It seems fairly obvious now that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was one of those franchises that came out of seemingly nowhere and caught the collective world at large unaware. For better or worse, it's a series that has endured to this very day (in fact, at the time of this blog's writing, the fourth incarnation of the animated franchise is alive and well).
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV Series)
1987-1997 / 193 Episodes
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)
2003-2010/ 156 Episodes
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 TV series)
2012-2017/ 124 Episodes
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2018 TV Series)
2018-Present/ 29 Episodes
TMNT itself hasn't been without its duds throughout the years (just look at some of the horrible live-action movies or even some of the episodes of the original animated series)... Yet still, these pizza eating, weapon wielding reptiles gained our hearts and imaginations for the better part of 4-decades now. Can you say staying power?
Well back in the late 1980s/ early 90s mutated and anthropomorphic superheroes became all the rage both on the airwaves and on toy shelves. In this blog post, we'll take a look back at some of those that endured if even only in the halls of our memories. Some were good, some were bad, some were weird and some really did everything they could to grab a piece of the pie TMNT created while offering absolutely no apologies for doing so.
We look at the top 22 of these and rank them in terms of things like popularity, originality (sometimes less is more here) and enduring memory value.
#22) Fish Police
Fish Police was an animated television series from Hanna-Barbera based on the comic book series created by Steve Moncuse. It first aired on CBS in 1992 and consisted of 6 episodes over one season. After only three episodes aired, the show was pulled after tumbling in the television ratings. The remaining 3 episodes never aired in the United States, though the entire series did run in European syndication.
Summary:
Beneath the ocean, a fish named Inspector Gil works for his police department under Chief Abalone. He solves the various crimes in his city while tangling with Biscotti Calamari.
#21) Barnyard Commandos
Having the distinction of being produced by none other than TMNT's Fred Wolf, Barnyard Commandos was a short-lived animated series (and toy line from Playmates) that attempted to answer the question: What would happen if one were to combine military action with a farm setting? The answer, it turns out, is nothing too enduring. The show hit airwaves in Sept 1990 and lasted only 4 episodes. The toys, however, were a bit more successful.
Summary:
The property is based on the concept of farm animals who consumed radioactive materials left over from an abandoned military experiment, mutating them into hyper-intelligent, anthropomorphic paramilitary troops. The end result is two "hilariously harmless" opposing factions: the R.A.M.S. (Rebel Army of Military Sheep) and the P.O.R.K.S. (Platoon of Rebel Killer Swine).
#20) Earthworm Jim
As the show’s theme song informed us, “Jim was just a dirt-eating, chewing length of worm.” But when a special “supersuit” fell from outer space, literally on top of him, Jim knew his days of eating dirt and dodging early birds were through.
The animated version of Earthworm Jim, based on the popular video game of the same name, debuted on the WB Network in 1995 and lasted two seasons (23 episodes).
Summary:
Episodes begin with Earthworm Jim and Peter Puppy in some peril that has nothing to do with the main plot or the previous episodes, with little explanation of how they got into the mess. In between parts (generally before or after the commercial break), there is a short side-story, generally featuring one of the villains doing a more natural part of life, usually without any involvement from Jim. These can range from Psy-Crow going through a career change, Evil the Cat disguising himself as a movie star in order to make his plans known to the world, or Professor Monkey-For-A-Head attending group therapy and always ending with "and now, back to Earthworm Jim." The end of every episode involves Jim or any other character being crushed by a cow.
#19) Samurai Pizza Cats
As far as titles alone go, one would suspect Samurai Pizza Cats to be the biggest ripoff of the TMNT Universe but surprisingly, the actual show hailed from Japan and had more in common with contemporary English-dubbed anime entries than it did domestic imitation. It aired in Feb of 1990 and lasted a whopping 54 episodes.
Summary:
Set in the mechanical city of Edoropolis, a mechanical city which fuses feudal Japanese culture with 1990s culture, populated by cybernetic anthropomorphic "animaloids", or animal androids, the services of Speedy Cerviche, Polly Esther, and Guido Anchovy, three cyborg cat ninjas (samurai in the dub) who work in the city's pizzeria, are enlisted to fight crime.
#18) The Avenger Penguins
Hey, nobody said TMNT imitation was strictly a North American affair and the UK's 1993 series Avenger Penguins is living proof. Running 2 seasons for a total of 26 episodes, the story revolved around a trio of motorcycle-riding penguins that inhabit Big City, uniting to protect it and its citizens from the evil Caractacus P. Doom, an insane and reclusive criminal scientist.
