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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Review – Season 3, Episode 2: A Foot Too Big

By Nick Tylwalk

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If you want the high concept for this one, it’s pretty straightforward: the Turtles find Bigfoot. Except nothing is ever quite that simple on this show, so there’s a crazed hunter and some strange love triangles thrown into this one. Intrigued?  Thought so.

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Not So Quick Summary: Before the opening montage, we see a hunter who calls himself “The Finger” stalking his prey and talking to a shrunken head that he thinks is his mother.

Donatello is working on a music box for April, but he doesn’t want to give it to her unless Michelangelo says it’s perfect. He gives his approval, and Donnie gives it to April, but the response he gets is … awkward. Bummed out once again about his unrequited crush, Donnie gets a “That’s rough bro,” from Mikey and some touch love from Raph.

In addition, Raphael thinks everyone needs some forest ninja training, since they’re still not accustomed to their new wooded environment. Though Leonardo is still too injured to participate, he gives his blessing to the idea of a Turtle Hunt: Donnie and Mikey will get a five-minute head start, and if they can’t stay hidden from Raph for an hour, they have to clean the chicken coop (with spiders big enough to play banjos!).

The Turtles are hapless since they’ve never been in the wild (no Michelangelo, Jersey doesn’t count), and they get a surprise when the tree they climb is also harboring Bigfoot. The sasquatch is big enough to use a tree as a bo staff, and has enough “skills” to fight off the two brothers. They run into Raph as they flee, and while he’s excited about some real training, he doesn’t fare any better.

Eventually, Donnie realizes Bigfoot is just injured, and he says he’ll help if Bigfoot will let go of Mikey’s face. The creature might need more medical attention back at the farmhouse, and Raphael is outvoted when he objects. Leo is none too pleased, but April immediately recognizes that Bigfoot is wounded and goes to get the first aid kit. Casey is upset because no one would even let him get a dog.

The grateful Bigfoot also has a surprise: it’s actually a female, and one who immediately takes a liking to Donatello because of his kindness. The resulting kiss and hug draw howls of laughter from all the other guys in the house, and the next few scenes show Bigfoot trying to help with dinner by bringing home dead animals and less helpfully pooping in the tub.

Alas, the Finger is still stalking them, seeing Mikey and Donnie training with Bigfoot in the woods as Raph goes to clean the bathtub with a gas mask that makes him sound like Darth Vader when breathing. The Finger is okay with Bigfoot getting little green alien buddies, and he attacks with his crossbow only to see the beast scoop up the Turtles and run home — where Raph must have done the cleanup quickly, as he and Leo are playing an old school boxing video game.

While attempting to cook a meal for Donnie, Bigfoot comes across Ice Cream Kitty in the freezer, freaks out and chucks the whole refrigerator unit out the window. Chagrined, she asks April to give her a makeover, but even that and her home-cooked roadkill fail to make Donnie do anything but run off. When he complains that Bigfoot is following him around like a lovesick puppy, Raph’s answer is characteristically blunt: now he knows how April feels.

Out in the garage, Leo and Casey are making fun of Bigfoot, but she overhears them and runs into the woods, crying. Mikey and Donnie give chase, and you know what’s next, as it’s showdown time with the Finger. Turns out he’s also got skills (and sounds a lot like Jesse Ventura at times), and the Turtles are overcome by his raw power. Fortunately, Donatello is able to use his explosive bolts against him, setting off quite the fireworks show with a singed Finger at the center of it. Bigfoot also shows up, and when Finger discovers it’s a girl, he breaks down and tells “mom” he can’t shoot a lady. Impressed, Bigfoot scoops up Finger and promises to take care of the crying man, and it looks like we’ve got a love connection after all.

In the final scene, Donnie tells April that he won’t be bothering her with music boxes any more. He says he gets it, that Donnie is to April as Bigfoot is to Donnie, and that he’s just a mutant. April replies that he’s not just a mutant, he’s her mutant, kissing him on the cheek before walking off. That leaves Donnie forced to admit that he understands nothing.

Final Thought: All I could think about during that last exchange was the “So you’re telling me there’s a chance … Yeah!” bit from Dumb and Dumber. I liked this episode as a change of pace between the more tension-filled season opener and the scary episode that’s coming up next. It was shown at New York Comic Con and trust me, it’s appropriate for Halloween.

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