An exclusive article on TVGuide.com has announced that new episodes of Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series will begin again on January 25. This special Friday night episode will air at 7pm Easter / 6pm Central (check your local listings to be sure) and introduces the Rat King.
Now comes Nickelodeon’s back-to-basics remake. The theme song is still there (albeit slightly more urban sounding). A plan to have Splinter die was scrapped. April, the Turtles’ human friend, will not suddenly be African-American, as envisioned at one point. Early on, Nickelodeon nixed a drastic proposal to send the Turtles to a Hogwarts-type school.(Wait, what?)
The thing about The Rise of the Turtles that impressed me most was the high standard of writing. The episodes are very funny. We get jokey dialogue, slapstick and humorous visual effects, and, for the most part, they really work.IGN declares a balance between comedy and action:
When it came to the fighting on the show, Nieli said, “The violence never goes to a place that’s excessive. The Turtles are acting in the greater good, but they’re justified. This is a kids show. It’s not that violent.” Astin, a parent himself, said he felt Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was, “Fun and age-appropriate and I’m totally comfortable with my kids experiencing it.”Media Life Magazine declares TMNT "Still Cool":
The turtles are visually indistinguishable until one sorts out their mask colors and customary weapons. But the voice actors and writers succeed in giving them distinctive personalities, even if those personalities are familiar kid-TV types.Animation Magazine talks to Executive Producer Ciro Nieli:
Throughout the roughly 14-month development period, Nieli and his crew focused on fine-tuning the storytelling and character dynamics using 2D methods. The producer and two other artists also crafted a 2D “proxy pilot” which lead to the series’ greenlight. Nieli shares that although the subsequent CG production has been “a constant learning curve,” he’s found the new medium rewarding.
