Nostalgia is an absolutely beautiful thing; any self respecting geek indulges every possible opportunity to experience a blast from the past. Many of us grew up with the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon from the 1980s; it’s become the standard by which we judge all subsequent adventures involving the reptilian martial artists. Luckily for fans of the original series, the iconic iteration of the Turtles from the 1980s will soon make their way to the contemporary world.
We have just learned that the cast of the 1980s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon will reprise their roles for an upcoming crossover event with Nickelodeon’s current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This means that Cam Clarke, Barry Gordon and Townsend Coleman will return to voice their iconic characters as they meet their contemporary counterparts – voiced by Seth Green, Sean Astin, and Greg Cipes. The only member of the cast performing double duty will be veteran voice actor Rob Paulsen, who has remained a consistent voice actor in the TMNT universe as Raphael in the 1980s and Donatello in the later version of the series.
The 1980s version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will travel to the contemporary, three-dimensional version of the TMNT universe in order to team up with their modern counterparts and take down multiple versions of the iconic villain Krang. If that doesn’t get you right in the childhood then I don’t know what will.
A brief but enticing clip from the upcoming episode – titled "Trans-Dimensional Turtles" – has also just hit the Internet (courtesy of IGN) which should be enough to get any longtime fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles excited for the upcoming crossover event. Check it out below to see for yourself:
Interdimensional travel has become an increasingly common trope in modern nerd culture. Aside from the Ninja Turtles, shows like The Flash and Supergirl have begun to add the multiverse theory into their narratives to enhance the storytelling. The beauty of this complex sci fi trope is that it allows iconic properties from years gone by to technically still exist within modern continuities of beloved characters. It’s this increasing prevalence that has all of us geeks hoping that Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen may one day meet John Wesley Ship’s version from the 1990s, or that Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen could somehow become acquainted with Justin Hartley’s iteration of the Emerald Archer from the Smallville universe.
We will keep you up to date with all of the latest and greatest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles information as it becomes available to us. This crossover event marks a major moment in the history of the characters, and will represent something that adults and kids alike won’t want to miss. “Trans-Dimensional Turtles” will air Sunday, March 27 at 11:00 a.m. EST on Nickelodeon.
