Spectacular, fast paced, and uneven throughout, the latest outing for the Ninja Turtles is a wonderfully realized animated adventure that strives to appeal to all fans of the early ‘90s pop culture icons. Some rough plot points, rather generic villains, and a direct focus on only two of the Turtles are its downfall. However, there’s enough meat here to make this new vision a solid entry for the franchise.

It’s immediately apparent that this is a stunning film to look at. Animation studio Imagi has brilliantly crafted this TMNT film to mix the original comic book stylings and more familiar lighter toned cartoon. The result is a set of fluid moving turtles, whose acrobatic set is a joy to watch.

The story is a disappointment, as the film focuses on rather generic monsters that supposedly walked the Earth for 3,000 years without anyone noticing them in the middle of New York. Alternate dimensions and cheap monsters were a trademark of the early cartoon series, and there’s barely a true villain for the film to focus on. Granted, it’s nice to see something else other than trademark nemesis Shredder, but this new set of foes doesn’t make much of an impact.

TMNT is not a film about fighting evil though. Its focus is on brotherhood, and the Turtles struggle to find a reason for their existence without anyone threatening their home since the defeat of the Foot Clan. Raphael and Leonardo lead the film for the majority of the running time, leaving Donatello and Michelangelo to take background roles to the growing distance between their brothers.

This does lead to one of the most memorable and spectacular animated sequences in all of animated films. Raph and Leo clash in a rooftop battle in a massive downpour that is simply unmatched in visual splendor. It’s also an emotional sequence, harkening back to the first Turtles effort in 1990.

Countless references to the entire series of films are prevalent. Certain shots are direct lifts in cartoon form, dialogue spoken word for word, and visual cues inserted to provide a stronger link. This becomes an issue for the story, as this is apparently attempting to link a prior adventure, though which is never specified. If this is a sequel to the film series, April O’Neal has changed her career and become a ninja. If this isn’t a sequel, then countless unanswered questions remain.

For kids, this is a dark film, set almost entirely at night. Certain plot subjects may be lost on them, and opening is definitely a lot for the under 10 audience. Immortality, resurrection, planet alignment, and the eventual resolution are definitely confusing. Adult fans that grew up with the characters will find this wider reaching, just generic.

At a brisk 90 minutes, this is a great family film, even though the youngest may need some help to get them through. It’s more than worthy to bear the Turtles name, and the set up for a sequel leaves the audience waiting for more. TMNT is sharp and energetic, if not poorly put together at times.

Movie ★★★☆☆ 

Warner releases the Blu-ray edition with the same encode as its HD DVD counterpart. In other words, it’s perfect. Every bit of detail in the texture work is visible, whether the shot is a close up or a long one of the city. Colors are perfectly saturated, and compression is never evident. Black levels create a stunning contrast that makes for a 3-D effect without any glasses. The downpouring rain, clashing swords, and neon lights of the rooftop Leo/Raph fight is the demo material you’ve been looking for.

Video ★★★★★ 

The TrueHD mix is flawless all around, much like the video. This is amazing sound design, excelling in both subtle atmosphere and high end surround use. Positional audio hits every speaker, and the subwoofer receives a workout. Battle scenes are obviously a highlight, but it’s those little sounds when the Turtles are in their sewer lair that tend to get overlooked. This disc doesn’t miss anything.

Audio ★★★★★ 

Extras are equal across all formats. A director’s commentary with Kevin Munroe focuses on the animation process and little touches the audience might miss. There’s plenty of talk on deleted scenes as well, appropriate given what’s coming next.

Numerous deleted scenes (including an alternate opening and fleshed out ending) fill the special features menu separately instead of being contained in their own section. They’re in various forms of completion. Oddly, there’s no option to view them without Munroe offering a commentary over them. He discusses the dialogue, and you can’t even hear it.

Monsters Come Alive is a storyboard comparison from one of the monster attacks, and again, has full commentary with no option to view the piece with it turned off. Donny’s Digital Data Files discusses the animation process in a brief two minute piece. TMNT: Voice Talent is, obviously, a look at the actors taking on the roles and their feelings on the characters. At five minutes, there’s not much to see. Finally, an Internet reel is a teaser trailer narrated by Laurence Fishburne.

Extras ★★☆☆☆ 

Blu-ray Movie Review from : DoBlu.com

TMNT Review

Say someone gets their hands on the device that could change fairy tales forever. Instead of happy endings, bad things happen to those beloved characters. Jack gets stomped on the beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty doesn’t wake up, Red Riding Hood sits in the digestive track of a wolf, and the entire fairy tale kingdoms goes awry.

What if they stay in this backwards time span, yet still find a happy ending? Do you follow the Terminator timeline and the inevitable happens without going back? Or maybe things play out like Déjà vu on separate timelines, where one version of the character is forced to repeatedly play out the original story as stated in Happily N’Ever After.

Then again, who cares? This movie is a mess. Trying to ensure logical or scientific accuracy on the whole thing may seem ridiculous, but there’s nothing else to do while you watch this humorless, dull, and unimaginative animated film.

The fairy tale parodies were done better in all three Shrek movies. The re-tellings here have no new concepts or laughs behind them. Animation is stiff and on the level of a TV cartoon. Characters are sloppy and lacking originality. How many cute cartoon pigs does the world need?

The cast is filled with names including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Andy Dick, Sigourney Weaver, and George Carlin in a small role (maybe 10 lines total). Any movie with the voice work of Patrick Warburton should be instantly enjoyable as well, yet he’s given nothing to work with.

Aside from a few small snickers, Happily struggles to elicit any of its laughs. These parodies all feel familiar in this day of CG animation, and this movie can do nothing to shake the feeling. How this ended up in theaters instead of direct-to-video is an answer only the execs at LionsGate can answer.

Movie ★☆☆☆☆ 

As with any CG film, Happily uh, happily makes its way onto Blu-ray. Primary colors are strong, bright, and pure. Texture detail is excellent. The transfer is clean, sharp, and never wavers. There are some instances where minor compression artifacts show through, banding is noticeable, and hair has a tough time staying stable, though these are minor distractions in a beautiful presentation.

Video ★★★★☆ 

It’s hard to recall a disc with more positional dialogue than this. Every scene is loaded with voice work coming from the appropriate direction. It’s obvious how much care has been taken to ensure the experience was immersive. Surround work is always accurate during action scenes. Bass comes through deep and pure, especially as the giant steps through the land.

Audio ★★★★★ 

Three featurettes run about 25 minutes to begin the extras, covering the actors and the animation process. Seven deleted scenes last, appropriately enough, seven minutes. These are surprisingly complete and not just storyboards. An alternate ending doesn’t do much to change things drastically in its two minutes of runtime. Finally, a selection of three games for the kids round out the features.

Extras ★★☆☆☆ 

Blu-ray Movie Review from : DoBlu.com

Happily N’Ever After Review