Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Animated Series

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Animated Series (also known as TMNT: The Animated Series and TMNTTAS) is an American animated television series developed and executive produced by Brandon Greene,, and. It is the sixth animated series in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. In terms of overall tone and style, the series is loosely based principally on the and  original Mirage comics era of , as well as the, with a similar balance of action, drama and comedy. However, it also tends to blend material from all eras of the comic and cartoon's run up to that point in addition to other sources such as the live-action ' film series, as well as the and ' comics. In a break from other series, the turtles break the fourth wall and speak directly to the audience. It also includes fantasy sequences from each of their minds.

The series premiered on Nickelodeon on May 4, 2029 in celebration of the 45th anniversary of the characters. The series received critical acclaim from critics, with praise for its faithful portrayal of the titular protagonists (along with the supporting characters and villains), the writing, and the unique character designs and art style. A feature film prequel was released on Paramount+ on August 4, 2034 following the end of the third season.

Synopsis
Four teenage turtle brothers: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, have been raised by their Master Splinter team up with a young college student April O'Neil and a hockey mask wearing vigilante Casey Jones, as well as many other mutants to fight in the shadows as soon they have to move out of the shadows and defend New York City from a plethora of villains, primarily the Foot Clan led by their archenemy, the Shredder, while dealing with their own teenage problems and self discovery.

Main

 * Leonardo (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) - the rule abiding leader of the Turtles who tries to lead his brothers on the right path although he is not the best at keeping his brothers in check.
 * Raphael (voiced by Khary Payton) - an aggressive and rebellious turtle who often disagrees with Leo's leadership skills as his aggression often leads to him getting in trouble.
 * Donatello (voiced by Danny Pudi) - a nerdy turtle with a knack for inventing who isn't the best around people although he builds numerous gadgets for the Turtles.
 * Michelangelo (voiced by Dante Basco) - a goofy and fun-loving turtle who always has a smile on his face as he likes to keep things light, mainly due to believing that life is worth fighting for.

Supporting

 * Master Splinter (voiced by Greg Baldwin) - the master and father of the Turtles who finds them prior to their mutation and trains them in Ninjutsu. He was the pet of Hamato Yoshi and learned ninjutsu by mimicking his moves, and then later became a test experiment in Dr. Jordan Perry's lab after Yoshi's death. Baldwin reprises his role from .
 * April O'Neil (voiced by Tara Strong) - a confident, courageous, benevolent, intelligent, and outgoing college student who encounters the Turtles and learns that they are her long-lost pets prior to their mutation as she becomes their best friend although she can get too weird sometimes. She would later become a reporter and journalist for Channel 6 News in Season 2.
 * Casey Jones (voiced by Harvey Guillén) - a cocky hockey masked vigilante who became one after the death of his father as he lets April move in with him while he battles crime and becomes a crucial ally to the Turtles and love interest of April.
 * Keno Konami (voiced by Max Mittelman) - Casey's best friend, a pizza delivery boy, and martial arts expert who meets the turtles and befriends them.
 * Irma Langenstein (voiced by Lacey Chabert) - April's nerdy best friend and roommate in college.
 * Professor Jordan Perry (voiced by Tony Hale) - a scientist who works for the TCRI company as head scientist who test experimented on Splinter after the death of Hamato Yoshi and before Perry was taken by Shredder. He was revealed to be an Utrom in the last episode of Season 2.
 * Vernon Fenwick (voiced by Jerry O'Connell) - April's co-worker and cameraman.
 * Burne Thompson (voiced by Darrell Brown) - April's stubborn and irascible boss at Channel 6 News.

Antagonists

 * The  is an evil criminal organization of ninjas dating back to the ancient Japan.
 * Oroku Saki/The Shredder (voiced by Andrew Kishino) - the ruthless leader of the Foot Clan, arch-enemy of the Turtles and Splinter, and the main antagonist of the series. He was Hamato Yoshi's brother-in-arms until he has grown a pure hatred for him, killing him and taking over the Foot Clan as he learns of Yoshi's pet, Splinter and the Turtles, and wants to create a mutant army to destroy them all. Kishino reprises his role from .
 * Karai (voiced by Grey DeLisle) - the Shredder's adopted daughter and an expert kunoichi. In Season 3, she would later become an ally of the Turtles when she found out that she's the biological daughter of Hamato Yoshi and Tang Shen, and that Shredder killed them.
 * Tatsu (voiced by Matthew Yang King) - Shredder's second-in-command and most loyal enforcer in the foot clan.
 * Krang (voiced by Tom Kenny) - an evil rogue Utrom who despises his pacifistic brethren and was banished from Dimension X and brought Ooze with him, as after breaking free of Dimension X he wakes up in New York and teams up with the Shredder, wanting to turn the city into his own playhouse, clashing with the Turtles.
 * Bebop (voiced by Gary Anthony Williams) - a sarcastic gangster who, along with Rocksteady, is one of Shredder's henchmen. Prior to meeting Shredder, he once was a member of the purple dragons alongside Rocksteady. After his constant failure, he gets mutated into a warthog-like mutant.
 * Rocksteady (voiced by John DiMaggio) - a Russian gangster who is Bebop's partner and one of Shredder's henchmen. Originally a Russian member of an unnamed street gang, Rocksteady was exposed to the mutagen after coming into contact with a black rhinoceros that was stolen from the zoo, transforming him into a humanoid black rhinoceros.
 * Dr. Baxter Stockman (voiced by Sam Richardson) - a mad scientist and creator of the mousers and CEO of StockGen who has a god complex and is obsessed with power. He was forced to work for the Shredder due to him being the only one mad enough to fund him, but after either betraying or failing the Shredder, he would get mutated into a fly as punishment.
 * Hun (voiced by Travis Willingham) - the intimidating leader of the Purple Dragons who killed Casey's father and has plans to become the undisputed king of New York's underworld, clashing with and occasionally even working with the Shredder.
 * Agent John Bishop (voiced by Wally Kurth) - the head of the EPA who deems any mutant or extraterrestrial as a threat. He is an enemy of both the Turtles and Shredder. He would later become an ally of the Turtles when he was forced to team up with them to stop the Shredder.

