Today there aren't really too many outstanding cartoons around. OK I enjoyed Pokemon, and Earthworm Jim was quite cool, but Ninja Turtles rules over both of those. I'm from the UK, so we got Ninja Turtles (called "Hero Turtles" over here because of our pathetic censorship board) a little later than the US. That said, I can still remember how excited I was when this show first appeared: Everyone at school was talking about it. The series was based on the comic book by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. While the comics were very dark and gloomy in some parts, the series was a little more light hearted. This first series is the closest to the comic books. It has a very anime look to it, and uses quite a few different martial arts weapons (something that upset our censors a great deal). This mini series tells how the turtles were created, and also sets up who their enemy is. The fight scenes are well done, but the real fun part of this series is the dialogue between the characters. Overall this mini series is probably the best of all the turtles cartoons (I'm not even going to mention the 2003 version) and I can definitely recommend it to fans and newcomers alike. One final thing: As of now this mini series is only available on American DVD. Make sure you buy the American version, because looking at the episodes shows just how much was cut out of each episode by the UK censors.
Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
(1987– )
One of the defining cartoon shows of the 1980's.
6 August 2005