In a freak accident, four pet turtles and a former domesticated rat are exposed to a mutagen in the New York City sewers, transforming them into bipedal human-sized sentient creatures. The four turtles are then adopted and trained in the art of ninjistu by the mutant rat, Splinter, who names them as his favorite Italian Renaissance artists. Aided by their human allies April O'Neil and Casey Jones, The Turtles secretly protect New York from the machinations of the Foot Clan, a power-hungry clan of ninja led by the powerful crime boss Oroku Saki / The Shredder, with which Splinter has a deep personal grudge for killing his previous family.
