The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is perhaps the most successful indie comic of all time, spawning a sprawling multimedia franchise with more animated adaptations than you can shake your shell at. But would you believe the best of these cartoons is one you’ve never even heard of and that has a perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes? That show is Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2024), and you can now stream this cowabunga classic on Netflix.
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a televised continuation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and it picks up about two months after the events of that critically and commercially successful film. Our titular teens are still adjusting to life as New York’s greatest heroes, and they are challenged by everything from sibling rivalry to scary supervillains. Good news for Mutant Mayhem mega fans: this cartoon is canonical to the film, so watching this big show is the best way to prepare for the upcoming cinematic sequel.
Fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem will enjoy the fact that Tales brings back that movie’s key voice actors, including Micah Abbey (Donatello), Shamon Brown Jr. (Michaelangelo), Nicolas Cantu (Leonardo), and Brady Noon (Raphael). Additionally, Ayo Edebiri reprises her role as a very different April O’Neil, though she is just as tight with our titular turtles as any of the character’s previous incarnations. The one notable change to the core cast is that Jackie Chan no longer voices Splinter; instead, he speaks a completely gibberish language that ends up being far funnier than it has any right to be.
Incredibly, this television spinoff has an even higher Rotten Tomatoes score than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has an incredible rating of 100 percent, with critics praising the show for being more comics-accurate than previous animated adaptations. They also enjoyed how the show continues the narrative of the original film, fleshing out the world of Mutant Mayhem while offering surprisingly trenchant (or should that be totally tubular?) commentary on modern issues.
While it didn’t take home any trophies (total bummer, dude!), Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was nominated for one Hollywood Professional Association Award and five different Annie Awards. This awards buzz is that much more impressive when you consider that the show has (as of this writing) only had one short season of 12 episodes. With Season 2 set to shellshock us later this year, it will be interesting to see whether this show can mutate into a series that brings a few of these prestigious awards back home to its sewer lair.
As someone who grew up watching the 1987 TMNT cartoon, I was pleasantly surprised by how this new show appeals to children and adults alike. I enjoyed Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles much, much more than Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a show which tweaked the core mythology too much and was aimed squarely at kids. Like Mutant Mayhem, Tales is fun for the whole family and will impress whether this is your fifth TMNT show or your very first.
Will you agree that Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the best animated incarnation of these fighting teens, or would you rather dine on turtle soup than watch every episode? You won’t know until you engage your inner Donatello (he does machines, you know) and stream this show on Netflix. Just think: after all these years, you may just be a few episodes away from finally figuring out the secret of the ooze!
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