BRIEF STORYLINE: Shredder has a new and simple plan, create a mutant army against the turtles. Himself and Krang create more mutagen, but a storm brews in Dimension X, and one canister of mutagen ends up in a Florida swamp rather than New York City. Shredder has to go to Florida, whatever creatures might lurk there now. He comes across a gang of four mutant frogs. He sees them as becoming great fighters and recruits them to terrorize the turtles back in New York.
In the meantime, April alerts of the turtles of these brand new, perhaps dangerous mutants. The TMNT try to head for Florida before the frog mutants can do any damage in New York, but suddenly they are attacked by Bebop and Rocksteady!
Shredder has the privilege to name the 4 mutant frogs. He names him after his favourite dictators, Attila the Frog, Genghis Frog, Rasputin the Mad Frog and Napoleon Bonafrog. Shredder then trains them in martial arts, and they are ready to cause havoc in New York. The mutant frogs commit robberies that the local authorities think the turtles are responsible for. A ferocious army-style Anti-Turtle Force are created to hunt them down. The turtles need to find the true criminals, the mutant frogs.
Can the turtles stop themselves being framed and getting arrested by the human Anti-Turtle Force? Are the mutant frogs going to be a long-term problem for the turtles and not quit like Shredder and Krang? Is this the beginning of a frightening new era of lots of new mutants created by Shredder and Krang to have a crushing mutant army?
TMNT REVIEW HQ COMMENTS: A worthy episode to watch. The beginning showing Michaelangelo go through Splinter's obstacle course in the sewers is a nice touch. Krang's want of more mutants like Bebop and Rocksteady to Shredder is a well done scene.
We also see the rare appearance of Shredder without his costume or helmet in his hunt for the canister of mutagen in the Florida swamp. He looks like a black man rather than Japanese! The scene where the frogs mutate behind the backs of locals is ok. Shredder comes across as menacing, manipulating liar here, as he tries to make the punk frogs believe the turtles are the bad guys.
The first meeting between the frogs and turtles isn't epic but quite good. A nice effect of animation where one frog hurls his arrow into the air, and becomes a cloud of dust. The last five minutes goes on a downer with badly edited action scenes of the turtles running away from the Anti-Turtle tank and the final action scene getting rid of Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady. However, the danger of the Anti- Turtle Force's tank towards the turtles is used well, with the threat of the turtles becoming trapped in ice.
It does end reasonably well, with the unification of the turtles and the punk frogs bringing in a surprise finding, the frogs hate pizza!
"INVASION OF THE PUNK FROGS" GETS A: 3/5 RATING.
