Even when viewed from the perspective of an adult, it's hard to debate the quality of a cartoon that ran eleven seasons non-stop. Part marketing genius and part fast-paced writing, Ninja Turtles is a wildly enjoyable, kid-friendly cartoon adaptation of very non-kid-friendly comic books. Season three contains some of the best episodes the series would find, and this sixth DVD volume contains most of them.
Following a basic formula, the Ninja Turtles relax, chaos breaks out at the hands of their enemy Shredder, a fight ensues, and the good guys win. For these final 12 episodes out of 47 (!) on this disc, the focus is obvious. Shredder and cohort Krang need energy to power their super battle station the Technodrome, and they'll attempt to steal any and all sources they can find. It finishes on what is an epic scale and intensity for this show.
The formulaic plotline follows many of these episodes, and show's writers even acknowledge it through dialogue. It's something that helped this series stand out, with numerous self referential jokes that fall in line with what every forced-to-watch-with-their-kids adult in the audience must be thinking. It's worth noting that the episode titled The Big Break In shows one of the few times the Turtles fail at their goal, further expanding the franchise past a generic Saturday morning effort.
Typical problems for this series do keep coming: sloppy animation mistakes, plot devices even a kid would have a hard time believing (does anyone think those costumes would work?), and complete lack of the Turtle's trademark weapons for fear of parental complaints about the violence. It doesn't make the show any less enjoyable if you grew up with it though. This is still a classic animated series for a reason. ![]()








Article comments