Superhero Media: Turtles Forever

What happens when the 1988 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meet the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? One shell of a film! An accident with the Technodrome's inter-dimensional portal ends up with the classic Turtles and their main enemies crossing paths with their newer incarnation, all shell breaking loose when the Classic Shredder resurrects his newer counterpart. Oh sorry, you getting sick of the puns? Well Turtles Forever doesn't let up with them and neither will I. Despite being billed as a crossover, Turtles Forever mostly utilises the 2003 characters and settings, with anything outside the core cast of the 1988 version rendered background cameos. Whilst this doesn't really please me all that much, it's an understandable choice, given that the 2003 run was still in production at the time and, well, the 1988 version was a bit shallow. Don't get me wrong, I grew up with the 1988 version of the Turtles and still enjoy the better episodes now, but it was a product of its time and a lot of it has aged poorly. Of course, Turtles Forever understands this and plays it for laughs, but don't go in expecting to see Leatherhead, Fugitoid or the Triceratons.

As the action ramps up, new Shredder discovers that all versions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stem from a single universe, which he dubs "Turtles Prime", the key to destroying all Ninja Turtles everywhere. When the teams arrive at Turtles Prime, they discover a black and white world drawn from the original Mirage comics, complete with internal narration and way too serious dialogue. It's a great moment, especially after the "multiverse" sequence which dives as deep as Out of their Shells and Turtle Maki. I think people can forget that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles started as a pitch-dark pastiche of 1980s Marvel Comics, as well as forgetting that later versions have tended to improve that original concept. Yes, as an adult, you may find the Mirage Comics more appealing, but the best versions of this franchise have been built on the success on the 1988 version, which added diversity, characters and a heck of a lot more fun to the proceedings. Turtles Forever celebrates all of that, albeit briefly, uniting all off the various Ninja Turtles that have ever been or will ever be as part of a whole growing from the original centre. 

Turtles Forever isn't quite as good as hardcore fans may want it to be, but it is clearly made with a love and reverence for the material, which makes it endearing even if it feels rushed in places. Not having watched much of the 2003 version, I was a bit lost with some of the characters and references, but I never felt that I was missing too much. Like, ok, this Shredder is an alien? But with a human daughter? I can deal with that, I read comics, but a minute of exposition would have been good. Krang and classic Shredder get an introduction, even the Technodrome is briefly explained, but who is this woman and how is she the daughter of an alien octopus? As I've said, Turtles Forever is far from perfect, but it is a great watch for fans of the Turtles, even not these specific versions thereof. I picked up my copy cheap on DVD, but I'm pretty sure you can stream this in a few places if you look for it.