"This is Mikey. He's the second best warrior ever. And a genius and stuff."
When Nick first began promoting its newTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, I was one of the many fans concerned that it would be geared purely towards kids and not care about producing a quality show for both new and older fans. We're now into Season 3 and just about every single episode has proven that initial fear wrong. Just one of the many appealing parts of this show is how it gives so much love to other franchises. It tends to focus on iconic horror movies, classic cartoons, and sometimes even fantasy, but this latest episode, "The Croaking," does something completely unexpected. Did you ever think you'd see an episode of TMNT that feels like, "What if Napoleon Dynamite was in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?" Probably not, right? Well, here it is and it's so much fun.
Jon Heder voices Napoleon Bonafrog and his role is 150% a love letter to Napoleon Dynamite. They completely celebrate the movie character's personality and watching him interact with Mikey is so amusing; it's filled with dialogue and interactions that'll keep you smiling. As if that dynamic wasn't enough, the episode opens with Mikey hanging out with Ice Cream Kitty, a character who still remains beyond adorable and lovable (when are we getting an Ice Cream Kitty figure?). The best part is it's not just blatantly going, "Look! There's Ice Cream Kitty again! Cute, right?" If you watched cartoons when you were younger (and odds are you did), you likely remember pretending to be your favorite heroes and copying whatever they did in the episode. That's exactly what happens here and, while is funny, it's also pretty heartwarming because it calls back to such happier and simpler times. It's something we can all relate to. I know I sometimes pretended to be a Ninja Turtle when I was really young, and now I'm witnessing Mikey -- a mutant ninja -- pretending to be a blatant parody of Thundarr The Barbarian. How crazy and amazing is that? Answer: Very.
The punk supporting frogs are equally amusing. Genghis, Attila, and Rasputin the Mad Frog? They fully embrace the absurdity of the situation and go over-the-top with it. Where else could you possibly hear Heder, in his Napoleon voice, say, "Yes! In your face Rasputin!" From Rasputin questioning why turtles have shells to Genghis using a giant horn to talk while blatantly disregarding how his frogs are struggling to hold it up, the time spent with these mutated amphibians is humorous and the voice actors seem to really revel in all the silliness.
A bunch of mutant frogs vs. the heroes in a half shell, Casey Jones and April O'Neil? Yup, it's as fun as it sounds. The action may not be jaw-dropping like some of the other sequences the show has produced, but it's still a blast and there's some good shots which really sell the speed behind the attacks. There's an especially great one of Leonardo countering a frog as they plummet towards the surface. Bonus points for having April hold her own for a short period of time as well. It's nice to see all of that training with Master Splinter has actually produced some *ahem* pretty sweet ninja moves.
The word "filler" has a pretty negative connotation. What's the saying again? It's about the journey, not the destination, right? You could have an episode that doesn't progress the story at all and it could still be a way better experience than something that focuses purely on pushing the story forward. So, when TMNT focuses on something that's clearly just for fun, I try to take it for what it is and do my best to enjoy the ride. However, as delightful as this episode may be, its main arc for Mikey is a road we've been down many times before and odds are you'll think the plot's pretty predictable. Pretty much the whole point of "Into Dimension X" was to show Mikey isn't just some silly and immature screw up and his brothers need to give him more love and respect. That's the main point here again. They toss a little bit of a deeper message in there about humanity's actions against nature and how not all humans are evil, but at the end of the day, this one's all about the laughs and action. It's not necessarily a "bad" thing; just don't expect the same kind of emotion (one hug aside!) or plot twists you've seen from other episodes.
Minor gripe: Does anyone else find it odd there's a massive tree -- like, the one from James Cameron's Avatar -- and no one has noticed mutants are inhabiting it? A little hard to believe Donnie never spotted it (it looks like you'd be able to see that thing miles away), but again, it's a minor point and doesn't impact the score at all. We are talking about a franchise that has mutants fighting in the streets of New York, after all.
Yes, "The Croaking" technically doesn't move the story forward or give any strong insight into any of the lead characters, but, thanks to non-stop comedy and some really entertaining action sequences, it's still a hilarious episode that's full of fun and kept me grinning pretty much the entire time. Oh, and how funny is it that they took at jab at the latest movie's character designs?
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