For a quick recap before reading these last two, check out the previous blog post if you haven't yet.
Let me preface these final two with this thought. I wish that at some point I had thought to count how many times I watched these movies. I’m almost positive that each would number well over 100 each (and probably many, many more). I realized this when, a year ago, I watched the #2 movie for the first time in about eleven years and discovered that I still knew probably 70% of the lines from the film. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I’m not really sure. But I was happy. Here we go!
#2
In all honesty, even though this film is #2 of my Top 5, it’s the one that inspired this specific blog post in the first place. Why, you ask? Because the premise of 3 Ninjas was so absolutely preposterous that I was struggling to understand how I could have ever enjoyed it. You may think I’m kidding, but I was a pretty intelligent (and modest) child growing up. I understood a lot of concepts that most kids would have blindly overlooked in lieu of enjoying something for what it was worth. I realized that many of the shows I watched were absolutely unrealistic, and I often mocked them (while hypocritically watching them, obviously…but at least I knew they were stupid).
But somehow, throughout my youth, I always thought maybe…just maybe…it might have been possible for three very young kids to defeat hundreds of ninjas in battle due solely to their ninja prowess. Looking back on it, I think that was one of my (very) few moments of sheer idiocy:
In my defense, much like Surf Ninjas, 3 Ninjas had all of the elements of my childhood I cherished and revered: violence, humor, video games (the handheld Ninja Turtles LCD game they play in the film is the same one I owned…how cool is that?!?), and while it may not have featured Barbara Ann like Surf Ninjas did, it did feature a really, really sweet alarm that lit up when their mom was coming up the stairs to their room. If that didn’t get you excited as a kid, I don’t know what did.
#1
And here we go. The number one most influential movie to ever grace my childhood fantasies and dreams: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. I wish I could even sort of begin to express how important this movie was to me in my youth. I mean, as much as I loved 3 Ninjas, TMNT II is miles above 3 Ninjas as my all-time favorite movie as a kid. I watched it over. And over. And over. Just ask my mom.
Let’s get past the fact that I had been obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles since as far back as I can remember. I have buckets of toys (yeah...I had the Pizza Thrower) that I won’t allow my mom to throw/give away (and I don’t even think she would because she cherishes my childhood happiness probably more than I do), I measured time in cartoon episode lengths (Mom's quote: "We're only three Ninja Turtle episodes away from Byron now, Mike") and the movies were fantastic (well...1 and 2 were...).
Now, I understand that the first of the TMNT movies is the “better film.” In fact, as a 22-year-old, I like it more than Secret of the Ooze. But, in terms of my childhood, this was the real deal for me. This was what I would watch any time I could. And then I’d act it out with toys, or, even better, live action fight sequences with stuffed animals and WWF Wrestling Buddies. Plus, Ernie Reyes Jr. (that’s right folks, of Surf Ninja stardom…although I believe his role in this movie came first) is the main sidekick. He was in TWO OF MY TOP 5 movies. I want to meet him and tell him this.
Anyway, here are just a few of the reasons I will always cherish TMNT II as my favorite childhood cinematic event:
The classic Vanilla Ice appearance and club fight scene:
And just some of the many fight scenes all conveniently compiled into one video (imagine me as a child acting these out…I reminisce frequently…)
And, as homage to the cartoon, here’s the first 7 minutes of an animated series episode. Nothing special about it other than the fact that it was available on YouTube so I figured I’d throw it in.
So there you have it. The top 5 movies of my childhood, summed up in two easy blog posts. I’m sure I’ll eventually write an entire post devoted to all of the aspects of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in my youth, but, for now, this will have to do.
And I’d love to hear your top 5 childhood films as well. Or even your top 3. Or just your number one favorite childhood movie. Nothing like some good contrasting and comparing. So please leave a comment and let me know.
Rocky loves EM-I-LY, Rocky loves EM-I-LY, Rocky loves EM-I-LY…
3 comments:
As a child (and probably up until I started dating Miles) I hated rewatching things. It bored me. So I think if I tried, I couldn't come up with my favorites from childhood because I never rewatched *any*. So I couldn't quote probably any childhood movie. And I have Movie Memory Amnesia so I wouldn't remember if I liked it or not.
I have to say, I found it odd that TMNT II (a sequel to what I would consider a top movie of my childhood), but I enjoyed your justification. What was funny in reading your list is that my memory of most of these films is that I felt too old for them when they came out.
OK, I finally figured out my Top 5...well 7 actually. I know you were waiting on the edge of your seat for my comment, so here it is.
7.Blank Check
6.Rookie of the Year
5.The Goonies
4.3 Ninjas
3.TMNT
2.Home Alone
1.Sandlot
None are big surprises, and a few are repeats of your own. But I think I need to point out that 2 of my favorites are baseball movies and 2 are ninja movies. I think my brothers had more influence on me than I thought...
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