Remarkably, the show's closest American counterpart was actually Biker Mice From Mars though, because the shows aired simultaneously on opposite sides of the globe, the similarities are chalked up as being strictly coincidental.
While the show received very little domestic attention, it was noteworthy as being the last Cosgrove Hall cartoon (known for such works as Danger Mouse and Count Duckula) to be animated using hand painted animation cels, as all 2D animated series from the studio thereafter would use computers for the ink and paint process; with the animation drawings scanned and then digitally colored.
Summary:
Like most anthropomorphic hero groups, The Penguins attempt to prevent Doom's schemes but often found themselves hampered by their own miscommunication and occasional altercations with rival biker gangs infesting Big City, such as the canine Stink Brothers.
#17) CYBOARS
If ever there were a franchise that could be accused of making all the right moves but somehow staying below the planet's collective radar, it would have to be the Cyboars. These guys began life like most anthropomorphic teams do; as a comic in the mid-90s, went on to earn an action figure line, then a five-episode HD CGI mini-series, which was then quickly followed (2011) by 26 additional high-def CGI episodes. Not bad at all!
The trouble is that the series never aired on broadcast television nor did it receive a DVD release. As such, the only way to view it has been to order it through the Kabillion animation catalog or to dig up episodes online. The official site yet maintains working links to many of the episodes.
The story tells of The Cyboars; pig-like humanoids who come from the other side of the galaxy – specifically the planet Stygor. Originally known as the Wylde Pack, these five rebels were a lone symbol of resistance against the Bytrons; a bull-like race who'd conquered their home world. Now the Cyboars, while attempting to protect mankind from the horrors of interstellar war, must find a way back to Stygor with their new cybernetic technology before the Bytrons.
16) Heroes of Goo Jit Zu
2019’s Heroes of Goo Jit Zu is another animated entry developed to market a popular toyline; this one being the Stretch Armstrong-esque Heroes of Goo Jit Zu. As the name suggests, the toy line is known for its stretchability and the show integrates this gimmick with mutated, jujitsu-practicing anthropomorphic zoo animals with skeletons seemingly of rubber.
Despite consistently decent ratings on meta sites, the show has only a single 7 episode season to its credit. A cheap animation style and heavy slant toward comedy make this one a hit with the younger crowd and a staple among streaming networks.
Summary:
After a meteor crash, a group of zoo animals transforms into squishy, gooey and stretchy superheroes with special powers and soon takes on evildoers.
#15) Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles
2022’s CGI-animated Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles boasts the distinction of having been built upon the mythos of a character that, altogether initially completely distinct, ended up becoming integrated into TMNT canon.
Usagi Yojimbo was the star of a comic book series of the same name by Stan Sakai about anthropomorphic Edo-Japanese culture that would eventually become a recurring character in the 1987, 2003 and 2012 TMNT series, appear in the Turtles comics and receive action figures in the respective lines.
Produced by Netflix Animation, Atomic Monster Productions, Dark Horse Entertainment and Gaumont Animation, Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles currently consists of two 10-episode seasons.
Unlike the source material (and TMNT character), The Usagi Chronicles takes place in the far future and centers on rabbit teenager Yuichi, who is the descendant of Usagi Yojimbo.
Summary:
Rabbit teenager Yuichi, descendant of legendary Miyamoto Usagi, and his group of eccentric companions (Gen, Kitsune and Chizu) defend the city of Neo Edo from the menace of Kagehito and the Yokai.
14) Kung-Fu Dino Posse
In 2009, just as the 2003 incarnation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle series was coming to an end, the world was introduced to but another dinosaur-themed take on the anthropomorphic crime-fighting hero group (the first being the Adventures of T-Rex followed by our #3 pick on the last post, Extreme Dinosaurs).
Running 2-seasons for a total of 60 episodes, the Kung Fu Dino Posse actually originated in the UK, was animated in Asia and aired globally (through Starz here in the US).
The show may actually boast one of the most similar titles to the TMNT (tied with our #19 pick, The Samurai Pizza Cats), its presentation is actually quite a bit different: Never mind scientific explanations or ongoing plot threads, the KFDP is all about bright visuals, loads of gags and pop-culture references.
