Peter Laird

Distinctly different from the grim, violent, and dark MIRAGE comics from which the Turtles originated, this version of the franchise has remained the longest running, and most memorable, version of all. Four turtles fall into the sewers and are befriended by Hamato Yoshi a Japanese man sent to New York who was forced to live in the sewers. One day he sees a strange green glow which transforms the four turtles into human-like creatures. Hamato (now Master Splinter) changes into a giant rat from the green glow and teaches the turtles the skills of the ninja as they team up with Channel 6 news reporter April O'Neil to battle against Yoshi's arch enemy Shredder and Krang, an alien warlord from Dimension X.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series, mainly set in New York City. It first aired on February 8, 2003 and ended on February 28, 2009. The series marked the revival of the franchise as a Saturday morning cartoon on Fox's Fox Box programming block The TMNT 2003 TV series was produced by 4Kids Entertainment, and Mirage Studios, which each owned half of the rights to the show, and animated by Dong Woo Animation. Reruns ran on Cartoon Network's Miguzi block in 2004. The series migrated to The CW4Kids in its final season after 4Kids's contract with Fox ended. Nickelodeon now owns the rights to this and any future Turtles series.