| “Repo Mantis” | |||||||
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| Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode | |||||||
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| Season Code: | 009 | ||||||
| Episode: | 4A | ||||||
| Original airdate | September 20, 2018 (Nickelodeon) September 18, 2018 (Nicktoons) July 20, 2018 (online) | ||||||
| Written by | Russ Carney Ron Corcillo | ||||||
| Producers: | Vladimir Radev | ||||||
| Ant Ward | |||||||
| Andy Suriano | |||||||
| Directed by | Jamie Vickers | ||||||
| Voice Direction | Rob Paulsen | ||||||
| Supervising Director | Alan Wan | ||||||
| Storyboard Artist: | Christoper Luc | ||||||
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"Repo Mantis" is the sixth episode (Episode 4A) of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It first aired on September 18th, 2018.
Synopsis[]
After learning that the Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy has been repossessed, Donnie and Mikey need to do a job to get it back.
Appearing in Repo Mantis (episode)[]
Major characters[]
- Donatello (Josh Brener)
- Michelangelo (Brandon Mychal Smith)
- Repo Mantis (Fred Tatasciore) (debut)
- Todd Capybara (Thurop Van Orman) (debut)
Minor characters[]
- Man Shopper (debut)
- Mrs. Nubbins (debut) (cameo)
- Todd's puppies (debut)
Species[]
- Cat
- Dog
- Human
- Mutant capybara (debut)
- Mutant praying mantis (debut)
- Mutant turtle
Objects and vehicles[]
- Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy (debut)
- Kusari-fundō
- Lemonade (debut)
- Recreational Vehicle (debut)
- Repo Mantis' tow truck (debut)
- Tech-Bō
Locations[]
- New York
- Long Island woods (debut)
- Cuddle Cakes Puppy Rescue (debut)
- New York City
- Repo Mantis Salvage (debut)
- Long Island woods (debut)
Plot[]
Donnie and Mikey are going through a car trunk in a junkyard when they are accidentally sent falling down a stack of wrecked cars. When they land, they see that the Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy is being towed into the yard.
As they try to figure out how to get the car for themselves, they encounter Repo Mantis, a mutant praying-mantis who owns the salvage yard before his mutation. They attempt to "play it smooth" as Donnie attempts to cut a deal, but they don't have enough money. Repo Mantis offers them a deal; if they do some repo work for him, he'll let the brothers have the Moon Buggy. Donnie is dubious about Mikey's ability to be sufficiently mean as a repo man, but Mikey is determined to obtain the Moon Buggy, telling Donnie to think about all the adventures they could have in it.
Their assignment is to reclaim an RV from another mutant who lives in the forest, which Donnie and Mikey easily reach. Donnie is worried that their target might be the "Spine-Breaking Bandit", and the two are frightened when the mysterious mutant ends up behind them. However, he turns out to be the genial Todd Capybara, who lives in the forest and runs Cuddle Cakes Puppy Rescue.
After Todd offers the two brothers some lemonade, Mikey is won over by the puppies and finds it difficult to be "hard as nails". Even Donnie is finding it difficult to resist Todd's niceness. He points out that Todd hasn't paid up on the RV and thus it legally doesn't belong to him, but Todd just gets upset. Rain begins falling as Todd weeps about the impending homelessness of himself and the puppies, and when Mikey finally buckles, Donnie suggests that he build Todd a new home in place of the RV.
The next morning, Donnie and Mikey get to work, and over the next few days, they construct a new, far superior Puppy Rescue for the puppies and Todd, who are overjoyed. They finally take the RV back to Repo Mantis' yard, only for the mutant mantis to declare that he isn't gonna give the Moon Buggy to the Turtles. Instead, he's decided that it's more profitable to keep it as an attraction for Jupiter Jim nerds who wish to sit in it.
When Repo Mantis attacks Donnie, Mikey uses an electromagnet from one of the construction vehicles to temporarily trap the villain. They hop into the Moon Buggy and drive it out of the lot, but Repo Mantis is in hot pursuit in his tow truck. Mikey tries to use some of the Moon Buggy's advanced weaponry without success, only to remember that it has a fake dashboard. The real dashboard allows them to access the "turbo mode" and move at great speed, as well as aid from an oil slick and finally a bug zapper. Repo Mantis is finally defeated as Mikey and Donnie drive away. Outside the city, Todd and his puppies watch the two brothers from a distance.
See also[]
Quotes[]
Donatello: "I can't shake him!"
Michelangelo: "Maybe the bug-zapper button?"
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Notes and errors[]
- When Mikey and Donnie first notice the Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy through a car's rear view mirror, the truck towing the buggy has the "Repo Mantis Salvage" logo shown unmirrored. If viewed reflected through one mirror, the text should have appeared mirrored.
- The ZIP Code for Todd's Long Island address is 80017, but addresses with this ZIP Code are actually located in Aurora, Colorado.
- When Donnie initially notices the Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy, his sclerae are white instead of yellow as well as during the construction montage of Cuddlecakes Puppy Rescue.
Trivia[]
- This episode, along with four other episodes, were posted early on July 20th, 2018 as a sneak preview on Nick.com.
- This episode first aired on Nicktoons on September 18th, and then it aired two days later on September 20th on Nickelodeon.
- This is the first episode in the series where all four Turtles don't appear; in this case, Leo and Raph did not make an on-screen appearance, however they were both mentioned by Donnie.
- Two of Todd's puppies resemble Rise of the TMNT co-executive producers Andy Suriano and Ant Ward, often appearing on-screen near on another.
- When Mikey and Donnie first arrived at the Long Island Forest, a boy in a yellow raincoat and a chubby person with whiskers were briefly seen standing at the bus stop. This is reference to the popular Studio Ghibli movie, My Neighbor Totoro.
- Another reference of Studio Ghibli is seen when Mikey is holding a puppy while holding an orange umbrella with holes on it. This is a reference to Grave of the Fireflies, another popular Studio Ghibli movie. Both Grave and the Fireflies and My Neighbor Totoro were originally released in Japanese movie theaters as a double feature.
- The Turtles receive the Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy in this episode, which would later become the Turtle Tank.
- The events of this episode supposedly occur simultaneously with "Hypno! Part Deux!", for there were puppies in the background when Donnie received April's phone call in said episode.
- Mrs. Nubbins from "One Man's Junk" pre-mutation form (a yellow kitten) makes an appearance in the scene Mikey and Donnie are hiding behind a car.
- The full text on the repossession order for the recreational vehicle:
RV CAMPER $20,000
REG. OWNER: TODD CAPYBARA
CUDDLE CAKES PUPPY RESCUE
702 SHADY LN. LOT 2279
LONG ISLAND WOODS, NY 80017
DELINQUENT PAYMENTS: RV CAMPER 74' TAN/WOOD PANEL
5 MONTHS
REQUIRES IMMEDIATE RECOVERY
TIE LINE 1298 NTT COMMUNICATIONS REF: PER/MAS/U232
- It was revealed in August 2020 by Rise of the TMNT staff writer Ron Corcillo in a Tweet that, "Repo Mantis and Hypno! Part Deux were supposed to take place at the same time. They were the first eps that didn't use all four Turtles: Raph and Leo were on one adventure while Donnie and Mikey had another. There was even a crossover Mikey-Raph phone call, but it was cut for time."[1]
- Miho may be named after Rise of the TMNT background painter Miho Tomimasu and Melvin may be named after Rise of the TMNT production coordinator Melvin Young Jr.