You Should Be Watching: Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The summer isn’t over yet as the Heroes in a Half Shell are back in their element on the TV… well kinda, a streaming service. Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has premiered on Paramount+ and that is the only time I will be using the full title in this review. We will be referring to it simply as Tales from here on out cause while the full title may help me pad out my word count it will drive me crazy typing over and over again.
Tales takes place in the same universe as last year’s animated Mutant Mayhem film and sees most of the voice cast return but primarily the 4 turtles who are the stars of the show. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and watched it again recently and was joyed to see I still felt that way. The four brothers’ chemistry drives the whole movie and their witty banter really sells that with this iteration maybe more than any that these are in fact, teenagers. Maybe it’s because my son just turned 13 but when he gets around his tight group of friends they aren’t much different than how these four act. It helps they got actual teenagers to play them so it all comes off as effortless. There is a slight change up in visual style as the movie had a 3D “Spider-verse-esque” quality to it that the creators said wanted to play like the doodles a teen may make in their notebook or on their desk. I think they nailed this and the series matches a similar aesthetic but not in 3D. The switch to 2D I am sure saved them budget but the spirit of the style is still there and I feel translates well. I like this better than still trying to be 3D but with a significant downgrade in quality as some other series have tried to do. The flare and unique elements would have been very hard to replicate on a cheaper budget and to strip all that away for a more generic 3D style would have felt like a disservice.
In my review, one thing I praised the film for was its ability to never have the four turtles break up. Like never, I even went back and watched to confirm my observation and yes, there is never a scene where one turtle is away from the pack. They are truly treated as one main character with four distinct voices and I felt that choice helped sell the bond and relationship of the core four. The series breaks that tradition right off the bat, at first I didn’t like it and felt like it missed what the movie was trying to do but then I noticed the first 4 episodes each focus on one turtle which then made it feel much more deliberate. The fact that it felt deliberate and not just an oversight got me more on board. We established their bond now we will begin to strip that way and learn a little bit about each individual turtle on their own. It’s a great way to build off the work the movie put in and progress everyone’s story further.
Tales manages to maintain the spirit and keep the energy and pace, while also adding to this new turtle’s lore all in a tight 10 episodes. I was excited to see them explore more of this dynamic and the notion of the turtles being part of society and going to high school and the show pays off on all of that providing entertainment, laughs and style. I think they really have something with the groundwork they have laid and continue to be excited to see where this next generation of the green mean machine goes. If you’re a turtle fan or just looking for some light animation content Tales is a worthy entry in the lexicon of TMNT animation.
