Ever just wake up one day to find out that one of your dreams-you-thought-you-never-had came true? I had one of those days — especially when I found out I was dreaming about bridging the gap between my childhood and the present. In terms of Ninja Turtles, of course.
Like any good kid from the ’90s — Friday night was what kept me trudging through the week. When it wasn’t Ghostbusters I was looking forward to, (they used to show cartoons for PRIMETIME! Seriously, kids of the ’00s!) it was that other group of 4 — the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
After the “Turtles” were apparently caught on film trying to stop a robbery, Master Splinter orders the Turtles to investigate.
What they find, instead, are their light-hearted, fun-loving, multi-dimensional counterparts. While at first, the Turtles find their multi-dimensional counterparts (the ‘87 Turtles) to be free-spirited goof-offs, they find that they weren’t the only ones who don’t belong in that dimension — their multi-dimensional villainous counterparts made the leap as well.
While in this dimension (the 2003 continuity) Krang doesn’t exist, the Shredder does — and this incarnation? He’s vicious, he’s lethal, he’s … competent. 
)
While Shredder repairs his body and merges the Dimension-X technology of the Techno-Drome with Utrom technology, the Turtles and their ‘87 Turtles counterparts find a way to get along and set everything right.
First off, the theme for a coupla things of the last few years: The Multiverse. It works here, and it’s a blast seeing the 1987 designs drawn in high(er)-quality. What also makes this feature fantastic is the references to each dimension — the 1987 Turtles being just absolute stand-up guys that, seen through kid-eyes would make you see them as the absolute kinds of superheroes you could just hang out and eat a slice of pizza with.
It also makes for comedy gold, such as this clip:
(Fun fact: yes, April O’Neil has forever changed the way I see girls in yellow. Yellow jumpsuits. Oh April, you and your yellow jumpsuits and auburn hair. )
The ‘87 Turtles also provide a view of simpler times, when saving girls in yellow jumpsuits seemed like the sort of daily-thing-you-do, and that having a slice of pizza will miraculously provide answers in defeating villains who have high-tech weaponry.
The present Turtles, while a bit more serious, provide a nice contrast to these “new”/haven’t-been-seen-for-a-long-time characters. Even if Fast Forward WAS aimed for younger audiences, it’s pretty easy to see that the origin of these present turtles are much firmer rooted to their Mirage comics origins.
The few faults to be seen here are the absolute impotence of the ‘87 villains compared to their more serious/vicious present counterparts. (Also, lulz at Mirage-Comics Shredder’s screentime!) Then again, The Shredder is, was, and most probably needs to be, in any form, an egomaniac.
There’s also this nice bit about Present/Utrom-Shredder survives almost ANYTHING, while a pair of clumsy-henchmen (guess who!) would turn out to be his absolute downfall.
If you were ever a fan of ANY form of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at any point in your life, then this is a must-see. Also, did I mention? SEE IT! Find a way! Go see it right now! It brought me this Saturday-morning-cartoon-don’t-care-about-the-world-eat-pizza-watch-Turtles F-U-N. Cowabunga!
5/5,
only because now that I’m older, I’m finding the TMNT more significant.
***
Points to ponder:
1. Will Hun stay that way?
2. Does that mean that ‘87 Shredder and Krang now have a flying Technodrome/Death Star?
3. When will the DVD come out? Apparently, it has 12 MORE minutes that was cut from the version I saw.
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