Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the newest addition to a seemingly never-ending stream of TMNT reboots, faced an immense amount of backlash from older fans, believing it to be “too comedic” and “a mockery” of the original material (which is ridiculous as the “serious” original material is about skateboarding, pizza-eating ninjas living in NYC that happen to be human turtle hybrids). The 2018 series, although comedic, featured a more realistic familial relationship between the titular characters and their best friend April than ever seen before, and introduced a new take on the story, breathing a new life into the series. Not only did the series take some groundbreaking strides from the old material, but it also provided a much-needed sense of diversity, featuring Black voice actors for two of the four turtles, a Jewish voice actor for Leonardo, and a Black April O’Neil, who had been portrayed as white in every other series. Because of the franchise’s use of Black and Asian culture in the past, these casting choices only added to the relevance of the series. The show was eventually canceled due to the film industry’s recent attack on animation, but not before a movie was introduced. Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the Movie, the conclusion to the controversial reboot of the TMNT franchise, laughs in the face of the film industry and triumphs despite the obstacles it faced. The movie was originally meant to be released in 2021, but because the film was unfinished, the date was pushed to 2022. It introduces the Krang, an alien race set on destroying Earth and remaking it in their image. While Raphael was appointed as leader in the 2018 series, a decision contrary to the original material, Leonardo replaced him at the end of the final season. The movie details their rocky relationship, with Raphael insisting that Leo must learn to take responsibility for his actions and be a hero, and Leonardo ignoring his older brother, only wanting to have fun. When Raphael gets captured by the Krang, Leo must learn to work with his brothers and a newly introduced Casey Jones as a team in order to rescue him. The film features a beautiful display of 2-D animation, including smooth fight scenes that look like they could have been animated by James Baxter. The familial relationships depicted within the film are realistic and poignant, only magnifying the theme of the importance of friendship and family, as well as individual strength and self-confidence. Although the series was canceled and the movie did not receive the attention it deserved, Rise is a hidden gem in an industry that favors live action films, and deserves more than it got.