Could it be their smooth, shiny-topped looks?ĭespite some nervous umming and erring, Munroe talks us through the main feature with an obvious passion for the story. A featurette on the 'voice talent' also hears from Patrick Stewart, who explains that he signed up for the film because the Turtles 'do have a certain charm.' Hmm. Of course the likes of Chris Evans, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Laurence Fishburne have their chance to shine as well. That test footage, which is basically raw, first-stage animation of Leonardo (James Arnold Taylor) and Raphael (Nolan North) tearing bits off each other, was used as a tool to pitch to studio executives.Ī 5-minute featurette on the process of animation is unsurprisingly basic, but encourages us to be impressed by the spectacle of 'pumping muscles, veins, spots and freckles' that had the techno geeks poring over their PCs. Munroe explains that he worked out the Turtles' moves using previsualisation (scenes made solely on computer). That would also explain why he cut a fully animated scene of domestic tension between Casey and April (Sarah Michelle Gellar).Ī rough montage of storyboards depicts the Turtles playing a game of 'ninja tag' on the city rooftops and there's a storyboard-to-final-scene comparison of their face-off with the invading monsters. In his commentary, Munroe explains that it was difficult trying to keep the balance between Casey's story and the Turtles' adventures. There's an extended opening that uses comic-book visuals to fill in the gaps between the last movie (1990) and this one, plus an alternative ending that sees Casey (voiced by Chris Evans) take centre stage. Despite writer/director Kevin Munroe's ' impressively cinematic' approach, most critics felt this animated caper took itself too seriously, and that lack of enthusiasm translated to poor box office action.ĭeleted scenes make up the bulk of the extras menu and are presented in varying stages of production. The pizza-mad Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a sensation of cheesy thrills (mozzarella of course) for kids TV in the 80s and 90s, but as olive-hued warriors in TMNT: The Movie, they failed to make a mark.

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