Sunday Times

IN MY VIEW

- Matthew Vice

IJUST barely fall into the age range to be categorise­d as a millennial — not that I wear that label with any kind of pride. There are many reasons, but the point I’m going to rant about here is that people from my generation refuse to let cartoons from their childhoods die with dignity. Case in point: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, M-Net, channel 101, tonight, 20:05.

It would be a lie to say I understand why intellectu­al properties from my childhood have persisted for so long. When I was a kid, most of the cartoons I watched were newly created for my generation, with very few holdovers from earlier eras, barring the classic stuff like Looney Tunes, HannaBarbe­ra and Peanuts — and I was certainly less interested in them than the new stuff.

However, it seems like most of the prominent cartoons from my childhood (the early ’80s to early ’90s) have been kept on life support for the last 30 years.

Shows such as Masters of the Universe, Transforme­rs, Thundercat­s and My Little Pony (which I didn’t watch, honest) have been and are still being re-imagined, rebooted and regurgitat­ed over and over again.

I have to wonder, do kids even care? If the networks are producing the shows, kids must be watching them — but I’m not sure they’re the only audience. I mentioned millennial­s earlier, people roughly my age and a bit younger, and there are huge online fan “communitie­s” for any given long-lived cartoon comprised largely of millennial­s.

They take this stuff surprising­ly seriously, writing essays on the brilliance or shortcomin­gs of the new versions of their favourite cartoons, creating fanart or fanfiction, petitionin­g the producers of the shows about their grievances and frequently having huge flame wars with each other.

I suspect that the advent of the internet played a large part in this phenomenon, since it’s easier to connect with other fans around the world and sustain your fandom — and it’s therefore easier to get the attention of networks to let them know that there is a potential fanbase they can keep tapping.

I suspect that these factors are what led to the 2014 Ninja Turtles movie reboot. Despite the fact that it was critically panned for being loud, stupid and obnoxious, and was nominated for a whole mess of satirical “worst” awards, the film still grossed a gajillion dollars, so it’s hardly surprising it got a sequel in 2016.

It’s also not surprising to see Michael Bay in the list of producers for something this vacuous yet successful. You’ve got to hand it to him, he knows how to make shallow tripe sell.

Maybe kids don’t hate the new designs of the turtles as much as the old-school fans do. I don’t care, personally, but even I had to wonder what the art directors were thinking when they approved the hideous new designs.

Anyway, in TMNT: Out of the Shadows, the four mutated, martial arts amphibians face off against their previous foe, Shredder (Brain Tee), who has recruited the help of an alien from another dimension named Krang.

This movie also brings in old villains from the cartoons: Beebop (Gary Anthony Williams), Rocksteady (Sheamus) and Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry). Megan Fox reprises her role as TV reporter April O’Neil and Stephen Amell plays the role of the Turtles’ vigilante ally from the cartoons, Casey Jones.

It’s colourful, loud, stupid and full of forced humour, cringe-inducing cultural references and glaring plot holes, just like the last one. And yet, it’s not impossible to enjoy it if you’re capable of switching your brain off and smirking at the spectacle — after all, a vast amount of skill and technical prowess went into its production.

It’s sort of the same way I think if I’m ever forced to watch profession­al wrestling.

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