The backstory, or at least what passes for one here states that the evil Skor has thawed out and now its up to the Kung Fu Dino Posse to stop him and his bumbling brother from discovering the magical gems hidden throughout the big city. Yeah, it isn't exactly atom-splitting scientific or literary genius in animated form but it's chock full of laughs and is still occupying airtime in reruns.
13) Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys
Premiering on Sept 7, 1996 and ending after 26 episodes (June 21, 1997), the show was produced by Hallmark Entertainment, Monkeyshine Productions Inc, and distributed by Bohbot Entertainment and aired as part of a syndicated animation block known as Amazin' Adventures, later known as BKN.Perhaps closest in tone and delivery to another entrant on our list (Bucky O'Hare), Captain Simian served to remind that there was plenty of storytelling potential for anthropomorphic animals both on planet earth and into the stars beyond.
During the monkey-manned spaceflights of the 1960s, one rocket veered off course, sending a chimp named Charlie off into the outer reaches of space. After many years, Charlie’s craft was discovered by the most intelligent race in the universe.
Charlie was given enhanced intelligence, weapons, and futuristic technology, along with a charge to protect the universe from a half-human, half-black hole called Lord Nebula.
#12) Road Rovers
Written and produced by Warner Brothers, Road Rovers came on the scene in 1996 and introduced us to the concept of cano-sapiens. The show blended action with comedy and lasted a full season (13 episodes).
The series ended up being the second highest-rated show that Warner Bros was airing at the time (behind Superman: The Animated Series).
A multi-region DVD of the entire series was released on Feb 10, 2015.
Summary:
Five dogs from around the world arrive to a secret underground lab where a scientist known only as "the Master" uses a device called the transdogmifier to turn the canines into "cano-sapiens" look like normal clothed humans except that they have retained all the trademark aspects of the dogs they came from, such as a tail, fur, distinctive ears and head, etc. Their personality before the transformation also remains intact.
When not fighting crime, they revert back to their original dog form and reside in the homes of the leaders of their country of origin.
#11) SWAT Kats The Radical Squadron
You didn't think Hanna-Barbera was going to sit idly while all of the other animation houses in the world got rich off this superhero animal business did you? Their most successful entry to the foray was titled SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron and came on the scene in 1993 and lasted 2-seasons (24 episodes).
The show originally premiered and ran on the syndication block The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera as well as TBS Superstation (as a part of the Sunday Morning In Front Of The TV block) from 1993 to 1995.
On Dec 14 2010, Warner Archive released SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron- The Complete Series Collection on DVD as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.
The show re-aired on Cartoon Network throughout the 1990s, and later on Boomerang until 2013. In a rare showing of fan dedication, a revival of the series was funded via Kickstarter, which ended with over $140,000 in funds, guaranteeing new SWAT Kats animation for the first time in over two decades. However, the series had no further announcements after the Kickstarter and has yet to be picked up by Cartoon Network.
Chance "T-Bone" Furlong and Jake "Razor" Clawson were members of Megakat City's paramilitary law enforcement agency, known as the Enforcers. When corruption threatens the Enforcers, the pair commence to patroling Megakat City as the SWAT Kats, defending it against any kind of menace. Their enemies included the criminal mastermind Dark Kat; the undead sorcerer The Pastmaster; the mutant evil genius Doctor Viper; and the robotic gangsters the Metallikats. The SWAT Kats also faced many villains of the week, such as Madkat and Volcanus.
#10) Stone Protectors
Stone Protectors is a British/American/French multimedia entertainment property consisting primarily of an action figure line and the animated series that ran for a single (13-episode) season in 1993.
While similarities are apparent in the animated incarnation, perhaps the greater connection was derived in the form of the toys, which, though inspired by the long-standing troll doll trend, were remarkably similar in look and size to the TMNT action figure line.
Summary:
Empress Opal of Mythrandir splits the legendary Great Crystal into six pieces to keep it out of Zok's hands. Zok manages to capture one piece, but the other five bond with the future Stone Protectors, whisking them away to Mythrandir to help Opal upset Zok's schemes and spread a sentiment of peace and freedom with their music.
#9) Adventures of T-Rex
Lasting only a single (52-episode) season and airing directly into syndication in the United States from 1992-1993, The Adventures of T-Rex was truly a global collaboration (American/Japanese co-production between DIC and anime production house Kitty Film) that could certainly be called unique.
The show centered on five musical Tyrannosaurus-Rex brothers, set in a world of anthropomorphic dinosaurs, who performed as a vaudeville act for the Dragon Company while also secretly fighting crime as "T-REX": A vigilante group masterminded by one Professor Edison.
