Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles Forever (2009)

Movie Info

Turtle Attack…plus a rat!

The Turtles find they are in trouble when four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from a parallel dimension find their way to their dimension.  Now, with eight Turtles facing the threat of the parallel Shredder and the return of the Utrom Shredder, a plot to destroy Turtles forever by going after the Turtle Prime…which could destroy the entire universe in the process!

Directed by Roy Burdine and Lloyd Goldfine, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:  Turtles Forever (sometimes just called Turtles Forever) was part of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the creation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  The film was planned for broadcast in theaters as part of a special showing but the event was cancelled and the movie was eventually shown on CW4Kids.  The film was later broken up into three episodes for rebroadcast.

Love Utrom Shredder!

I loved the 1987 version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but also was a fan of the grittier Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic from which it spawned.  I didn’t see the 2003 version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles until recently and enjoyed the “happy medium” of the version which is more balance…This makes Turtles Forever a kind of fun crossover event.

The story is so-so with parallel-dimension action.  It actually feels a bit like a Doctor Who episode where the Doctor meets other versions of himself just because it seems a little forced.  Like Doctor Who episodes, it is fun, but obviously a plan for fans and probably has no outcome on any other storyline.

Hey Shredder! Look how wide I can open my mouth!!!

The show really seems to be a means to crack on the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Unfortunately because of how the film was made, none of the original voice actors for the series could come back so I found it a bit jarring to hear others do the 1987 voices.  It was also nice to see Rocksteady and Bebop make an appearance…plus, if you look closely, you can see animated versions of Tokka and Rahzar from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II:  Secret of the Ooze.  I did like some of the comedy about having to always rescue April, talking to the camera, and insane plots and inventions, but I wish that the Turtles of 1987 had made more cracks about the 2003 versions.

Black & White and read all over!

The last portion of the movie deals with the original Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman designed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from 1984.  They felt a bit like invaders in this special since it takes them so long to show up and they’ve never been portrayed on film.  I didn’t feel that they got their due and that viewers got to “know” them since they appeared and the show ended.  I did like how you saw other versions of the Turtles in Utrom Shredder’s technodrom like the film and manga versions.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:  Turtles Forever is a must for fans of the Turtles.  If you watched them as a kid and didn’t even see the 2003 version, this is a fun trip back to childhood.  The movie could have been longer and a better plot could have been devised, but I’d like to see another anniversary crossover happen in 2014.