Nickelodeon’s New Turtles – First Impressions

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have gone through many different iterations since their original comic book inception back in the 1980s. What started out as a joke between two friends has now turned into a global phenomenon spanning multiple generations and displaying a remarkable ability to endure. This has been due in large part to the fact that the TMNT property had, until recently, still been owned by its original creator. Over a year ago, however, Nickelodeon bought the rights to the Turtles with plans to bring the Heroes in a Half Shell back to the small screen. As a long-time fan, I was, as were many others, skeptical about a different company handling my beloved Turtles and I have been spending the better part of a year watching the development of the new series take shape. Nickelodeon has finally premiered their new series and now that we are a couple of episodes in, let’s take a look at the finished product and see for ourselves if our childhood heroes are in good hands.

Before the Turtles even open their mouths, you’ll notice the distinct art style that this new series is touting.  Like most new animation, Nickelodeon is opting for the CG route. I was skeptical at first but the Turtles actually look really good in their fancy new CG digs. For the first time in an animated series, each turtle has their own distinct appearance, meaning that if you were to see them all in black and white and without their weapons, you could still tell who is who. This may not seem like a big deal to most, but as a longtime fan, and someone who appreciated the Turtle’s individual appearances from the movies, it’s a welcome improvement.  Donatello is tall and awkward; Michelangelo is short and looks like he still has baby fat. Raphael is buffer looking with scars and chips in his shell to drive home the point that he’s the reckless fighter; while Leonardo is well rounded and doesn’t stick out in any obvious way. All individual appearances seem to fit their personalities perfectly.

The other characters that we’ve seen so far occupy varying degrees of success when it comes to appearance, in my opinion anyway. Splinter is now taller, swifter and younger than in his previous incarnations. April O’Neil is back too and she’s regressed in years even more than Splinter has. Perhaps in an attempt to help her better identify with her reptile counterparts, April has now become a teenager herself which is a far cry from her past appearances, be it cartoons, comics or otherwise.

Enemies have been a mixed bag so far though. While series stalwarts like Shredder and Kraang look very cool, one-shot bad guys and non-essential humans tend to look a little generic and lacking in detail. It fits in well with the new minimalist art style the show is striving for but when some characters look well detailed and thought out while others look rushed, it tends to be a little off putting. Not terribly so mind you, but it’s still a tad noticeable.

Voice acting is also spot-on across the board thus far. Each of the Turtles have been cast perfectly, which is and always will be the most important aspect of a TMNT show. The most recognizable voice comes from Donatello, courtesy of the fantastic Rob Paulsen who was, coincidentally, the voice of Raphael in the original series. I thought it would be strange to hear Raphael’s voice coming out of Donatello’s mouth but it works perfectly. Leonardo is voiced by Jason Biggs who you may remember from the American Pie movies (if you were unfortunate enough to have seen one of those buckets of tripe). He brings a steady, no frills, yet vulnerable sound to the leader in blue. Michelangelo is voiced by newcomer Greg Cipes. He is easily the youngest sounding of the group and is probably the best voice Mikey has ever had. The most interesting choice of voice actor, at least to me, is Sean Astin as Raphael. I had severe reservations about hearing Samwise Gamgee as the Turtle with the ‘tude but he, like the others, nails it. He brings Raphael a rough and tough sound without ever making him sound mean or like a bully. Raphael is the one who has had the widest range of voices throughout the Turtles existence but Sean Astin seems to bring to his character the best of all of them.

The rest of the voices are top-notch as well. Splinter sounds younger and wittier while still seeming wise and unshakeable. April is young and vibrant while Shredder is dark and booming. Nolan North, who voiced Raphael in the 2007 CGI film, as well as just about every video game character in existence, even gets in on the fun as the voice of the Kraang bots. It is, so far, a perfectly cast and excellently acted series.

As far as the tone of the series goes, it seems to be an amalgamation of just about every TMNT incarnation to date. There’s a strong focus on comedy, which was prevalent in the original series, but there is also a strong sense of brotherhood amongst the Turtles which has been a driving theme in many of the comic books and movies. Action is also emphasized which was a strong focus in the 2003 animated series. It’s nice to see Leonardo finally get to use his katana’s in the manner in which they were meant to be used. While the action comes fast and furious, it is still very stylized and there hasn’t yet been anything in the vein of blood and I sincerely doubt there ever will be.

We’re only a few episodes into the series and it’s hard to say for certain how things with this series will ultimately play out but it seems that we’re off to a very good start. There’s no sign of some of the fan favorites from the past like Casey Jones, Rocksteady, Leatherhead or others but the show is still young and there’s plenty of time yet for them to make an appearance. With an emphasis on well-orchestrated action, pitch-perfect voice acting and comedy that is actually funny, Nickelodeon’s new take on our beloved Turtles is refreshingly new and respectful of the past all at the same time!