Is this the Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo of the Series?
This is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2- The Secret of the Ooze, the 1991 follow-up to the 1990 smash hit.
Like said Boogaloo, this one was rushed into Production and made within a year of the last one. That's fast, considering all of the aspects of Studio Filmmaking!
Imagine if Matt Reeves was under the same pressure for The Batman 2!
This time, some things have changed. Mainly, this is now much more of a Kids Film, so the violence is tamped down and the Action is sillier.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is notable.
We also have a new April, new mutants (as Eastman and Laird vetoed a live-action Bebop and Rocksteady) and more 'almost the guy' Characters.
Does this one hold up as well as its more serious counterpart? To find out, read on...
Our Heroes are kicking butt still, only this time they don't use their weapons.
It's not like they ever stabbed a foot soldier in the last one or anything!
Regardless, they are staying with...new April (who isn't bad TBF) until they can find a new lair.
Meanwhile, a Scientist (David Warner) is working for the company that made the ooze that transformed our Heroes.
They got rid of all of the samples (for liability and good PR), but there's one left...and someone wants it!
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| He was happy to be in a Film that his kids could watch. |
In the Intro, they fight robbers right in front of Keno, a Pizza Delivery Guy. So much for being ninjas.
He goes to April's place (where his delivery that night was going to) and discovers them.
Like April, he faints at the sight of Splinter and is then given their origin in the exact same manner.
Will they make a new friend in Part 3 and keep the streak alive?
Warner is kidnapped, along with the ooze, and forced to make Mutants for Shredder, who is alive because shut up, that's why!
He transforms a snapping turtle and a wolf (both found in NYC?) into Rahzar and Tokka.
In a case of Deja Vu, Raphael goes off on his own (annoyed that they aren't looking for the Foot Clan) and recruits Keno to try and join the group.
It works...until it doesn't and Raphael is beaten up by the Foot Clan...again.
It leads to a face-off between the gang and the Mutants, who are way too strong.
They run away- with Warner- and devise a new plan.
They make an anti-mutagen that they eventually feed to them, but more work is required.
So, naturally, they hold them down and spray fire extinguishers down their throats!
Incidentally, the fight spills out of an Industrial Park and into...a Nightclub where Vanilla Ice is performing.
He immediately makes up a new rap (pause for laughter) called 'Ninja Rap' which he performs during the fight.
Our Heroes stop fighting to do
a choreographed dance, as you do.
The big fight with Shredder this time is...Keno blasting him out of the building via exploding speaker.
Off-screen, he drinks the remaining ooze and becomes Super Shredder!
He starts smashing up the Pier (next to the Club?) to get to them...and crushes himself (possibly to death).
Alright then. One more Splinter pun and we're out.
A fun Film, even if it feels like a very different kind of one.
The Plot is silly, with just enough logic there to make it not satire. Shredder wanting mutants to stop mutant turtles- sure, I get that.
Of course, they're also kind of dumb and voiced by Frank Welker (who famously doesn't voice animals).
I do appreciate that this one builds on the Turtles' origins too. If this was leading somewhere for the third Film, I'd have no complaints.
The big thing is that everything here is brighter and less 'scary.' Case in point...
The first Film opened up with Night Scenes of kids/teens committing crimes.
This one opens with shots of random people eating pizza.
Everything is toned down, sillier and just less threatening. Even the lead Henchman who almost (but does in the Novelization) kills a Foot Clan Member is just squished by the Turtles and beaten.
Amusingly, this is basically the reverse of how Cartoons work. They grow up with their audiences.
TMNT 2 is a fun Film, but arguably a downgrade. Plus, it shows how much inflation we've had.
This is how much the Turtles left to pay for TWO PIZZAS!
Next up, the final Film in the TMNT Trilogy. Will this disappoint Adult me like it did Kid me back in the day? Stay tuned...
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