Fiction vs. Fiction: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II- The Secret of the Ooze

 A Book version of a rushed Sequel?  Radical!

I bought this long ago, before I even got the DVD Set.

It was only 105 pages long (with Pictures and Size 22 font), so why not check it out?

The last FvF was about BB.  This one was written by B.B.

What's the Same?

The Plot doesn't change at all.

This is, after all, the Film Adaptation.  It is not a case where they changed all that much that matters.

That said, there were a few notable tweaks that made this worth double-dipping.

Some tagline, eh?

                                     What's Different?

As I said, the Plot doesn't change.

Instead, we get a big explanation to start with.

In the Book, right before they fight the Robbers in the beginning, Leonardo challenges himself and the other Turtles to not use their weapons during the next fight.  Something about being a Ninja.

In the Film, this is not addressed.  It was literally done to make the Film 'less violent' (again, they never even cut someone, but whatever!).

They also cover up Keno BEFORE they do half of a fight in front of him in the Book.  Nice.

In the Film, the Lab Computer crashes before the Foot Clan shows up.  In the Book, Donatello narrowly avoids AN ARROW shot at his head, which shorts out the Computer.

I must have had some of these...

The 'keep away' fight is also cut down to a single paragraph.  Boo.

In the Book, Michelangelo is caught faking his Backflip Practice, asks where to restart and begins at 1.  In the Film, a simple look from Splinter makes him know to start at 1.

Neither can explain why the Nightclub is right next to the Docks (outside of calling it the 'Dockside Club.'

In a minor tweak, they make the anti-mutagen work by spraying seltzer down the mutants' throats.  In the Film, it is done with fire extinguishers.

In the Film, the Turtles don't address the crowd and the Rapper is Vanilla Ice.  In the Book, they do that and he's just 'the Rap Performer' (saves on licensing fees!).

Both Book and Film fail to explain how one Canister can be used to mutate Tokka and Rahzar AND still have a full canister left to use on Super Shredder.
Oh well!

In the Book, Splinter doesn't get the last line of 'I made another funny!'  Good?

Final Thoughts

This one is, again, not as a big a thing as others where Books where changed (and sometimes the Film itself was also changed) drastically.

This is the Kid/Young Teen Novelization and only has minor tweaks.

The Book gives you the feel of the Story, some slight explanation for things...but also doesn't let you truly enjoy the banter between our Heroes.

As such, the nod ultimately goes to (warts and all)...

The Film.

If you couldn't afford/beg your Parents enough to buy the Film on VHS, this is a good substitute.  It's just not quite as funny to hear about backflipping Ninja Turtles, you know?