I really like this version of the TMNT, for the same reason that I enjoy the 1990 live-action movie: It's a nice mixture of the gritty storyline of the original comic and the comedic tone of the 1987 cartoon, which works surprisingly well. I saw this show very recently after I had discovered the Mirage comic, so I appreciated how faithful it was to iconic moments in the original storyline, such as the encounter with the Fugitoid and Triceratons, as well as the adaptation of Return to New York.
This show definitely had its flaws. The voice acting was hit or miss. The BGM could be overbearing at times.* The censorship could be annoying (e.g. characters having to say destroy instead of kill).
But despite those issues, it still remains the best version of TMNT on tv. It still had plenty of comedy, but was also willing to actually be serious at times too. The 2012 cartoon could be dark at times, but a lot of the dark stuff in that show seemed like it was either meant for black comedy, or for shock value. The 2003 show often used the dark stuff for character exploration, or for telling a story.
- 4Kids felt that background music had to be constantly playing, even during moments that would be better without music.
I hated the battle nexus arc. And unfortunately that's the strongest impression I have of the series.
see my completed Tangled (Varian) fanfic collection! https://archiveofourown.org/works/24467056/chapters/59049532
Ditto. The original art style was the main attraction for me, so I was disappointed when they changed the look. I'm very visually oriented, so aesthetics play a strong role whether I like something at all. That's why I never got into the 2012 TMNT series, because I prefer 2D animation and the CGI art never appealed to me enough. It's a pity, because I've heard it's a good show, but I don't like how the characters look. I lost interest in watching the 2003 TMNT partly due to the art-shift, because the older art style distracted me enough from the things that I never liked about the show.
It's certainly an odd title for a video that's not dunking on something.
I'll have to give it a look at some point.
One Strip! One Strip!I heard about TMNT from some of the 87 cartoon and my parents owned the Secrets of the Ooze film, but TMNT 2003 was MY TMNT growing up as an 11 year old. A lot of what I think is the ideal TMNT tone comes from this cartoon, as despite being a 4kids property it's still one of their most tonally varied cartoons from that block. I don't think it ever got so dark it was obnoxious either, it's just willing to explore the consequences of the characters actions and decisions in less than pleasant places.
I use how this show writes Leonardo as the standard for how I expect not just him but ALL leader characters in team hero show after this cartoon, and the willingness to write him like season 4 did is why. Only Robin from Teen Titans and I guess Superman in the Justice League cartoons really had that kind of writing when it comes to being a leader in kid shows, but they weren't on 4kids so it stands out to me more in a way. Not that the shoe didn't nail it's humor either, but it was very balanced. Funny when it needed to be, adding levity were necessary, but getting to the point and being serious when it was go time.
Among my absolute favourite entries in the franchise is the 1990 live-action film, for applying some of the 1987 humour with the basic Mirage premise, which at times was too Grimdark for my taste. I like the story explored in the Mirage comics, which I think is adapted very well by the 2003 show and even enhanced a bit by the added levity. It's essentially the live-action movie in animated form, with the addition of the more fantastical elements from Mirage. I still enjoy the 1987 TMNT a lot, since it was my first exposure to the franchise, but I can enjoy different takes on the TMNT just fine.
Something I've always been pondering is when Leo gets assassinated in the Battle Nexus' Hall of Fame, he uses a hemet to block a sword attack. The camera zooms in to show it looks like Shredder's helmet with some dramatic music only to get a comical sounding deflate which Leo is briefly surprised by but tosses it aside.
I've been thinking about what I like about different incarnations of TMNT the best, which in the 2003 series is the art style and overall tone of the story during early seasons. But having recently watched episodes of TMNT from 1987, 2003, and Rise with my own child, I realize that the music is one of the things I like the least in the 2003 incarnation. I like the Japanese-inspired music for the Foot ninjas, as well as the kabuki-sounds for Shredder's theme, while the theme for the mousers has a suitably menacing electronic sound. Otherwise the music is mostly on the generic side, with only those three tracks that stick in my head. Besides the infamous Ear Worm theme song for the 1987 series, that show has in my opinion the best background music, with a large collection of memorable recurring tracks.
The 2003 show had a lot of good leitmotifs. Hun and Karai had their own themes, and even April and Casey. They also incorporated the main theme song as a leitmotif for the turtles. But its true that a lot of the general background music was generic and repetitive. That being said, I remember the first episode had this guitar theme that played as the turtles ran across the roofs, that was pretty good. Which showed that they could have good music, they just often chose not to.
I think another thing that's actually good about the 2003 show was the plotting. The show was often tightly plotted in the early seasons, especially season 1. This is in contrast to the comics where they often made stuff up as they went along. Of course, the later seasons had some retcons and retools.
Yeah, the plotting is one of the strong points about the show, as long as it stayed mostly faithful to the original Mirage plotline and streamlined it to be more cohesive. There was some gradual Seasonal Rot, though it's hard to pinpoint when it exactly happens, especially since it depends on how you feel about certain storylines. Plenty of enjoyable one-shots and sub-stories keep appearing through the entire show, even when the main plot might get less fun. To me the show started to lose some of its appeal when there turned out to be multiple Shredders, as well as people who simply looked like him, so I got some Shredder-fatigue already before there was a computer-virus digital Shredder.
I'm honestly still torn about how to feel about the twist of Shredder being an Utrom, as it has ample foreshadowing and it works with him being a worthy enemy of the Guardians. But at the same time I liked the Shredder's role in the show better before that reveal. Still, it was really cool visual to see a decapitated Shredder walk away carrying his own head. I kinda like the idea of a Shredder that is a supernatural entity, and I liked a lot how they did that in Rise, along with the much stronger mystical focus. But my favourite take on Shredder through all mediums is with him as a crime-boss, who happens to be a ninja, with a personal connection to Hamato Yoshi and/or Splinter.
Edited by Mara999 on Aug 1st 2023 at 7:12:34 PM
I think its funny that whenever people mention the multiple Shredders, they always ignore the fact that Karai was also a Shredder for a while. They even put her in the intro in full Shredder armor, taking over the "Watch out for Shredder" line.
As for the human/utrom thing, that might be what inspired them to introduce Tengu Shredder. They revealed that there really was a human Oroku Saki, and his abilities were supernatural rather than technological. One can wonder what the show would have been like if Shredder had just been human all along though.

I think that the 2003 TMNT series is the definite version of the turtles and a proper reboot of an 80s cartoon that honors its roots.
Edited by dms3456 on Jun 30th 2023 at 9:01:57 AM