The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are quickly becoming a fan favorite in my home. I’ve been a fan since they were first introduced and have followed along with every incarnation of the franchise. The latest version of the Turtles is a show on Nickelodeon that is pretty fantastic. The show has great animation, humor and some incredible voice talent. The two more famous names that you are going to know are Jason Biggs and Sean Astin. They voice Leonardo and Raphael respectively. Also on the cast is the original voice of Raphael, Rob Paulsen, who is a master voice talent and who voices my favorite turtle, Donatello this time out. Rounding out the turtle team is Greg Cipes who voices Michelangelo.
While the show is great the toys for the show are some of the best I’ve ever seen for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The action figures are so well done and highly articulated. The Turtles can pose in so many stances and they come with great accessories. The role play gear is excellent as well. The masks and turtle shell are well made and fit comfortably. Then there are other show tie in toys are are worth mentioning like the Ninja Practice Pal Plush and the Puzzle that came in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Lunch Box. These are the toys that I received for the review. They are not the extent of my own personal collection which spreads out much wider. Thanks to Nickelodeon for gifting the following items!
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Be a Ninja Turtle Deluxe Mask was a hit with my daughter. She asked me if she could wear it around the house right away. At first I put it on wrong because I didn’t notice that there was red bandana material taped up to the sides of the mask head. Once I undid the tape the full bandana came out and could be tied around her head just like those that the Turtles wear around their heads. The mask is very detailed and looks great, I am glad we got Raphael as he is one of my favorites along with Donatello.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Be a Ninja Turtle Shell was a favorite for both of the kids. Both my six year old daughter and two year old son were able to wear it comfortably. The shell is nice and hard but fit the kids comfortably. There are adjustable straps to put it on their shoulders and also a velcro strap to go around their waists. The shell has two holsters that can be used with the Ninja Combat gear line of toys. These would include Leo’s Katana, Raph’s Sai, Donnie’s Bo and Mikey’s Nunchucks. The shell can also be used as a shield because there is an inner handle perfect for a kid’s hand.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Ninja Practice Pal Plush was my son’s favorite toy to play with. Once I turned on the sound effects he was all over the toy. He wasn’t banging it around and doing actual ninja moves or anything but he carried that plush Raphael all around the house and then occasionally would put it down on the floor and smack it on the shell to hear one of the over 10 phrases. He’d also body slam himself on top of it, but mostly he hugged the toy and carried it all around the house.
I was excited for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Lunch Box Puzzle because it came with a great looking lunch box. The puzzle is nice also and well made but the carrying case lunch box is something I can display and also carry food in, maybe some leftover pizza.
But, the thing that I was most excited for was another action figure. I love the whole line of figures from Playmates and completely geeked out over them while I attended Toy Fair last February. From the figures for the current show to classic figures there is something for every Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan. There are even some Turtles in Training figures that come two to a set. I bought both of those sets on my own for display.
The figure that I received for the review was Stealth Tech Donatello. Normally I am not a fan of special suits for figures. I like the figure as accurate as possible to the show’s character and that is about it. I did, however, like this figure and found it appropriate because Donatello is the smartest turtle, he’s a tech geek and he’d be the guy to come up with a suit like this. He’s also my favorite turtle and always has been for as long as I’ve enjoyed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The figure came with a bunch of Stealth Tech gear like Donnie’s Bo, a robot, a flip up visor with night vision goggles and a rappelling line. There was also some other item inside and I cannot find any information as to what it is. It looks like a black muffler for a car and there is no mention of it anywhere on the packaging. Mystery piece notwithstanding the figure is a really nice one and a welcome addition to my action figure collection.
Andrew “Drew” Bennett aka “BenSpark” became a blogger in 2003. Drew is the primary digital historian for his family. He creates movies from old photos, captures every family event on film, tape and now digitally. Preserving family history is important to him and he is passing that down to his kids. His Photo-A-Day project captures his daily life in photos and blog posts in his blog BenSpark.com. Drew has taken and posted over 2500+ consecutive photos over 7 straight years and shows no signs of stopping. Learn more about Drew here.
* Andrew received products to facilitate this holiday guide. This is not a sponsored post. This will in no way sway our opinion of the product or service. The review is in our own words and is our opinion. Your results and opinions may differ.
