Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series developed by Lloyd Goldfine and based on the characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The series premiered on February 8, 2003, as part of Fox's FoxBox programming block (later known as 4Kids TV) and ended on February 28, 2009.

The series was announced on May 7, 2002. It was co-produced by 4Kids Entertainment (as its first in-house animated production) and franchise creators Mirage Studios, which co-owned rights to the show, with animation provided by the studio Dong Woo.

The series ran for 155 episodes over seven seasons. For its final season in 2008, the show moved from Fox to The CW. 4Kids also licensed the first 40 episodes to Cartoon Network in 2003, and Cartoon Network aired the series until 2007. A sequel film, Turtles Forever, serving as both the series finale of the series and a crossover with the 1987–1996 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series (via the plot element of the multiverse), was released on November 21, 2009.

Series overview

Seasons 1–4 Compared to the predominantly comedic approach of the 1987 TV series (barring the last three seasons of the former), the 2003 series more closely matches the serious tone of the original comics, with a greater emphasis on action and themes of familial bonds. The series adapts a large scope of story arcs from the comics, with the Turtles' adventures combining elements of both fantasy and science fiction.

The first season starts with the Turtles' Lair being destroyed by Mousers, robots made by Baxter Stockman. On the hunt for a new place to live, the Turtles go topside and run into the Purple Dragons, who they later discover is led by Hun. The Turtles eventually get to the source of the Mousers and rescue April O'Neil, who after this becomes the Turtles' most trusted friend. Halfway through the season, Leonardo is approached by the Foot Clan leader Oroku Saki, later learned to be The Shredder, who funded Baxter's Mouser project and is Hun's master. The Shredder attacks the Turtles and burns down April's home, forcing them, April, and Casey Jones to flee the city. When the Turtles return to New York they confront the Shredder once more and Master Splinter goes missing, leading to the introduction of the Utroms, an alien race secretly living on Earth.

Season Two starts with the brothers being sent into space in the middle of a war between two alien races, the Triceraton Republic and the Federation. Upon returning to Earth, the Turtles learn from the Utroms the origins of the Shredder. This season also introduces Karai, Shredder's daughter and pupil, when she comes to take control of New York during a gang war. The season ends in a four-parter with the Turtles and Splinter taking part in the Battle Nexus tournament.

In Season Three, the Triceratons and Federation bring their war to Earth with the Turtles having to help end the war to save their planet. Agent John Bishop, leader of the Earth Protection Force, is introduced as an independent antagonist fighting both the Turtles and the Foot. The Turtles meet Renet, an apprentice timestress, which leads to them being scattered into different worlds/timelines. The Turtles and their allies then confront Shredder for a final battle when he attempts to leave Earth to wage war upon the cosmos.

Season Four sees the Turtles recovering from their final battle with Shredder, particularly Leonardo who has post-traumatic stress disorder. Karai takes leadership of the Foot, Hun leaves to reform the Purple Dragons into a powerful crime syndicate, and Bishop stages a faux alien invasion to secure funding for the EPF. However, lingering consequences from Bishop's engineered invasion caused an outbreak of mutations in New York.

Ninja Tribunal

Season Five introduces the Ninja Tribunal, a council of ninjitsu demigods who conscript the Turtles as acolytes to protect the world from the original Shredder, a dark evil coming back into being who threatens to set the world into darkness. During this season, the Turtles go through many trials and tribulations on their journey to become the best fighters they can be, eventually tapping into ancient energy to defeat the original Shredder. This would be the last to use the original character designs and animation style with its plot concluding the series' main storyline.

Fast Forward

The sixth season, subtitled "Fast Forward", would retool the series with a new art style and comedic tone. The season's plot focuses on the Turtles being transported about 100 years into the future to the year 2105; where they meet and befriend Cody Jones, the great-grandson of April and Casey. They must also contend with futurist enemies like Sh'Okanabo and his minion Viral as well as dealing with the activities of Cody's greedy and ambitious uncle Darius Dunn.

Back to the Sewer

The series would conclude in the seventh and final season, titled "TMNT: Back to the Sewer", while sporting another redesign for the entire cast based on the designs from the 2007 TMNT film. After returning to the present day, the Turtles must battle a cybernetic version of the Shredder which was the result of Viral merging with the data of the exiled Utrom Shredder. There is also a running subplot centered on the engagement and wedding of April and Casey.

Turtles Forever

The 2009 television film serves as the actual four-part finale to the 2003 series and centers around the Turtles encountering their 1987 animated counterparts, who have accidentally been transported to the 2003 Ninja Turtles' reality. To make matters worse, the 80's Shredder and Krang as well as their minions Bebop and Rocksteady free Ch'rell from his imprisonment as the redesigned Hun and Karai realign themselves with the released Ch'rell.

