TMNT (film)
2007 science fiction/martial arts CGI film directed by Kevin Munroe
TMNT (also known as and short for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and in 92 minutes release) is a 2007 film about the continued adventures of the four adolescent mutated turtles gifted in the art of the ninja, as they attempt to stop a mysterious evil that threatens to end the world. The film stars the voices of James Arnold Taylor, Nolan North, Mitchell Whitfield, Mikey Kelley, Chris Evans, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mako, Kevin Smith, Patrick Stewart, Zhang Ziyi, and narrated by Laurence Fishburne.
- Directed and written by Kevin Munroe.
Raising Shell In 2007
Turtles edit
Donatello edit
- No, I'm not playing hard to get, I'm telling you sir, it's not that kind of phone line!
- Did you turn it on? Did you plug it in? Yeah, that would help.
- [sighs] I'm not your enemy, I'm just Donnie, your friendly IT tech support ready to serve you sir. [fixes himself] Sorry, ma'am.
Raphael / Nightwatcher edit
- Hey, Leo's back. Better go say "Hello" before he leaves again.
- Y'know, the thing about you immortal stone guys, is you're immortal... And made of stone. I sound like Mikey!
- [last lines of the film, narrating] We live together, we train together, we fight together, we stand for good together. We are ninjas. We strike hard, defend, protect, and fade into the night. And there ain't no bad guy or monster ever gonna change that, that's what's important, and that's why we'll always be... brothers. Oh, I love bein' a turtle!
- [to Leo] Okay, Jungle Boy, grab a vine.
- (to criminal) I'm not gonna hurt ya... much.
Michelangelo / Cowabunga Carl edit
- Hey, I've been training - Since you left, my video game scores have, like, doubled.
- Why skate a half pipe, when you can skate a sewer pipe?!
- [Big entrance into Lair] HERE'S MIKEY! [Pause]...Guys? Anyone? Hello? Aw, this place used to be fun...
- So it's like Halley's Comet only... monsters come out.
- [fighting Bigfoot, gets backed up next to a pit full of spikes] This is why we need jetpacks...
- [While skateboarding] Hehe, I'm smart. [Crashes(both in the trash bin in the trailer and on the half pipe in the actual film)] I'm Okay.
- Okay... did we win now?
- Happy birthday from Cowabunga Carl!
- The turtles are back, dudes. I give us a 10 for style, an 8 for skill and- ah... a 2 for stealth. (Which is... a total of 20…?)[Looking at a destroyed construction site that the turtles fought on]
- 'Jungle Boy' he-he, good one!
Leonardo edit
- Come to Daddy. [After strapping the entirety of a display of ancient swords to his back]
- [Arguing with Raphael] Look, Raph, if there's something you wanna get off your shell, now's the time but I'm not gonna stand here and debate Splinter's direct orders with you!
- I mean, come on! What were you thinking?!
Casey Jones edit
- [Holding a door closed while one of the Generals tries to push through on the other side.] And I thought girl scouts were pushy!
- Two minutes for high sticking!
- [Raphael: What, you never heard of smoke pellets?] Warn me next time. [coughs] I got allergies.
Others edit
- Max Winters: I must've hit my head pretty hard. I'm seeing giant turtles.
- Splinter: [After kicking a monster back into the portal] I still got it!
- Splinter: If anyone needs me, I'll be watching my stories. Cody is going to break up with Donna. I just know it.
Dialogue edit
- Village Boy: [quietly] The Ghost of the Jungle. [sometime later; to April O'Neil; pointing at a tree] There. That's where I saw him.
- April O'Neil: Thank you. You'd better get home now.
- Village Boy: Do you know the Ghost?
- April: [looks back smiling] He wasn't always a ghost.
- Reporter: And with rocketing interest rates, that's bad news for homeowners as the real estate market continues its downward spiral. Coming up, the vigilante known as Nightwatcher strikes again.
- Man: Ooh, now, I can't say for sure, but he was definitely an alien.
- Woman: [angrily; in bitter disgust] I think it's a disgrace, taking the law into your own hands like that. Leave it to the police!
- Michelangelo: [about the police; remembering the old days] I remember how that used to feel, busting up crime syndicates. Sure, they had a bunch of guns, but they weren't like these guns. [flexes his muscles]
- Donatello: [sighs; unamused] Why do you do this to yourself, Mikey? Those glory days are over. Forget about 'em. Get on with your life. Concentrate on your work.
- Raphael: [waking up; sarcastically] Yeah, yeah, spoken like a true has-been.
