Are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ready for a big-screen resurrection?

Posted Monday, January 24, 2011 at 1:53 PM Central
Last updated Monday, January 24, 2011 at 2:21 PM Central

by Tim Briscoe

Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle characters have endured a spotty existence outside the original comics. The martial art-trained reptiles have been adapted into numerous TV series and both live-action and animated films. Despite its fractured path, it remains a fan favorite.

Is the time right for an industrious filmmaker to sweep in and resurrect the franchise? Hold your thoughts until you watch this new TMNT fan film that's got some people buzzing. It features TMNT friend April O'Neil and the thug gang known as the Foot Clan. Oh, and there's also a special appearance.

Yeah, it's dark. Gone is the campy humor and over-the-top nature often associated with earlier incarnations of the series. This version is not exactly geared for the kids to which it was originally marketed.

Those exact same statements apply to Christopher Nolan's 2005 film Batman Begins and its 2008 sequel The Dark Knight. The talented filmmaker resurrected a tired franchise and turned it into something great again. Could some do that same thing for TMNT? I think so.

Technology is vastly different from when the first live-action movie was made in 1990. Rather than portraying the anthropomorphic turtles as guys in suits with animatronic heads, CGI can be employed to give the heroes a more convincing look.

Apparently Michael Bay's production company Platinum Dunes now has film rights for the Ninja Turtles. IMDb has an entry with scant details down for a 2012 release. (We talked about it back in 2009.) Even as producer, is Bay the right man for the job? I'm risking my geek card by saying I think so. He can give this project the funding it needs and put together the right team.

Let's just hope Bay recognizes the potential put forth by this fan film and decides to go down that path.

What do you think? Are you a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Do you think the crime-fighting reptiles can rise again? Let us know.