For many, the reboot of the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show to 2018’s Rise of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is sign of the times. Much like Teen Titans, the network took a show with a dedicated fan base and ended it in favor of a new version geared towards a younger audience base. They took a show that skewed towards a more mature audience with darker themes and replaced it with a lighter show with a larger emphasis on jokes. Will it work? Will it be as divisive as Teen Titans Go!? Will I not care and like both versions as their own things and get enjoyment out of each of them? Yes to all.
1.Heroes In A Half and Also Their Own Shell
People, well adults, lost their collective minds when the new designs for the show were released. “These are not my Turtles!” “I own my childhood and now you have ruined it.” “Raph the leader?!? Leo leads! Sure they butt heads in various incarnations about who should lead, and maybe this time they will do it from the reverse perspective but my childhood!” Once you get over the initial “shock” of the redesigns, they fit the feel the look of the show completely. This first episode introduces four teenage turtles who are ninjas and feel like real brothers. It is also not the first time the Turtles were redesigned for a new iteration of the show. Actually it is like every other time the show was relaunched or a new comic has come out. Or that time they played music and went on tour.
By now you know Raph is the older bigger brother who “leads,” Leo is the brash one, Mikey is still Mikey, and Donnie still does machines. The looks each fit each turtle to embellish their personalities. I like that Raph is a brute and Mickey is small and sleak. They are now their own species of turtle, which is a smart move and works to build the individual personality of each Turtle more. Each brother has their own personality in this episode, but they share a lot of the same quirks that brothers who are best friends might.
This first episode makes them actually feel like legit teens. It has always been one of those things, “oh right the Turtles are teenagers, it’s in the name.” In the 2012 show, they felt young by their interest and actions. In Rise, the dialogue and comeradery give that same feel of teenage brothers.
They start the episode by setting up an elaborate but ninjaesque way to do cannonballs into a pool. They legit get owned this whole episode. Every fight they are very confident and immediately just get destroyed. If they win they win by luck which gives the series room to explore their growth. They stumble into a mystic adventure below New York City against a new villain. In the end its still an episode about four brothers getting into ninja adventures.
2.Teenage Titans Mutant Turtles Go!
The humor is very much in line with other current cartoons for kids and that may turn some people off. Often, it’s absurd and sarcastic. Not quite the over the top insanity of Teen Titans Go!, but it hits many of the same notes. It is closer to the Ducktales reboot in tone and humor. Looking back at the Turtles I grew up with, that style of humor for kids does not hold up and does not translate well to adulthood. Here, there are a lot of good timing gags. Raph and Mickey go into “ninja mode” to hide in the shadows. The villain quickly points out he can still see them and the scene cuts to very two very visible turtles hiding behind a pillars. It’s cute and it is self referential. Donnie berates Raph for saying “Weapons Ahoy,” and that they agreed to save ahoy for ship based adventures. I find myself as an adult enjoying this series and the 2012 series more because the humor is broader, sometimes dry, referential, and smarter. I much prefer a show I can watch with my 5 year old and also laugh at versus a show that caters to just me or just him.
Continued below3.Broken Toaster and Fancy Trash Can
I spoke of the look of the Turtles themselves, and it continues throughout the whole show. There is a consistent design and feel to the show that I really enjoyed. I remember the worry people had with the 2012 show and the CGI look of the people and world. I know there is concern about the direction of Rise, but every inch of this world is enjoyable. Everyone in the background is interesting to look at; the world is bright and alive. This episode focuses on the Turtles’ discovery of the mystic elements and world of NYC. The mystic hidden city looks great, and I think once it seems clear the Turtles will be evolved in the mystic elements of the world, the design works more. One of the executive producers on the show is Andy Suriano who was a character designer on Samurai Jack, The Tartakovsky Clone Wars, The Fairly Odd Parents, and the Emmy Award-winning Mickey Mouse short series. Watching the first episode, it is clear his influence is all over these designs. We are introduced to three villains this episode and they unique looking and could easily fit in with a Mutagen Man or Baxter Stockman. April is active in these adventures and deserved a design that fit this version of her character, and it does.
4.Weapons Ahoy
Like its design, the show has the Samurai Jack tone of action. The Turtles move at insane speeds, leading to lots of speed lines. All of the action happens at exaggerated angles. There is a good sense of speed, weight and movement. The mystic elements and attacks have a Kirby crackle aesthetic to them. Everyone has very exaggerated movements, facial expressions and reactions.
While the Turtles are maybe not the ninja masters we know and love yet, their action is still very kinetic and well choreographed. The weapons now are either mystic or, in Donnie’s case, tech based which they gain this episode. This just adds another level of action to the show as the weapons have their own power, which the Turtles don’t know how to use well or at all yet. There is a lot of fun action especially in the battle with Barron Draxum. The design of the villains work hand in hand with the action to make their powers and fights that much more engaging. It was cool to see these teens just stumble into levels of action they were not ready for.
5. Mad Dogs
There is no origin, there is no explanation why each Turtle looks different, or why Splinter appears as a couch potato and I appreciated every second of it. The episode is in and out, and the team has their first real adventure. Rise of The TMNT is still about four brothers who are mutant turtles who do ninja adventures with their human female friend. Instead of rehashing what the previous versions of the show did, Rise adapts to the style of today’s children television while still giving back something for everyone; that is what good franchises do. There is a reason TMNT is an iconic franchise that has transcended one specific generation. Veterans Andy Suriano, Ant Ward (who worked on the 2012 show), a great voice cast and hundreds of other dedicated employees created a first episode that showed why these Turtles are different and why different can be a good thing too. At the heart of the franchise it’s about funny characters fighting funny villains with cool action and cool weapons.
