4 out of 5

Directed by: Larry Osborne

Yeah, really. I mean, this thing is only 25 minutes, and obviously made on the cheap, and I’m trying to figure its entertainment factor for Turtle fan me as a ’94 youngster, but also watching it now, in 2023… it maybe works better than it would’ve then? I’m sure I would’ve had a split reaction back in the day, because I really wanted to see that live show but I also wasn’t all that in to the singing and whatnot, but I mean, live TMNT, and I recognized those glam outfits were very cringe and that the costumes were at Next Mutation levels, but, yeah… fandom. I recall brushing off the show (I didn’t feel it was something my folks would spring for), but also being jealous when my friend went.

Now, though, when I watch this, I can see the above mentioned exceptions, how this was surely commissioned or submitted with the most minimal budget and timeline (there’s a mention in the credits of turning things around in a day…), reusing props, and scripting totally silly but acceptable songs that fit a totally silly and non-existent – but at least it’s there “story” – and I didn’t really cringe. It’s goofy, and kitsch, and I’m not telling you it’s the greatest thing ever, but if you can tolerate the dying flame of this TMNT era (like if you’re okay with the already-mentioned Next Mutation; definitely of a comparable tone), then “charming” probably fits the bill, all around. Like, you just get the sense that everyone knew what was up, kids included, and went to it.

So: the Turtles are making a TV show, “TMNT-TV,” for which they elicit the presumably non-paid help of child labor to produce, and they do what the Turtles are known for – singing songs about friendship, and carousels, and 90s stuff like not littering and not talking to strangers. The tunes are mostly riffs on classics or traditionals, and it’s amusing how the boys switch voices depending on the song (like the songwriters sing, not the actors, and I don’t think there are four different singers…), and the lingo in the songs is of that I-don’t-know-how-the-kids-talk-“radical” style, but they’re also only a minute apiece, and each come with some stiff dancing and half lip syncing around different sets or outdoors areas. Charmed; entertained.

If this was longer than 25 minutes, I’d likely be harsher on it, but it’s a totally acceptable way to pass some time and check a box off of your Turtles addiction that doesn’t require slogging through hours or pages of stuff that’s trying a lot harder to accomplish much less.