	visual effects supervisor
Kim Ooi	....	supervising animator
Ira Shain	....	pre-visualisation artist
Brad Sutton	....	digital quality control
Wilson Tang	....	digital quality control
Sammy Wong	....	pre-visualization
Joey Wray	....	systems engineer
Everette Webber	....	digital intermediate editor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Justin M. Lubin	....	still photographer

Animation Department
Drew Adams	....	animator
Colin Brady	....	supervisor: additional animation
Ray Chase	....	character animator
Mark Donald	....	character animator
Ken Duncan	....	supervising animator
Bryan Engram	....	supervising animator
Shaun Freeman	....	animator
Tim Hatcher	....	character animator
Adam Holmes	....	head of layout
Jeff Matsuda	....	character designer
Kim Ooi	....	supervising animator
Thomas Perkins	....	character designer

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Dave Lieber	....	casting assistant

Editorial Department
Ron Barr	....	digital intermediate editor
Terry Claborn	....	color timer
Sean Coyle	....	second assistant editor
Tony Dustin	....	film colorist
Allyse Manoff	....	digital intermediate producer
Brett S. McCarthy	....	first assistant editor
Everette Webber	....	digital intermediate editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Kyle Kenneth Batter	....	additional orchestrator (as Kyle Batter)
Christine Bergren	....	music clearance
Christopher Brooks	....	score co-producer
Sandy DeCrescent	....	music contractor (as Sandy De Crescent)
George Doering	....	musician: guitar
Robert Elhai	....	music preparation
Robert Elhai	....	orchestrator
Karen Han	....	musician: featured erhu
Ian Honeyman	....	music arranger
Ian Honeyman	....	music arranger: synthesizer
Ian Honeyman	....	music programmer: synthesizer
Ian Honeyman	....	orchestrator: synthesizer
Jim Honeyman	....	orchestrator
Joel Iwataki	....	music score mixer
Joel Iwataki	....	score recordist
Julianne Jordan	....	music supervisor
Kevin Kliesch	....	orchestrator
Russ Kunkel	....	musician: featured drums
Larry Mah	....	digital score recordist
Tobias Marberger	....	music arranger: synthesizer
Tobias Marberger	....	music programmer: synthesizer
Tobias Marberger	....	orchestrator: synthesizer
Dana Niu	....	orchestrator
Andrew Raiher	....	music arranger: synthesizer
Andrew Raiher	....	orchestrator: synthesizer
Andrew Raiher	....	programmer: synthesizer
Alexander Reumers	....	score technical assistant
William Ross	....	conductor
Peter Rotter	....	orchestra contractor
Curtis Roush	....	music editor
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
Eric Stonerook	....	music preparation
John Ashton Thomas	....	music arranger: synthesizer
John Ashton Thomas	....	music programmer: synthesizer
John Ashton Thomas	....	orchestrator: synthesizer
Jeff Toyne	....	orchestrator
Brad Warnaar	....	orchestrator
Masakazu Yoshizawa	....	musician: featured shakuhachi

Other crew
Jamie Bukowski	....	assistant: Klaus Badelt
Cassandra Fauss	....	production coordinator
Ray Felipe	....	script analyst
Howard Ho	....	assistant to producer
Vahe Kallibjian	....	assistant production coordinator
Mo Mou	....	head of production
Stephan Rothman	....	production accountant
Bruce Schluter	....	title designer: main titles
Jamie Thomason	....	dialogue director

