As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
"It was weird, but we became a family."
- From the trailer, Splinter telling the turtles what makes each of them unique and a great asset to the team:
- Just how April and the Turtles instantly have friendship chemistry to where they act like they've known each other for years based on the trailer of them in school.
- The flashbacks of Splinter finding the turtles and raising them as his sons.Master Splinter: It was weird, but we became a family.
- When the Turtles find out April has the nickname "Puke Girl" at her high school, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello laugh at her, but Leonardo looks like he feels bad for her.
- When Raph mockingly calls April by said nickname, Leo is shown lightly tapping him on the shell and giving him an angry look.
- The reason Baxter Stockman created Superfly and the other mutants? He just wanted a family. Too bad the TCRI goons came in and ruined it.
- While it goes sour really fast later, the turtles are overjoyed by the revelation that there are other mutants upon meeting Superfly's team and vice versa. After years of being forced to hide in the shadows and being shunned by humanity, both groups have finally found others they could sympathize with. Superfly even considered them family since the ooze that mutated him and the turtles was made by Stockman.
- It's a little underscored due to the situation being tense, but while reprimanding his sons, Splinter calls April "the one good human" who could be killed by Superfly, which says a lot given his still lingering hatred for humans. It's implied he wasn't ungrateful for her warning him about the turtles' imprisonment.
- Even after his Jerkass Realization, Splinter still isn't completely sold on humanity, but does recognize that his sons want to be a part of the bigger world, and so he is determined to help them defeat Superfly so that they will be accepted by humanity.
- As the Channel 6 anchorwoman demonizes the turtles during the climax, April comes in and takes over the story, clearing the turtles’ names. As a result, a massive crowd of civilians comes to their aid, working with the other mutants to help the boys defeat Superfly.
- Splinter was recently sent flying away by Superfly, injured and unable to walk, he sees a man's silhouette approach him and he begins to panic, as he's reminded of the most difficult time he had with them. In a surprising twist, thanks to April, the man offers compassion, alongside more willing to help as well.
- Making it better is that the man is played by the Turtles’ co-creator Kevin Eastman. Director Jeff Rowe even admitted that they wanted to cast someone close to the Turtles series for the cameo as their "Stan Lee moment".
- The other mutants end up moving in with the turtles and Splinter in the sewers, becoming one giant family. The Turtles do get their wish of entering human society, but they also now have a larger expanded family they can go back home to at the end of the day that they can relate to as fellow mutants. Compare that to the beginning of the movie when they, while still loving each other and Splinter, were weary of how their entire lives revolved around their tiny family unit with nobody else to relate to.
- Not only that, but Splinter even manages to find what most of his other incarnations haven't: a significant other, and in Scumbug, no less!
- In the end, the boys finally get to go to high school. And they are even greeted warmly as they arrive.
- During the post-credit scene, we see each of the turtles find their own clique at school. This is the first time we've seen the four brothers acknowledged and accepted by society and it's well-deserved.
- When the Turtles first see April’s locker at school, it’s covered in mocking graffiti over her puking incident (“April O’Puke” or “Puke Girl”). At the end of the film, the graffiti is covered up to call April a hero.
- While discussing what they would do if they were allowed on the surface, Leo notes that he would like to have a girlfriend. Over the course of the movie, he gradually ends up developing a huge crush on April, and he ends up working with her as her assistant journalist and cameraman once they’re allowed to go to school. He even nervously asks her if she wants to go to the prom with him, which she accepts (even though she thinks he means as friends).
- The fact that for the first time in the franchise history Bebop and Rocksteady aren't evil. The first chance they get to just live a peaceful life they happily take it, moving in with their brothers and sisters with the Turtles.
- When Splinter saves the turtles from TCRI, the boys are thrilled to see him. Donnie and Mikey, who are usually portrayed as the youngest brothers, both hug him on either side.
