Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- The Ultimate Collection DVD Review
2003’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” gets a complete series release at long last.
In celebration of the show’s 20th anniversary, the 2003 animated “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” gets a complete series release. Of course, it also serves as a tie-in to “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” which is in theaters now. The 155 episode series finds Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, Master Splinter and their allies April O’Neil and Casey Jones facing off against deadly foes like Shredder, Utrom, Baxter Stockman, Mousers, Foot Clan, Triceratons, Leatherhead, Karai, The Ultimate Ninja, Hun, and The Rat King. In the first 5 seasons, plots revolve around A new lair, an underground city, Turtles on the planet D’Hoonib, virtual reality, Battle Nexus, Agent Bishop and his Earth Protection Force, alien invasions, the Purple Dragons, Japan, mutants, Donatello’s mutation, and the Ninja Tribunal. Season 6 (“Flash Forward”) reboots the series with new character designs, a different tone and an entirely different story which finds the Turtles traveling 100 years into the future to the year 2105. Season 7 (“Back To The Sewer”) finds the Turtles entering Cyberspace. The series culminates with a TV movie titled “Turtles Forever” which includes several incarnations of the Turtles (more on that in a bit).
Much like “Star Wars” and “Godzilla,” TMNT has become a generational franchise. If you grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, the 1987 animated series, the comics, and the first 3 films likely hold a special place in your heart. If you grew up in the 90’s and 00’s, this 2003 animated series is probably your jam. While it’s not my personal favorite version of TMNT, it is a respectable one. It’s nice to see a series that draws from the comics, westerns, and martial arts films all while forging its own mythology and stories. This is a more serialized animated series with multi-story arcs, a more serious tone (humor is still present of course), and some downright dark moments like Donatello turning into a monster, Baxter Stockman’s “new body,” and the Shredder ruled nightmarish Earth.
On the subject of the stories, there’s a lot of new material here. The first 5 seasons fare the best here especially with new characters like Karai, Hun, Garbageman and Agent John Bishop. Seasons 6 and 7 attempt something new, but season 6 feels more “Ben-10” while season 7 feels like a “Tron” wannabe. They feel so far removed from the first five seasons that they almost come across as entirely different series.
The pride and joy of this set is 2009’s “Turtles Forever” which is a delightful TMNT TV movie that sees the 80’s Turtles interacting with the 03 Turtles. The movie ends with an even bigger surprise of the B&W comic book turtles making an appearance! Sure, it may just be fan service, but the story feels like a big tribute to all generations of Turtles to that point.
Note: The 13 “Mayhem From Mutant Island” shorts are not included here.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: Fullscreen for the series and “Turtles Forever” in Widescreen. How does it look? Sadly, there’s no restoration here so viewers will have to watch the series in standard definition complete with print flaws and all. On the plus side, it’s just nice to have the entire series bundled together. It certainly beats those individual volume releases!
Audio Track: Dolby Digital Stereo. How does it sound? The audio is clean. No more, no less.
No extras have been included.
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