# Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987)

> Four mutant turtles trained in ninja arts by their rat sensei defend New York from the Shredder and alien warlord Krang alongside reporter April O'Neil.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/146

## Facts

- Seasons: 10
- Episodes: 193
- Episode runtime: 22 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, action, comedy
- Network: CBS, USA Network, Syndication
- Cast: Cam Clarke, Barry Gordon, Townsend Coleman, Rob Paulsen, Michael Gough, James Avery, Peter Renaday, Renae Jacobs
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0131613/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: playful, nostalgic, breezy, comedic, bright

## What critics say

Audiences broadly regard the series as a positive, nostalgic kids' action cartoon, with its early seasons rated more warmly than its later run.

## Synopsis

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-1996) is an American animated action comedy series created for a syndicated and CBS audience, running ten seasons and 193 episodes of 22 minutes each. Four mutant turtles, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael, are raised in the New York sewers by their rat sensei Splinter, a former Japanese man transformed by a glowing green ooze. Voice actors Cam Clarke, Barry Gordon, Townsend Coleman, Rob Paulsen and Peter Renaday bring the brothers and their mentor to life. The engine is a steady cycle of confrontations: the turtles and reporter April O'Neil (Renae Jacobs) battle the Foot Clan and their arch enemy Shredder (James Avery), while the alien warlord Krang plots from another dimension. Episodes are largely self-contained adventures, with recurring villains and a sprawling run that moves through a long list of stories. The tone is playful and brisk, mixing martial arts action with slapstick jokes and pizza gags. Fans of Batman: The Animated Series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and Transformers will find familiar nostalgic fun in this eighties cartoon.

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