In two years, the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic will celebrate its fortieth anniversary. Between 1984 and the present, 2022, the entertainment industry has made leap after leap in relation to its audience. The ways of consumption have changed. Productions appeared that altered the previous conception of the narratives. Audiences have more access to various products, something that can enrich their judgment. Even so, the story of Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello is sustained in spaces such as Netflix via The rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
This animated film takes up the baton left by the series developed by Nickelodeon during 2018 and 2020. Although this background serves as a reference, one of the first questions that must be clarified in relation to The rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is that it works as an independent story. You can be close or not to the story and, beyond the position, understand its meaning; also, what is perhaps the most important thing: the pulse between the personalities of the protagonists, one of the bases on which each adaptation has revolved year after year.
But The rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Netflix has some twists that evoke different outstanding narratives during part of those almost forty years that comics have. Viewing this film allows you to think about terminatorin Kung Fu Panda, and the saga of The Avengers of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Does that imply a betrayal or the devirtualization of the base story? No. It is one more mutation of the turtles.
The rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: the history
A hero must travel to the future to prevent the death of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That ambassador of days to come is Casey-Jones, an iconic character in the most recent adaptations of the story. The film makes a correct transition between roles, progressively ceding weight to the owners of the narrative, the four mutants.
Casey Jones stumbles across a timeline in which the threat she’s trying to stop arrived much earlier than anticipated. through a portal, Krang he was able to destroy everything known, including superheroes. Casey Jones falls into a time when it is still possible to avoid it, but a series of blunders by Leonardo precipitate different events. So, on Netflix, the narrative returns to one of its strengths and winks at its tradition: the relationship and growth of the four turtles.
In both the comics and the animated adaptations, the contrasts between the personalities of Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello enrich the succession of events because they influence them. His character is at the service of the facts, of the action, of the conflicts and, also, of the solutions. In this line, Leonardo is the base of The rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlessinning with arrogance and self-centeredness, to the point of endangering their brothers and, consequently, New York.
His transformation as a character favors the knots of the story and also, towards the end, the untying of these. Krang is presented as a rival against whom they cannot oppose. Although these turtles have a series of mystical powers –Michelangelo evokes Doctor Strange, in some issues, for example–, his adversary is superior in almost any rivalry; except in one: the plane in which they manage to unite their skills and intelligence to give space to strategy rather than force.
The rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
A classic from the 80’s still stands today. Chance? Excess? Nope. The rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles It represents part of the ability of different creators to keep a story alive, adapting it to different trends without betraying its essence. His characters continue to generate polarity, his actions promote conflict and social, while pizza abounds. An entertaining story available on Netflix.
Warning, spoilers ahead!
The hero
Leonardo represents, in a journey of just under an hour and a half, different stages of the hero. One who seems predestined, by natural abilities, to achieve something that others do; the one who, through part of his character, can lead and overcome adversity. But, also, he is the same one who can confuse skill and sense of guidance with arrogance and selfishness. The events of The rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
The Leonardo of the past, according to the beginning of the film, is an arrogant young man who imposes his criteria over team decisions. Skill over strategy. The ego over the group plan. That is why they fail in the idea of having the key that opens the portal through which Krang arrives. So, your journey is altered. Moved by his emotions rather than his intelligence, he spirals into bad decisions that endanger his brothers. The route changes when they recognize that, together with the others, he is not only more, but also can have a better time.
Casey Jones, the supporting character, has key interventions to help Leonardo move forward on that journey of transformation. There will be no maximum potential without the others and, to reach the others, he needs to calm his mind and ego to make way for another type of management of his abilities. In the meantime, The fights with Krang offer an impressive visual display, to the point of leaving the feeling that they could be enjoyed even more on the big screen. The heroes are going to save New York, yes, but the background of the story is the most relevant: they first rescue themselves from their fears in order to do it.
Beyond the productions live action, questionable, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continue to find in the animated adaptations a space in which they can be faithful to their tradition and adapt to some contemporary narrative trends. Perhaps that is why they are still present so many years after their launch. Nothing seems to indicate that they will soon leave the collective imagination.