- Donnie: [also sarcastically] Well, look who woke up. [seriously; sick and tired of Raph's laziness] I suppose you think the Nightwatcher's some kind of hero.
- Raph: [jumps down] Beats sitting around doing nothing while dirtbags run free. [crushes a soda can with his bare fist]
- Donnie: I would love to know what it is that you do that's so great. At least we're contributing around here, all you do is sleep all day.
- Raph: [scoffs; disrespectfully] Yeah. I do nothing. You're right. [points an accusing finger at Donnie] You got me all figured out.
- Donnie: [losing his patience] Well, I know that your rogue attitude has always been a source of contention to this team. You think fear is the best way to accomplish things, [raising his voice] but you're wrong!
- Raph: First of all, this "team" you speak of doesn't exist anymore. And second of all... [almost punches Donnie, who flinches]
- Splinter: [offscreen] Raphael. [appears] Enough.
- Raph: [smugly] Heh, I think I made my point.
- Donnie: [defensively] That doesn't prove anything. [Raph leaves the room; to Splinter; under his breath, bitterly] Why couldn't you send him away for training?
- Splinter: Donatello, this home has become like an empty shell. Each of your brothers has strengths and weaknesses. You must learn to be strong when they are weak. If you don't learn to recognize this, then all hope is lost for our family.
- Apri: Where are you, Casey? [speed dials Casey] Come on. Come on, pick up. [annoyed] Don't do this to me again, not now.
- Casey Jones: [on answering machine] Casey can't come to the phone right now, because...we're hardly working. [picks up phone] Uhh. This better be good.
- April: Casey, I'm standing on the docks with a priceless statue and no delivery truck. So my question is, Where are you?
- Casey: April! Hey, babe! I'm so sorry, I set the alarm clock, but-- But-- [quickly looks around, and picks up the alarm clock and puts it on the floor and crushes it as the alarm beeps] It-it's broken, the clock. [bashes it on the coffee table, which causes the batteries to fly out, finally stopping it.]
- April: It's bad enough that you're out every night playing vigilante, but we've got a deadline to meet.
- Casey: I'm sorry. Oh, wait, babe, real quick. You left a message saying you found Leo. I mean, is he there with you?
- April: No. I found him. He's not coming back.
- Casey: But-- But didn't you tell him how weird things have gotten with the Turtles?
- April: Look, Casey, we're gonna lose the biggest client we have if you don't get down here.
- Casey: All right. I'm on my way.
- Thief: [exiting store, pointing gun at store clerks] …and you keep them up, got that? And don't let me catch you calling the cops. [gets yanked up by Nightwatcher] What? Not again. [gets thrown at the wall by Nightwatcher]
- Nightwatcher: Didn't I take care of you last week?
- Thief: [worried] Hey. No, n-no. Come on, now.
- Nightwatcher: [picks up thief] I'm very disappointed in you, knucklehead. Guess night school's in session.
- Casey: [whistles] Hope I'm not disturbing class. Hey, Nightwatcher. Need any teaching assistance?
- Raphael/Nightwatcher: [to himself] Oh, no. Casey. Yeah, I've got this one covered, pal. [backhands thief] Thanks, but no thanks.
- Casey: You think you own these rooftops? I happen to think you could use my help. [Raph secretly summons his ball and chain] And I could use a sidekick. You may have everyone else fooled, but you haven't fooled me, Raph.
- Raphael/Nightwatcher: [takes Casey's bat with the ball and chain] Yeah, well, guess what, pal. Now… Hey, wait a minute. [groans] How'd you know it was me?
- Casey: Wasn't that hard, man. You know, you look like a big, metal turtle.
- Raphael: [removes his helmet] Eh. It's that obvious, huh?
- Thief: [trying to run away] I should've stayed in law school.
- Casey: Aww, ain't that cute? He's trying to get away. [looks at Raphael who smiles at Casey Jones] Well, looks like I got a sidekick.
- Raphael/Nightwatcher: Yeah, right. You're the sidekick.
- Raph: Well, [yawns] I'm going to bed. Hey, Leo's back. [pushes book off of Don's face] Better go say "hello" before he leaves again.
- Donnie: What? [happily] Leo!
- Leo: [happily] Hey!
- Donnie: [he and Leonardo hug] Hey!
- Mikey: [sees Leo; surprised] Huh, Leo? [falls over; happily] Is that really you?
- Leo: Yeah.
- Mikey: [gives Leo a hug.] I'm, like, dreaming, aren't I?
- Leo: No, Mikey. You're not dreaming.
- Mikey: Oh, good. I have nightmares about birthday parties. [hugs Leo tightly]
- [scene fades to the Turtles on top of a building]
- Raph: Okay, Leo, I'll bite. What are we doing up here?
