TMNT Crush: Donatello Grape

Put on your thinking caps, because today it's all about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle who does machines.  If it weren't for Donatello, who knows where he and his brothers would be.  Let's face it, Steve Jobs didn't invent Face Time, he was only copying Donatello in an attempt to bring us all a real-life Turtle Com.  You can thank Donnie for that!  If not for his brains, the Ninja Turtles may have found themselves in Shredder's Turtle Soup after all.  Luckily, he's a Teenage Mutant Ninja Genius and was smart enough to wear the color purple so all of us can sit back with a refreshing glass of Crush Grape soda!

Much like Michelangelo's 12-pack, the artwork is beautiful.  The crisp color and contrasting hues truly make this a work of art.  What I failed to point out in my last post is the use of mutagen or ooze within the design.  If you look closely, you'll see the flowing green ooze separate the purple from the background.  It's almost as if the mutagen ooze is washing away the green, which represents normality, and replacing it with Donatello's signature purple to symbolize the rise of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle who's smarter than most people I've ever met.  Me included.. have you seen the typos and grammatical error on this site?  Yeah, pretend you didn't.. Sorry, Donnie..

There's not enough I can say about these cans.  In reality, all they had to do was release a few flavors, slap the Ninja Turtles logo on there, and call it a limited-edition can and I would have been sold.  In fact, I would have been happy!  But Crush chose to go the extra mile and individually design each character's can to perfectly represent their look and strategy.  While Mikey had the nun chucks strapped to his belt and wrapped around his shell, Donatello has his bo staff ready to whip out at a moment's notice to kick some shell and crush the foot.  Pun intended?  Pun intended.

On top of every can, it's rimmed with the eye band of that specific turtle.  As you'd expect, the eyes are very similar to that of the original comic and what you'll see in theaters this Friday.  But Donatello is an exception to the rule because they've added something in 2014 that's never been featured before - glasses!  I really haven't discussed the change in Turtle appearance much yet and I probably won't until after I see the movie, but they've clearly changed what I know and love.  Time will tell if it was for the better, but these nerdy glasses are an interesting addition to Donnie's character.  Personally, I don't mind it.  I think it says a lot about who he is and where he stands within the group of four.  He's a geek, but he's also a genius and is capable of out-thinking his brothers when they need him most.  Glasses symbolize his passion for learning and I'm happy they took the time to include that on this can rather than simply throwing on another pair of white eyes.

Grape soda is almost as classic as legendary Orange, but I'm not sure where it falls on the popularity scale.  Personally, I go back and forth.  I've had Orange soda so much more in my life that I'll usually choose Grape over the former, but it all depends on my mood and the temperature.  They're both Summer drinks, but an ice cold Crush Grape goes down nice and easy on a 95 degree day in August!  You can't go wrong with either one, but I can definitely tell you that Michelangelo's Orange looks much cooler inside giant TMNT mugs.  If that has any influence on you at all, then I'm glad you're reading The Holidaze!

Oh, and about those hot days... Ninja Turtle shaped ice doesn't do so well outside in the heat.  Had Shredder known my secret, Krang and I would rule the world.  Good thing Donnie is smarter than me... than I?

TMNT Crush: Michelangelo Orange

When it comes to Crush soda, there's no more popular or well-known flavor than Orange.  It's what Crush was originally marketed as and put the brand on the map.  Through the years, a variety of flavors followed and, to this day, you'll find everything from Cherry to Grapefruit on shelves.  It goes without saying that Orange Crush is tag-teaming with Michelangelo in today's TMNT Week post.  Besides the obvious reason of color, I like that Orange Crush is associated with my favorite Ninja Turtle because, when we take it back to origin, I don't think the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would have been nearly as popular as they were in the late 80's/early 90's had it not been for the funny, laid back, care-free, "party dude" attitude of Michelangelo.  Much like Orange flavor being marketing success for Crush, Mikey did the same for the original animated series.  It's a match made in sewers..