Thanks
German Cheung	....	in memory of
Quinton Flynn	....	special thanks
Nika Futterman	....	special thanks
David S. Goyer	....	special thanks (as David Goyer)
Darren Higman	....	special thanks
Wayne Kazan	....	special thanks
Matt Landon	....	special thanks
Mako	....	in memory of (as Mako Iwamatsu)
Jeffrey Robinov	....	special thanks (as Jeff Robinov)
Kathy Sarreal	....	special thanks
Harvey Weinstein	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Imagi Animation Studios
• Imagi Production
• Mirage Studios
• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)
• Weinstein Company, The (presents)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Applause Entertainment (2007) (Taiwan) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Cinergia (2007) (Ukraine) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Entertainment (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Nordisk Film Theatrical Distribution (2007) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Nordisk Film (2007) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2007) (Cyprus) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2007) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Roadshow Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Solar Films (2007) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Ster-Kinekor Pictures (2007) (South Africa) (theatrical)
• TOBIS Film (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2007) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2007) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Medyavizyon (2007) (Turkey) (all media)
• Nordisk Film (2007) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Nordisk Film (2007) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Odeon (2007) (Greece) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Reel FX Creative Studios (additional character animation)
• Third Floor, The (pre-visualization)

Other Companies

• Atlantic Records  soundtrack
• Blue Yonder Films  special thanks
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Eastwood Scoring Stage  score recorded at (as Eastwood Scoring Stage, Warner Bros.)
• Groovemasters Studio  additional score recording (as Groovemasters)
• L.A. Studios, The  additional adr recorded at
• Margarita Mix  additional adr recorded at
• Pacific Title  main and end titles (as Pacific Title and Art Studio)
• Spot-On Scripts  continuity scripts
• Technicolor Digital Intermediates  digital intermediate
• Technicolor Digital Intermediates  opticals
• Technicolor  prints
• Warner Bros. Studio Facilities  sound editing and re-recording

Also Known As:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (USA) (long title)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV (USA) (working title)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Immortal (USA) (working title)
Las Tortugas ninja (Argentina) (Colombia) (Peru) (Venezuela) [es]
As Tartarugas Ninja - O Retorno (Brazil) [pt]
Helononintzakia (Greece) [el]
Les tortues ninja (France) [fr]
Mutant Turtles (Japan: English title) [en]
Nindza kornjace (Serbia) [sr]
Ninja kaplumbagalar (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
TMNT - Tini nindzsa teknöcök (Hungary) [hu]
TMNT - Tortugas ninja jóvenes mutantes (Spain) [es]
TMNT - Tortugues ninja joves mutants (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
TMNT, les tortues ninja (France) [fr]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Germany) [de]
Teini-ikäiset mutanttininjakilpikonnat (Finland) [fi]
Teismelised ninjakilpkonnad (Estonia) [et]
Tortues ninja (Canada: French title) [fr]
Wojownicze zólwie ninja (Poland) [pl]

MPAA:

Rated PG for animated action violence, some scary cartoon images and mild language.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

Hong Kong | USA

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Ireland:PG | UK:PG | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:6 | Finland:K-11 | Hong Kong:I | Canada:G (Quebec) | USA:PG (certificate #43348) | Australia:PG | Malaysia:U | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Germany:6 | Argentina:Atp | Brazil:Livre | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Norway:7 | Sweden:7 | Denmark:7 | South Korea:All | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | South Africa:PG | France:U | Portugal:M/6 | Peru:PT | New Zealand:PG

Company:

Imagi Animation Studios

Trivia:

Karai's first movie appearance. Karai is the adopted daughter of Shredder in the 2003 animated TV series, and was sent from Japan to take over the foot when Shredder died in the Comic Book.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Michelangelo enters the Turtle's lair, he throws his skateboard to the ground near the front entrance before descending down a stairway. When he goes to sit on the couch, his skateboard reappears laying on the floor by the platform but earlier shots has clearly shown it was not there before.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Four turtles. Four brothers. Genetically reborn in the sewers of New York. Named after the Renaissance masters and trained as ninjas.

Movie Connections:

Featured in TMNT: Voice Talent First Look (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Black Betty

Fitting Reinvention of the Franchise

i just saw a test screening of TMNT and, although i suspected it would be good, it surpassed my predictions. i should note that i am a pretty big fan of the old movies (1 and 2 anyway) and the old cartoon, and am a collector of TMNT comic art posters-- this may give you a perspective on where i'm coming from before you read my review. Without giving much away, here is what i liked(+)/disliked(-).