- Leo: I told Splinter I'd get this team in shape again.
- Mikey: Hey, I've been training. Since you left, my video game scores have, like, doubled.
- Leo: [smirks; amused] Right. And while you've been playing games, little brother, [seriously] this Nightwatcher character's come into the neighborhood like some kind of vigilante showboat, but his days are done.
- Raph: Hey, you went AWOL, Leo. And the Nightwatcher was the only guy to pick up the slack. [coldly] Crime never took a break. You did.
- Mikey: [about the Nightwatcher] I heard his bike turns into a plane, or like, a jetpack. Hey, Don, you're so smart. Why don't we have jetpacks?
- Donnie: Yeah, that's good, Mikey. I don't even trust you with a driver's license. Have you seen the way this guy behaves--?
- [the Turtles are interrupted by a roar coming from a construction site]
- Mikey: Whoa. [he and the Turtles run to see the construction site] Ho-ho, someone's cranky.
- [a monster roars in the construction site]
- Raph: Okay, Jungle Boy, grab a vine. [dashes to investigate]
- Leo: [warningly] Raph, wait. Splinter told us not to fight.
- Mikey: [chuckles] "Jungle Boy." Good one.
- Leo: [groans in annoyance] Alright, but remember, we're only up here for training.
- Mikey: Y'know what I always say, "Train by doing, dude."
- Donnie: Mikey, when have you ever said that?
- Mikey: This is why we need jetpacks.
- Donnie: [worried] Okay, any more bright ideas?
- Mikey: How about this? [he and Donnie look at each other, and they both screams in terror while Mikey jumps into Donnie's arms, Scooby-Doo-style; piece of scaffolding falls on top of the Turtles]
- Donnie: When this is over, I'm totally calling the architect.
- Mikey: [dazed] Dudes, did anyone get the license plate of that thing that hit us last night? Oy, my head...
- Donnie: Okay, th-that was just weird. I mean, first the Foot, then that hideous monster--
- Mikey: Yeah. It looked like your mom, dude! [laughs]
- Donnie: [not amused in the slightest] Yeah, that would make her your mom too, doofus.
- Mikey: [stops laughing; offended] Yeah, whatever.
- Raph: Keep laughin', Mikey. Last night was an embarrassment. [slams his fist on the table]
- Leo: I'll tell you what's embarrassing: You can't even follow a single order.
- Raph: [sarcastically] Oh-ho-ho-ho, how cute. [seriously] You've been back for 5 minutes, and now you're schoolin' us on your master plan?
- Leo: [scoffs; incredulously; not liking the attitude] Oh, oh, okay, so this is my fault now, huh, Raph? [raising his voice] I'm the only one that has to be responsible?!
- Raph: Hey, you're the "trained master", not me.
- Mikey: [whispering; worried] Dudes, can it, here comes Splinter. [quickly drops his breakfast pizza slice and covers the bandaged spot on his head]
- Splinter: [walks into the kitchen, singing in Japanese; happily and completely oblivious to the tension] Ooh, good morning, my sons.
- Leo, Donnie and Mikey: [simultaneously] Good morning, sensei.
- Raph: 'Sup?
- Splinter: [continues singing in Japanese] Every Ninja's day should start with a healthy breakfast. [Leo and Raph angrily glare at each other while eating their cereal. Donnie notices but Splinter doesn't] It fills me with pride to see you boys together again. If anyone needs me, I'll be watching my stories.
- Leo: [to Raph] Hothead.
- Raph: [to Leo] Splinter Jr.
- [Splinter prepares to watch The Gilmore Girls.]
- Splinter: [excitedly] Cody is going to break up with Donna. I just know it. [turns on the TV and sits down]
- Announcer: We interrupt The Gilmore Girls for this special news report.
- News Reporter: Monsters loose in the city? Strange reports are coming in tonight about a construction site incident that sounds like something out of science fiction.
- Splinter: [angrily] BOYS?! [cut to the Turtles kneeling in front of Splinter] Leonardo, I am most disappointed in you. You are the eldest of your brothers. I was counting on you to bring order to the chaos of this family. This is why I have forbidden any surface activity. We cannot return to the surface to fight evil if we continue to fight each other.
- Leo: But, Master Splinter, how can I be expected to do so when Raph--?
- Splinter: [sternly; not in the mood for the blame game] There are NO EXCUSES when you are the leader, my student!
- [Leo sighs in defeat and shame.]
- Raph: We have to go out and find who's responsible for this. There ain't no other solution.
