Fresh, fun and action-packed! “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rise of the Turtles” is now in CG-animation and with “Rise of the Turtles”, you get the first six episodes from this modern CG-animated series introducing “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” to a new generation of viewers but also the young at heart. Recommended!
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DVD TITLE: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rise of the Turtles
TV SERIES AIR DATE: 2012
DURATION: 145 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Full Screen, Dolby Digital English Stereo
COMPANY: Nickelodeon/Paramount
RATED: NOT RATEDÂ / Home Video Rating is PG for Violence
RELEASE DATE: February 26, 2013
Directed by Michael Chang
Written by Joshua Sternin, Jr. Ventimila
Originally created by Kevin Eastman
Produced by MacGregor Middleton
Executive Producer: Peter Hatings, Ciro Nieli, Joshua Sternin, J.R. Ventimilia
Supervising Producer: Ant Ward
Music by Sebastian Evans
Casting by Sarah Noonan
Production Management: Vladimir Radev
Featuring the voices of:
Sean Astin as Raphael
Jason Biggs as Leonardo
Greg Cipes as Michelangelo
Rob Paulsen as Donatello
Mae Whitman as April O’Neil
Hoon Lee as Splinter
Nickelodeon’s all-new, CGI-animated hit series debuts on DVD with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rise of the Turtles. Join these four ninja brothers – Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo – in this action-packed adventure as they emerge from their hidden lair in the sewers of New York City for the very first time. In addition, enjoy six awesome “making of animatics†and a karaoke music video to the show’s tubular theme song. And as an added bonus, each DVD will include an exclusive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles poster for a limited time only.
In 1984, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird began working on a comic book series titled “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” for Mirage Studios. Featuring a darker, action-driven storyline, the comics became major collectors items due to its short print run. And because of the popularity of the comics, Playmates Toys Inc. was approached to create an action figure toyline and before they began working on the risky project, the toy company would only agree to do so, if an animated TV series was created.
Geared for children and featuring characters with color coded masks, spoke with stereotypical surfer dialogue and a love for pizza, the series was a major hit. Created in 1987, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” would air on television through 1996, and along with the TV series, the toyline was also a big success and would continue on with a live action series, multiple video games and also several live action films.
By 1997, the series has a live action series titled “Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation” which lasted for a single season and in 2003, the series was resurrected by FOX and with 4Kids Entertainment, the remake would be produced by Mirage Studios (the original series had no ownership by Mirage) and would be more edgier like the original comic books and much more darker than its 1987 counterpart and once again, the series and its toyline would become a major success.
And now “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is back! In 2012, Nickelodeon acquired the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Mirage Group and 4Kids Entertainment and this time around, wanted to go with a CG-animated series and that there would be slight changes for this 2012 version from the original series and previous series that fans may have been accustomed to.
The new series would feature voice acting from Jason Biggs as Leonardo, Rob Paulsen as Donatello, Sean Astin as Raphael, Greg Cipes as Michelangelo, Mae Whitman as April O’Neil and Hoon Lee as Splinter.  In this newer series, each of the Ninja Turtles try to get accustomed to being heroes as they are taught by their sensei Splinter. A former human that was changed into a rat.
The leader of the group is Leonardo (blue mask) who fights with two katana swords and is the level-headed member of the four; Donatello is the hacker and computer/science expert (purple mask) and fights with a rokushakubo. He also has a crush on the video gamer girl, April O’Neil; Raphael is the hot head of the group who acts on impulse and tend to be a problem with the group, as he tends to not think before acting. He fights with two sais and has a pet turtle named Spike and Michelangelo is the person who loves video games, skateboarding and pizza but he is also seen as the jokester and idiot of the group. He fights with two nunchaku and is the immature member of the.
And the group gets help from a human named April O’Neill who loves video games and pizza but also has a special spiritual sensitivity and is being trained by Splinter to be a ninja.
Together, they take on a mysterious group known as the Kraang that is led by Shredder.
A total of 26-episodes (as of February 2013, 14 episodes have been aired) were made and the first season began premiering on Nickelodeon in Sept. 2012. And now the first six episodes will be released on DVD courtesy of Nickelodeon.
Included in “Rise of the Turtles” are the following episodes (featuring spoilerless summaries):
- EPISODE 1: Rise of the Turtles, Part I – The Ninja Turtles try to follow the Kraang who have abducted April O’Neill and her father Kirby.
- EPISODE 2: Rise of the Turtles, Part II – The Ninja Turtles try to rescue the O’Neills.
- EPISODE 3: Turtle Temper – Raphael has a problem with his temper and because Raphael and Michelangelo get into a bit of squabble, they end up messing up their reconnaissance mission and are recorded by a man with a cell phone who wants to make money with the video footage. Now Raphael must get the man to not sell that video.