+ANIMATION: the biggest thing the movie has going for it is the animation. it is miles ahead of any animated movie I've ever seen. the level of detail is unsurpassed and completely amazing. everything from backgrounds, characters, various surfaces and textures (including skin), lighting and different effects (including a pivotal sequence in the rain) absolutely blew me away.

+DESIGN: along the same lines as the animation, the general look and design of everything was pretty cool. the turtles themselves look different and new, as well as splinter, casey and april. their designs fit in well with the overall look of NY city, which is dark, worn and very impressive. the skyline was very well done. I was also particularly impressed with the design of karai and the foot.

+CHARACTERS & RELATIONSHIPS: especially between the turtles and splinter --and particularly raphael and leonardo-- the relationships are complex, as is traditionally the case for the franchise. in this film they are well drawn and developed and, in the end are fulfilling and cathartic. there are a few surprises to say the least, both within the turtle team and also without. casey also adds to his relationship with raph in this movie.

+SCREENPLAY/STORYLINE: The screenplay is generally okay. the tone is about as perfect a balance you can hope for for a film trying to appeal to the Saturday morning crowd as well as the old school, 20-something fans. it returns to the darker, more emotional tone of the first live action film but doesn't fail to deliver on humor (although some of it is hit and miss-- probably the result of trying to appeal to the younger crowd). Dialogue is decent. the storyline is a bit more on the sci-fi side than most fans of the old movies will be used to, but it seems secondary to the development and relationships of the characters-- a good decision on the part of the filmmakers. the plot is still interesting and fast paced, and the villains are credible.

+ACTION/FIGHT SEQUENCES: generally well done. for me, the centerpiece of the whole movie was a climactic, rooftop fight scene in the rain. other cool sequences include a skateboarding scene, and a huge fight against a bunch of foot ninjas.

-HUMOR: not that it was particularly bad (although michaelangelo was borderline annoying sometimes), but for me, there wasn't enough. i usually associated the turtles with humor, even in their darker pieces like the first live action film.

-SPLINTER'S VOICE: this may be sacrilege, but Mako's voice took some getting used to. I was used to the soft-spoken whisper of past splinters. this one is harsh and grumbly. this isn't to say its bad-- it just took some getting used to.

-CHARACTER SCREEN TIME: michaelangelo and especially donatello were hardly in the movie. there could have been more development about their characters (traditionally leo and raph are the focus, though) although they do bond well as a part of the whole group. Same goes for April. She has usually been a pivotal character in any incarnation of the franchise, but she is minor here. Hopefully there will be future films where these three characters will be explored in more depth.

-APRIL: not only does she have little screen time, but she isn't as "strong" a character as she usually has been, and her fighting skills were kind of out of the blue. besides this, her relationship with casey was kind of flat. hopefully it will be remedied in future films, if there are any.

-CASEY JONES: what happened to the hard-edged casey we all knew? i get that he is supposed to be more "domestic" now, but i didn't even get a hint of the old, violence-crazy vigilante.

-VIOLENCE: i hate for this to be another "there's not enough violence in TMNT" discussion, but although there is a lot of fighting, it seems they've really tried to keep the violence to a minimum, which is understandable considering their broad market (after all, it is PG). depending on if this film is successful, i would like to see them up the darkness and violence a bit more (PG-13 would be cool)-- although even if it is successful, it probably wont happen. wishful thinking i guess.

You will enjoy this film if you are a true old school fan or a fan of the newer cartoon. If you never really liked the turtles, you probably wont like this either. Since this is supposedly based more on the original comics, even the comic fans should enjoy it. Although it is a bit on the dark side, the PG rating is fitting, and isn't too much more violent than the Saturday morning cartoon, id imagine. it is a good action film and a good family film-- adults and non-fans shouldn't be bored. To people who balk at the idea of it being animation ("its a cartoon!") or being PG, i'd say give it a chance-- you might actually like it. like most things, if you walk in hating it, you're gonna leave hating it. but as a longtime fan of the turtles in most incarnations, this film has my seal of approval. it was pretty good, and i expect to see more.

OVERALL: 8/10