Yesterday in my post about Raphael Strawberry Crush, I mentioned that it would be the last turtle Crush we'd be talking about. I wasn't lying! You may not even be aware, but Crush actually released a 5th flavor during their TMNT promotion! It's been laying low, flew under the radar, and is extremely difficult to find. Personally, I haven't seen this flavor in stores at all and had to resort to paying $10 on one individual can, but it was worth it to have in the collection. This was a variety and design that I was hoping they'd include in the set, but never actually thought they would. Then, Crush posted a photo proving that an April O'Neil Pineapple flavor was the real deal!
As I've done in the past, I was going to design my own April O'Neil can to share with all of you. I figured Crush would stop at all four turtles and call it a day. Who would blame them? They're the true stars of the film and stand out to kids much more than their link to the outside world, April. Regardless of how much I cool I thought an April can would be, I never thought Crush would agree and I would have bet money against them. Thankfully, they proved me wrong and proved to be a hell of a lot smarter than I gave them credit for. This is an obvious move, in my opinion. The originally animated April was known for her yellow jumpsuit and, in the incarnations to follow, the character always wore some yellow in some type of way. Whether it was a yellow raincoat or, in 2014, a leather yellow jacket, it's come to represent April just as much as the colored eye bands represent the four turtles. So, of course, Pineapple soda was the logical choice for April and Crush absolutely knocked this one out of the park!
Not only did they design an awesome can of green and yellow, amazingly popping off of one another, but they included an image of the new April O'Neil played by Megan Fox in the 2014 film. This is an added bonus because now all 5 cans feature the images of the character each can represents. I view these cans as works of art and I appreciate the time and effort each designer put into these works of art. You can tell a great deal of thought went behind each one and they aimed to personalize the cans to the character, rather than simply changing the color and name. I love stuff like that! Plus, a can with Megan Fox on it appeals to TMNT fans, women who look up to her, and weird men who just want to look at her. I swear I only fall in the first category. Really.
Since I only purchased one can, I wasn't going to crack it open just to pour out $10 worth of soda. The full can is going to sit on my shelf until it's expired contents explode all over my other collectibles. But I was able to find a 2-liter of Pineapple Crush that wasn't TMNT themed and used that for my images and taste test. To be honest, I can't remember if I've ever tried Pineapple Soda. My gut and memory are telling yes, but I can't be sure. Despite that, this is certainly taste-test approved and I think, besides it's color, Pineapple soda is the perfect flavor to represent April. It's sweet, it reminds me of a warm Spring day, and welcomes me to throw in some vodka after a long day at work. Let's face it, April may be a helping hand to the Turtles but after countless hours at Channel 6 news and coming home to a disgruntled Casey Jones, April surely must have thrown back a few cocktails to take the edge off. I mean, really, how many times does Shredder need to kidnap you before you become an all-out alcoholic? So unlike the Turtle flavors, this one is much fruitier, more girlie, and represents April to a tee.
I wish I could tell you where to find April O'Neil Pineapple Crush, but it has alluded me on shelves for just over a month. Much like in the cartoon and movies, the TMNT are doing a good job of protecting her from the weirdos at Wal-Mart. I'm sure Megan Fox, as she climbed the ladder of success and became an international sex symbol, never thought she'd be on a can of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle soda, but it's official and nearly impossible to find. I had to resort to eBay and throw down the cash. If it weren't for me being a huge Turtle Nerd, I would have simply reviewed the 2-liter Pineapple Crush and used stock images for The Holidaze post, but that wouldn't have been the same. I had to go all-out for this final can and, luckily, it arrived today just in the nick of time!
If you can't find Pineapple Crush in stores, I recommend shopping online. If you can find Pineapple Crush in stores, I recommend throwing that bad girl on eBay so the people who can't end up paying you much more than it's worth. The circle of commerce!