- Leo: [sighs; having had enough of violence] Save the brute vigilante junk for that Night Watchman.
- Raph: [annoyed] Ugh.
- Mikey, Raph and Donnie: "Night-Watcher".
- Leo: [under his breath; bitterly] Yeah, whatever.
- Raph: [stands up to leaves; coldly] I'm going out.
- April: [happily] Leo, you came back!
- Casey: [happily] Leo!
- Leo: Sorry, the reunion isn't under better circumstances.
- Mikey: [seeing April and Casey's apartment complex] Whoa-ho-ho. Nice pad, kids. [to Raph] Oh, hey, Raph.
- Donnie: [taking Raph's pulse] Well, his vital signs seem to be okay. [opens Raph's eye] Pupil dilation is normal. [shocked] Whoa. [sees a stone star on Raph's shell]
- Leo and Mikey: [stunned] Whoa.
- Donnie: [pulls the stone star out of Raph's shell] Some sort of stone. Probably obsidian, I think.
- Leo: Well, is he gonna be all right
- Raph: [waking up; to Leonardo] Eh, you're still here? Go back to your jungle.
- Leo: Well, at least his personality's still intact.
- Donnie: And there's an engraving on it, looks... South American. That's your department, April.
- Casey: [holding a sleeping dart] Would it help things if I told you that those statues you collected for that Winters guy were shooting these things at me and Raph?
- April: [utterly horrified] "The Legend... of Yaotl"? It can't be. I-I-It was just a myth. A-A scary story the locals told kids around a campfire.
- Leo: [confused] Whoa, what are you talking about?
- April: They say... 3,000 years ago, some... great warrior actually found... a portal to another dimension. [camera fades to Yaotl] And when the portal opened, the energy from it gave the warrior eternal life. But it also turned his generals to stone. What if this warrior just kept living forever? He would spend the rest of his days in regret, spending all of his riches and all of his power, trying to find a way to revive his stone generals. Maybe, just maybe, he's built a new empire. [camera pans to Winters' face, and he opens his eyes; fade back to April's apartment] But hey, like I said, it's just a myth.
- Donnie: [examining the dart] Hmmm. If you ask me, you guys, this has Winters' name written all over it.
- Leo: How do you figure that, Donnie?
- Casey and Mikey: Yeah.
- Donnie: [sarcastically smiling; annoyed] Because this has Winters' name written all over it.
- Raph: Now I know who to thank for the shot in the arm. [sits down] So where do we find this guy and his stone jokers?
- Leo: We're not going anywhere until we get Splinter's blessing.
- Raph: [angrily stands up; shocked that Leo would ask for permission to deal with this new threat] You're gonna stand here and quote a rulebook to me that you ain't been following for a year?!
- Leo: [not in the mood to argues] Look, Raph, if you got something you wanna get off you're shell, now's the time. [almost yelling] But I'm not gonna stand here and debate Splinter's direct orders with you!
- Raph: [pauses; softly yet coldly] Fine, then. I quit.
- Casey: Hey, Raph. Don't do it, man. Sometimes just taking a breather is the best thing to do.
- Raph: Whatever.
- Leo: [after knocking off the Nightwatcher's helmet off] Good night, dark prince. [sees that the Nightwatcher is Raph; confused] Raph?! [shocked and lost for words] What?!
- Raph: [mule-kicks Leo; finally releasing his pent-up anger] You are so smug, ya know that? You think that the world revolves around you, don't ya? That we couldn't possibly survive without the [Leo spits blood] mighty and powerful Leonardo to guide us through our problems, huh? Well, I got a news flash for ya: [voice breaking] We got along just fine without you!
- Leo: [appalled] Oh, and this qualifies as "just fine"? Dressing up like it's Halloween every night? Risking the safety of our family? I mean, come on! What were you thinking?!
- Raph: Don't push it, Leo. You can't leave home and come back expecting us to fall in line again, like your little soldiers.
- Leo: Hey, I was training. Training to be a better leader! For you! [grunts in frustration] Why do you hate me for that?!
- Raph: AND WHOEVER SAID I WANTED TO BE LED?! I'm better off calling my own shots now! Get used to it!
- Leo: You! Aren't! Ready! You're impatient, and hot-tempered, and more importantly, [venomously] I'm better than you.
- Raph: [laughs sarcastically; deeply offended] Oh, ya know something, big brother? [serious tone] I'd have to disagree with you on that one. [pulls out his sais and makes a "bring it on" motion with them]
- Leo: [softly but very sternly; not wanting to hurt Raph] Don't do this, Raph.