Characters

Main

Donatello (voiced by Sam Riegel) is the most rational brother and the brains of the team who is in charge of creating their gadgets. He wields a bo staff as his weapon and wears a purple mask. Leonardo (voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas) is the most studious brother and the leader of the team who wields two Katana and wears a blue mask. Raphael (voiced by Greg Abbey) is the most hot-blooded brother and the muscle of the team. He wields two Sais as weapons and wears a red mask. Michelangelo (voiced by Wayne Grayson) is the wise guy and the jokester of the team. He loves comic books and sometimes disguises himself as the superhero Turtle Titan. His weapon of choice is Nunchucks and wears an orange mask. Splinter (voiced by Darren Dunstan) is the master and father of the Turtles who finds them prior to their mutation and trains them in Ninjutsu. Prior to his mutation, he was the pet of Hamato Yoshi and learned ninjutsu by mimicking his moves.

Allies April O'Neil (voiced by Veronica Taylor) is a human who used to be Dr. Stockman's assistant, but after learning his ulterior motives is saved by the Turtles and becomes their friend. She eventually marries Casey Jones in the series finale, and briefly appears in the TV movie Turtles Forever. Casey Jones (voiced by Marc Thompson) is a human whose father's shop was set on fire by the Purple Dragon before later killing him. Jones became a vigilante to fight them but has anger issues, but manages to tune it down after meeting and befriending the Turtles. Casey is a loyal friend to the Turtles, and is closest with Raphael out of the Turtles as they share a love of action and combat. He eventually marries April O'Neil in the series finale, and briefly appears in the TV movie Turtles Forever alongside April. Angel (voiced by Tara Sands) is teenage girl from Casey's neighborhood, who, together with her older brother Ryan, lives with her grandmother. Although Casey promised her grandmother that he would look out for her, he could often not spare the time for it. She eventually became captivated by the Purple Dragons around the neighborhood and followed them in hopes of joining their ranks, but Casey and the Turtles convinced her to give it up. Angel then asks the Turtle to help find her brother in an abandoned museum after being capture by a legion of undead warriors. In later episodes she is a good friend and ally to the turtles. Mortu (voiced by Dan Green) is a benevolent Utrom and an ally of the Turtles. He was the captain of the ship which was transporting the imprisoned Ch'rell on board and became stranded on Earth with his fellow Utroms when Ch'rell escaped and caused them to crash. He later met Hamato Yoshi and recruited him to become a guardian of the Utroms. He later saved the Turtles from their final battle with the Utrom Shredder and had him stand trial for his crimes. Leatherhead (voiced by F.B. Owens in season 2-3, Gary Lewis in season four to the "Back to the Sewer" season) is a mutated alligator who was taken in by the Utroms when they discovered that their mutagen (the same that transformed the Turtles) made him sentient. Leatherhead lived with the Utroms peacefully until Shredder's attack forced him into hiding. Some time later Baxter Stockman fooled him into aiding him with a scheme to restore his body. Ultimately, Leatherhead learned that Stockman had ties to the Shredder and wound up fighting on the side of good. As the series progresses he becomes a semi-regular member of the Turtles' extended family, aiding them in fighting such foes as the Foot and Agent Bishop. The Justice Force is a superhero group that is allied with the Turtles. The original members of the Justice Force was a spoof of the Justice Society of America while the second incarnation of the group is a spoof of the Justice League and the Avengers. Stainless Steel Steve (voiced by David Wills impersonating Adam West) is a founding member of the original Justice Force. He has a metal saucer on his forehead that is capable of smashing through walls and withstanding any blows. In his alter ego of Stephen, he runs a comic book store in Northampton. Joey Lastic (voiced by Oliver Wyman) is a founding member of the original Justice Force who has elastic powers. He is a parody of Plastic Man. Zippy Lad (voiced by Andrew Rannells in the first two appearances, Sean Schemmel in the third appearance) is a founding member of the original Justice Force who has superhuman speed. In the present day, he uses a wheelchair. Zippy Lad was later seen in "Membership Drive" training the Justice Force's new recruits. He is a parody of Flash. Metal Head (voiced by Wayne Grayson) is a founding member of the Justice Force who has fluid "metal" hair. Due to his artificial nature, Metal Head has not aged in a decade, allowing him to be a member of the Justice Force's second incarnation. When not operating as a superhero, he works as a stock boy at Stephen's comic book store. Doctor Dome (voiced by Stuart Zagnit) is a founding member of the Justice Force. Doctor Dome has the ability to control robots called Domeoids. During his time with the Justice Force, Doctor Dome was saved from the Living Volcano by Stainless Steel Steve and Doctor Dome later cured Steve of the creeping alien rust. He later left the Justice Force following a squabble with Steve over the love of Battling Bernice. Doctor Dome was later revealed to have had a child named Ananda with Bernice. Battling Bernice is a founding member of the Justice Force who appears to have possessed great physical strength. She was killed in action and was revealed to have had a child named Ananda with Doctor Dome. Silver Sentry (voiced by Terrence Archie in most appearances, Marc Diraison in the "Fast Forward" and the "Back to the Sewer" series) is a superhero who would occasionally be partnered with Michelangelo. He would later become the leader of the second incarnation of the Justice Force by the time the Triceratons attacked Earth. In the "Fast Forward" part of the series, it was revealed that Silver Sentry has a grandson who became the second Turtle Titan. He is a parody of Superman.