Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Synopsis
"Heroes in a half shell... Turtle Power!"

The four title turtle teens, each named for a famous Italian artist, started out as a black and white cult comic book by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It was first brought to television in 1987 as a syndicated show. Three years later, the reptiles, in live-action form, graced the silver screen and the world would never be the same. Following the film’s great success, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were welcomed to CBS in 1990, as a prime-time special, immediately followed by the Saturday morning hit.

As the pizza-loving foursome made their way out of obscurity, the underground, satirical tone of the comic book was replaced by a more broadly comic approach. Nonetheless, the show did follow the original concept: A group of four New York City sewer-dwelling turtles were exposed to a radioactive mutagen and transformed into walking, talking, butt-kicking crime-fighters.

Taught martial arts by Splinter, the sushi-eating mutant rat, each turtle fought the evil ninja Shredder with his own unique talent. Leonardo, the leader, was an expert swordsman. Michelangelo, the "party dude" of the group, used nunchucks. The technical whiz of the quartet, Donatello, used a staff. Raphael was a jokester who used a pair of sais.

In all their incarnations, including the 1991 prime-time special, Planet of the Turtleoids, the Ninjas were assisted by April O' Neil, a savvy TV news reporter. Shredder had his own share of cohorts, including mutant thugs BeBop and Rocksteady and the baddies' otherworldly master, the blobby pink Krang.

The Saturday morning Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ran concurrently with the daily syndicated show, dominating the ratings in both fields. Two movie sequels followed, along with innumerable toys, video games, fashion accessories, and so on as the Turtles turned into one of animation's most successful creations.

Release History 1987 syndicated
9/8/90 - 1997 CBS

Sub Categorie animated
sci-fi/fantasy
action/adventure

Studio Murakami Wolf

Cast

Leonardo		Cam Clarke
Raphael		Rob Paulsen
Donatello		Barry Gordon
Michaelangelo		Townsend Coleman
Splinter		Peter Renaday
Shredder		James Avery
Krang		Pat Fraley
Rocksteady		Cam Clarke
Bebop		Barry Gordon
April		Renae Jacobs
Irma		Jennifer Darling
Vernon		Peter Renaday
Burne		Pat Fraley
Rat King		Townsend Coleman
Baxter		Pat Fraley
Leatherhead		Jim Cummings
Casey		Pat Fraley
Zach		Rob Paulson
Gen. Traag		Peter Renaday
Slash		Pat Fraley
Lord Dregg		Tony Jay
Hi-Tech		Rob Paulson
Mung		Cam Clarke
Titanus		Pat Fraley
Overdrive		Cam Clarke
High-Beam		Rob Paulson
Amok		Rob Paulson
Raptor		Pat Fraley
Magma		Pat Fraley
Seisure		Barry Gorden
'The Ram'		Barry Gorden