And here's the last and final TMNT movie to date!
A celebration to everything Ninja Turtles up to this point, and a last swan song before the big change in the propriety.
A celebration to everything Ninja Turtles up to this point, and a last swan song before the big change in the propriety.
Find more TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA REVIEWS on this very same blog!
Movie: Turtles Forever also known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles Forever or TMNT: Turtles Forever
Directed by Roy Burdine & Lloyd Goldfine
Release date 2009
Genre Science-fiction animated film
Country USA
Turtles Forever was the last Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles work animated by 4Kids Entertainment.
It's a made-for-TV movie.
The film was made for the 25th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. It was originally released on theaters for only one night and then aired on 4KidsTV.
For the occasion, 4Kids produced this one last feature film. A crossover between the recent incarnation of the Turtles and their vintage counterpart.
The 2000s Turtles from their 4Kids series than ran from 2003 to 2009 for seven seasons before last before 4Kids lost the ownership of the license. Those Turtles were closer to their original Mirage Studios comic book incarnation, since the show was both produced by 4Kids and Mirage. The storylines were season-long arcs, the characters darker and more serious and The Shredder's mantle was taken by various characters over the course of the series. With the definite one's origin tweaked by Peter Laird's input.
Along the 1980s Turtles, the child-friendly light-hearted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles produced by Murakami Wolf-Swenson. These Turtles lasted for a very impressive 10-season run from 1987 to 1996. They differed a lot from the original Mirage Studios comic book TMNT. Mutagen became a central element, various mutant creatures popped up as long as they needed background stories for more toys.
The story for this film was original imagined for an eventual episode in the 2000s Turtles' "Back to the Sewers" season, as a 2-parter.
But we finally got it as a feature length feature, a proper finale to both series before Nickelodeon bought the entire IP.
The story begins as we see a battle taking place. The Purple Dragons gang is seemingly facing the Ninja Turtles.
They get captured. Splinter notices it on TV, but the guys are still in the lair. So naturally, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael go to check the situation at the Dragon's headquarters.
Strangely enough, they find four mysterious "totally bodacious" doppelgangers.
Those Turtles apparently come another dimension.
They arrived on this world after a fight inside the Technodrome. They tried to send it back to Dimension X but something happened resulting in this crossover.
Shredder and Krang are also in this universe after this accident. Shredder decides to check on his alternate from this parallel world only to discover the Shredder here is a rather strange creature equal part Shredder and Krang. At this point being the Utrom alien Ch'rell. They free Ch'rell from his imprisonment and soon regret it...
Shredder!Ch'rell takes over the Technodrome, starts upgrading it and using Dimension X technology to build a better robotic Foot army. With the help of Shredder's daughter Karai and a now mutated Purple Dragon leader Hun. they start making an army of robot and mutant Foot soldiers to locate the "Turtle Prime" original dimension in the multiverse in order to destroy it and kill all Turtle-dom once and for good!
It's a celebration of the entire TMNT franchise, with lots of reference and nostalgia value - when possible. Every iteration from the live action films to other continuities from the past comics and 2000s TMNT series pop up briefly. There's even a little nod to both super obscure TMNT animes Super Mutant and Metal Mutant Turtles and the manga as well. (Next Mutation was apparently off limits, being owned by Walter Disney)
The movie does a great job recreating the old 1980s show and having lots of throwbacks to the original animated series. Right down to 1980s Raphael's 4th wall-breaking humor. It pays homage to both shows and gives them both a nice send off.
Despite what some nostalgic fans that take things way too seriously would think, both series ended on later pretty awful last seasons. They were certainly acknowledged here, but mostly ignored.
The production just ignored the worse updates from the later seasons on both shows, such as the 2000s Turtles' pupils or the redesigned 1980s Turtles from the mid-90s.
Some dislike the way the film portrayed the very unninja-like goofy 1980s Turtles. I found it pretty accurate I'd say. That is exactly how they behaved outside the pilot of the show. Shredded kept whining like a kid after being defeated on a daily basis. April O'Neil needed being rescued every other day. Yes, it was a kinda silly self-aware cartoon. Bebop and Rocksteady do appear and even get the better role at the end. They even referenced the most obscure elements of it such as the phone booth elevator, the way they addressed the audience and how it was all played for laughs, being a children cartoon and all. I loved the 1980s Turtles just walked off in public in self-parody of most episodes of the original series. And their exploding throwing starts from the season 2 finale ends up saving the day.
I admit, there are some cheap shots/jokes at the old school Ninja Turtles.
The film spends quite a lot of time first setting up the tone of the 2000s Turtles for newcomers and then introducing their goofier older counterparts for new fans as well.
The 2000s TMNT are not on rest. The film gives equal screentime to both generations, focusing on all 8 Turtles. Their modern iteration was more beloved by fans of the original comic series.
Turtles Forever does seem to try selling newcomers on both iterations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles until the surprising but expected final act.
At its heart, the film is mostly fan service.
The parallel universes are a great excuse to have a meta* storyline, self-aware and referencing the entires franchise.
It marks a finale to the 2003 TMNT series. Introducing newly designed 2000s Tokka and Rahzar, guest characters from the past and present mythos of TMNT, lots of nods from the "Ninja Pizza" from the original series' pilot to background characters and its art design & color palette, mimicking the art style and using quotes from the original Eastman & Laird TMNT, capturing its gritty black & white look... They even get Mirage!Shredder first introduction in there.
It's once in a lifetime dream come true to any Turtles fan. It all just feels right, the whole tone of the film.
The only real downfall? They weren't able to get the original voice actors return for the 1980s Ninja Turtles. For complicated reasons, basically it wasn't legally possible to get LA Union Actors (Rob Paulsen and co) along East Coast non-Union Voice Actors - which 4Kids uses. So like they did with Pokémon recently, they did the next best thing which was getting sound-a-likes impersonators they could find on time. They mostly did a great job on that to a certain degree. Basing the casting on the earlier seasons, the best on being without a doubt Sebastian Arcelus as the 1980s Raphael who does a nearly perfect Rob Paulsen.
As for the rest, the entire 2000s TMNT cast returned (Michael Sinterniklaas does a great Leonardo). And the classic Mirage Comics TMNT simply got modern voice actors to voice their extreme persona, such as Jason Griffith for this Leo.
Another copyright issue, 4Kids wasn't able to get the original 1980s music as well, since New Line owns it. Though the overall score does its best to change the mood depending on the situation. Though they manage to recreate a great though Technodrome/Dimension X theme that comes pretty close on recapturing the authentic feel of the original series.
Oh, and I only wish it could have been the Mirage Studios!TMNT defeating Shredder at the end in a single one-on-one fight..
Overall, what an awesome movie!
Fun, entertaining and a true love letter to the entire franchise.
For all intends and purposes, this is a 2000s TMNT direct-to-video movie. But you don't need to be that familiar with that version of the Ninja Turtles to really enjoy this.
It works as a great send off to both iterations of the TMNT, a finale to the 2000s series, a celebration to everything Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and a special last feature that marks the end of an era. Peter Laird, co-creator of the series, who had bought Kevin Eastman's half of the IP finally sold the Turtles to Nickleodeon shortly after the production of Turtles Forever.
It's a perfect 25th Anniversary celebration.
We can only wait and hope for an even better 30th Anniversary celebration special as good or even crazier to top it off (a special is already expected to tie-in with the current Nick's TMNT CGi series).
I give it:
3.5 / 3 Felixes!
I don't care what many people say about Turtles Forever; it's better than Trans-Dimensional Turtles since day 1.
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