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| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | |
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| Credits | |
| Title: | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles |
| Director: | Jonathan Liebesman |
| Writers: | Josh Appelbaum; André Nemec; Evan Daugherty |
| Producers: | Jason T. Reed; Eric J. Crown; Napoleon Smith, III; Denis L. Stewart; Michael Bay; Ian Bryce; Andrew Form; Bradley Fuller; Scott Mednick; Galen Walker; Basil Bryant Grillo; Lori Scowley |
| Composer: | Brian Tyler |
| Cinematography: | Lula Carvalho |
| Editors: | Joel Negron; Glen Scantlebury |
| Production | |
| Distributed by: | Platinum Dunes Nickelodeon Movies Paramount Pictures |
| Released: | August 8th, 2014 |
| Rating: | PG-13 |
| Running time: | 101 min. |
| Country: | USA |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $125,000,000 [1][2] |
| Gross: | $191,204,754 (US) $493,333,584 (Worldwide) [1][2] |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | — |
| Next: | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows |
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American feature film of the superhero fantasy & action genres. It is based on the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird back in May, 1984. This film serves as both an adaptation of the comic franchise, as well as a remake of the 1990 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film directed by Steve Barron. The film was directed by Jonathan Liebesman with a script written by Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec and Evan Daugherty. It was produced by Paramount Pictures, Platinum Dunes, and Nickelodeon Movies and premiered in the United States in standard 2-D, 3-D and IMAX 3-D on August 8th, 2014.
The film features both a live-action cast and actors in motion-capture suits enhanced by computer imaging technology. It stars Megan Fox as intrepid reporter April O'Neil, with Will Arnett as plucky sidekick Vernon Fenwick. William Fichtner takes on the role of ambitious corporate mogul Eric Sacks with Tohoru Masamune as the evil Japanese crime boss, Shredder. Actress/comedienne Whoopi Goldberg also guest stars as April's boss, Bernadette Thompson. The turtles are played by: Pete Ploszek as Leonardo, with Johnny Knoxville providing the voice of the character, Jeremy Howard as Donatello, Noel Fisher as Michelangelo, and Alan Ritchson as Raphael. Danny Woodburn plays the role of the team's mentor, Splinter, with Tony Shalhoub providing the voice for the character.
The movie takes place in New York City, New York, which is in the grip of an intense crime wave as Shredder's ninja cartel, the Foot Clan, maintains a shadowy choke-hold over most of the Big Apple's criminal enterprises. Reporter April O'Neil of Channel 6 is the only one who believes that the Foot Clan is at the root of it all, but her investigation turns up something remarkable as she learns that a team of four vigilantes are actively fighting against the Foot. These are more than just vigilantes however. They are mutants. They are teenagers. They are ninjas. But moreover, they are Turtles! As April discovers her past relationship with these amazing heroes, she must also help them in stopping Shredder from unleashing a powerful chemical weapon upon the city, threatening the lives of millions.
Plot[]
Backstory[]
Young Eric Sacks.
Eric Sacks was the son of an American soldier, and was born in Okinawa, Japan. His father was killed in Vietnam and Sacks became the apprentice of a ninja clan leader known as the Shredder. The two conspired upon an ambitious plan take control of New York City.
As he grew older, Sacks returned to the United States and founded Sacks Industries, which spread out into numerous divisions specializing in scientific research and medical advancement. Sacks and a team of scientists, including a man named Doctor O'Neil began a program called Project Renaissance, which sought to develop a mutagen agent designed to bolster a human's immune system. This was all part of a secret plot that Sacks put together with Shredder. Their plan was to release a chemical weapon into the atmosphere, that would kill millions, but Sacks would be prepared with a cure, ready to swoop in to save the day, netting billions of dollars, while the Shredder would take advantage of the chaos to solidify a criminal hold over the entire city.
Eric Sacks and Doctor O'Neil.
In 1999, Eric Sacks and Doctor O'Neil tested their newly developed mutagen on four box turtles and a lab rat. The rat was named Splinter, while the turtles were named after famous Renaissance artists: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Exposure to the mutagen gave them enhanced physical capabilities, and also accelerated their intellect and growth cycle.
Doctor O'Neil's young daughter, April O'Neil, would often come to the laboratory to visit the turtles. Ultimately, Doctor O'Neil learned the truth about Sacks' vision, and tried to stop him by setting fire to the laboratory. Eric came into the room and shot Doctor O'Neil to death. April O'Neil rescued the turtles and Splinter and escaped from the burning building. She dumped the animals into a nearby sewer drain in New York City. For years, she believed that her father was simply a victim of the fire, and had no idea of the villainy of his employer, Eric Sacks, or his connection to the Shredder and the ninja Foot Clan.
Splinter was the first to gain enhanced intelligence. Raising the baby turtles as his sons, he found a book on Ninjitsu. First, he taught himself the discipline and martial prowess that the book provided, then handed his knowledge down to the turtles. As they grew older, they came to regard him as both their Sensei, and their father.