This was the first 12-pack I found in stores and if you're still looking, this one should be fairly easy to find.  For as many products as I review, I really don't have a firm understanding of how or why certain stores have certain products and others don't.  Common sense tells me they order the most popular flavors and, as I said, Orange is most definitely the stand-out and has been since the beginning.  Just about everywhere I've looked, from Target to Rite Aid, I've seen either a 2 liter or 12-pack of Michelangelo Orange Crush soda.

The can and box art is phenomenal.  I love graphic design and the artists behind this work deserve bonus points for being so on-point.  The Ninja Turtles logo is places perfectly, the turtle shell and nun-chucks add even more to the character, and the silver scaling over the green can makes for a great contrast and design.  While every TMNT can stands out, none pop more-so than Michelangelo's Orange!  The color against the green background works so well that you wouldn't have to look very hard to know exactly which franchise this can was meant for.  It screams "Turtle Power!"

 

I don't think there's any need to describe the flavor or review the taste.  I mean, if you've never had Orange soda in your life then whatttttt are you doing on The Holidaze?  Really, is there anybody reading right now that hasn't had orange soda?  If there is, then you need to go out now and pick up the nearest can.  Preferably this TMNT can, but anything will do at that point.  It's delicious and the only one who will love it more than you is Kel Mitchell!

It may not be a new or fancy flavor, but it does everything right!  Go out and find this bottle or can before time is up.  Drinking orange soda is always a good thing, but it's even better coming out of a TMNT can.

Cowabunga, dude!

TMNT Crush: Leonardo Berry Punch

For those who are fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this is going to be a fun week on The Holidaze! It's TMNT WEEK!!  Believe it or not, the new 2014 TMNT film comes out this Friday and has already received positive reviews from fans and critics whom were lucky enough to catch an advanced screening.  This not only excites me for my own viewing, but to dive into my saved TMNT topics.  As you may remember, The Holidaze first discovered the TMNT Crush cans on Instagram before Pepsi finally revealed the products.  At first, we weren't sure they were real.  I honestly believed it was a hoax pulled off by a cleverly talented graphic designer, but further images enhanced my anticipation and raised my hopes before Crush made the awesome announcement!  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles SODA was, in fact, real and each turtle was receiving a can and flavor designated to them by color.  I knew, without a doubt, this would be the coolest promotional tie-in we'd see attached to this new film and that was more than enough for me.  So, between now and Friday, I'm going to discuss and review each flavor with you.  Even if you're not a turtle fan, this first one stands out on its own!

Crush Berry Punch!

Obviously, Leonardo had to receive a blue colored soda to match his legendary eye band.  Anything other than blue would have been a slap in the shell and completely ruined the campaign so, really, this was a no-brainer.  But when you think of blue soda, what comes to mind?  I assumed they'd choose a blueberry flavor, but I really didn't think that would taste good.  Even worse, they could have brought back the "Pepsi Blue" flavor to kill the taste completely.  But no, the amazing minds behind this promotion concocted an entirely new recipe and gave Leonardo a never-before-released flavor - Berry Punch!

Throw in some Ninja Turtle ice cubes and we're looking at one delicious drink, but is it really new?  From what I remember, Crush once released a Blue Raspberry flavor and, based on this name and taste, I'd assume this is probably the same recipe with a new name.  Now, that doesn't matter to me because I've never tried it and the name "Berry Punch" is absolutely perfect for a Ninja who leads his brothers into battle, but it's probably not "new" in the sense that it's never been released.  Regardless, it tastes amazing!

Have you ever had a Charms Blue Razz Berry lollipop?  Well that's exactly what this soda tastes like! I remember winning an entire box at a stand in Pt. Pleasant, NJ when I was a kid so there's a lot of nostalgia attached to the flavor for me.  Between the character on the bottle and the flavor in my glass, this Crush Berry Punch is an undeniable winner.  Everything about it is perfect!

In the case of Leonardo, I've only been able to find the 2 liter bottle.  For some reason, Leonardo and Raphael 12-packs are hard to come by.  In some areas, you'll find the entire collection.  In mine, it's hit or miss.  As a collector, I'll be sure to find the can eventually, but the bottle gets the job done if you're just looking to try an awesome flavor.  Or... if, you know, want to take pictures of soda on your deck!