Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

As a kid, I enjoyed “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze”. I still enjoy it today thanks to its funny moments but when you compare it to the original film, it is has less drama and realism. Instead, it has a lot more camp. It still relates well to the first film but it is definitely a 90’s kids’ movie where as the original film had a touch of 80’s in it and was for all audiences. Only one year separates the two films and I feel that is a big reason for sequel's shortcomings. The filmmakers didn't put much work into "The Secret of the Ooze". The story in this movie feels like it belongs in the animated TV show instead of in live action for example.

The establishing shots of New York feel less reputable when compared to those of the first film. With Casey Jones absent this time around, the Turtles need another human friend that can fight. Enter Keno. The Turtles get a really fun first scene this time and it establishes the sillier mood of the sequel. I still like Michelangelo's yo-yo moves. Splinter seems to emulate this change in mood a little. His line, “Pizza’s okay”, is followed by Mikey saying: “Man, give a guy a heart attack.” (I quote Mikey’s line all the time). Splinter’s subsequent chuckling shows how he has a tiny sense of humor now. Later as further evidence, Splinter says “Cowabunga". The shot of Shredder’s hand rising in the foreground with the city skyline in the background gives you the chills a little. The scars on Shredder’s face now make him even more Vader-like than before. The hot potato game with the Foot is another fun fight sequence for the kids. The Turtles’ new home is well established through music and design as their dream home. For kids, it would be the ultimate hideaway and even as an adult, it is still an appealing set for me. There are additional moments that are very funny for me in this film. Raphael at one point uses a member of the Foot as a blocker against another Foot warrior with a bow. His performance of the lines “Nice shot” and “Real good” are hilarious. Later, Donny has a funny line: “If they were gonna spring a trap, they’d probably due it right about…”. Mikey drops the pizza in the anti-mutagen and the Foot repeat back in confusion the line “pre-fried donut”. In that same scene, Shredder’s line “Let the games begin” makes me laugh because it references Mikey’s line about Wide World of Sports and a blimp. I have a secret fantasy of Shredder opening the Olympic Games because of how funny that line in. I love it when non-humorous characters have funny moments. Another is Professor Perry dancing. Having the final fight occur in the nightclub creates a feeling that fittingly climaxes “Secret of the Ooze”. “Vanilla Ice” is a major reason of what makes this movie a 90’s movie. Once again in the nightclub, Shredder gets the best entrance award as he interrupts the fun. He is taken off the stage in a very funny unexpected way however. It is humorous because it interrupts the chaos that was happening. It is also set up silently. Once Donatello and Mikey see a brief moment when everyone is clear of Shredder, they blow the speaker rock-and-roll style. It is an example of cool people triumphing over the “squares”. Then Shredder gets the ultimate entrance as “Super Shredder”. His arm seems to represent his obsession for revenge, which in the end falls. I love the final moment in the second film with the freeze frame and Splinter’s line “I made another funny”. I feel it is better than the final moment in the first film.

Two many cooks spoil the broth and too many mutants spoiled this movie. Most of the realism of the first film fades because of Tokka and Rahzar. Any serious story moments in “Secret of the Ooze” are short lived but I still enjoy this sequel to an extent. It is a fun kids movie that came out when I was a kid and it has some funny moments that save the film. Camp is entertaining but other films have been able to use it sparingly and the end result is better such as is the case with the original film. After this film, we had a third movie which once again is funny but has even more camp and all reality seems to be lost.

3.5 Stars