Cowabunga! The original 1987 animated series “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is coming to Nickelodeon.
Ahead of the theatrical release of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” Nickelodeon has acquired global rights to the storied Fred Wolf series, which follows the adventures of the heroes in a half-shell — Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo.
Under the deal, all 193 episodes of the original “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” — which ran from 1987 to 1996 — are set to debut digitally on Nickelodeon-owned and operated channels (such as YouTube, Pluto TV and O&O linear channels) later this month in the U.S., followed by Nickelodeon-branded channels and digital platforms internationally.
The acquisition was announced Thursday at San Diego Comic-Con during Paramount Pictures’ Hall H presentation for “Mutant Mayhem.” The popular kids franchise’s latest installment hits theaters on Aug. 2. “Mutant Mayhem” director Jeff Rowe (outfitted in a “TMNT” T-shirt) and franchise co-creator Kevin Eastman were on hand to preview the new movie, repping for the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle” crew at the slimmed-down Comic-Con in the wake of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which prevented writers and actors from attending the convention.
“There are so many people here,” Rowe said, marveling at the size of the audience as he took the stood. (Hall H, which holds about 6500 people, filled — albeit slowly — with fans in red, purple, blue and orange eye masks ahead of the “TMNT” panel’s 11:30 a.m. start.)
“It’s what taught me to be a fan,” Rowe said, underlining his lifelong love of the franchise. “I remember knowing how to think. And then I remember loving the ninja turtles. They’re just married together.”
Eastman — who made a surprise appearance on the panel — announced the news to the Hall H crowd.
“We just found out today — this is breaking news — Nickelodeon and Paramount have secured the rights to broadcast the original cartoon series,” Eastman said as the crowd roared with applause. “[It was] the beginning. The first time those characters came to life with voices and movement, and Chuck Lorre wrote an amazing theme song for us back in the day before he was Chuck Lorre. It’s so fantastic. We’re so excited to announce this, so congratulations to all of us. We get to see it again!”
The comic book legend, who celebrated his 38th convention appearance, also shared his praise for Rowe’s take on the turtles in the new movie.
“I’m so proud of what you guys have done. This movie is brilliant,” he said, recounting the first time he saw footage of the movie. “Fifteen minutes in, I go, ‘When are you starting the sequel?’ Now I look at it and the way it’s come to life, it reminds me of the underground comics style that Peter [Laird, ‘TMNT’s’ co-creator] and I started. There’s just so much life and energy and weight.”
Produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Point Grey Productions’ Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver, “Mutant Mayhem” marks Nickelodeon’s first-ever CG-animated theatrical production. The film follows the Turtle brothers — Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Donatello (Micah Abbey), Raphael (Brady Noon) and Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.) — who, after years of being sheltered from the human world, set out to “win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts.” With the help of their new friend April O’Neil (Ayo Edebiri), the Turtles take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.
“Mutant Mayhem” also features a star-studded supporting cast, including Rogen, Hannibal Buress, Rose Byrne, John Cena, Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, Natasia Demetriou, Giancarlo Esposito, Post Malone, Paul Rudd and Maya Rudolph.
Comic-Con attendees were treated to 20 minutes of footage from the movie, which showed the Ninja Turtles’ origin story, from the moment their rat dad Splinter (voiced by Chan) discovered them as ooze-covered baby turtles to their training to become the ninja warriors we know and love. The footage was preceded by a recorded message from Rogen and Ice Cube.
“It is hard to believe this is all happening. I’ve been a huge fan my whole life and now just to be weeks away from it hitting theaters. It’s incredible,” Rogen said, as Ice Cube chimed in: “I can assure you that this fan is making sure that all you fans get the biggest, funniest, crazy turtle movie ever.”
The clip featured the foursome on a stealthy and hilarious grocery run before defying their dad’s warnings about the human world and making a pit stop at an outdoor screening of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” which left them feeling a little blue about growing up in isolation. The clip also introduced the movie’s stakes — previewing how the teens meet April and the first time they have to use their ninja training in a fight, as well as introducing the villainous Super Fly.
Created in 1984 by Laird and Eastman, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” debuted as a comic book series and then became a global mega-hit with the animated 1987 Fred Wolf series. A live-action TV series, “Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation,” followed, as well as numerous film adaptations including 1990’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” its two sequels and the 2007 CGI movie “TMNT.” Nickelodeon brought new life to the franchise in 2012 with the CG-animated series, followed by the 2D-animated show “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” in 2019, while Paramount rebooted the project on the big screen in 2014 with “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and its 2016 sequel “Out of the Shadows.”
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” is produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Point Grey, in partnership with Ramsey Naito and Jason McConnell, who are overseeing production for Nickelodeon. For Point Grey, Lukas Williams is co-producing and Josh Fagen is overseeing as an executive producer.
