TMNT Comes to DVD
Imagi/Warner Bros. Animated Film Hits Home Video August 7th
Strap on your half-shells: we have the cover art for TMNT's DVD, nunchukking their way to DVD shelves on August 7th.
(Source: www.dvdactive.com)
Imagi/Warner Bros.' attempt to bring back the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise with this year's TMNT wasn't the out-of-control blockbuster they hoped it would be. Reviews were mixed: Contributing Writer John Douglas Baird called it "a welcome return to the big screen" while I strained my spaghetti with the film's plot.
Of course the ultimate judge of TMNT's quality was the box office, and it wasn't kind. The movie only made $53.9 million in theatres: the only thing saving it from bomb status was the fact that Warner and Imagi spent a mere $35 million on the flick. Either way, TMNT was the lowest-grossing of all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle features, and is a rock-solid sign that the 1980's toy-n'-comics craze has pretty much had its day.
Of course, voice actors like Chris Evans, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Lawrence Fishburne, Zhang Ziyi and Patrick Stewart weren't complaining about TMNT's lacklustre box office, since they already had cashed their paychecks and moved on to other things. And Mako wasn't available for comment.
Anyway, Warner and Imagi are hoping those $53.9 million worth of moviegoers will all run out and purchase the TMNT DVD, which they're releasing on August 7th. The flick will be presented in anamorphic widescreen, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track, and the whole shebang will retail for $28.98 MSRP.
Warner will also release a HD-DVD/DVD combo and Blu-ray versions of TMNT, which can be yours for the low, low MSRP price of $39.99 and $34.99 respectively.
To the upper right (and below), you can see the artwork which will adorn the DVD's front cover. Sharp-eyed observers will notice that this is just the official TMNT poster, shorn of movie credits and MPAA rating. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since that poster is a pretty kick-ass image. It's a shame the rest of the movie didn't live up to the artwork.
Warner Home Video hasn't yet released the details on any extras, featurettes, etc. My guess is that they'll do the typical DVD double-dip: bring out the bare-bones edition first to satisfy the hordes of fans salivating for their copy, and eventually release a more deluxe edition when the dust has settled (or for the Christmas rush). This of course presumes that there are enough TMNT fans out there to justify such a tactic. Personally, I have my doubts.
Fun Fact: Apparently Kevin Munroe (TMNT's director) and producer David Gray said that TMNT would have had to gross more than $100 million in theatres before Warner and Imagi would greenlight a sequel. I think I can safely say that it ain't gonna happen, kids.
