When we first heard of Turtles Forever, we were in TMNT heaven. Then crushed, when it was taken away. But then happy again when it was brought back as a TV movie. Unfortunately, many folks missed the airing, and with no specific talk of a DVD or theatrical release, the special was thought to be lost. But, ah, the joy of the internet! Thanks to awesome video sites, and the caring upload of loyal fans, Turtles Forever now lives online, in an unedited director’s cut format. So now, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles actually are “forever”, as you can watch the entire special right here on ToonBarn! Check it out (more… )

In just another few hours, all of your Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dreams will be coming true — assuming you ever dreamed about every single version of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, Splinter, and April joining forces in a single presentation! Turtles Forever airs this morning, bringing together the current TMNT crew with the one from the 80s toon. It also ties in the original villains, like Beebop, Krang, and Rocksteady, the comics-based Mirage version of the turtles, every version you could imagine of the Shredder, and more! The special will air on the CW4Kids this morning, potentially later being released as a DVD under the new Nickelodeon deal. Cowabunga! Check out a special trailer (more… )

We first announced the Turtles Forever project about two months ago on ToonBarn; only weeks before we had to undo our news and announce it’s cancellation. If there was an opposite to “cowabunga” we’d use it there. But in the past few weeks, there has been some major good news for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which includes joining up with Nickelodeon. Now, the good news continues as we learn Turtles Forever is back on track! Only this time, it’s not fit for theaters: Turtles Forever will air on CW4Kids next weekend, on November 21st. Check out the new trailer (more… )

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles now have a new home. TMNT has long since been associated with The Mirage Group and 4Kids Entertainment, but those days are long gone as the boys are now headed to their new home at Viacom’s Nickelodeon. As part of the deal, the animated series will continue to air on CW4Kids through next summer, but future series will all be up to Nickelodeon — maybe even Turtles Forever. In addition to the toons, the deal also includes all toys, video games, clothes, accessories, etc. Nick has even already announced plans to develop a new CG animated TMNT series, hoping to hit Nickelodeon airwaves in 2010. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael … we’ll see you on the other side!

If you’re living in Japan, or at least have access to the Japanese Toei Channel (or Toei Channel HD) then you should soon be able to check out all 40 episodes of the animated series Kame Rider Dragon Knight. The Adness Entertainment series, which currently airs during the CW4Kids Saturday morning programming block, is based on Toei’s Kamen Rider Ryuki, a Japanese series that dates back about 35 years, and this will be the twelfth installment of the Kamen Rider series. Fans, globally, rejoice!

Dinosaur King has become King of the Trading Card Games in the UK!! …Well, OK, we got a little ahead of ourselves. It’s not “king”, but it is in the top three spot! All in less than a year’s time for the Upper Deck TCG. Natalie Hilton, the marketing manager at Upper Deck’s UK office, agreed with how cool this is, saying; “The growth of Dinosaur King Trading Card Game in the last 10 months has been amazing. We only launched the product in October of last year and we have already had to do reprints of some of the major sets due to demand. The success of the TV series has also been a real factor in this growth due the products being so intrinsically linked to the characters and the story lines.” The series, which airs on the CW 4Kids in the states, is moving on to Dino-sized success. Congrats, Max and the D-Team!

When we first reported the news that Chaotic was rolling out its own beverage, we thought it sounded a little … weird. I mean, sure, we’ve seen the cartoon, played the card game, own a few posters, etc. We’ve even seen Chaotic shirts and backpacks at the stores. But a cartoon drink was something we don’t think we’ve ever seen. Well, guess what — we still might not have! According to the blog What I Drink at Work, the Chaotic drink is actually just a Chaotic label wrapped around a different drink, called Awake. If you peel away the wrapper of the CW 4Kids show Chaotic, you see the Awake can inside. Is it a different drink? Are they just re-used cans? Stay TOONed right here for answers!

[Source: What I Drink at Work]

Tough times have been brewing in the world of 4Kids over the past few years. Last November, we reported that 4Kids was leaving the Fox network (and was being replaced by infomercials) In January, we saw the company reduce it’s employee count by 25%. Now, we’re hearing word that 4Kids is working with Montgomery & Co. to assist in a potential sale of the company. What the heck is going on!! Currently, 4Kids is the home of Chaotic, Sonic, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Winx Club, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Huntik, Dinosaur King, RollBots, Viva Pinata, and a number of other series. We’re not yet sure what’s going to happen to them — maybe they’ll be fine, maybe they’ll move to a different channel, etc. What would you like to see happen?