Awesomeness

[Booyakasha]

I saw this huge Turtles trade at the comic shop the other day. Contemplated getting it, but then forgot all about it while looking at other stuff.

[1-up Salesman]

That poster looks good, but I really like the Mirage Turtles the best. And you can only see their tiny, tiny silouhettes.

[Metal Mario]

The CW4Kids is going to be airing this movie split up into three installments over the course of the next three Saturdays (Nov. 28 to Dec. 12). Check your local listings.

[Metal Mario]

Well, I just got done watching the first installment of Turtles Forever, and I gotta say, it was some serious **** (and I mean that in a good way). If you missed it, you can watch it on cw4kids.com, apparently. Anyway, here are my thoughts on what I've seen so far:

[spoiler]It opens really strong, with the classic Turtles leaping into action against Hun and the Purple Dragon gang during a heist in the world of the 2003 series. The Turtles get caught on film fighting the gang members, and when the modern Splinter sees the footage on the news, he chastises the modern Turtles for being so careless as to allow themselves to be seen. The modern Turtles deny all involvement, and go to Hun's hideout to investigate what's happening. This is quite fortunate, as the Purple Dragon gang has managed to subdue and capture the classic Turtles, and the modern Turtles are just in time to set them free. Together, the eight Turtles make short work of the criminals and escape. Outside, the modern Turtles demand that the classic Turtles shed some light on what's going on. The classic Turtles, however, are hungry, and decide to go out for pizza. Much to the chagrin of the modern Turtles, the classic Turtles just walk right down the street towards the nearest pizza parlor, saying "Hey, dude!" cheerfully to every civilian they meet. It makes perfect sense for the classic Turtles to do this, as they weren't really in hiding on the 1987 TV show. They were always out and about, always interacting with people, and always showing up on the six o'clock news. This, however, is the world of the 2003 series, and everybody panics and runs away when they see them. Luckily, the modern Turtles reign them in, and that's when the explanations begin. As it turns out, the classic Turtles were fighting Shredder and Krang inside the Technodrome, when Donatello got the idea to try and use the Technodrome's own trans-dimensional drive to warp the entire thing back into Dimension X (a stunt he pulled at least twice on the 1987 series). Instead of warping to Dimension X, however, the Technodrome warped to the world of the 2003 series, bringing Shredder, Krang, and the classic Turtles with it. Now apprised of the situation, the two groups of Turtles decide to team up to attack the Technodrome and reverse what's happened. After some hunting, they encounter the Technodrome underground. Shredder sends out Bebop, Rocksteady, and a platoon of good old-fashioned robotic Foot Soldiers (something the modern Turtles aren't used to). The Turtles defeat them all, and the Technodrome retreats. Inside, Shredder decides that if this alternate reality has its own set of Turtles, then maybe it has its own Shredder as well, and maybe he could team up with him to crush the Turtles once and for all. Shredder uses the Technodrome's advanced technology to track and locate his 2003 counterpart (the evil Utrom known as Ch'rell, who frequently menaced the modern Turtles with a near-indestructible robot body), and finds him frozen in ice on an asteroid in outer space (this is where Ch'rell was ultimately stranded after his final defeat in the 2003 series). Shredder transports him to the Technodrome and revives him, only to discover what we've known all along; that Ch'rell is ten times more psychotic than the classic Shredder ever was, and doesn't play well with others. Krang subdues Ch'rell with knock-out gas and sticks him in a tank, but then Karai (the human girl that Ch'rell adopted as his own daughter and trained in the ways of ninjitsu) busts in and attacks classic Shredder and Krang. As the episode closes, we see Ch'rell restored to his status as the Shredder, as well as in full command of the Technodrome. (Oh, and Hun has been transformed into a hideous turtle-monster thanks to some mutagen that the classic Turtles brought with them from their own world.)

All in all, it was a blast. It's a big disappointment, however, that they weren't able to retain the services of the original voice actors for the 1987 series characters. None of the 1987 characters (except Raphael, and maybe Michelangelo) sound quite right, and that detracts somewhat from the enjoyment. But you can't have everything, can you? I mean, we're lucky this got made at all! Also, the classic Turtles act just a bit too goofy. Don't misunderstand, they definitely behave intelligently and hold their own in the fight scenes, but, in the filmmakers' effort to distinguish the more light-hearted 1987 Turtles from the darker, more serious 2003 Turtles, they've gone a bit too far with the clownish behavior, and even Leonardo (formerly the super serious one) comes off as over the top. But again, the complaint is a minor one when you remind yourself that you're actually watching a CROSSOVER BETWEEN THE 1987 AND 2003 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES SERIES MUTHA****AAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!11111

Next week, the eight Turtles will be traveling from the 2003 universe to the 1987 universe, and we'll get to meet classic Splinter and classic April! Can't wait![/spoiler]

[1-up Salesman]

Very good. The best touch, I noticed, was the Classic Turtle's fighting styles. Instead of the "sword clash sword clash kick HA!" of the 2003 Turtles, the Classic Turtles were still just knocking rocks to trap their enemies, or knocking conveniently-placed boulders onto their enemies, just like they did in their old cartoon. A great touch.

[Jere]

Awesum

[Dr. Furball]

I just finished watching it. It was a whole lot of awesome. What a great way to end both the 2003 series and the 1987 series.
It was funny, for one thing.
Loved how the ridiculous elements of the '87 toon were called out. (My favorite being when Hun grabs 80s Raph during one of his 4th-wall breaking moments: "Why do you keep doing that?! Who are you talking to??!! THERE'S NO ONE THERE!!!") I also loved how 2003 Mikey got along well with the 80s TMNT until they started to get on his nerves.
2003 Raphael's reaction to the universe of the original comics was great ("I think I might retire here.") The original turtles having their Frank Millar-esque personalities of the very first issue led to some great comedic moments, like their bashing of the 2003 Turtles ("What's with the multi-colored headbands?").
And the ending was definitely the best part: [spoiler]Bebop and Rocksteady saving the entire multiverse, the original TMNT going out for pizza while thinking that the initials on the belts of the 87 TMNT were cool.[/spoiler]
The plot was intriguing, and not short on surprises. Definitely worth watching for any TMNT fan.

[X-3]

I just watched it. It was pretty entertaining, though I am not that much of a Turtles fan. Still, I recall being into the '87 series as a kid, and watching the '03 series at times, so...yeah. Good memories.

[1-up Salesman]

This ends the 2003 Series? NOoooo

[Metal Mario]

Yeah, it's sad but true. The 2003 TMNT series has come to an end as of Season 7 (the wedding of Casey and April was the last new episode to air). It's a shame, especially since they still had some loose ends to wrap up (Serling still has to be sent back to 2105, and what was with those three Shredders all fighting each other anyway? Guess we'll never know now).

But the Turtles will be back in a couple of years. Nickelodeon has purchased the rights to produce a CGI TMNT series that will debut in 2012, alongside the upcoming new live-action movie.

[Metal Mario]

Okay, so, all in all, this movie was pretty good. Really, my only major complaint is that the 1987 Turtles got dissed too much and were portrayed as too goofy. Yes, it's true that the 1987 series eventually did descend into some pretty campy territory, but for the first four seasons (and the last three), it was pretty badass. Just because it was more light-hearted and kid-friendly than the 2003 series, that doesn't mean it deserves to be cast in an inferior light. The 1987 Turtles, while they held their own in the fight scenes, were nonetheless portrayed as semi-incompetent, and even somewhat cowardly at times. Even Leonardo! WTF???

But, putting that one major complaint aside, it was still a good movie, full of action, humor, and fan service. I'd give it a 7 out of 10.