Note: the opening of this review is spoiler free. We’re tossing up a warning so you’ll know when to step off if you wish to remain unspoiled.

For nearly 40 years, kids around the world have grown up with some form of green mutant ninjas filling their video games, comic books, television screens, and even movie screens… admittedly with a few gaps in years between shows. With Nickelodeon obtaining the license to the franchise known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 2012, it was certain that the show would become even more present than before.

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles did start off as a massively unexpected wild card in a franchise that had become overly familiar to many fans. The traditional foursome of Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael had been shuffled up, for lack of a better term. Raphael (Omar Benson Miller), the big brother of the group in more ways than one, had become the leader. Leonardo (Ben Schwartz) was less responsible, becoming the slightly arrogant practical joker. Michelangelo (Brandon Mychal Smith) was much akin to Beast Boy of the recent Teen Titans cartoons: young, plucky, and airheaded. Donatello (Josh Brener) had become obsessed with his tech and socially awkward to a degree not seen in mass media outside of The Big Bang Theory.

The supporting cast was also different in massively unexpected ways. April O’Neil (Kat Graham) was now African American and in high school, while Splinter (Eric Bauza) was a washed-up old rat-man who was more concerned with catching his latest soap opera than training his students. New mutants popped up to fill out the roster, and John Cena was now the villainous Baron Draxum instead of the Shredder being the main foe of the Turtles.

And yet.

It worked.

The Turtles had been fleshed out by being given a few extra character quirks beyond “angry loner” or “the leader.” Instead, Michelangelo now had a love of cooking and a neverending imagination that played off the others perfectly. New foe Meat Sweats (a mutant loosely based off of Gordon Ramsey) even played off this by being Mikey’s favorite TV chef. Raphael became this big bruiser who was protective of his brothers and entirely in over his head as the leader. Donatello’s arrogance with his tech and social ineptitude covered how much he cared for his brothers. Leonardo’s constant attempts at humor were both to hide how life and death situations might have frightened him but also to keep the enemy off guard with off-the-wall plans.

And with Splinter? He was a martial arts movie star who had given up on fighting, having realized he needed to raise a family rather than fight crime.

Throughout the series, the Turtles would grow as characters and become more like and different from their established counterparts. Splinter would rediscover the fire within and become both father and sensei to his sons. April would even prove herself to be a jack of all trades in combat, both with a mystic baseball bat and with a construction crane.

Throughout each episode, the series found a way to straddle serious combat with the Turtles being complete goofballs. Be it a plot to resurrect the Shredder or a stage magician mutant hippopotamus, none of the action was without an equal amount of entertaining antics. Indeed, most of the fans of the franchise had begun to turn around on these new adventures of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

One of the biggest successes of the show was making the Turtles seem and feel like a real family. Not just four guys who got along, but actual brothers who had unique interests, gave each other crap lovingly, and didn’t mind hugging to express their love and care for one another. Some of the best moments in the series would come from the characters having an emotional breakthrough rather than a physical one.

And then, Nickelodeon canceled the show after two seasons, with the second season partially completed and only loose plans for season three sketched out.

Like many things popular on the internet, fan outcry was immense. After much letter-writing, forum-posting, and videos begging to have the show return, a movie was announced. A movie was announced, in conjunction with Netflix.

Finally, after forever, a movie would be released. But would it be good?

It needs to be said, for those who wish to avoid spoilers: This is a good movie. It does ask that you know the series beforehand, but it does a decent job at setting things up without that knowledge. In fact, I would say Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie is actually the best movie released for the franchise since the original movie from 1989. If you’ve seen Rise, you need to see this movie. If you haven’t, you should still check it out anyway.

While the series would ping-pong back and forth between high-octane action, goofball antics, and some rare serious and emotional moments… the movie takes that up to 11 in some respects. Parents with younger kids will want to consider watching this with them. There are some moments where the movie gets real and shakes off the ping-pong tone in truly dark ways.

As mentioned, here’s your warning. Spoilers are incoming as we talk about the movie itself.

The overall arc of the movie is a time travel story, with young Casey Jones (Haley Joel Osment) being sent back in time from 2044 to save the Earth from the clutches of the Krang. An alien invading force brought back from ancient defeat by the Foot Clan, the Krang are masters of body horror and genetic technology and have the ability to infest and infect anyone with their tentacles.

In fact, things have gone so bad that we even see the deaths of the last two living Turtles as the Krang seize their final victory.

With Casey sent back to 2022, he has to make sure the Foot Clan can’t bring the Krang out of their prison and preserve the future. Unfortunately, Leonardo has already messed up in his arrogance, and the Foot Clan has the key to do so. Oops.

With the world in danger, Raphael captured by the Krang, the city of New York being slowly infected and destroyed by the most dangerous foe the world has ever seen, and the mystic powers of the Ninja Turtles sealed away, can the Turtles bring out a win?

I mean. The creators are hoping for a third season if this goes well. You tell me.

It needs to be said, this is Leonardo’s movie first and foremost. From what the creators have revealed on Twitter, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie is made from the ideas they had for the third season. Much like the Futurama movies from a few years back, you can kind of see the seams where multiple episode threads have been welded together to make a larger story. While the characters still have their own stories and character beats, Leonardo’s growth from wacky jokester to actual leader who comprehends the consequences of his actions is the bulk of the story.

And again, it works wonderfully. Leonardo is forced to confront what few teenagers are made to face: his own mortality and that of his family. You can see it written across his face when Raphael is wounded and when Casey Jones finally admits that everyone in the future is dead. His devil-may-care actions as a leader have tangible consequences, and a family-dedicated ninja like Leonardo is finally made to click as a character.

When the show shifts into action, it is easily some of the best content in the franchise. The Krang are creepy, bestial creatures with some of the most messed-up creations the franchise has literally ever created. Like the Krang made out of an assault helicopter.

Or the two Foot Clan leaders transformed by the touch of the Krang.

Outside the horrifying body morphing Krang and their monsters, however, the action remains as incredible as the original show. Giant energy versions of Raphael pound enemies across the screen while Donatello whips out mystic tech blasters, and Mikey even throws an entire building at a guy. It is damned hard not to feel pumped as this movie runs. Even Casey Jones lives up to his namesake, whipping around a chainsaw hockey stick.

There are tons of little nods and references to earlier sections of the franchise, prior characters making a new appearance, and even everyone’s favorite worm anchorman Warren Stone and Hypno-Potamus make an appearance before wisely deciding to duck out before the dung hits the fan. Even fan-favorite eternal nice guy Todd Capybara makes a shocking appearance in the wasteland future in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo.

Honestly, the only downside to this entire movie is the fact that we won’t get the season this could have been. Multiple episodes of this horrible future and a longer fight against the Krang could have been utterly spectacular. As it is, we get an hour and a half of good, solid fun that is rather hard to beat in this franchise. 

If we’re lucky, this isn’t the end for the Rise incarnation of the Turtles. However, if this is the last we see of our goofballs in green? It was one hell of a ride.

Grade: A