Episodes
Main article: List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Animated Series episodes

Production
On March 2, 2027, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Animated Series was announced as a new re-imagining of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Brandon Greene, the co-creator of Zippy, serve as one of the supervising producers on the show. Thirteen episodes were ordered for the first season. According to, the series features a "redefined" TMNT, and a combination of frequent guest stars loosely based on the original , and the , such as the origins of some heroes and villains. Actor Andrew Kishino reprises his role as the Shredder from the film . The series also features Yuri Lowenthal reprising their roles as Leonardo from the TMNT short Pizza Friday. Notable voice actors include Greg Baldwin as Splinter (returning to the role after previously having voiced a substantial portion of him in the 2007 film  after died during production) and Tom Kenny, who voices Krang.

The series depicts the Turtles using their ninjutsu training to fight enemies in New York City, while staying in the shadows not to reveal themselves to the public. Villains such as Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman and the Purple Dragons were seen in a trailer shown at the 2028 San Diego Comic Con.

The show premiered on May 4, 2029, on Nickelodeon in the United States, as part of a 45th anniversary celebration.

Reception
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Animated Series received critical acclaim, with praise being aimed at the exploration of surprisingly mature themes, the faithfulness to the source material, the vocal performances from the cast, the unique character designs and art style, the animation, and the use of clever writing while paying homage to classic stories from the comics and cartoons. Before the series premiere, Duane Capizzi interviewed some of the TMNT: The Animated Series development team at WonderCon 2029 after a preview screening and stated: "This new Ninja Turtles series truly is ONE SHELL OF A TIME... surpasses all of the previous incarnations with ease. If you are a Turtles fan you will not want to miss this."

Early in the series' run, Alan Kistler of ComicMix called the series "one of the best superhero adaptations I've ever seen (and trust me, I've watched more than anyone will probably consider reasonable). It's fun, it's smart, it's mature, it's witty and every episode leaves me wanting more."

IGN stated that Greg Weisman "has only cemented his reputation for quality television animation with his work on TMNT." IGN named Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Animated Series #50th in the Top 100 Best Animated TV Shows in January 2031. The series was also awarded Best Animated Series in both 2029 and 2030 with the series' version of the main character being named TV's Best Hero in 2029.

Film
Main article: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Epic Begins

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Epic Begins was released on Paramount+ on August, 2034, by Nickelodeon Movies. The movie, a prequel to the series, tells the origin story of the Turtles, how they became friends with April O'Neil and Casey Jones and their first encounter with the Shredder. The movie received a rating of 65% at review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with praise for it's animation, action, humor, and it's combination of the original cartoon and Mirage Comics, while there was some criticism for the violence involved.

Toys and merchandise
created a new line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles consumer products to go along with the show.

In mid-2029, Playmates Toys released their first wave of basic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Animated Series action figures which consisted of "hero figures" Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, Splinter, April O'Neil and Casey Jones as well as "villain characters" Shredder, Krang, Bebop, Rocksteady and a Foot Soldier. In early 2030, Playmates released series 2 which consisted of the new "hero" character Metalhead as well as villains Tokka and Rahzar. In April 2030, the third wave appeared which included the "hero" character Leatherhead as well as villains Karai and Baxter Stockman. Wave four was released in early August and it featured the villains Rat King and Hun as well as new "Stealth Tech" versions of the four turtles. Wave 5 was released in October with a 7 pack of Mousers as well as four baby versions of the Turtles. October saw the final release of 2030 with wave six which included two new villains: Slash and a newly sculpted Shredder figure featuring a removable helmet and cape. Wave seven first appeared in February 2014 with figures for Slash, Jagwar, Ray Fillet, and Mutagen Man.

IDW Publishing released a spin-off comic series titled based on the series featuring original adventures set between episodes of the TV series starting July 2030. After 24 issues, the series was relaunched as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shell Shocked Adventures in August 2032.

Trivia

 * It is the fourth cartoon in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise to be released on Nickelodeon (the other four being: ' (2012), ' (2018), and Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2024).
 * It was originally going to be called "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shell Shocked".
 * The show is is an amalgamation of the and the original . Elements were taken from the 1980s cartoon, such as the Turtles' love of pizza, Shredder and Krang using the Technodrome, and April O'Neil as a television reporter instead of a lab assistant.
 * In this version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Turtles were previously owned by April O'Neil prior to their mutation.
 * Michelangelo's voice actor Dante Basco along with Splinter's voice actor: Greg Baldwin, and Karai's voice actress: Grey DeLisle previously worked on the Nickelodeon show  as, and Azula.
 * Brandon Greene stated that he always wanted to do his own version of the Ninja Turtles, he even gave the Turtles tails.
 * It is the only version of TMNT show where the Turtles have tails.