All you need to know: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Noughties kids – rejoice!

If you couldn’t tell from the trailer, Nickelodeon’s brand new animated series, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, pays tribute in no small part to the comic book origins of our pizza-loving half shell friends.

And yes - Michelangelo’s nineties catchphrase “Cowabunga!” is back, reclaiming its place after having been substituted with the millennial “Booyakasha!” in previous TV animations.  

Created by Andy Suriano and Ant Ward, the fourth TV show in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) franchise has so far managed to win over the Internet nay-sayers – no easy feat.  

Read on for the top things to know about the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

 

This, we love! 

You can’t miss it: the angular edges, the bright colors, the jagged lines… 

There’s no doubt that Suriano and Ward took the turtle superheroes back to their 1980’s 2D comic book heritage. The wildstyle graffiti approach and manga-influenced artwork makes the latest TMNT hit an absolute visual delight - especially for us non-millennials who remember reading superheroes!
 

Raph – now leader of the teen turtle pack. 

Let’s start with the easy change - the green teens are now each a different species to reflect their distinct personalities. They also go by shortened nicknames rather than their full Renaissance-painter inspired names. 

Then… there’s the leadership change from Leonardo to Raphael – a first in the history of the TMNT franchise. The personalities of each turtle are much more developed in Suriano and Ant’s take, and as the animated series progresses the shift cements itself as a must for who they are. 

“I think no one could really answer who Leo was other than ‘the leader’ and we really wanted to explore his personality and give him some dimensionality… Once you’ve played with that leadership role, you immediately have a lot of stories right off the bat, and an interesting dynamic.”
- creator Andy Suriano  

And in case you’re one of those detail-loving fans : 



LEFT TO RIGHT:
- Michelangelo aka Mikey (Brandon Mychal Smith): box turtle, orange bandana
- Raphael aka Raph (Omar Benson Miller): snapping turtle, red bandana
- Donatello aka Donnie (Josh Brener): soft-back turtle, purple bandana
- Leonardo aka Leo (Ben Schwartz): red-eared slider turtle, blue bandana

 

You read right, from the word go in the pilot the turtles will face an alternate universe filled with magic in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Paving the way for epic new supervillains, the animated series has already pulled in quite a few big names for these baddies! The new leader of the Foot Clan, in place of Shredder, will be a certain superevil Baron Draxum – and while we’ll leave the details a mystery, know he will be voiced by none other than WWE superstar John Cena!

AND we have it confirmed that Lena Headey – yes, Cersei Lannister from HBO’s hit TV series Game of Thrones - will soon be lending her voice as a next-level supervillain mysteriously named… Big Mama.


So if you’re looking for a nostalgic kick to those days when we made a B-line for the telly after school, or if you’re just looking to pass on a bit of that nineties feel to today’s younger generations – the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are here to help. 


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