TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1990) REVIEW!!
- Matt Palmer
- Aug 22, 2023
- 3 min read
Initial release date: March 30, 1990
Studios: New Line Cinema/Golden Harvest
Tagline: Heroes in a half shell!
Plot: In New York, mysterious radioactive ooze has mutated four sewer turtles into talking, upright-talking, crime-fighting ninjas. The intrepid heroes - Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, and Leonardo - are trained in the Ninjutsu arts by their rat sensei, Splinter. When a villainous rogue ninja, who is a former pupil of Splinter, arrives and spreads lawlessness throughout the city, it's up to the plucky turtles to stop him.
Cast
Judith Hoag - April O'Neil
Elias Koteas - Casey Jones
Josh Pais - Raphael
Brian Tochi - Leonardo
Corey Feldman - Donatello
Robbie Rist - Michelangelo
Kevin Clash - Spinter
David McCharen - Shredder (voice)/Oruku Saki
Michael Turney - Danny Pennington
Jay Patterson - Charles Pennington
Raymond Serra - Chief Sterns
Writer(s): Todd W. Langen (The Secret of the Ooze)
Bobby Herbeck
Director: Steve Barron (Coneheads)
Rated PG (93 minutes)
Over the past week or so, I've been taking a look at theatrical TMNT movies. Well, at the moment the original 90s trilogy and the animated TMNT movie. I am going to be working on takes for the original trilogy and skip the Michael Bay produced reboots and the animated 2007 movie (which is actually a decent movie). And of course to start things off I am starting with the 1990 TMNT movie - which was released 33 years ago!!
Every time I re-watch the 1990 TMNT movie, it's like re-living my childhood all over again. Ever since I was little, I would watch this movie (and Secret of the ooze) over and over ... and over again.
All of the martial arts scenes and the action is still really awesome and the Turtles designs are really great for the very early 90s - technically late 80s when the designs and Turtle animatronics were getting started.
There is also some really funny moments scattered throughout. Granted, some of the visual effects didn't quite age well, but it's a lot better than some of the CGI used today. All of the characters are really cool and the movie's version of Shredder is one of the best!
Next up - TMNT II: The Secret of the ooze, the Turtles sequel that is lighter in town, yet still entertaining!
Here are some fun tidbits for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)!
Robin Williams, who was a big fan of the franchise, provided Judith Hoag with info regarding her character through his comic book collection; the two were co-starring in Cadillac Man when this movie went into production.
Hoag wasn't asked to reprise her role as April in the sequels due to her own personal complaining - particularly about the six day schedule and the amount of violence in this movie.
One of the early ideas floated around that the movie would follow a similar approach to Who Framed Roger Rabbit in which the actors would be interacting with animated versions of the Turtles. However, this idea was quickly scrapped in costumes from Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
The movie was set in NYC, but actually much of the filming took place in North Carolina, with only a couple of location shoots done in NYC to capture famous landmark scenes.
The last theatrical film that Jim Henson was associated with, he died about a month and a half after its release.
Brian Tochi (voice of Leonardo) and Robbie Rist (Michelangelo) are the only actors who appeared in all three 90s TMNT movies.
Many major studios such as Disney, Columbia, MGM, Orion, Paramount (whose parent company Viacom would acquire the property in 2009), and WB turned down the film for distribution as they were worried that despite the popularity of the cartoon and tow line, the movie would potentially be a box office disappointment like Masters of the Universe was just a couple years prior. It finally found distribution roughly halfway through the initial production via the then small and independent production company New Line Cinema.
The script is based mainly on the early comics, including the stories of the turtles' origins, rooftop battle, sojourn to the farmhouse, and battle with Shredder. Elements were taken from the animated series, such as the colored bandanas and love of pizzas, elements of Michelangelo's character, and April O'Neil as a TV reporter instead of a lab assistant.
The movie opened in the US on March 30, 1990, and was No. 1 over opening weekend, grossing more than $25 million. It turned out to be a huge success at the box office, eventually making over $135 million domestic, and over $66 million outside North America, for a worldwide total of over $200 million.
A year later, The Secret of the ooze was released in theaters, and was a commercial success. In 1993, a third movie was released, to a smaller box office take.
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