The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series debuted in 1987.
The program was produced after a five-part syndicated miniseries introduced the television version of the team. It transformed the darker comic-book concept into a colorful, comedic adventure series aimed at a broad family audience.
The cartoon established many features that became widely associated with the franchise, including the turtles’ color-coded masks, catchphrases, recurring villains, and emphasis on pizza. It also used the names and personalities of the four brothers to make them easy for young viewers to distinguish.
The series ran for ten seasons, from 1987 to 1996, and helped drive the enormous popularity of the toy line and other licensed products. Later adaptations often returned to the comics for inspiration, but the 1987 cartoon remains the version that introduced the franchise to many international viewers.