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Megan Fox | April O'Neil |
| Will Arnett | Vernon Fenwick |
| William Fichtner | Eric Sacks |
| Alan Ritchson | Raphael |
| Noel Fisher | Michelangelo |
| Pete Ploszek | Leonardo |
| Johnny Knoxville | Leonardo (voice) |
| Jeremy Howard | Donatello |
| Danny Woodburn | Splinter |
| Tony Shalhoub | Splinter (voice) |
| Tohoru Masamune | Shredder |
| Whoopi Goldberg | Bernadette Thompson |
| Minae Noji | Karai |
| Abby Elliott | Taylor |
| Madison Mason | Councilman |
| Taran Killam | McNaughton |
| K. Todd Freeman | Doctor Baxter Stockman |
| Paul Fitzgerald | Doctor O'Neil |
| Malina Weissman | Young April O'Neil |
| Venida Evans | Subway hostage |
| Mikal Vega | Sacks bodyguard |
| Harley Pasternak | Himself |
| Braeson Herold | Reporter |
| Chris Wylde | Reporter |
| Chance Kelly | Mister Rivetti |
| Rick Chambers | News anchor |
| Leyna Nguyen | News anchor |
| Derek Mears | Dojo ninja |
Notes[]
- "TMNT 2014" serves as a shortcut to this page. This is for the benefit of visitors and editors who wish to return to this page without typing out the full title in the search engine.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was filmed on-location in New York City, New York. The mountain exteriors and surrounding areas near Eric Sacks' chalet were shot at Tupper Lake in Franklin County, New York. [3]
- At its widest release, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was screened in 3,980 movie theaters. [2]
Leo's getting ready to whoop some ass.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles closed out of theaters on November 20th, 2014. It had been in release for a total of fifteen weeks (105 days). [2]
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was released on Region 1 DVD and Blu-ray (DVD & Digital HD combo pack) by Paramount Home Video on December 16th, 2014. The Blu-ray set is a three-disc pack. [4][5]
- Executive producer Jason Reed is credited as Jason T. Reed in this film.
- Associate producer Basil Grillo is credited as Basil Bryant Grillo in this film.
- There are a total of twenty-eight credited cast members in this film. There are seventeen named characters in the credited cast list (not counting voice doubles or alternate actors).
- This is Jonathan Liebesman sixth film work as a director. It is his first film in the superhero fantasy genre and his second film which is a remake of an earlier work. Liebesman also directed the 2006 prequel/remake film Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. In terms of sci-fi, this is his second film work. He also directed the 2011 alien invasion film Battle: Los Angeles.
- This is Josh Appelbaum's second film work as a screenwriter. He is mostly known for his work in television and was the developer of the American adaptation of the BBC television series Life on Mars. He also worked on Alias, which was created by J.J. Abrams.
- This is André Nemec's second film work as a screenwriter. As with Josh Appelbaum, he too has worked on projects developed by J.J. Abrams such as Alias. He too worked on the U.S. version of Life on Mars.
- This is Evan Daugherty's fourth film work as a screenwriter.
- The back-story of the Ninja Turtles as presented in this film is radically different from the comic books as well as the first film series. In the comics and 1990 film, Splinter and the turtles were already living as normal animals in the sewers of New York when a strange green "ooze" from an overturned canister dripped through the sewer grates and landed on them, thus creating their genetic mutations. In this film however, Splinter and the turtles were test subjects in a laboratory at Sacks Industries as part of Project Renaissance. They were exposed deliberately exposed to a mutagen, which gave them enhanced strength, increased intellect and accelerated their growth cycles. The characters also had no prior connections to April O'Neil in the original continuity, whereas in the 2014 film, she knew them when she was a little girl.
Fun Facts[]
- The tagline for this film is "Mysterious. Dangerous. Reptilious. You've never seen heroes like this". Others include "Meet the new face of Justice", "Brothers Become Legends", and "The leader. The brains. The attitude. And Mikey".
- This is the first live-action iteration of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to be seen in more than twenty years. The last theatrically released film, TMNT, was a computer animated features, which was released in 2007.
- The scene where the turtles slice up the pizza in the air, letting the slices drop onto their plates, with the final slice landing on Splinter's head, is a nod to the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, which had a similar scene.
- One of the brothers exclaims how Raphael is "doing his Batman voice". Raphael's voice is grittier and more gravely than the others. This, in combination with his rough-and-tumble attitude are similar traits to those shared by Batman.
- The song that Mikey sings to serenade April O'Neil is "Happy Together", which was humorously enough, performed by The Turtles, and was the title track of their 1967 album.
- An extended version of the elevator beatbox scene is included as one of the bonus features on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles DVD, Blu-ray, Ultraviolet and Digital HD home video collections.
- Actress Malina Weissman is also known for playing young Kara Zor-El in flashback scenes from the 2015 television series Supergirl.
- Franchise co-creator Peter Laird expressed dissatisfaction with the visual design of the turtles as seen in the reboot film. He specifically pointed out the extraneous costume details and the "beakless" faces of the turtles. [6]
Recommendations[]
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 1
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 2
- Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
See also[]
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 IMDB; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014); Box office & business.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Box Office Mojo; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014); Total Lifetime Grosses/Domestic Summary.
- ↑ IMDB; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014); Filming locations.
- ↑ Amazon.com; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014); Blu-ray.
- ↑ Blu-ray.com; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014); Blu-ray.
- ↑ TMNT Blog; "Peter Laird isn't entirely pleased with TMNT movie"; April 11th, 2014.