- EPISODE 4: New Friend, Old Enemy – Michelangelo’s TV hero is the martial artist Chris Bradford, but what Michelangelo doesn’t know is he is Shredder’s top lieutenant.
- EPISODE 5: I Think his Name is Baxter Stockman – The team sneaks out against Splinter’s orders, they battle a crazed man in a suit known as Baxter Stockman that is powered accidentally by a device Donatello created.
- EPISODE 6: Metalhead – Donatello creates Metalhead (a remote-controlled robot turtle reverse engineered from Kraang technology).
VIDEO & AUDIO
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rise of the Turtles” is presented in full screen format. The CG animation and the character designs is quite different from its previous series predecessors but for the most part, the animation is pretty cool. I love how the series mixes CG but also cool artwork at times. The overall look of the city and the integration of the characters to the environments is cool and detail of the CG animation is a plus for the series. I also like how they gave each ninja turtle a distinct look. From Donatello have a gap to Raphael having a chipped shell.
But for the most part, the series does look good as one can expect on DVD.
As for audio, the series is presented in Dolby Digital and dialogue and music is clear and understandable.
There are no subtitles but closed captions are included.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rise of the Turtles” comes with the following special features:
- The Mutation of a Scene: Rise of the Turtles, Pt. 1 – A three minute look between the storyboard animatic, primary animation and final render of a scene from the following episode.
- The Mutation of a Scene: Rise of the Turtles, Pt. 2Â – A three minute look between the storyboard animatic, primary animation and final render of a scene from the following episode.
- The Mutation of a Scene: Turtle Temper – A three minute look between the storyboard animatic, primary animation and final render of a scene from the following episode.
- The Mutation of a Scene: New Friend, Old Enemy – A three minute look between the storyboard animatic, primary animation and final render of a scene from the following episode.
- The Mutation of a Scene: I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman – A three minute look between the storyboard animatic, primary animation and final render of a scene from the following episode.
- The Mutation of a Scene: Metalhead – A three minute look between the storyboard animatic, primary animation and final render of a scene from the following episode.
- Theme Song: Karaoke Music Video – (1:02) A karaoke music video of the theme song.
EXTRAS:
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rise of the Turtles” comes with a slipcover and a small poster.
I was very fortunate to be around when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book came out and since then, like many other adults who grew up with the franchise, it’s been part of our lives. May it be when were a child watching the animated series or playing the video game at the arcade or at home on a video game console. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” has been a big part of American pop culture for 25 years.
I have grown up watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and seeing every incarnation of the series. And so far, each has brought something new and different to keep the series fresh and new for the new generation of viewers watching it.
With this new series that began in 2012, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” somewhat gets a new reboot. The characters are the same four ninja turtles but they now have their distinct style, their own look and some characters are much different than how they were presented in past series.
This time around, I watched the series with my nine-year-old. He was just born when the 2003 series was featured on television but at three or four, I began introducing him to the original series and also the 2003 version. And he also had a chance to watch the 1997 live action version as well.
But while watching the series, I can tell he was captivated by this newer series because the series is now CG. He loved seeing the characters and he kept talking about the commercials on Nickelodeon portraying Donatello as dumb as SpongeBob SquarePants’ Patrick and he enjoyed the craziness of that character.
And watching this series, I have to say it was pretty cool. I’m glad the “Cowabunga” days of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are gone and while I thought the 2003 series was fantastic as it featured a more darker tone, I think for today’s younger fans, especially the Nickelodeon audience, children will enjoy this series. Yes, there is fighting violence, but nothing to severe.
But for the most part, this may not be the TMNT that fans grew up with back in the ’80s or ’90s, and even those who grew up watching it in 2003. Like other major properties from “Transformers” to “G.I. Joe”, you have to continually retweak the series to target a new audience (and tie-in with the toyline). But older fans should not complain as they can easily go back to their original series by watching on DVD, but even for older fans like myself, I found “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rise of the Turtles” to be a lot of fun. It’s different but for today’s young audience, it makes sense to have things modernized. So, I appreciate where the writers have taken this anime series and created something fresh and different but yet respecting the original series as well.
The series has always been about Splinter and his four teenage mutant ninja turtles taking on Shredder and his ninja and other bad guys and that still exists in this 2012 series.
Picture and audio quality are good on DVD and there are quite a bit of special features on the actual storyboards to full animation included on this DVD release.
Overall, if you are have grown up with this series and still appreciate it, young at heart or want to introduce your own child to “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, “Teenage Mutant Ninjua Turtles: Rise of the Turtles” is a fun, action-packed series for today’s generation of young viewers.
