Turtles Forever

Turtles Forever
Distributed by	4Kids Entertainment
Directed by	Roy Burdine Lloyd Goldfine
Produced by	Sarah C. Nesbitt
Screenplay by	Rob David Matthew Drdek Lloyd Goldfine
Based on	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  by Kevin Eastman Peter Laird
Starring	Michael Sinterniklaas Wayne Grayson Sam Riegel Greg Abbey Darren Dunstan Scottie Ray Dan Green Johnny Castro Tony Salerno Sebastian Arcelus Load Williams Bradford Cameron
Music by	Ralph Schuckett Rusty Andrews John Angier Mark Breeding Louis Cortelezzi Joel Douek John Petersen Pete Scaturro John Siegler John Van Tongeren Russel Velazquez
Editing by	John Carnochan Mike Kahn
Production company	Mirage Studios
Country	United States
Language	English
Original channel	The CW4Kids Nickelodeon
Release date	November 21, 2009 (2009-11-21) (The CW4Kids) August 29, 2010 (Nickelodeon)
Running time	73 minutes

Turtles Forever (also known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles Forever or TMNT: Turtles Forever) is a 2009 American television film produced by 4Kids Entertainment and Mirage Studios. The movie is a crossover film featuring three different incarnations of the titular heroes throughout the franchise's history: the original Prime Turtles team from the 1984 comic book series, the light-hearted, family-friendly characters from the 1987 animated series, and the darker, more serious cast of the 4Kids' own 2003 animated series — in an adventure that spans multiple parallel universes. It also marks the finale to the 2003 animated series. This movie was produced in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

A rough, nearly finished version of the film premiered at the San Diego Comic Con in July 2009.^[1] The completed film aired on The CW as part of their Saturday morning The CW4Kids lineup on November 21, as part of a 25th anniversary celebration which featured a top-10 episode countdown preceding the film's television premiere.^[2] It re-aired again from November 28 to December 12 in a form where three weekly 23-minute episodes were shown in a half-hour slot per week.

An uncut version of the film appeared on the CW4Kids's website on December 16 that includes 8 minutes of footage cut from the version that aired on TV. The movie was released on non-anamorphic widescreen DVD on August 24, 2010 from Nickelodeon/Paramount Pictures home entertainment.^[3][4][5] The DVD release contains the TV edit. The uncut anamorphic widescreen version was later released in 2011 on DVD in the PAL DVD regions (2 and 4). There are currently no plans for an American release of the uncut movie. On August 29, 2010, Nickelodeon aired the movie on the channel for the first time, then aired again on Thanksgiving Day of 2010.

Plot

The Purple Dragons, led by Hun, appear to have captured the Ninja Turtles. The scene then changes to the sewer lair of the Ninja Turtles (Turtles B), who are alerted by their master Splinter that they have been careless and discovered on television. The Turtles vehemently deny this and set out to break into the Purple Dragons' headquarters to get to the bottom of these mysterious doppelgängers. Upon doing so, the Turtles discover that their "impostors" are, in fact, alternate versions of themselves from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series), a parallel universe. During the ensuing battle between The Purple Dragons and all eight Turtles, Hun is accidentally exposed to a powerful Mutagen and transformed into a monstrous Turtle. Both groups of Turtles escape.

The 2003 Turtles begin to realize how childish the 1987 Turtles are. When asked how they arrived, the 1987 Turtles refuse to explain what happened until after lunch. They enter a pizza place, only to terrify the citizens; unbeknownst to the 1987 Turtles, their 2003 counterparts have been operating in secret. When the police arrive and attempt to capture them, they sneak out the back, allowing the 2003 Turtles to capture them and take them to the 2003 Splinter. There, the 1987 Turtles explain that they were teleported from their world in a dimensional portal accident that has also brought their arch-enemy, Shredder and his rolling fortress, the Technodrome, along with them.

The eight Turtles head below ground to track down the Technodrome, but they draw the attention of the 1987 Shredder. Quickly putting the pieces together, the 1987 Shredder realizes that there may be a version of himself on this world that he can ally with to take the Turtles down. To buy himself some time, Shredder uses the Technodrome to escape from all eight Turtles and block the tunnel, barring them from following him. Unable to track the Technodrome, the 1987 Turtles resolve to create a portal device of their own so they can travel to their own universe, obtain "anti-technodrome gear", and return to destroy the Technodrome.

While the Turtles are occupied with this task, Shredder uses the Technodrome's technology to locate his dimensional counterpart, the Utrom known as Ch'rell (2003 Shredder), still in frozen exile on an icy asteroid after his final defeat by the 2003 Turtles (as seen in Exodus, Part 2). Ch'rell is teleported to the Technodrome, but upon being thawed out, immediately overthrows his bumbling other-self and seizes control of the Technodrome. He is aided by his adopted daughter, Karai, who had been monitoring his movements and tracked him down after realizing he had escaped his frozen prison.

