Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie is the latest addition to the TMNT franchise, and the Netflix animated film is actually connected with the 2018 show Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Having spanned through live-action movies, live-action shows, and several animated entries ever since its inception in the comics, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has some of the oldest and richest canons in pop culture history. As such, it can be difficult for new audiences to keep track of all the releases and of how new installments like Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie connect with previous media.
The first TMNT movie since Batman Vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie places audiences right in the middle of the action as Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Casey Jones fight for survival. The post-apocalyptic New York shown in the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie opening sequence serves as the starting point of a time travel story as Casey Jones is sent two decades into the past to try to stop the Kraang from taking over the world, similar to time travel superhero movies like Avengers: Endgame and X-Men: Days of Future Past,
While Netflix’s Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie is a brand new TMNT film, that particular iteration of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has existed since 2018 – including the cast, the art style, and the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles title. That is because the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie is a sequel to the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, which premiered in 2018 and ran for two seasons. Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles season 3 never happened, but, as teased in the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ finale, a movie featuring that iteration of the Ninja Turtles was eventually produced. However, instead of airing on TV as just an extension of the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie was distributed globally by Netflix as its own thing.
Do You Have To Watch The Rise The Of The TMNT Turtles Show Before The Netflix Movie?
No, it is not necessary to watch the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show before watching Netflix’s Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie. The Netflix Ninja Turtles movie works perfectly fine as a standalone entry, especially if the viewer is already familiar with characters like the Turtles, Master Splinter, and April O’Neil. That said, the Netflix Ninja Turtles movie does avoid recapping what happened in the show, which might raise a few questions for those who haven’t seen Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. For example, audiences might wonder why the Ninja Turtles have magical powers in the new Netflix movie. The answer is that magical training was a big part of the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show. Another question viewers might have is why Casey Jones is from the future and not an old friend of the Turtles. That is because the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show introduces Cassandra Jones as a new version of the vigilante, with Casey Jones now revealed as her son.
It’s not required to watch the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show before watching Netflix’s Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie, but it does add to the experience. Compared to other Ninja Turtles movies, Netflix’s new Ninja Turtles film brings a lot of new concepts. However, most of those had already been introduced in the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show.