The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a band of anthropomorphic terrapin teenage brothers who fight crime in New York City and usually lives in the Metropolis' sewer system. The beloved franchise was inspired by characters from a comic book written and illustrated by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, though they've since grown far beyond these printed roots.
The franchise reached peak popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s, spawning toys, animated cartoons, feature films, and other product tie-ins. Since their conception, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have seen many reinventions, allowing new generations to discover the crime-fighting turtles. The television series has been one of the most popular TMNT iterations franchise over the years.
Updated by Timothy Blake Donohoo on October 12, 2023: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise continues to grow through new iterations. This includes a recent movie that's now set to receive a sequel and a TV show spinoff. The news of this upcoming project expands the number of TV/cartoon iterations of the TMNT, giving a new generation their own version of the Ninja Turtles.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1987-1993
The most iconic of the many TMNT versions is the one seen in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. After a licensing agent named Mark Freedman sought Laird and Eastman to discuss merchandising opportunities, the Ninja Turtles took off. When Playmates began developing a toy line for the turtles, a cartoon miniseries was also developed to help sell the toys. The miniseries introduced the characters and their backstories. After toy sales picked up, the series was syndicated, and the first of the TMNT cartoons was born. The series ran on the CBS network from 1987 to 1996 and consisted of 10 seasons.
The first 7 seasons of the series were more lighthearted and comedic, making it more family-friendly than the source material. This has retroactively been seen as a fault however, as the Turtles and their world became quintessential '80s cartoon concepts in the worst way. Conversely, The Shredder was reduced to something of a buffoon who was hassled by original character Krang. Nevertheless, the first of the TMNT shows became one of the most popular animated series in television history and launched a franchise that is still going strong today. It's also easily the most recognizable of all the TMNT shows.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Red Sky Years
1994-1996
The second of the many television TMNT eras was theoretically a part of the first. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series had a successful run for 7 seasons, but around the 8th season, the show was retooled. Although the show's last few seasons are still part of the original 1987 series run, fans refer to Seasons 8-10 as the "Red Sky Years." This was due to the dark ruddy color scheme given to the sky in the episodes, which reflected the development of the series as a whole.
During this time, other popular cartoon shows followed a more action-based model, with a darker tone overall. Thus, the second form of the TMNT cartoons thus took on a darker, grittier style that more closely resembled the tone of the original comic books. Besides the sky's aforementioned coloration, the animation style changed to fit the ominous theme of the show. This meant that the Turtles now had more robust and less "cutesy" designs. Some reoccurring characters were also dropped from the series as the Turtles focused more on hunting down villains. The theme song was also remixed from the original version and included clips from the live-action films.
Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation
1997-1998
Saban's Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation is a live-action series meant to be a continuation of the original 1987 series. If anything, however, it's more of an amalgam continuity between the cartoon and the movies. Thus, it loosely follows the live-action film trilogy with the Turtles living in the same abandoned train station and other similarities to the films.There were several differences in the series, some which separate it from every version of TMNT.
Compared to the movies, The Shredder is still alive. Most controversially, the Turtles aren't actually brothers, which is used to justify the introduction of a female turtle named Venus de Milo. The Turtles' signature weapons are also different, due to censorship and some of the original weapons being outlawed in some countries. The show consists of only 1 season comprised of 26 episodes as the series was canceled due to its poor performance in ratings. Of all TMNT shows, this one proved to be the least successful and most controversial. It did, however, have a crossover with Saban's other series at the time: Power Rangers in Space.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2003-2006
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 2003 animated television series based on the comic book by the same name. Unlike previous iterations, Mirage Studios, co-owners of the rights to the show and worked closely with 4Kids Entertainment to produce the show. Largely due to this connection to the franchise's creators, the next version of the TMNT cartoons received critical acclaim and praise from both critics, kids and existing fans.
The show took on a much darker tone while still appealing to fans of all ages. In the case of the former attribute, this was shown in how much more action-oriented the story was. The characters actually used their weapons, had to train to stay on top of their martial arts skills and many times lost at the hands of the Foot Clan and other villains. Along with exciting new additions to the franchise such as Hun and the Purple Dragons, the 2003 TMNT show was mainly praised for being the best adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. After the series premiere, it rose to become the highest-rated and most popular children's program and one of the most well-received TMNT shows.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward
2006-2007
Fast Forward is the sixth season of the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. After 5 successful seasons, the show received a retooling with a new art style and character design, and a more comedic tone. The shift was due in part to 4Kids Entertainment trying to keep the show under a PG rating, with previous seasons being quite violent for kids cartoons of the era. Unlike almost every other version of TMNT, this season wasn't set in the present day.