The group would ride out on their Rexmobile each episode to battle “Big Boss” Graves, crime kingpin of Rep City (the show's setting), and his evil organization, The Corporation. Kid sister Ginger was also a part of the singing group but didn't know about her brothers’ secret identities.
Not unlike the TMNT themselves, the crime-fighting reptilian brothers were identifiable by their accessory colors of choice: Bernie (blue), Bruno (pink), Bubba (green), Buck (yellow) and Bugsy (purple). However, not having been trained by a Ninja master, the T-Rex boys were born with special powers to help fight crime and each power was related to a specific part of their anatomy: Bernie's legs, Bruno's arms, Bubba's tail, Buck's mouth and teeth, and Bugsy's telekinetic eyes.
#8) Creepy Crawlers
The Creepy Crawlers TV Show was based on ToyMax's Creepy Crawlers Activity toy. A line of 12 action figures were made by ToyMax in conjunction with the show. It ran in syndication from 1994-1996 for a total 23 episodes.
The show was produced by Saban Entertainment, known for their Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, VR Troopers and other live-action adventure programs.
Summary:
The show centers on Chris Carter, a self-described "normal kid" who works at the Magic Shop of bitter discredited stage illusionist Professor Googengrim. Chris designed and built a device he called "The Magic Maker", ostensibly for use in some unspecified magic trick.
A particular once-every-thousand-years planetary alignment, the Magical Millennium Moment, deposited cosmic rays upon the shop one fateful night, which somehow made the Magic Maker capable of creating strange, man-sized bug/magic trick composite mutant creatures. The three creatures formed that night, Hocus Locust, Volt Jolt and T-3 (dubbed the "Goop-Mandos" by Googengrime), despite looking bizarre, turned out to be friendly, and joined forces with Chris.
Googengrime kept the Magic Maker when Chris and the Goop-Mandos escaped from the shop. Each episode thereafter concerned Googengrime's latest attempt to gain power and conquer the world with a Magic Maker-created "Crime Grime" monster, and Chris and The Goop-Mandos' efforts to stop him and retrieve the Magic Maker from his evil clutches.
#7) Bucky O’Hare
Though having been born back in 1978 in comic book trim, Bucky O'Hare is another property that benefited by the globe's sudden passion for butt-kicking animals and experienced a massive resurgence in the early 90s. The franchise earned an animated series, video games and toys (made from Playmates- the company responsible for the TMNT toys as well as the Toxic Crusaders line) in 1991. While it's easy to draw parallels to the TMNT's style and tone, Bucky O'Hare actually more closely resembled a space opera than a kung-fu film in terms of plot structure.
Summary:
The storyline of Bucky O'Hare follows a parallel universe (the Aniverse), where a war is ongoing between the slightly inept United Animals Federation (run by mammals) and the sinister Toad Empire. The Toad Empire is led by a vast computer system known as KOMPLEX, which has brainwashed the toad population.
6) Swamp Thing
When it comes to flesh-altering mutations, DC comics reminded us all that you could literally morph with the very world around us. Enjoying a massive following in all sorts of media (comics, live-action films, a live-action series, toys, video games and an animated series), Swamp Thing is arguably the second most successful franchise on this list (behind TMNT itself).
The cartoon hit the scene in Oct 1990 and, sadly, lasted only 5 episodes. It did however feature one of the most addicting intro songs in history.
Through a chemical accident, evil Anton Arcane takes the role of the main villain responsible for Alec Holland's transformation into the living plant creature Swamp Thing. With his two human friends,Tomahawk and Bayou Jack, Swamp Thing battles Arcane's mutated Unmen and attempts to rid the swamp of the toxins introduced there.
#5) Toxic Crusaders
Based loosely on the cult indie Toxic Avenger films, Toxic Crusaders mixed and matched popular genres at the time to create a unique kid-friendly series (with some environmentally-friendly themes scattered about). The show hit airwaves in 1991 and lasted one full season (13 episodes). Perhaps it is best remembered for writing that appealed to mature viewers as well as children alike.
It is best known these days for following the TMNT template for success and, despite making all of the right moves, failing to ignite the collective public's interest like its predecessor. The show was produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson (just like TMNT) and released with a corresponding toy line from Playmates that weren't simply compatible with its TMNT line of figures, but even shared some common manufacturing molds.
