It wasn't all that long ago that I first heard about the existence of Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation. Specifically, it was a reference to a female Ninja Turtle. When I found out this was coming in for review, I had to see it. I have to admit, however, I wasn't expecting much - I was expecting Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation to be the TMNT's answer to the Star Wars Holiday Special; a cheap cash-in that doesn't stay true to the look or feel and simply finds a way to exploit a license. I heard that a new enemy replaced Shredder and that there was a new, female Ninja turtle named Venus De Milo - named after a piece of Renaissance art, rather than a Renaissance artist. And, with it being live-action, again, I wasn't expecting much.
When I started watching the show, however, I was pleasantly surprised. The show is live-action, but has a very cartoon-y feel reminiscent of the original cartoon series, with sets that have much the look and feel of the TMNT movies. One of the most impressive aspects of Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, however, has to be the facial animation. There is a lot of puppetry going on in those masks, making for some very expressive Turtles. This might be the least impressive of the Turtles-licensed shows, but it's probably the most impressive production that Saban's done to date.
What I don't understand, however, is the masks worn on the masks. Instead of all of the Turtles wearing the traditional masks that just cover their eyes, each turtle has their own unique type of mask. Raph has a normal mask, but with ripped, ragged edges, Donatello and Leonardo have masks that cover the top of their heads and Mikey's mask leaves the top of his head exposed, but goes under his chin, as well. I think the color-coding and the letter emblems on their belt would have been more than enough to indicate who's who - I really think we could have figured out the characters just as easily if they all had the standard mask design from the movies, cartoon series and graphic novels.
As for the lack of Shredder, that's not completely true; in the beginning of the series, a five-part pilot, of sorts, the Turtles are still dealing with Shredder when a new, dangerous enemy, Dragon Lord, is introduced. Splinter gets trapped in the dream realm and a mysterious female Shinobi turtle shows up in New York to help them save him. She decides that they must eliminate their current enemy before they can successfully focus on saving Splinter and, when they bring the fight to Shredder, she uses her Shinobi mind-magic to turn Shredder's evil against him, and Oroku Saki is so disgusted with the monster he's become, that he, himself, disavows his Shredder persona.
With Shredder out of the way, the Turtles figure out how to travel to the dream realm and go to save Splinter from the Dragon Lord and his minions. When they arrive, they are surprised to find that the Dragon Lord simply allows them to leave and return to the Earth realm. What none of them realize is that, in doing so, Dragon Lord and his minions are able to follow them through the rift to the Earth realm. Dragon Lord wastes no time in starting to retake control of the world, by locating an abandoned skyscraper and setting up his fortress there. Dragon Lord becomes the Turtles' new nemesis and proves to be tougher than Shredder ever was, forcing the Turtles to rely on a few of Donatello's inventions and, above all, each other to survive.
In addition to the Dragon Lord, we also meet Silver, the last living Yeti, who has relocated to New York and started his own gang that looks like something pulled straight from the pages of a Dick Tracy comic strip. The Turtles also have run-ins with Doctor Queaze, a strange-looking scientist who has studied the gamut of various sciences, but is currently fixated on mutagenic research. Donatello first sees him as a like mind and possible mentor, but eventually realizes that Doctor Queaze cares only about the science, not whether it's used for good or evil. That makes for a dubious mentor who's not to be trusted.
Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation is a Saban production and, while it's not anywhere as "hokey" as the few (partial) Power Rangers episodes I've seen, it still has its moments. Even so, I found The Next Mutation to be entertaining and true enough to the TMNT lore that had been presented previously. Yes, there were four turtles that mutated because of radioactive goo. No, they weren't "brothers" in the conventional sense, but they were brothers in that they were raised together by Splinter as a family. The possibility that there was another turtle in the mix that got rinsed further down the sewer and into Chinatown is plausible. The female's name is not actually Venus De Milo; Mikey gives her that nickname and she likes it and adopts it as her moniker. She's not a Ninja, but trained to become a Shinobi Shaman by her master who took her to China. Raphael has a motorcycle that he has managed to scrounge together and he's very protective of it - that, if I remember correctly, was straight out of the graphic novels. Now, the fact that the Turtles somehow have a Hummer that is specially painted and tricked out as their reptilian personnel carrier / S.W.A.T. vehicle is a bit far-fetched (especially since it actually has a license plate, so I guess someone's registered it?), but I suppose it's the live-action answer to their van from the original animated series.
From time to time, there are some pretty pointed statements denouncing poaching and hunting endangered species and, quite frankly, I suppose if the Turtles were to have something to advocate, animal rights is a good fit. One episode even goes so far as to have them throw a rave as a fundraiser for endangered species. The best part is that it's animal costume-themed. This allows the Turtles to interact with normal people. Unfortunately, the party gets crashed by Bonesteel, an over-the-top looney hunter who seems to be one part Kraven the Hunter and one part Elmer Fudd.
Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation only lasted one season, and Volume One contains the first 13 episodes. So far, these 13 episodes are all I've seen of the series, and despite the public service edutisements, I found Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation to be entertaining. Anyone who's a fan of the Turtles and has avoided it on principal owes it to themselves to give it a shot - you might find you like it. For your first taste, watch the videos embedded above. If you like that, you'll want to check out Volume 1.
