Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has been shelling out ninja action for over three decades now. Heroes in a half shell!
The Mirage Comic Book Series - 1984
Created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, TMNT began as a series of comic books in May of 1984. They were named after Renaissance artists by their master, Splinter, who is a mutated rat. Splinter went with the names of: Leonardo (Leo), Donatello (Donnie), Michelangelo (Mikey), and Raphael (Raph). Aside from the fact that they're mutant turtles, the comic books are pretty straight forward as far as the idea goes.
In their many adventures, which have included traveling to other dimensions, the turtles fight crime, have an arch nemesis named Shredder, who leads the Foot clan, and hang around a young, sexy news reporter named April O'Neil. They're also friends with fellow crime fighter, Casey Jones, who wears a hockey mask and uses various sports equipment for weapons.
Perhaps the most notable thing about the original comic book series is probably the fact that the Turtles all wore red bandanas, a big difference from their later appearances where they all wear a different colored bandana. Of course, this didn't really matter since the comic books were black and white except for the covers anyway, but either way, it forced readers to identify the four Turtles solely by their weapons, which are: a pair of swords (Leo), a bo staff (Donnie), a pair of nunchakus (Mikey), and a pair of sai (Raph).The Original Animated Series - 1987
With the comic books having become quite popular, a cartoon version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles followed a few years later. First airing on December 14th, 1987, the show was aimed at kids and as a result, it was quite childish compared to the grittier Mirage comic books. Most adults now remember the show a lot more fondly than it actually was, though for good reason. The show did its job well and that was entertaining kids and introducing them to the grand world of TMNT.
Childishness aside, perhaps the show's oddest quality is the fact that outside of a few episodes, Michelangelo uses a grappling hook instead of his usual nunchakus. This is because at the time in the UK, they had a stick up their ass about showing certain things and this included the use of nunchakus. They also called them the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles there. As a result, the creators of the cartoon decided that it would just be easier to not include nunchakus at all.
The show did bring about a few things that could be considered highlights of the TMNT franchise as a whole. One of those highlights would be the show's theme song, opening with the memorable lines of: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Heroes in a half-shell, turtle power! Another was the different colored bandanas that each turtle wore, with only Raphael continuing to wear a red bandana. The show also introduced several characters, including Bebop and Rocksteady, Krang, and the mutated fly version of Baxter Stockman. While far from being the greatest cartoon ever, it was a staple of a lot of people's childhoods and will never been truly disliked by anyone who grew up with it.The Live-Action Film Trilogy - 1990s
On March 30th, 1990, the first live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie hit the big screen. It carried on the different colored bandanas that the animated series introduced, but like the comics, it went for a darker, grittier feel. Most of the main characters from the comics outside of the Turtles also made an appearance in the movie, including: Splinter, April, Casey, and Shredder. One new character, Tatsu, is also introduced, who is the Foot clan's second in command, and is probably most remembered for his line: Ninja... vanish! The first TMNT movie generally gets positive reviews and is still a favorite among long-time fans of the series.
Almost exactly a year later, on March 22nd, 1991, the second TMNT live-action movie was released, titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. A step down from the first movie, it's still watchable and has its fair share of memorable moments, focusing on the ooze that turned the Turtles into the mutants that they are, as indicated by the title of the movie. Bebop and Rocksteady were originally meant to appear to the movie, but due to copyright issues, two similar characters were instead, called Tokka and Rahzar. The movie is also the first time Super Shredder makes an appearance. Vanilla Ice makes an appearance as well, performing his hit Ninja Rap. Noticeably missing from this movie is Casey Jones. His absence is never explained or mentioned. Overall, the movie is kind of a mixed bag, but it seems great considering what followed it.
A couple years later this time, on March 17, 1993, the third TMNT movie was released, this time simply titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III. If the second movie was a step down from the first, the third movie fell down the whole flight of stairs. Most of the movie takes place in feudal Japan, but whether there or in the present, the movie never fails to just come off as lazily put together. The Turtles and Splinter look like they're suffering from some disease. This is because of the fact that, unlike with the first two live-action movies, Jim Henson's Creature Shop didn't provide the costumes for the Turtles and Splinter. The returns of Casey Jones and Corey Feldman to voice Donatello do nothing to help this movie either. Even kids didn't enjoy this movie when it came out. There's also no Shredder this time around. It's pretty much the exact opposite of the first movie in every way possible.The Live-Action TV Series - 1997
On November 2nd, 1996, the first animated TMNT series came to an end after ten seasons. But by the next year, on September 12th, 1997, a new TMNT TV series premiered. Unlike the previous series, this one was live-action and lacked the Teenage Mutant part of the title, instead going by the title of Ninja Turtles: The Mutation. It introduced a new Turtle, this one a female, named Venus, who wore an aqua colored bandana. Her inclusion is considered to be one of the TV series' many blights and its cancellation after just one season was a surprise to no one.The Next Animated Series - 2003
For a few years, there were no new TMNT movies or TV shows. But then, on February 4th, 2003, a second animated series premiered, again using the title Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While still aimed at kids, unlike the previous animated series, it had a lot more in common with the Mirage comic books. One main difference between this and all previous versions of TMNT is that Shredder is now really an Utrom, an alien race previously featured in the comics, named Ch'rell, who uses a human-like exo-suit for his body. The series featured a lot of the characters from previous TMNT incarnations and has been pretty well-received. Lasting seven seasons this time, it went away on February 28th, 2009.The Fourth Movie - 2007
People weren't sure what to really expect when this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie came out, this time just called TMNT. Sure, it was a new movie, but it was also done entirely in CGI. On March 23rd, 2007 though, it turned out that a CGI TMNT movies work just fine, at least in the right hands. The move picks up really in the middle of the Turtles lives and you soon find out that the reason for that is because it's actually meant to be a sequel to the three live-action movies from the 1990s, as indicated by some background props from those movies in one scene.
The movie again lacks Shredder, but this time, his daughter, Karai, makes an appearance, who's been around in the series since the comic books. It's not exactly the movie that everyone hoped for, but after the disappointing third movie, it was definitely a step in the right direction for the series. Unfortunately, no one ever followed up with a sequel, a return for Shredder being hinted at in this movie.The Fifth Movie - 2009
On November 21st, 2009, there was another movie released called Turtles Forever, this time made for TV and not following the previous movies, but instead acting as the conclusion to the 2003 animated series. For this, they decided to go a very different route by actually having the 2003 Turtles meet up with the 1987 Turtles. Of course, the childish nature of the 1987 series and the more serious nature of the 2003 series leads to tension between the two teams of Turtles. With the 1987 Turtles also comes 1987 Shredder, complete with his Technodrome fortress. The return of 1987 Shredder also marks the return of 1987 Krang along with Bebop and Rocksteady, the latter two being absent from the movie and various shows since the end of the 1987 series.
What is probably most unique about this TMNT movie though is the fact that at one point, it directly connects itself to all other versions of the TMNT franchise that have existed over the years, including the 1984 Mirage comics as well as the 1990s live-action movies. So, this movie really is a sequel as well, sort of. The movie has drawn some criticism for how it portrayed the 1987 Turtles, but overall, it's generally liked.Other TMNT Stuff
There have been countless other things released for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise over the years. From actions figures and video games to food tie-ins and a live stage show called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Coming Out of Their Shells. There's also a newer cartoon that came out in 2012 that people seem to be enjoying, despite its weird-looking animation. On YouTube, there are a handful of TMNT fan films, some better than others, as is the case with most fan films. Hopefully, sometime in the near future, someone will release another live-action TMNT movie. One that doesn't involve awkward-looking CGI turtles and Megan Fox.