TV DVD Review: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles": Volume Three

Rated: "For Ages 5 and Up" (manufacturer's advisory)
Starring: Cam Clarke, Townsend Coleman, and Renae Jacobs
Released: 1989 (original TV premieres) / 2005 (DVD)

Synopsis: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are in for their craziest adventures yet in this first part of their third season! Shredder and Krang have one scheme after another, and only the Turtles can put a stop to it! In these twelve episodes, the Turtles meet a robot from the future, April gets mistaken for a foreign princess, and the villainous Rat King uses mind control on the Turtles' sensei, Master Splinter! Can the Turtles save the day once again?

The Good: Maybe I'm just biased or a sucker for entertainment, but, I enjoyed these twelve episodes.  They blended action with comedy very well, and there was enough variety to keep things exciting.  Fans of the series or of the franchise in general know what to expect, and that's what they'll get here.  It's all rather cute and innocent, but, that's how I like my shows.

The Bad: As fun as this is, I did feel that April's outfits could have been more modest, and the closed captioning could have matched up better with what the characters were saying.  Those are minor complaints, though.

Content Concerns:

• Sex: Occasional flirting; nothing more. 4/5
• Nudity: April's usual outfit shows cleavage, and she and another woman are both also seen wearing an off-the-shoulder dress. 4/5
• Language: Name-calling, i.e., "morons," and mild euphemisms such as "gosh". 4/5
• Violence: Since these Turtles are ninjas, there's plenty of fantasy violence; however, the heroes seem to go out of their way to solve the problems without killing anyone.  (Spoiler: In the final episode, the main villains are still alive.)  No blood or gore is seen, and everything is presented in a light-hearted manner. 3/5
• Drugs: None. 5/5
• Frightening/Intense Scenes: Though these episodes are mostly light-hearted, some of the bad guys could be a bit scary for some kids. 4/5
• Other: A bit of crude humor (i.e., burping). 4/5

Conclusion: My family tells me I was a fan of this franchise as a kid, but, that was so long ago, I don't really remember it.  What I do know is that a random purchase of a DVD of the 2003 version of the Turtles led to me discovering superhero cartoons in general, ranging from Batman: The Animated Series to '90's Marvel fare such as Fantastic Four or Iron Man.  So, that may make me a bit biased, but, I still enjoyed these twelve episodes.  If you like the animated versions of Superman or Spider-Man, you should check these Turtles out; you'll probably be glad that you did.

Score: 4.5/5