Tartarughe Ninja II - Il segreto di Ooze

When I saw the first debut of the turtle's movie I did not want to miss a second. And I did'nt. When the 2nd one came out I loved every second as the 1st, and to this day I still have the collection, and the credit I want to give to is the puppeteers and the suit performers they were awesome bringing those characters to life. Great Job. My full respect for these movies is still strong. Some say I'm too old to watch it still. I don't think so! TMNT Rocks. Let's keep it that Way!

Well, this second film was more kid-oriented and played more for laughs, but I still got a kick out of it. Paige Turco made a better April than Judith Hoag (and what a cool apartment April has!) and Ernie Reyes Jr. (whatever happened to him?) is a lot of fun to watch too. What WAS the secret of the ooze? I haven't seen the film in years!

Re: Vanilla Ice. Yes, his very presence is laughable, let alone his "performance". But in his defense, he's less embarrassing here than in 1991's other blockbuster smash hit, Cool As Ice!

This film opens with tremendous confidence and energy. The humor of the Turtles may be so 1990 but I still dig it. The opening scene in the shopping mall is way funny and a great way to introduce is to the sequel. At the time the style of the Turtles wasn't so stale, so the plot may seem a bit childish or dumb now.

I have no doubts that if this movie were made today it would not be subtitled 'The Secret of the Ooze'. One can hardly expect high art from a movie called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II but they could have subtitled it something a little less crass. Apparently taking place right after the first movie (where's Casey) it wastes no time bringing back the Shredder and the rest of the Foot Clan.

This time Shredder aims to steal the cannister of ooze that mutated our heroes so he can make his own monsters to avenge his defeat. The result is Tokka and Rahzar and it seems like a half-attempt at a live-action version of Rocksteady and Bebop. As you can imagine, this plot isn't very clever. But the movie never really lulls so long as our heroes are on screen.

Look out for a cameo by Vanilla Ice (looking alarmingly like Dolph Lundgren) at the end. It's so dated it may be difficult to watch but as long as your alone you won't have to cringe.

The DVD has wonderful motion menus as well as a great 1.85:1 anamorphic picture with Dolby 5.1 sound. Extras are thin but still it's a great buy.

The Turtles and their master Splinter are now living with April O'Neil (Paige Turco) in her apartment. Keno is a kicking pizza delivery guy. They have to stop Shredder and his minions.

This is a live-action movie of a Saturday morning cartoon. It is what it is and it has fun with it. Heck, it has Vanilla Ice performing. It has its fun without getting too stupid.

The fearsome foursome turtles go after the glowing cannister that mutated them as babies. While the turtles are trying to find the meaning of their lives and the ooze is slipped into the hands of the evil Shredder (Francois Chau). Shredder asks the help of an unwillingly scientist (David Warner) to make his mutant allies, Rahzar and Tokka. The Turles seeks help with the young pizza deliver boy-Keno (Ernie Reyes, Jr.). The Heroes dive into action and of course, Pizza!

Directed by Michael Pressman (Doctor Detroit, Some Kind of Hero, To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday) made an entertaining sequel. This is a bigger budgeted film than the first movie. As usual, the highlight is the animatronic characters by Jim Henson's creature shop. The plot of the sequel is extremely silly but never boring. Paige Turco replaced Judith Hoag from the original and Turco is appealing in the film. Too Bad, Elias Koteas didn't return for the sequel and Corey Feldman didn't return to voice Donatello also. The film was a hit like the original. The only flaw in the sequel is the ending, which it is a mess. Rapper:Vanilla Ice appears in a embarrassing cameo. This sequel is amusing for the kids and fun for the fans of the comic book series. (*** ½/*****).