TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is an animated action comedy series on Paramount+. After being welcomed as heroes to the city of New York, the four Ninja Turtles crash an after-school party. They are then intercepted by Bishop, a mad scientist determined to wipe out mutants. Bishop unleashes an army of robots and forces the turtles to make a hasty retreat. With the team separated in different parts of the city, each turtle must fend for himself. Can the turtles save their home in time?

TALES OF TMNT is set directly after the events of TMNT: MUTANT MAYHEM, the 3D animated action movie from 2023 (previously covered by MOVIEGUIDE®). TALES retains the same voice cast, irreverent humor, and general art direction of the movie. However, the movie is NOT required for understanding the show.

TALES OF TMNT’s first season is a linear twelve episode narrative. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael, the four adolescent Ninja Turtles, have rescued New York City from the brink of destruction. Recently, the team has also enrolled at a public high school.

As the turtles make their way to an afterschool party, they are ambushed by Bishop, a mad scientist fueled by her hatred against all mutant life. Bishop’s “Mechazoid” robots overpower the heroes and force the team to split up. The Mechazoids begin their manhunt across the city. The first three episodes chronicle each turtle having to fight on his own.

In Episode One, “Leonardo Stands Alone,” Leonardo searches for his human reporter friend, April O’Neil. Leo, the leader with the blue bandana, mopes over his failure to keep his brothers safe. With the help of April’s intuition and smarts, Leo regains his confidence and is able to defeat his robotic foe. With the entire cast owning smartphones, Leo and April are able to pinpoint the rough location of the remaining turtles.

Episode One is a great introduction to TALES OF TMNT. It delivers clever set-ups, character interactions, and exciting fight choreography. TALES’ greatest strength is its voice acting. The actors from the MUTANT MAYHEM movie reprise their roles as the four mutant brothers. The Ninja Turtles don’t always get along, but they share a genuine bond as brothers. The four voice actors share a genuine chemistry that’s rare for programs of this genre.

In Episode Two, “Mikey Does the Right Thing,” Michelangelo bumps into Rod, Bishop’s scientist intern obsessed with studying mutations. Mikey, the jokester with orange highlights, convinces Rod to divulge info regarding Bishop’s operations. Rod accepts the offer, only on the condition that Mikey injects his mutant blood into Rod’s body. The turtle and intern duo break into Central Park Zoo to perform the transfer, but they’re interrupted by mutant animals and a Mechazoid. In the end, Mikey stops the blood transfusion and convinces Rod to fully turn on his master.

Episode Two isn’t as tightly written as the first episode but makes up for it with TALES’ brilliant action scenes. The fight scenes in TALES are fluid, dynamic and well-choreographed. The show uses a wide variety of angles and unique “gimmicks” for each fight. In Episode Two, Mikey discovers that the animals at Central Park Zoo have mutated limbs and abilities. Mikey uses a bear and a bird with human-sized limbs to outwit the Mechazoid.

In Episode Three, “Raphael Thinks It Through,” Raphael is badly injured from Bishop’s initial ambush. He’s then captured by the Purple Dragons, a street gang who raises mutant chickens. Raph, the physically strong turtle with the red bandana, tries to “smack talk” his way out of imprisonment.

However, Raph learns to empathize with Hun, the gang’s muscle who cares for the chickens. When the Mechazoid attacks the warehouse, Raph drops his insults, saves Hun from the robot, and convinces the gang and their chickens to defeat the intruder. At the end, Hun allows Raph to roam free.

Episode Three is the weakest part of the first three episodes. It has a novel concept of Raphael interacting with a gang selling genetically mutated chickens. However, half the episode is Raph throwing insults to the gang members. The episode relies heavily on pop culture references and wordplay, but this episode goes into “overload” territory. The payoff of Raph getting on Hun’s good side is a nice touch, but it’s not enough to pardon the overbearing dialogue.

In terms of worldview, the first three episodes of TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES offers strong moral messages. The Ninja Turtles are immature teenagers who learn to overcome their hubris and self-doubt. They have a strong father figure in their mentor, Splinter. The heroes also share a strong brotherly bond. They also convince two minor villains to reconsider their ways and repent. Finally, they vow to protect animals who suffered from various mutations.

However, viewers should take note of the strong cartoon violence and “drug” undertone. There is no gore, but the series features frequent use of weapons, punches and other physical moves. The robot characters are beheaded, dismembered and destroyed in over-the-top fashion.

Moreover, the three episodes openly discuss the “ooze” or medical serum that transformed the four heroes from normal turtles to highly skilled warriors. The villains often seek out the “ooze” serum. In Episode Two, a minor villain wants to inject Michelangelo’s “super blood” into his body for selfish gain. In the same episode, the villains experiment on zoo animals, injecting them with a serum developed from the ooze that transformed the turtles into mutants. This results in birds and tigers having grotesque proportions and features. TALES OF TMNT condemns these illegal “drug” experiments, but it should be noted for sensitive viewers.

The first three episodes of TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES feature spectacular animation and fluid choreography. They also include a strong brotherly bond, heroism and learning to overcome one’s personal flaws. The action choreography isn’t as fluid as the MUTANT MAYHEM movie, but the series manages to make the most of its TV budget.

The first three episodes of TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES also feature intense action violence, rowdy behavior and scenes with grotesque mutant animals. Moreover, they’re heavy on pop culture references and lightly irreverent humor.