Join us tonight as we review Nickelodeon’s new TNMT cartoon.
I was in high school when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became a thing. Not that I didn’t like them; quite the contrary in fact. But since I was older they were more of a novelty– something enjoyed ironically because the whole concept was just so weird. I wouldn’t have guessed that that 20+ years later they would still be around, much less better than they’ve ever been.
That’s right, I said it. This is a really good show, and in my opinion the best incarnation of the Heroes on a Half-shell ever, with the exception of the original comics.
So what makes it so good? Lots of stuff.
The Look:
Now, when I found out that the new series was going to be CG I was a bit turned off. When cartoons are rendered well, as in Toy Story, the characters become real and warm and every bit as good as live-action or traditional animation. When it’s done wrong (or more often on the cheap) the characters are stiff, creepy, and dead-eyed. That’s when I have to tell Spawn that this show doesn’t come on our TV anymore and we have to watch something else.
TMNT is very well rendered and all of the characters look really good. Each of the Turtles has unique features and movements that sets him apart from the others even without their colored masks. The action sequences are smooth and clean as well, with all the characters, including the superfluous foot soldiers using real ninja-looking moves. The sound effects are excellent too. You know these guys are strong when they drag a manhole cover aside because the thing actually sounds heavy.
The Story
Admittedly I haven’t seen all the episodes in order so I’m a little sketchy on the series story arc. From what I can tell, April O’Neill’s father has been kidnapped by the Kraang and the Turtles are trying to help her find and rescue him. Also Shredder is a bad guy.
Ok, so I’m not real up on the story but that’s what I like about the show. Story arcs are cool, but this is a cartoon I watch with my kid every now and then. I don’t want to have to know what happened all along to enjoy it and so far each episode stands alone. So, they’re good separate and most likely better all put together if you get around to watching them in order.
The Nods and Winks to Old Fans
Don’t get me wrong, this is a new story- a clean slate. Several characters are different from the old series in major ways. For example, instead of a reporter in her 20’s, April is now a 16-year-old girl. Bebop and Rocksteady are absent (or haven’t shown up yet) and instead of being the leader of Shredder and the Foot Clan, Krang has instead become The Kraang- a race of brain-like alien creatures that move around by driving android bodies.
However, there are several really sweet nods and winks to fans of the old series and comics. The theme song, although not entirely the same, includes a few phases from the old, including the line, “Heroes in a half-shell, Turtle Power!” at the end. When the turtles fight, their eyes turn pure white, a nod to the old Playmates action figures of yore. The boys still love pizza and extreme sports, and the end of each episode morphs into comic book panels with art that looks very similar to that of the old comics.
Like I said, I believe this is the best TMNT series yet and you should totally watch it all day long.
But wait, there’s more!
So, the reason I watched this show at all was because my daughter kept asking for it. I didn’t know where she had heard about “Nija Tootles” but I thought what the heck and recorded the series on DVR. The question then became, “is this show age-appropriate for a young child?”
The answer is, I don’t know.
I will say that there are some scenes that get pretty scary, especially when someone steps in the mutagen. But 90% of the rest of it is just the Turtles jumping around, riding skateboards, and eating pizza. The fight scenes are good, so I guess it is sort of violent…
But a little while later we were watching Looney Tunes and Animaniacs and I’ll tell you that I’ve never watched those shows before with an eye filtered for violence like I was just after TMNT. Dude, do you realize that someone gets shot, blown up, smashed with an anvil or dropped off a cliff, like every 5 seconds in those shows? Really. It’s a lot.
So to the discerning parent I will suggest that you watch the show with your kid and if you feel that it is getting too scary or violent, distract the critter and/or change the channel for a while.
Otherwise, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is freakin’ sweet.
Scarydad rating: **** Four stars.
Edit: Later episodes became increasingly violent and action-oriented so that it got more than a little much for Spawn to watch. That doesn’t take away from the quality of the show, just that it’s a bit more mature than the old cartoon series. -SD
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