DVD Corner

Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Season 1 Blu-ray Review

“Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is an admirable animated series.  

“Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is a Paramount+ sequel series to the animated feature film “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.” Set 2 months after the events of ‘Mayhem,’ this 12 episode sci-fi action-comedy series is divided into 2 story arcs (6 episodes each). The first arc finds Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael facing off against the villainous Bishop and her Mechazoid robots that hunt humans. Bishop has a vendetta against mutants for reasons we discover later. Elsewhere in this arc are storylines involving Raphael having a run-in with the Purple Dragons gang, Donatello reprogramming a Mechazoid, a mutant (Pigeon Pete) and the Earth Protection Force. 

The second arc involves mutant sea creatures known as the East River 3 (Lee the Eel, Goldfin and Mustang Sally) seeking a pearl from their home. There’s also key subplots involving floods and a crime boss named Bad Bernie. TMNT mutant allies Scumbug, Ray Fillet, Genghis Frog, Wingnut and Leatherhead also make appearances. 

Since the 80’s, there have been numerous TV iterations of TMNT that have fanbases spanning generations. The latest series “Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” acts as a sequel/companion piece to the hit movie “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.” Fans of the film will be overjoyed to learn that 5 voice cast members reprise their roles here including all of the turtles (Brady Noon, Micah Abbey, Nicolas Cantu and Shamon Brown Jr.) and April (Ayo Edebiri). While lacking the budget of the film, the series also maintains the stylish ‘Spider-Verse’ esque animation style that plays like a cross between a comic book, school doodles, and anime.

In terms of the story, it’s hit-and-miss. Showrunners Christopher Yost and Alan Wan deserve credit for attempting something a bit different here by having 2 ambitious story arcs. This format does allow for more characterization for both the heroes and the villains. In fact, each of the turtles have their own adventure in the first 4 episodes. At the same time, the arcs do feel drug out here as the villains (Bishop and the East River 3) weren’t exactly on the level of a Shredder. Episodic stories would have been the way to go as that is where TMNT tends to thrive. 

While this might be more of a personal gripe, it was a bummer that Mondo Gecko was excluded from the show. The mutant character was the absolute MVP of ‘Mutant Mayhem.’

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.39:1 1080p. How does it look? The colorful animation shines in hi-def.

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? Viewers can expect a lively 5.1 track. 

No extras. 

November 22, 2024 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | animation, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Season 1 Blu-ray Review, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, TMNT