Turtles Forever

The 2003 series is my favorite rendition of the famous Ninja Turtles outside the comics, so this was a masterfully satisfying conclusion to a great series.

Filled with fan service of all generations, from the Mirage Comics, the 80's TV-show, the then present TV-series on top of a solid plot of stopping the One True Shredder who despite his eternal exile to a lonely asteroid in outer space.

And even though the art style is style of the weaker side of the show, the animators' put in a lot of work to make each generation true to its respective tone and style with some surprised thrown in to finish it off.

This is a must see for every Turtle fan!

Having grown up watching the old 1988 series, it was great to see the specific characters of the turtles and their villains then, in the universe of the new more serious turtles that kids watch today. The whole thing is animated well and has an interesting enough storyline.

The only thing I slightly disliked about this movie, was that the older versions of the characters, both good and bad, are depicted as being somewhat helpless in the 21st century Turtle universe. They mostly get the goofy lines and carefree attitude. However, to be fair the old show was never as serious as the newer one apparently is, and there were excellent tributes to the old show. One running gag in the movie I really enjoyed, was that the older turtles would sometimes direct their attention to the viewer, which would confuse the 21st generation characters. At some point a turtle is actually asked; "Who are you talking to? There is nobody there!"

Although there is definite goofiness and corniness present, this movie offers a nice look at the turtles through time, and is a nice way to end this saga of the turtles (as Nickelodeon is apparently planning to make the next show fully CGI).

I like this crossover overall, but the execution was wanting. The 80s turtles are reduced to cowardly, incompetent, childish fools, with their individual quirks and personalities stripped away. (As silly as the 87 cartoon was, the green team was certainly not comprised of "four Mikeys" as 2003 Raphael suggests). It's really aggravating. 80s Shredder and Krang are given little to do and what little seriousness they had on the original cartoon is taken away. They serve as idiotic foils for the newer villains and little else. They weren't integrated into the plot that well either. The only 87 characters given the proper treatment at all were Bebop, Rocksteady, and Splinter.

It was cool to see the Mirage turtles included (and how they knocked down the 2003 turtles a few pegs). The plot itself was interesting, and the comedy and action generally worked well. It's just hard to praise this one when one half of its crossover is so shamefully treated. Honestly, it felt more like a "hey look at how cool the 2003 turtles are!" most of the time, rather than a celebration of the franchise as a whole. It's unfortunate.

I was a kid when the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series came out. I was, to put it lightly, a fan, as well as for the first two theatrical movies. It's this young-inner- fanboy that had a "Cowabunga!" at the news that they would be brought back for one time only to the new 21st century show. I thought it would be just one episode, but as it turns out it's really a fond goodbye (for at least now) to the franchise of cartoons. It's premise brings both universes, and then some, together like this: a trans-dimensional portal has opened thanks to 1988 turtles bringing them into the 2003 turtle universe, and with them the Technodrome and Shredder and Krang the brain. But as it turns out, the Shredder from the new 2003 show - not really called Shredder but something like Ch'rell, comes back to life and plans to wreak total havoc on not just the turtles present but ALL of the turtles from the dimensions and incarnations by going to the source: the original Eastman-Laird comic- verse.

Yeah, it sounds confusing, and a little too geeky to get into, but somehow it works. It should be interesting to see the reactions from fans of the 2003 animated series, or just younger folks, who aren't as familiar with the 80's animated series let alone the original comics. It's a blast from the past though, and the kind of movie that would probably be interesting to watch with young kids with their parents who may have grown up on the show themselves. We get the wacky (and sometimes just stupid and goofy) antics of the old turtles, but contrasted with the self-serious newer turtles (who do have their own merits as a ninja-style show) it makes a lot more sense and the two even compliment each other. It's like watching an awesome evolution given homage and a new creative story like something out of Roger Rabbit: what happens if the entire dimensions are destroyed by means of cutting off the source? Everything, it would seem, would just disappear.

There's plenty of solid action, corny one-liners, and some genuinely funny scenes (my favorite was the old-school April having to be saved by a banana monster, among other creatures), put against a backdrop of cool animation, and some mocking of both young and old. It works, more or less, as its own self-contained movie, and as a lasting tribute to the boys in green.

Turtles Forever (2009) just made me smile. I'm so happy with this film, I love it. I love this whole thing.

Long story short, there's an inter-dimensional plot that allows all three major adaptations of the TMNT (Original comic, 1987 cartoon, 2003 cartoon) to collide for awkward genius and hilarity.

Especially amusing scenes when the much sillier 1987 Turtles' crack their trademark cheesy jokes and puns... and the more serious 2003 world doesn't welcome it.

2003 Shredder is huge, pure evil, and makes 1987 Shredder look like a bumbling fool when they meet each other. 2003 Shredder remodels the Technodrome ( "What is this? A giant golf ball on wheels?") ripping out 1980s looking monitors and replacing them with 60" flat-screens.

Then BAM they do a perfect rendition of the sinister, original comic turtles. Mesh them all together, then wrap it up with a cameo from when Mirage Studios was merely two guys in a garage, hoping their little hand-made turtles story would sell.

The art was very consistent with source material from all three generations- note the black and white comic world of the first turtles even has a texture to it, like it's been hand drawn on cheap paper.

The writing was appropriate, they really did their best making this movie. The original voice actors from the 1987 series aren't present (4Kids, sigh) but the replacements are close enough to where it doesn't detract.

I've read amateur reviews of this movie, mostly guys my age complaining that the 1987 turtles were portrayed as TOO silly. They aren't. That's exactly how that show was- puns, pizza, cowabunga fun for kids. Having the new (EXTREME!) ninja turtles interact with my kid heroes was perfectly awkward, and at times made me laugh aloud.

If you haven't heard of this until now- don't feel bad. The marketing and release of Turtles Forever was horribly botched. Which is a shame, because this is brilliant work, and is a must-see for any Ninja Turtles fan.