You've probably heard of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). But unless you're a fan, you might not know just how many versions of the characters there've been over the years. Sure, the basics have been the same - four turtles exposed to radioactive ooze become super butt-kickers - but the many TV shows, movies, comics, and video games have shown the Turtles in many different ways.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of all things turtle, Nickelodeon surprised everyone with the movie Turtles Forever, in which the Ninja Turtles of the new millennium team up with the Ninja Turtles from back in the height of their popularity.
Confused? Here's how it works. First we have the Turtles from the original series: the "Classic" Turtles. That series started way back in 1987 and ended in 1996. Then, from 2002 to 2009, there was a more serious version of the characters, inspired by anime (let's call them the "New" Turtles). Turtles Forever offers some dimension-hopping fun where the two groups of Turtles meet each other and go on a huge adventure with the fate of the multiverse at stake.
The Story
In the movie, TMNT - Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo - are chasing billionaire criminal Hun and his followers in the Purple Dragon Gang, only to discover that Hun has captured another four Turtles - alternate-reality versions of Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo. Then, the Shredder and Krang, enemies of the Classic Turtles, come into the New Turtles' universe. As all eight turtles bounce around from one dimension to another, reuniting with familiar faces like April O'Neil, Casey Jones, Rocksteady, Bebop, Karai and the Foot Clan, there are even more quantum surprises in store!
Classic Turtles Vs. New Turtles
The Classic Turtles love pizza, goofy catch phrases and tripping each other up. The New Turtles find all this comedy on the job sort of annoying - they're more into ninja stealth. But in Turtles Forever, the Classic Turtles aren't totally clownish, because so much of the movie has to do with stuff that happened back in their dimension, and it's up to them to take the lead and dive head first into the action, while the New Turtles stop and think things through before joining them.
The "classic meets new" gimmick is cool in Turtles Forever, but not perfect. A lot of the Classic Turtle character voices sound a little too different from what they used to be, but that's probably because so much time has gone by. But, at the end of the day, it's all about having fun, right? There are few things in life that define "fun" more than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So sit back and enjoy the ride...come on, it's the Ninja Turtles!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles ForeverNickelodeonCourtesy of Nickelodeon
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