Turtles Forever

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.

The 2003 Turtles discover that their '87 counterparts have been captured by Hun and his men, and after learning that it was because of the inter-dimensional portal in the Technodrome, they attempt to stop their Shredder, who goes searching for his new counterpart, not realizing what he is about to unleash. This is a bit of a love letter to the two series, and one can debate which it favors, or if it indeed chooses one. As for the old one, it certainly does make those Ninjas seem goofy, stupid and honestly, at times, downright cowardly(with that said, they do save the day on several occasions, and their ways prove to be efficient *because* of what they do, not in spite of them). They're constantly joking around and some audiences will find them obnoxious. I did love that they implemented their vehicles(if even those were mocked some), and that we visit their universe, as well. The personalities fit pretty well, albeit Leonardo is too similar to Michaelangelo, and not much of a leader(his voice is off, as well, though most of them are spot-on). Their villains are also overly useless and comical. Then again, the point could be made that they are the more fun version, and the new millennium ones are too serious(...they're man-sized, green mutant animals, after all... and *teenagers*, lest we forget), and while they are the competent martial artists, they wouldn't be as interesting to watch(and I'm with The Nostalgia Critic, why do they keep saying "what the shell" and variants on that? It's not that good a line) for the 80 or so minute duration(based on the Director's Cut). The humor isn't all silly, there are clever nods at stuff, references and just how they react to each other. This is rather action-packed, and nearly everyone you might want to see fight, do so. There may even be a tiny bit of the good guys going up against each other, and that's all I'll say. Anyway, yeah, Purple Dragons, Foot Soldiers(and a suped-up counterpart) and goo-affected monsters on the one side, and both incarnations of the four titular characters and the newer Casey Jones and April on the other, and we've got close-quarter weapons, lasers, machines and even improvisation. The pace is great, you're never bored, the well-written story(that really smartly brings all of these together, and takes the consequence of what it introduces, leading to a truly epic, badass and memorable climax) is constantly moving forward and with cool developments, building in tension and scope towards aforementioned conclusion. This is beautifully animated, with the distinct visual styles not clashing which must have been a feat, and the two are quite accurately reproduced, and the sometimes massive scenes are rendered very nicely. There is some disturbing and/or violent content in this. I recommend this to any fan of the TMNT cartoons, whether it's based on the recent one or the original one. 8/10

I very recently started watching feature length animated movies.. Like the Marvel and DC ones. I did some research to find some good ones, and among the ones I found, this one showed up.

And man was it entertaining. I loved it. I really enjoy the concept of the Turtles meeting versions of themselves from other dimensions. Very cool.

I'm not a die hard Turtles fan or anything, although I did like Turtles when I was a kid, but this movie just entertained the hell out of me anyway.

The story is pretty good, and the dimension-stuff is awesome. The fighting and action is very good. And maybe the best part of the whole movie is the dialogue between the turtles, and the differences between the dimensions. The movie is kind of self aware, and that's cool.

This is actually the first 9 I've given in quite a while, if I remember correctly.

This movie is for fans and non-fans alike. It starts off with the Turtles in it's latest incarnation (2003 4kids series) viewing a news report of a robbery broken up by four turtles..but not by them..

At a risk of spoiling, I will not go into further detail. As a fan of the shows and the various versions of the Turtles, I really enjoyed this movie.

Funny thing is this movie wasn't promoted well, if not at all (which is sad because this could have been released in the theaters and would have made a lot of money... I happened upon this movie by accident and have a "Kool-Aid smile" for it's humor, story, action, and nostalgia. This made for TV movie did what the previous shows and the theatrical release did not.

It gave the fans a action packed, humor-filled completion to a wonderful franchise... Thank you to all that were involved....And here's hoping that this was not the end to it all.

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.