From Comic-con and beyond: Nickelodeon's New TMNT shorts premiere
For fans of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's mutant heroes in a half shell, the past few months have been a mixed bag. Michael Bay's continuation of the live-action franchise continuing to chug along with conflicting reviews from fans. All the while, Nickelodeon's animated reboot of the beloved cartoon series has continued to impress fans with its humor, fun action and stylized animation. Having recently concluded the latest arc of the show, Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Panel at San Diego Comic-con, ( featuring executive producers Brandon Auman & Ciro Nieli) gave fans an exclusive look at the continuation of the show's fourth season.
However, the real surprise came when the panel featured not one, not two but three all-new animated shorts featuring the TMNT cast. Each one created by a different animation staff.
The first short, simply titled Don vs Raph, was directed by Sung Jin Ahn and written by Jhonen Vasquez (of Invader Zim fame). The short is hilariously over the top (in both action and dialogue) as both Don and Raph compete to see which of them is better than the other. The writing is definitely reminiscent of Invader Zim's style of humor and animation does an amazing capturing all the competitive craziness.
The second short, “Pizza Friday” was created by Paul Jenkins and TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman. This time, the Turtles decide to accompany April O'Neil to her high school for Pizza Friday under human guises. As is usually the case with the Turtles, hilarity and action ensues. Major props for the human designs for the Turtles and the digital animation used in this short.
Lastly, “Turtles Take Time (and Space)” was directed by Rie Koga and written by executive producer Brandon Auman. After finding an ancient Japanese scepter, the Turtles are sent back and forth through multiple different dimensions. Each dimension featuring a different artistic style of animation.
For those of you who were unable to see these at Comic-con, fear not for all three were released online by Nickelodeon. So if you're a fan of the infamous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or just enjoy seeing experimentation with animation styles, all three shorts are provided here for your viewing pleasure. Please continue to support this spectacular show and all the hard working animators and writers who bring it to life.
