Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Thank you all creators for this masterpiece and for beautiful childhood.

The first thing I noticed about this version of TMNT is the fact than none of the heroes in the halfshell had any pupils. To me, no pupils=no souls, just like the characters in that darkened Turtles revamp in the mid-nineties which misstepped and almost spelled the end for the series.

But I sat through a couple of episodes and was came back VERY satisfied with the new version.

I grew up watching the lean, green fighting machines fight a bunch of bumbling and stumbling bad guys, robots, aliens, mutants, oftentimes saving April O'Neill in the nick of times while ending each productive day eating pizza with some gnarly toppings (chocolate chips and anchovies, anyone?) Slapstick humor, groaner puns, and fast-paced action fortified with blood-pumping music was the order of the day, and we all seemed to like it just fine, thanyouverymuch. I still get a kick out of those episodes when I break out the old tapes.

Now, with the original comic book writer Peter Laird providing input, we have a much more serious tone. This time our heroes aren't here to solve Scooby-Doo mysteries and make pizza jokes. This series actually chronicles their day-to-day lives as they live in their underground lair with Master Splinter. The reason they live in the sewers (which should have been obvious) has been really played up this time: they are freaks, monsters. The fact that they are outcasts makes solving various crimes and getting on the six-o-clock news with April O'Neill a pretty difficult thing to accomplish (besides the fact that April is now a former lab assistant and not a news reporter as in the earlier incarnations).

So all their lives the four turtles have been honing their ninjitzu skills under their sensei, when their lives have been turned upside down by the arrival of Shredder, Splinter's arch-nemesis. The other reviewers are right, Bebob and Rocksteady would not have lasted a second under this Shredder. To take him lightly is to dig your own grave. The turtle's struggle to return to their normal lives during their confrontations with Shredder is the running drama binding these new episodes (which helps keep me interested every week since this time I know there will be a climax, instead of hearing "You miserable turtles, I'll get you next time!" after every other unrequited episode in the old series.)

Despite all this, I still would have been bored with this series if the turtles acted as serious as they looked. But to my relief, they retained much of their old personalities of the old series. Leonardo is still the leader, Donatello's still the inventive brain, Raphael is still sarcastic (and this time gruff and tough), and Michaelangelo is, well, you all know Mikey. I do really believe Mike's even more outrageous in this series than in the old one. Because they still retained their personalities, they don't come off as robotic Warriors of Virtue but as "regular" teens who find themselves caught in a bad space of time.

The way the series uses split screens, wide screens, more kick-butt action (screw the Parent Advisory Council!) and took its stories seriously also doesn't hurt the appeal. Add to this the humanity of the characters, and you have yourself a superior product on your hands.

**** out of four stars.

I'm so happy to see these cartoons again and as anime, when I was 5 years old I used to watch it every morning before school. I loved those cartoons, I even had many toys of them and my cousin had those toys too, I never forget the classic.

Leonardo: This is my favorite turtle because he's the leader and he fights with swords, and in the episode where he is attacked by Shredder during a training, it's very similar like in the first movie

Raphael: He always has a high temper and he is easily angered sometimes by Leo because of giving too much orders

Michaelangelo: He's the funniest of the team and he lives and loves to party, specially when it comes to eating too much pizza.

Donatello: The genius of the team, he makes me laugh a lot when his experiments and other inventions blow up when they fail.

Shredder (a.k.a Orouku Saki): The worst enemy of the turtles and Splinter, it is known that he killed Splinter's master Yoshi many years ago when they lived in Japan.

This show makes the classic live forever in the minds of Die-Hard fans like me, I will always like this true classic.

I just have to say one thing WOW!!!!!!! When I heard they were bringing back the turtles i was expecting a show very much like the show i grew up watching, insted what i got was something i never expected, insted of the chessy jokes and endless pizza refrences I saw a half hour of butt kicking, turtle excitement. Based more on the comic book then the original this new series is darker and more action oriented then the original. With the shredder who is totally evil and doesn't tolerate failure. and deals out a harsh punishment to whomever fails him. Case in point with Dr. Baxter Stockman whom has his left eye taken out when his mouser robots fail in there duties. The style of animation is reminnesent of "Batman Beyond" and it's action is unmatched, no other show has it's delightfull mix of action and comedy, but it's not totaly unlike it's predecessor, mikey is still as goofy as ever, leo is still the leader, donny is still the smart one, raph is- well raph is raph, and splinter is the calm soul who holds the group together. so i suggest if your a child of the 80's like me and are one with your inner child check it out Saturday mornings on the fox box check your local listings for time and channel.

The new TMNT is closer to the comics, but still complete with irrevent humor and fun. The series creators have definately made the series not only an ode to the comic book source, but seem to have made many other references to the comic books that doubtlessly influences Laird and Eastman.

The animation style is somewhere between Men in Black and Batman: The Animated Series, and while not as stylized as either of the two, is functional and adaquate. The action sequences are the main draw, when they are allowed to really gain momentum.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this story, and it should appeal to fans of both the comic and 80's cartoon. The only problem I have with the series is when the cartoon takes a detour spanning 6+ episodes in the middle of a crucial storyline. Take my word for it: beware when the Turtles go into space. While chuck full of one or two Star Wars references, its frustrating to consider the forces at work for the rest of the storyline, on Earth, stopping while the Turtles are off fight outer-space triceratops.

Overall, a good show, and the current highlight of my Saturday mornings. ***1/2