By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

In my experience, fan films are very hit or miss. And as far as Ninja Turtle fan films go, it’s almost always a miss. The reason is very simple: A fan film simply doesn’t have the budget to create Turtle costumes that suspend disbelief. It’s primarily a lip sync issue. Hell, in a lot of them the mouths don’t move at all.

But two TMNT fan films have won me over with sheer nostalgic charm, thanks to a connection with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie.

The first, and I’d argue most impressive, is Casey Jones. Clocking in at just over 30 minutes, it’s clearly intended to be a prequel to the 1990 movie. The filmmakers are clearly going for similar lighting. The lead actor looks ike Elias Koteas (who played Casey in the movie). But the ultimate cherry on top? Robbie Rist, who voiced Michelangelo in all three original films, reprises his role here. And he’s obviously older, he does a fine job recapturing that Mikey magic.

My one big critique? I wouldn’t have put April in the yellow jumpsuit. Yes, we all love the old cartoon. But that’s clearly not the vibe you’re going for here.

Up next is Back in the Shell, which was to be a TMNT live action fan series. The idea is awesome, of course. To their credit, these folks at Prop Shop Garage make some of the most incredible Turtle costumes I’ve ever seen. I even gave them a little press when I first caught wind of it. The influence from the 1990 film is as plain as green on a Turtle. Sadly, the series never got off the ground. But we did get this awesome trailer…

I should add that I was originally going to spotlight a third project here. It came out around the same time as the first Michael Bay TMNT film. It saw Raphael, played by his movie voice actor Josh Pais, interrogating “Megan Fox” about what the new movie would be like.

But apparently, much like the Turtles themselves the film struck hard and faded away…without a trace.

Email Rob at at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.