Instead, the story of Fast Forward sees the Turtles transported 100 years in the future to the year 2105. Due to the multispecies population of the world, the Turtles no longer have to hide, allowing them to freely work alongside their new allies. The most prominent of these is the great-grandson of April and Casey Jones - Cody Jones - who helps them fight futurist enemies. Ironically, Baxter Stockman is still alive and also something of an ally, as is former mutant and alien hunting threat Bishop. While some fans appreciated the change of pace for the season, many disliked how far removed it was from the more grounded and modern stories of previous episodes.
TMNT: Back To The Sewer
2008-2010
TMNT: Back To The Sewer is the seventh and final season of the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series. Picking up in the future when Season 6 left off, the Turtles must find a way to get back home to their time period. Sadly, of all versions of TMNT, this offered perhaps the most disappointing conclusion.
To keep the cost of production down, the art style was changed, yet again, to a more stylized look, with the characters more closely resembling their counterparts in the CGI TMNT movie. The seventh season was met with negative reviews from fans and performed the worst of all the other seasons.
Turtles Forever, TV Movie
2009
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles Forever is a television movie produced by 4Kids Entertainment and meant to serve as the finale for the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle series. The film was also released as part of the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. In the movie, fans see three TMNT generations (the ones from the 1987 and 2003 cartoons and the 1984 Mirage Studios Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books) fighting together to stop their evil foes.
The movie includes time travel and classic characters like Bebop and Rocksteady, not to mention Hun and the Utrom Shredder from the 2003 series. The first of such crossovers in the series, Turtles Forever was very well-received by fans, namely as a fitting sendoff for the 2003 cartoon and a vast improvement over its final seasons. At the same time, it was contentious among older viewers due to the perceived disrespect to the 1987 Turtles, who were treated in an overly comedic, almost childish manner.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2012
The next of the TMNT iterations came in 2012 when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were rebooted following Viacom acquiring the franchise's rights in 2009. The new series aired on Nickelodeon and received the highest ratings of an animated series since 2009. It also incorporated elements of different iterations of TMNT from throughout the years, namely the recently-begun Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books from IDW Publishing.
The new series featured 3D-rendered animated Turtles meant to appeal to kids between the ages of 6-11. Prior to the series premiere, Playmates Toys released a line of toys and other merchandise featuring the new character designs. It was rebooted along with another series called Winx Club, the young girl counterpart to TMNT.
Half-Shell Heroes: Blast To The Past, TV Movie
2015
Half-Shell Heroes: Blast To The Past is a TV movie made, in essence, to sell toys. Playmates Toys produced a Half-Shell Heroes line of toys that appealed to children as young as 3 years old. For the first time in the franchise, younger children could enjoy the ninja fun.
In the movie, the Turtles are transported back to the Cretaceous Period, where they encounter dinosaurs. The movie also sees the Turtles encountering aliens from the future and their longtime enemies, Bebop and Rocksteady.
Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2018-2020, With A TV Movie in 2022
Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the most recent iteration of the TMNT iterations. This 2D animated version premiered on Nickelodeon in July 2018. The series was renewed for a second season consisting of 26 episodes but was eventually cut to just 13 episodes. A somewhat jarring twist on the franchise, it became a sign of things to come for the next of the TMNT versions.
As with all versions of TMNT, this new series gives the Turtles an updated look, weapons, and powers. Like all other versions of the Turtles, the four brothers use their ninja skills to fight crime in New York City. Although the series was eventually canceled, fans were able to watch a conclusion through Netflix's film adaptation of the series, aptly entitled, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie, which came out in August 2022.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
2023 Theatrical Movie, With Sequel TV Series and Movie On the Way
Releasing in 2023, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is the franchise's most recent movie series. Utilizing a stylized animation style, the movie is much different from previous TMNT shows and movies, namely in how it characterizes the Turtles. Voiced by actual teenagers, the Ninja Turtles are portrayed in a more youthful manner, as well. This includes their desire to walk among normal teenagers and attend prom in high school, concepts that were never explored in previous TMNT iterations.
Unlike almost all other TMNT generations, the group doesn't start off fighting The Shredder. Instead, the original character Super Fly is the main villain, with his underlings being members of the Mighty Mutanimals, plus Leatherhead, Bebop and Rocksteady. The movie is currently set to receive a sequel, as well as a cartoon series spinoff that will air on the Paramount+ streaming service. This success and longevity may see it become the longest-lasting of modern TMNT eras.