Nickelodeon has announced that the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated cartoon series will debut on the Nickelodeon network on Saturday, September 29th.  Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s independent comic was first adapted into an animated kids cartoon in 1987, and that animated series was a key component in the property’s worldwide success.

 

The new computer animated TMNT series features the vocal talents of Sean Astin (Raphael), Jason Biggs (Leonardo), Greg Cipes (Michaelangelo), Rob Paulsen (Donatello), and Mae Whitman (April).  Nickelodeon announced the new 26-episode TMNT series back in March of 2011 and the company has missed its projected debut date by just 2 days (and it turned out to be 2 days early, see "New 'TMNT' Toon in Q4 2012").

 

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property, which draws the names of its protagonists from the Italian High Renaissance, is enjoying a renaissance of its own right now with the new cartoon series, new comics from IDW Publishing (see "IDW Does Marvel, 'TMNT,' Anne Rice"), and a live-action movie (currently on a production hiatus, see "Paramount Puts 'TMNT' Movie on Hiatus").