Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Nominated for an Annie Award

While Nickelodeon may be considering the eventual cancellation of their hit series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the cartoon continues to earn accolades left and right. In a decision that probably won’t surprise too many fans, an episode from Nick’s TMNT was nominated for a 2016 Annie Award.

The episode in question is Trans-Dimensional Turtles, which finds our modern heroes in a half shell teaming up with their counterparts from the 80’s to stop Kraang. This crossover episode was very well received, because they brought back a lot of the original voice actors to reprise their roles. The animation was also quite excellent, serving as a fantastic reminder of the beloved Turtles Forever.

Considering how well the crossover turned out, it’s not too difficult to understand why they chose to nominate this specific episode. After all, they combined everyone’s nostalgia for the original animated series with the excellent storytelling of the modern Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. Shellheads both young and old found something to love about Trans-Dimensional Turtles.

Trans-Dimensional Turtles saw the 80’s animated heroes in a half shell joining forces with Nick’s TMNT. Image Source: Nickelodeon.

Unfortunately, the Ninja Turtles have some pretty stiff competition for this Annie Award; both Adventure Time and the new Netflix series Voltron have also been nominated. The award in question will be for “Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Children.” I don’t know about you, but I think the turtles might actually have a good shot at winning!

In addition to this award, the android game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Legends was also nominated for “Outstanding Achievement of Character Animation in a Video Game.” Sadly, this game isn’t likely to win the Annie, because it’s facing much more impressive competition from nominees such as Titanfall 2, Uncharted 4 and Witcher 3.

Something tells me that an android game isn’t going to take home any accolades when it’s up against some of the most popular titles of the year. That being said, it’s definitely interesting to see that this title was even nominated in the first place. Given that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan was also released in 2016, it’s odd that they would choose to nominate the android game instead.

Of all the TMNT games to receive recognition this year, it’s actually very surprising that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Legends has been nominated for an Annie Award. Image Source: Ludia.

Personally, I am hopeful that Trans-Dimensional Turtles will take home the Annie. Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles deserves far more praise than it has been given, and this episode in particular was definitely worthy of an award. The Annie Award is presented for accomplishments in animation, and that episode was definitely an impressive accomplishment!