Turtle Power at its core understands the story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in an amazing way, a way that is reflected in its own existence itself. In my interview earlier this week with Writer/Director Randall Lobb (Check it out here) he mentioned how the project started as a team of guys getting together and deciding they wanted to do a small “niche” documentary. What started as a focus on TMNT fans and their expansive collections before long grew into a giant project pulling key people from every era in turtle history, including a reunion of the original voice cast in a mansion in the Hollywood hills (that was for sale) to paint a portrait of how one of the biggest pop culture phenomenon ever came to be. The fact that many of the guys creating this documentary maintain day jobs and had to sacrifice so much to get this documentary out their reflects the modest beginning of the turtles themselves and is worthy of a documentary of its own.
The film takes a basic linear approach chronicling the formation of Mirage Studios and the happenstance that would latter become TMNT. This entire section is filled with moments where if the stars didn’t align just right Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman never meet and the turtles are never created. We see the first comic printed on a modest run of 3,000 copies all the way up to the studio actually moving into a building and creating comics that were outselling The Avengers. This section is filled with great early concept and comic art that many turtle fans hold dear. The scenes with Eastman going through his personal binder of hand drawn turtle art gave me goose bumps. Oh to have just one page.
The doc then moves onto licensing which to me was some of the most interesting aspects of the film. The men behind the turtles telling stories of doors being slammed in their face and having to pitch the ideas to toy companies that were less than enthusiastic was funny and very entertaining. This of course leads into the deal with Playmates Toys which shows us some great behind the scenes development of the turtle line and some fascinating insight into the toy industry and the way it works. Of course no toy line can be successful without a cartoon series and this is where the turtles really took off. Accompanied with this section is a fabulous reunion of the original cartoon series voice cast including the late James Avery. The group swapping stories and flexing the old voices again is worth the price of admission alone.
The next section focuses on the movie release. We have read a lot about challenges and things that went on behind the scenes of the movie but never have we seen it explored or shared in this much detail and by the people on the front line. The team managed to track down just about everyone of significance from the movie and got their thoughts. The chapter is full of interesting tid bits about the funding behind the scenes and the challenges the animatronics were presenting throughout filming. An interview with Jim Henson’s son about how Jim was reluctant to get involved with the picture because of the violence was particularly interesting. How different would our childhoods have been had Jim Henson not crafted the turtle in the original movie. From here the film kind of speeds through the other movies and focuses on the lasting impact of the turtles and their ability to stay relevant in pop culture. The film never really touches on the revitalization of the turtles with the 4kids series or the new Nickelodeon series but there is only so much time available and frankly I could have sat and watched 3 more hours of turtle history.
The film truly does an amazing job of taking all the history and presenting it in a streamlined fashion that held my interest the entire way. Whether it is the story of how the turtles got their colors or how Michael Ian Black was once in a turtle suit atop a Pizza place in Mexico the doc is filled with awesome info and back-story that any turtle fan simply needs to hear. Everyone who had any hand in shaping the creation or refinement of the turtles over their history speaks about them with such pride and appreciation for the characters and seems honored to have worked on such an important franchise. That is a theme that ripples through the whole film from the production team to the subjects themselves, a reverence and respect for the turtles that is long since overdue. I can’t recommend this Documentary enough, it was a labor love about a labor of love and that kind of hard work is worthy of supporting regardless of the subject matter.
Check out the site for Turtle Power here
If you want some more old school turtle love check out my review of TMNT: The Ultimate Visual History
