The Big Picture

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
builds on what made
Mutant Mayhem
special, with outstanding performances from the voice cast.
The characters shine as the team splits up, exploring individual growth and deepening viewer connection to them.
Despite some animation and pacing issues,
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
remains enjoyable, expanding the world while offering great humor and character arcs.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem surprised us all by reinventing the franchise that has been going strong since the early 1980s. Under the direction of Jeff Rowe (Mitchells vs. the Machines), Nickelodeon and Paramount told a coming-of-age story that takes the world’s most fearsome fight team as they learn to find their place in the human world. After the film’s events, the four brothers, Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Donatello (Micah Abbey), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), and Raphael (Brady Noon), find themselves in uncharted waters. The world accepts them, and they can finally fulfill the dream of being (somewhat) normal kids. However, they quickly learn that life still comes with its challenges. Hate still exists in this world, and now they’ll have to learn how to survive these hardships alone. Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles takes us back to the sewers shortly after the events of Mutant Mayhem. In a snappy twelve episodes, the Turtles must learn more about themselves if they ever hope to defeat their newest threat.

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Release Date 2024-00-00 Cast Brady Noon , Nicolas Cantu , Micah Abbey , Shamon Brown Jr. Seasons 1

What Is ‘Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ About?

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a direct sequel to the breakout film Mutant Mayhem. After saving the city from Superfly, the Turtles are accepted by society and can now live freely without hiding who they are from the rest of the world. The foundation of the film allows the series to hit the ground running. Relationships are already established, lore and exposition are largely unnecessary, and it can build off everything that worked the first time. The only drawback this has is that if you haven’t watched Mutant Mayhem, you might struggle to follow some plotlines, but for the most part, anyone can catch on pretty quickly.

The Turtles’ main antagonist for the first half of the season is Bishop, a character who is bent on revenge. Bishop is a special agent who, in most iterations, is tasked with handling mutant and extraterrestrial affairs, a cross between both Agent Smith and Neo from The Matrix as well as the definition of cool. However, in Tales of the TMNT, he’s reimagined in an entirely new way. Now, played by Alanna Ubach (Ted), Bishop is a woman bent on ridding the world of mutants, and she takes aim at the four teenagers. To win, Bishop splits the boys up, leading to each getting their own storyline where they’re forced to fight for themselves.

In a significant departure from the previous film, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles returns to the classic 2D art style we’re accustomed to seeing. While the character designs clearly carry over Mutant Mayhem, they look vastly different in the 2D world. Surprisingly, this change is natural, and the hand-drawn aesthetic of the film translates exceptionally well to the 2D space. Overall, in terms of the show’s art direction, there are times when it can be a bit harsh. There are also moments where fight scenes happen, but instead of seeing it fully animated, it transitions into a fun comic book or 8-bit style, which feels like it’s only there to spend time or money on the animation. This is a shame, because the film never suffered from this issue, and the last series, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, was the gold standard for Western animated fights during its run. This doesn’t ruin the series, but it is something that you notice pretty early on.

The Mutant Mayhem Continues in ‘Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’

In Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, each turtle gets their own standout episode, helping further define who they are individually instead of as a collective. Leo must learn that while he is a capable leader, he must also be able to fight for himself. Raph has to learn that he can’t just punch his way out of trouble and instead must use his words to overcome challenges. Mikey and Donnie also have to dig deep within themselves and find that they can fight for themselves. Each mini-arc for the Turtles further highlights why this iteration of the characters is so singular. They’re still very much teenagers, and as they continue to grow as individuals, your love for them also deepens. The cast is phenomenal, which comes as no surprise, and Ayo Edebiri’s April O’Neil is a wonderful presence in the limited amount of time she’s given. Overall, showrunners Christopher Yost (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ‘03) and Alan Wan (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ‘12, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) also bring their expertise and continue the worldbuilding that made Mutant Mayhem such a delight.

When these characters were first introduced in Mutant Mayhem, they were no longer one-note stereotypes and instead became more three-dimensional, with depth to them. Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles leans intensely into that idea and pushes it even further. Leo and April have to work together, Mikey needs to figure out how to stop a killer robot, Raph goes up against the Purple Dragons, and Donnie has to outsmart a genius. Each of their arcs leans into why this group is so special, but also reminds us of why we fell in love with them in the first place. As fun as it is seeing them exploring their independent stories, however, you quickly miss having the brothers all together. While some of that is intentional, the pacing begins to drag around the third episode. Once these turtles reunite and work together to face Bishop, the pacing returns to normal, and the series bears a much closer resemblance to a classic TMNT adventure.

If you loved Mutant Mayhem, you’ll also enjoy Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which makes for a terrific follow-up that expands the world and sees the four boys grow as individuals. While it does suffer from some pacing issues and stiff animation from time to time, the series more than makes up for that overall with its humor and wonderful characters.

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles expands the world established in Mutant Mayhem while offering great humor and character arcs.ProsThe voice cast delivers outstanding performances.Each character shines as the series takes the risk of splitting the team up. ConsThe animation can feel stiff at times.Pacing starts to become an issue midway through the season.

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premieres Friday, August 9 on Paramount+.

Watch on Paramount+