A lot of humor, fun and action-packed battles as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Slash, Casey Jones and the revelation of April O’Neil’s past! “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones” features seven episodes from season 2! Recommended for the older fans and the young at heart! Recommended!
© 2013 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved.
DVD TITLE: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones
TV SERIES AIR DATE: 2013-2014
DURATION: (7 episodes) 133 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Full Screen, Dolby Digital English Stereo, Closed Caption
COMPANY: Nickelodeon/Paramount
RATED: NOT RATED
RELEASE DATE: July 2014
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
Nolan North as The Kraang
Kelly Hu as Karai
Phil LaMarr as Baxter Stockman
Casey Jones Steps Up and takes on pure evil. Meanwhile, the Turtles learn a shocking secret about April’s past, and they come face-to-face with another mutant turtle called Slash, a rewired metalhead, a fungus mutant spreading throughout the sewers and the Rat King!
What happens when Raphael’s pet turtle drinks mutagen? What happens when neighborhood hero, Casey Jones, looks at the turtles as enemies? And April O’Neil’s past revealed!
And which enemy of the Turtles makes his return?
Find out in the latest seven episodes from the second season of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”!
What is “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”?
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 48-episodes were made and the second season is currently airing on Nickelodeon. And now episodes 33-38 will be released on DVD courtesy of Nickelodeon.
Included in “Mutagen Mayhem” are episodes 27-32. The following are spoilerless summaries:
- EPISODE 33: Slash and Destroy – What happens when Raphael’s pet turtle Spike drinks some mutagen?
- EPISODE 34: The Good, the Bad, and Casey Jones – Casey Jones wants to protect the neighborhood from all ninjas, including the Turtles.
- EPISODE 35: The Kraang Conspiracy – The past of April O’Neil revealed!
- EPISODE 36: Fungus Humungous – What happens when mutated sentient mushrooms start to spread throughout the sewers?
- EPISODE 37: Metalhead Rewired – What happens when Donatello upgrades Metalhead’s A.I.?
- EPISODE 38: Of Rats and Men – The Rat King returns and Splinter fears of what will happen if he is controlled by the Rat King once again.
VIDEO & AUDIO
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones” 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 – The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones” comes with the following special features:
- The Mutation of a Scene – (36:57) A look between the storyboard animatic, primary animation and final render of a scene from the following seven episodes.
- Meet Casey Jones – (2:50) A short featurette with producers discussing the character of Casey Jones.
With the latest volume of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (the 2012, third animated series), we get to see characters that were featured in the original series.
The storylines have changed but we get to see Raphael’s turtle named Spike turn into the mutated enemy known as Slash. While the original was more of a “Hulk Smash” type character, for the 2012 series, the character of Slash makes sense as he was there to often hear Raphael complain and rant about his brothers and also learn how to fight by watching the Turtles spar with each other. But it helped develop his hatred towards the Turtles.
What’s interesting about the Slash character is that his voice is provided by Corey Feldman, who played Donatello in the live action films.
The series also features the return of Metalhead. In this series, Metalhead was created by Donatello from a salvaged Kraang droid, while in the original series, he is a robot with an identity disorder. But it’s interesting to see the change of Metalhead for this latest series, as he is more of a Droid that becomes an asset to the Turtles.
But the biggest difference that people will find in this series is the character of April O’Neil. From the reporter of the original series, she is now the teenage daughter of scientist Dr. Kirby O’Neil and like the Turtles, she loves video games, pizza and learning on how to become a ninja. But we learn more about this special spirituality sensitivity she has and why.
And to conclude this volume is the return of one of the Turtles toughest enemies, the Rat King. So, suffice to say, this sets up another dose of Rat King episodes in the future.
And as mentioned in previous DVD volumes, I like the fact that this latest animated release of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” allows April O’Neil to play a much bigger part, not only as a protective daughter but also seeing her in action, having been trained by Shredder. So, it’s a different type of April O’Neil that many of us who are familiar with past “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” are used to.
And also, I enjoy how this series utilizes notable celebrities to do the voicework for the series. From Sean Astin, Jason Biggs and Kelly Hu, the voice work for this series is pretty cool and not too annoying.
And I feel for older fans or the newer generation, these Ninja Turtles are still fun to watch and yet different from previous series but still retaining the positive aspects of previous series.
I 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 eleven-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.
I have to admit that while I was raised on the original series, 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 too violent that parents need to worry.
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 latest CG series. While April, Karai and Casey Jones have changed a bit, this alternate version of these characters are very cool and the new generation of fans will surely enjoy this series.
Picture and audio quality are good on DVD and you get animated comic books plus more “Mutation of a Scene” shorts for each of the seven episodes featured on this DVD.
Overall, if you are have grown up with this series and still appreciate it, a fan that is young at heart or want to introduce your own child to the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones” is a fun, action-packed series for today’s generation of young viewers.
