The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Pizza Friday

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Pizza Friday”
TMNT Summer Shorts episode
Season Code:	N/A
Episode:	N/A
Original airdate	July 22, 2016
Written by	Kevin Eastman & Paul Jenkins
Producers:	Wes Lui
	Suad Boksmati
Directed by	Paul Jenkins
Voice Direction	Gene Vassilaros
Storyboard Artist:	Sahle Robinson
Episode chronology
"Turtles Take Time (and Space)"	"Teenage Mecha Ninja Turtles"

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Pizza Friday is a short animation written by Kevin Eastman and Paul Jenkins, with the latter directing the short. It was first shown at San Diego Comic Con 2016 and was later uploaded online on July 22 of the same year.

Appearing in The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Pizza Friday[]

Major characters[]

Minor characters[]

High school students
The Kraang

Species[]

Objects and vehicles[]

Bō
Blasters
Cloaking device
Katana
Kraangdroids
Nunchaku
Sai

Locations[]

New York City
- Laird High

Plot[]

In order to enjoy "Pizza Friday" at April's high school, Donatello uses his new cloaking device to disguise himself and his brothers. The device translates their personalities into a human version of them so that they'll look exactly the way they see themselves. Michelangelo uses it first, and then Leonardo, who is impressed at having fingers. When Raphael uses the device, he's turned into a blonde-haired princess. Angry, he yells at Donnie to fix this and throws the device to his brother. Mikey bursts into laughter and Raph backhands him. Don quickly makes some adjustments and Raph changes into a jock. Finally, Don uses the device and is transformed into a stereotypical nerd.

As they walk through the halls of the school, April asks the guys not to do anything to embarrass her. Still fascinated with having ten fingers, Leo waves them at other students and embarrasses April. Mikey then starts flirting with girls and April prays for the day to end. She urges the Turtles to get to the cafeteria and get this over with. However, when she looks back, all four guys have vanished.

Not sure how to work a water fountain, Mikey breaks off the bubbler and water shoots into the air. He swiftly covers the spray of water with his mouth. Donnie begins signing up for glee club and Leo examines a poster depicting four boys, similar in appearance, who are running for class president. Meanwhile, Raph is chatting up a pretty girl and April quickly pushes him away, explaining to the girl that they are exchange students from Sweden - and they don't speak English. April pushes them towards the cafeteria, though Don is complaining that he didn't get to sign up for calculus club.

Entering the cafeteria, the Turtles see tables loaded with pizza and all four begin drooling. Quick as a flash, they are chowing down on pizza slices, stuffing it into their faces as fast as they can chew. Everyone in the cafeteria stare at them and April announces that they're Swedish. The four boys from the poster enter the cafeteria and begin handing out pamphlets and in a sing-song voice, telling people to vote for them. Leo asks April who they are. As a kid walks by, one of the strange boys grabs his wrist, forcing him to drop the pizza slice he was holding. The strange boy tells the kid to vote for them, or face annihilation.

When Mikey hears the pizza hit the floor, he jumps up from his chair and confronts the strange boys. Mikey orders them to pick up the pizza and apologize. His finger touches the boy and the air around the group shifts, then stabilizes. All four boys try to hand Mikey a pamphlet as one of them tells him to vote for them or be obliterated. Mikey human disguise starts to shift as well and the other Turtles join him.

Donnie wants to know what just happened and Leo asks the boys where they’re from, as the Turtles circle around them. The spokesman of the group says they are from a foreign country, then he asks where they are from. Mikey replies that they’re from Sweden, and Leo tells him there is something wrong with these guys. The shift happens again and Don realizes that they are also using a cloaking device. Being so close is shorting out both of their disguises.

As they are repeating their mantra “vote for us”, the shift happens again and the boy’s disguises disappear, revealing them to be Kraang in Kraangdroids. A second later, the Turtles' disguises vanish as well. Seeing that they are facing their mortal enemies, the Kraang pull out ray blasters. Donnie shouts for his brothers to shield their eyes, which they do as the Kraang fire. All of the students in the cafeteria, including April, are frozen.

Don quickly moves April to a safe spot atop a table and yells for the others to take out those blasters. The Turtles begin fighting the Kraang while still consuming pizza. The Kraang decide it’s time to use their exit strategy, and a portal opens. As they make their escape, Raph throws April’s bookbag at them, telling them not to come back. The bookbag vanishes into the portal and Don points out Raph’s error.

Leo announces that they’d better get out of there before anyone sees them. Before they leave, Don uses one of the blasters to restore everyone in the cafeteria to normal. April sits up on the table and looks around at the lunchroom, which is a complete disaster. The Turtles make a quick exit into the sewers, with Michelangelo shouting his catchphrase of the day “Interstellar!” His brothers groan.

Trivia[]

April goes to school at Laird High, which is a reference to the TMNT's co-creator Peter Laird.
Ironically, Sam Riegel voices Raphael in this short, previously voicing Donatello in the 2003 TV series.
- This is the reverse of Rob Paulsen, who voiced Raphael in the 1987 TV series and later on voiced Donatello in the 2012 TV series.

Video[]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 'Pizza Friday' by Kevin Eastman & Paul Jenkins from SDCC - Nick