- Raph: [defiantly] I'm done taking orders.
- Splinter: [to Raphael; Leonardo is lost] Raphael, what is the matter?!
- Donnie: That would be the swirling vortex to another world, I assume.
- Mikey: Cool. I want one.
- Raph: [hands Leo new katana blades to replace the broken ones] You're gonna need these if you're gonna lead us out of here.
- Leo: [warmly] I'm going to need you too.
- [Winters screams as the stone Generals throw him across the lobby of the Winterscorp building.]
- April: Winters?
- Mikey: Looks more like fall, get it?
- Donnie: Mikey, remember our talk.
- General Aguila: You fight well. You should join us.
- Raph: No, thanks. I'm good.
- Leo: They better hurry up with the last monster!
- Raph: I'm sure my man Casey's got it all under control!
- Leo: Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of.
- [scene switches to April driving the Cowabunga Carl truck]
- Casey: Can't this piece of junk go any faster?
- April: You wanna drive?
- Casey: I would, as a matter of fact.
- Karai: You would think they would be more concerned about the 13th monster. [Foot Ninja silently nods in agreement.]
- [Winters has just vaporized, due to the curse being broken. Golden particles fall to the floor.]
- Mikey: [visibly unnerved] Okay, just a little bit creepy. [sneezes loudly] Oh, gross! I think he's in my n-- my n-- my n-- [sneezes again] Aw, gross. Somebody, give me a hankie! [disgusted groans] Now he's in my mouth. [more disgusted groans] Tastes awful!
- Raph: Look at you, ain't you cute? You want a butt kickin' little fella? Yes, you do. You do. Come on, I'm gonna drop-kick you to Hurty Town. Come on, little guy.
- [Monster attacks Raph, who screams]
- Big City Rock: ♪ Whoa, Black Betty, Ram-a-lam, yeah, Black Betty, ram-a-lam ♪
- Raph: Get off of me, you little monster!
- Big City Rock: ♪ Ram-a-lam, she's always ready, ram-a-lam, she's so rocksteady, ram-a-lam, whoa, Black Betty, ram-a-lam, whoa, Black Betty, ram-a-lam ♪
- Raph: Ow, you're scratching the helmet! [throws monster in fridge] Okay, that was different. [Monster comes back, attacking him again; to the monster] Hey, this thing ain't rustproof. Get off of me!
- Big City Rock: ♪ Whoa, Black Betty, ram-a-lam, yeah, Black Betty, ram-a-lam, she really gets me high... ♪
- [Song stops, just as the fridge falls on the monster; however, the monster bursts out, the same time the song resumes]
- Big City Rock: ♪ Ram-a-lam, she's so rocksteady ♪
- Raph: Come on!
- Big City Rock: ♪ ...yea, Black Betty, ram-a-lam ♪
- Raph: [whacks monster with cooking pot, and then holds out two pills] How about a snack, little fella? [Monster runs toward Raph as he throws the pills] Catch! [Monster swallows the pills, which explode, causing the monster to, while screaming in pain, run around the restaurant, and jump through dining room window]
- [last words]
- Raph: [voiceover] We live together, we train together, we fight together, we stand for good, together. We are Ninjas. We strike hard, defend, protect and fade into the night. And there ain't no bad guy or monster gonna ever change that. That's what's important. And that's why we'll always be...brothers. [flies to the screen, as it cuts to black] Oh, I love bein' a turtle.
About TMNT (film) edit
- It looked amazing and was a fun thrill ride. But I think the story was too complicated in the final product. A number of things led to that, from the type of story that Pete [Laird] wanted told, to my way of constructing a film, and to the studios trying to recut it at the last minute and make it a more, I guess, ‘straightforward’ kid film.
- Kevin Munroe, "Director Kevin Munroe revisits Imagi’s TMNT franchise", by Josh Armstrong, Animated Views, August 19, 2014.
Voice cast edit
- Nolan North - Raphael/Nightwatcher
- Mikey Kelley - Michelangelo
- James Arnold Taylor - Leonardo
- Mitchell Whitfield - Donatello
- Mako Iwamatsu - Master Splinter (final film role)
- Patrick Stewart - Max Winters/Yaotl
- Kevin Smith - Diner
- Laurence Fishburne - Narrator
- Ziyi Zhang - Karai
- Sarah Michelle Gellar - April O'Neil
- Chris Evans - Casey Jones
- Kevin Michael Richardson - General Aguila
External links edit
Encyclopedic article on TMNT (film) on Wikipedia
- TMNT quotes at the Internet Movie Database
- TMNT at Rotten Tomatoes
- Official website