Tuesday, June 14, 2016
TMNT: Out of the Shadows Adoption Movie Review
The supervillain Shredder is broken free from police custody
with a teleportation device, but it unexpectedly brings him into the presence
of Krang, an alien warlord bent on destroying the Earth. Krang makes a deal
with Shredder that, if Shredder collects the items that will let Krang take
over the Earth, Krang will help Shredder deal with his nemeses, the Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Meanwhile, the Turtles have retained their anonymity;
they fight crime in the city, but believe that the public would fear them if
they knew of them – after all, these vigilantes are giant, anthropomorphic
turtles. Shredder has created an ooze that can turn humans into anthropomorphic
animals, and the Turtles have learned that, if they obtain the ooze, they can
also use it to turn themselves into humans.
Some of the turtles want to try to
live a “normal” life, while Leonardo insists that they must stay true to
themselves by staying turtles. This disagreement drives a rift between the
brothers, who must get along with each other before they can hope to save the
world. (Spoilers ahead)
The Adoption
Connection
Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo are four teenage
brother turtles who have been adopted and trained by Splinter, a rat. They view
him as both their father and their sensei, and he trains them to be good ninjas
and good brothers. The turtles are outsiders to society at large, but their
love the city feeds their desire to be part of mainstream society – but it
would be at the cost of a major part of their identity. The turtles are split
on how to proceed, but eventually decide to retain their identity as turtles.
Strong Points
Splinter encourages his sons to be loyal to each other,
saying, “as long as you keep the team unified, you will always succeed.” Splinter
counsels Leonardo to consider his brothers’ differing viewpoints, telling him
that different points of view can make a team stronger, and that “a good leader
understands it, and a good brother accepts it.” Leonardo eventually accepts
Splinter’s advice, and defers a major choice to his brothers.
Challenges
Leonardo leads the Turtles (Donatello does machines, Raphael
is cool but rude, and Michelangelo is the party dude). When Donatello tells him
about the potential to become humans, Leonardo decides against it and tells
Donatello not to tell the others. Michelangelo overhears this, though, and
tells Raphael. Raphael is infuriated, not because of Leonardo’s decision, but because
of Leonardo’s secrecy. Raphael accuses him of lying and asks him “Where’s the
honor in keeping secrets from your brothers?” Leonardo’s response (it’s not
lying, it’s “compartmentalization of information”) seems to only aggrieve
Raphael further. Leonardo also tells Raphael that the only vote in the family
that counts is Leonardo’s.
Recommendations
There’s a lot of action in this one but nothing stuck out as
particularly scary. The film is less scary than its 2014 predecessor, so if
your kids handled that one OK, this one should be fine. In generally, it seems
like a good fit for ages 11-15.
Questions for
Discussion
Have you ever felt like your siblings were your family “but
not your team?” What made you feel that way?
Have you ever felt like your siblings (or family) were not
just your family, but also your team? What was that like? Tell me about a time
when that was how you felt…
If you were one of the turtles, would you have used the
ooze?
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