Using Dimension X technology and Utrom science to create a new robotic exoskeleton for himself, Ch'rell dispatches the mutated Hun to track the Turtles down. With the aid of Bebop and Rocksteady, Hun finds and attacks the Turtles' lair, but the eight turtles complete their dimensional portal stick and escape to the 1987 universe. The 2003 Splinter is captured by Hun and brought before the Utrom Shredder to serve as bait in a trap. While the Turtles are gone, Ch'rell uses the dimensional equipment on the Technodrome and discovers that there are many parallel universes. He commands the computer to show them all to him.

Back in the 1987 universe, the 2003 Turtles meet the 1987 universe versions of April O'Neil and Splinter. The 2003 Turtles are welcomed as sons and feel a kindred bond with the 1987 Splinter. After both Donatellos apply their expertise, all eight Turtles are able to return to the 2003 universe with the anti-technodrome gear and the 1987 Turtles vehicles: the Party Wagon and Turtle Blimp. However, they discover that in their absence Ch'rell has fused the sciences of the Utroms and Dimension X to rebuild the Technodrome as a truly terrifying war machine, filled with legions of improved robotic Foot Soldiers and mutated Purple Dragons. Ch'rell uses this upgraded army to attack New York, luring all eight turtles to the Technodrome.

While Casey Jones and April attempt to repel the advancing onslaught, the Turtles enter the fortress to recover Splinter and fall into the trap. Ch'rell then reveals his master plan: While using the Technodrome to examine the multiverse, he has discovered that there are not just the Turtles of the 1987 world and the 2003 world, but scores of them from countless alternate dimensions. Knowing that the turtles of those dimensions would stand in his way to conquer those worlds, Ch'rell has decided to destroy them all by eliminating their counterparts in "Turtle Prime", the original universe from which all others come from.

Ch'rell scans the eight Turtles, each secured within cages, which in turn are part of an enormous spherical centrifuge-like device. Once he has located the base similarities between them that will pinpoint the location of Turtle Prime, he activates the process, seemingly disintegrating the brothers. Ch'rell then teleports the Technodrome away across the dimensions to Turtle Prime. It is then that the Turtles reappear, having been saved from oblivion by Karai, who has realized her father's insanity would also spell their own destruction.

With their world being erased around them as the Utrom Shredder's plan goes into motion, the Turtles realize that they need to upgrade their dimensional portal stick to follow Ch'rell to Turtle Prime. They break into Purple Dragon headquarters, where they are again attacked by Hun still seeking revenge for his mutation. However, when he sees what's happening to the world, Hun surrenders the upgrade tech just before he's erased. The Turtles accomplish their task, and are teleported to the Turtle Prime universe. They are attacked by the 1984 "Prime Turtles" who easily defeat them. The 1987 and 2003 Turtles eventually manage to convince the prime Turtles to work with them to stop Ch'rell.

The Prime Turtles lure Ch'rell out of the Technodrome by challenging his pride with taunts. Before he comes out, the Prime Turtles are challenged by the Shredder Prime, who is comically dispatched by the other Turtles from their hiding place. With the aid of Splinter, Karai, and even the 1987 Shredder and Krang, all twelve Turtles then engage Ch'rell in battle. Ch'rell then grows to massive height using molecular amplification technology from Dimension X and seems impervious to their attacks. When Ch'rell is accidentally clipped by the energy beam from the Technodrome, however, his armor is damaged.

All of the Turtles try to force him into the beam before it is abruptly cut off when Rocksteady trips over the power cable and unplugs it. Ch'rell takes this opportunity to grab the 1984 Turtles and begins crushing them. The world begins to fade just as the 2003 world did, but Ch'rell panics and hesitates when he notices that he too is fading. Karai attempts to appeal to her father, telling him that what he's trying to do will destroy them all, including him. Ch'rell briefly wavers, but resumes his assault, declaring that he will gladly sacrifice himself to wipe out all Turtles across the multiverse. At the last minute, the 1987 Turtles throw explosive throwing stars at Ch'rell's leg, causing him to trip and drop the 1984 Turtles. Undeterred, Ch'rell prepares to finish the job — until Bebop plugs the beam power cable back in and thus inadvertently obliterates Ch'rell.

With their foe defeated, the Turtles watch as their respective realities restore themselves. Splinter and Karai note that Ch'rell always returns no matter how he is defeated, but the various characters decide they'll be there to stop him whenever he may rise again. The 1987 characters take the Technodrome and return to their homeworld, while the 2003 characters use the portal stick to return to theirs. The Prime Turtles decide to go get some pizza to eat, as somewhere else, across time and space, Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman put the finishing touches on the first issue of Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, expressing the hope that the book will sell.

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Turtles Forever

• Official website from Mirage Studios
• 4Kids TV TMNT site
• Turtles Forever at the Internet Movie Database
• Turtles Forever review
• Turtles Forever Poster making of