Melvin Junko, a scrawny nerd who, through exposure to toxic waste, is mutated into a “hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength. Underneath his rough and deformed appearance though, "Toxie" is a good guy at heart and, with the help of his ragtag group of mutants, goes after a horde of pollution-happy villains in effort to clean up fictitious city Tromaville.
#4) Wild West C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa
This one here actually boasts having been created by TMNT comic book artist Ryan Brown. It came to the airwaves in Sept of 1992 and went a full 2-season (26-episodes). It aired as part of ABC's Saturday morning lineup.
It was produced by Greengrass Productions and Mini Mountain Productions in association with King World Productions and Flextech Television and animated by Gunther-Wahl Productions for its first season, and Ruby-Spears Enterprises for its second season.
Its departure in 1993 would not be the end, however as, the show returned in reruns on Toon Disney from 1998 to 2001.
An irradiated meteor struck the late 19th century Western plains creating a miles high mesa shrouded in clouds. Everything trapped on top of the mesa was "cow-metized" by the light from the "cow-met" and evolved into a bovipomorphic state. Inspired by old tales of the Wild West, this new bovine community developed to the point where they emulated that era's way of life, including the requisite ruffians and corrupt sheriffs. However, their knowledge of Wild West living was limited, and as such, many things about their culture had to be improvised to 'fill in the blanks'. The concepts of steampunk and Weird West were utilized throughout its run.
#3) Extreme Dinosaurs
Boasting the absolutely unlikely distinction of being a spin-off of another entry (our #1 spot for this list no less), Extreme Dinosaurs attempted to prove the point once and for all that in those days, putting the word "extreme" into anything automatically made it cool.
The show came on the scene in 1997 and lasted a single season comprised of a whopping 52 episodes.
Summary:
A Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and a Pteranodon are thawed out and transformed into super warriors by an inter-dimensional criminal. They rebel against this alien criminal and do battle with his second group of raised warriors, the evil dromaeosaurs (raptors). Eventually, the evil dinosaurs' objective shifts to cause global warming so as to make the climate on earth more comfortable for reptiles.
#2) Biker Mice From Mars
Having been designed to get the world at large to forget about the Ninja Turtles, if even only temporarily, Biker Mice From Mars is generally considered a successful diversion. In fact, the show actually spawned two incarnations bearing the same name - the original series ran from 1993 to 1996 and consisted of 65 episodes. In 2006 a revised variation appeared with updated art, characters, concepts and writing. The revival lasted another 26 episodes.
On the planet Mars, there once existed a flourishing race of anthropomorphic mice, who enjoyed a very similar culture and society to that of Earth's human beings. Warring over time, the race was all but wiped out by the Plutarkians, an alien race of obese, foul-smelling, fish-like humanoids who exploit other planets for natural resources.
Three survivors, Throttle, Modo and Vinnie, manage to find a spaceship and escape the Plutarkian takeover but they are soon shot down by a Plutarkian warship and end up crash-landing on Earth in the city of Chicago. There they meet a charming female mechanic named Charlene "Charley" Davidson and begin preparing for all-out war once they discover that the Plutarkians have come to Earth to steal its natural resources.
#1) Street Sharks
And finally we come to the # 1 spot; to the program that earns our unwavering respect for telling the world, "Hey we are emulating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and we don't care who knows it". DIC entertainment, often jokingly known as "Do-It-Cheap" in the industry, had unleashed their own take of mutated human/ animals to the scene in 1994. It ran 3-seasons for a total of 40-episodes but also managed to spawn a spin-off show- our # 3 entry: Extreme Dinosaurs in the process (which lasted an additional 52 episodes).
Some of its now famous jabs at the ninjitsu-practicing reptiles that inspired their creation in the first place included lead characters with a disdain for pizza, instead preferring burgers. And never mind cowabunga, the Sharks had their own take on the overused adjective "awesome"- jawsome!
Summary:
A university professor named Dr. Paradigm tested his gene-manipulation techniques on a marlin and a lobster. Dr. Bolton, a fellow professor, attempted to destroy Paradigm's research and was transformed into an inhuman monstrosity by the evil scientist before escaping. Paradigm later kidnapped Bolton's four sons—John, Bobby, Coop, and Clint—to transform them into sharks.
The now mutated brothers teamed up every episode to stop Paradigm and his deadly Seaviates from transforming the citizens of Fission City into mutants with no free will.
