Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

The first 'Turtles' film aroused a ridiculous controversy over how, because they ate pizza and grew big and strong from radioactive ooze, the Turtles were not healthy role-models. Perhaps in response, this sequel's 'plot' centres on saving the city from that self-same ooze. The original fell between two age groups: the late teens and gonzo students at whom the 1984 comic book was aimed, and the tiny tots who enjoyed the subsequent TV cartoons. The sequel drags the target audience back towards the latter, with toned-down violence, a terrifically funny cameo from two retarded mutant Muppets, and a terrifically crass cameo from the similarly retarded Vanilla Ice. It does, however, retain the essential elements that first turned the world Turtle - the affectionate squabbling between the four, the pantomime villains, the cracking one-liners - and the bigger budget is a blessing.