Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Ninja, Vol. 11

From the forgotten-but-not-gone department comes those karate-kicking, pizza-loving, green-hued sons o' fun called the Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles. Yes, their 1990s halcyon days have passed into history, but those wacky reptiles are still out there defending the world from the endless skein of bargain basement villains who populate low-rent animation. In this four-episode collection, the franchise (which has clearly run out of ideas) resurrects two old-time foes, the Shredder and Nano, for yet another round of knockabout, while preparing to introduce a new enemy called the Ultimate Ninja (who does not resemble the stealthy image one associates with ninjas, but instead wears a hodgepodge of costumes and masks that make him look like the love child of Superman and Satan). As entertainment goes, this is among the most boring nonsense to fall off a storyboard--the action is so predictable that no child will be surprised or excited at how the plots transpire, while the animation is a dreadful approximation of anime style, but without the soul or wacky spirit which makes that genre so addictive. Not recommended. Aud: P. (P. Hall)