Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles Forever [DVD] [2009]

Turtles fans everywhere rejoiced when the news of this DVD came out. Even though importing from overseas is not my preferred method of getting a movie, it was well worth it since this is the full version of this awesome movie. The American version has totally garbage box-art that doesn't have much to do with the actual movie, and has a good 8 minutes cut out of it for no reason.

Any ways, this movie is a must watch for any one who's ever been a TMNT fan at any point in their life. This is an action-packed and genuinely funny animated film that serves loads of fan service to each generation of Ninja Turtles. Thank you 4kids for making this, and thank you Best Medicine for releasing it properly.

To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, something special was in the works. What we got was an epic crossover animated movie with the Turtles from the 1987 series joining up with the Turtles from the 2003 series to face their greatest threat yet, and it's something that every Turtles fan is going to love.

The story starts off with the 1987 Turtles roaming around the 2003 Turtles universe and end up getting captured by the Purple Dragons gang. The 2003 Turtles become aware of the 4 Turtles that look like them on the news. They come to their rescue and try to figure out what's going on. After an encounter with the Technodrome from the 1987 series, Shedder and Krang decide to free the Shredder from the 2003 dimension to combat against the 8 Turtles. This however turns out to be a bad idea as Ch'rell Shredder decides he is taking over and aims to discover the dimension that connects all other Turtle dimensions together and rid the Turtles from existence.

The story is brilliant and makes for one epic finale for both the 1987 and 2003 Turtle series. The action keeps you glued to the screen. There is a lot of it and it never keeps you from getting bored. The comedy works well as the interaction on both sides of the Turtles is a great laugh. Many times the story makes fun of the 1987 Turtles for how goofy the cartoon was. Some fans may find how goofy the 1987 Turtles are handled to be overkill, but their portrayal is entertaining and funny. There are even some brilliant cameos from Ninja Turtle history that most hardcore fans will notice.

The animation here is fantastic. The characters animate very smooth and the fight scenes are done brilliantly. Both Turtle universes art styles are identical to how they were before and look great.

The voice acting is also very well preformed. The 2003 cast reprise their roles however the entire 1987 cast didn't make it for the film so 4Kids provide them with different voices. Some fans may be disappointed by this but the new voices for them do sound pretty good and some of them sound alike to the originals.

If you're expecting any DVD features and extras, then sadly you won't find any of the sort here. For a Ninja Turtles movie as good as this you would at least expect film commentary or a history of the Ninja Turtles feature. But all you get is the play move and chapter selection options. It's a shame.

Overall, this was a fantastic movie for the Ninja Turtles fan in me. If you are a Turtles fan, you are going to really enjoy this. This is not only a fantastic celebration of the franchise, but it's an epic farewell to the 1987 and 2003 series as Nickelodeon now owns the rights to the whole franchise. This is simply the greatest Ninja Turtles movie ever produced.

Speaking as a US-based Mutant Turtles fan, it was an absolute travesty that the single greatest all-inclusive testament to 25 years of TMNT mania was treated to such a shoddy DVD release on our home shore. Scenes originally cut for commercials not being restored and lopping off 7 minutes of footage, non-anamorphic widescreen leaving a garish black ring on widescreen monitors, and to top it off, a box cover comprised entirely of standardized stock art when a number of beautiful poster-quality pieces were already produced specifically for the film. No longer is that the case with this remarkable release.

For the film itself, it is a marvel in and of itself. As stated, it's greatness lies in its embrace of all aspects of the turtles' lineage, from both TV series down to the very roots of their origins in comics and everything in between. The plot is an action-packed ride from start to finish, tying together many ideas from the different shows in surprisingly satisfying ways, and providing an overall sense of fun and adventure. In a very real sense, it acts at a bookend to three major factions of the series, closing one era under Mirage as another under Nickelodeon is poised to begin.

If there's any flaw to be found, however, it's in the scapegoats made of the original 1988 turtles. I don't know if the writers have any personal love for the first series' turtles or even ever watched the original show, but either way, they couldn't let any nostalgic value override the "superiority" of their own 2003 brood. Incessant laughter at their own jokes, noogies being their primary form of communication, obliviousness and ineptitude in all but a few battles are what dominate the 4Kids writers' views of the admittedly lighter-hearted turtle teens. In some ways, there was no escaping the boiling down of the '88 turtles to their core concepts to make their contrast to the newer, sharper turtles more apparent. But their attempts come across as so heavy-handed that you'd think Peter Laird's not-so-secret distaste of the original series was reveling in the chance to show them up.

Not only that, but none of the original cast return to their roles. No, the 4Kids turtles are still the same, but other 4Kids stand-bys are all called in to take a swing at filling the roles of '88, with varying degrees of success. If you've always wanted to hear Yami Yugi voicing Leonardo or Chip from Sonic Unleashed voicing Donatello, your wishes have been granted. Sebastian Arcelus provides the closest performance as Raphael, whose one-liners sound nearly identical to Rob Paulson's more than once, but I don't even know what to make of Michelangelo, who sounds fine one minute and Johnny Castro-ated the next. The other characters from '88 fair better in sound and personality: Shredder and Krang's shenanigans, along with those of long-missed Bebop and Rocksteady, ring quite true (save for a mention of a ludicrous "giggle ray") and work as a wonderful and much more natural contrast to the fiercer Shredder we've come to fear in the 2k3 toon. '88 April is sadly treated as little more than a throwaway gag, in stark contrast to 2k3 April's meatier role, but her short screen time is still pretty true to her character, or at least her voice. And while '88 Splinter's time is just as short, it's absolutely pitch-perfect in all aspects.

If they get something unequivocally right, it's the look of the original show painstakingly recreated in all its Saturday morning glory, especially apparent in the scenes taking place in the universe of said show. Needless to say, they also provide the same level of detail to the 2k3 universe's version of New York, as well as a third locale that I shall remain mum on (though some may have guessed). The animation, while not Disney quality by a long shot, matches and sometimes surpasses both TV shows in both fluidity and overall scope of awesomeness.

In short, whatever it's flaws, Turtles Forever is the quintessential testament to Turtles past and present. The remarkable effort and love (maybe uneven love, but love all the same!) that was put into this piece of TMNT glory must be commended and celebrated, especially now that it's available the way it was meant to be: completely uncut, truly widescreen, and beautifully boxed. Anyone who calls themselves a Turtles' fan no longer has just cause to ignore this release. And I won't take differing region codes for an answer!