Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Steve Barron

Writers (WGA):

Kevin Eastman (characters) and
Peter Laird (characters) ...

Release Date:

30 March 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Lean, Green And On The Screen.

Plot:

A quartet of humanoid turtles trained by their mentor in ninjitsu must learn to pull together in order to face the menace of Shredder and the Foot Clan.

Plot Keywords:

Turtle | Rat | Ninja | Pizza | Sewer

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Judith Hoag	...	April O'Neil
Elias Koteas	...	Casey Jones
Josh Pais	...	Raphael / Man In Cab (voice)
Michelan Sisti	...	Michaelangelo / Pizza Man
Leif Tilden	...	Donatello / Foot Messenger
David Forman	...	Leonardo / Gang Leader
Michael Turney	...	Danny Pennington
Jay Patterson	...	Charles Pennington
Raymond Serra	...	Chief Sterns
James Saito	...	The Shredder / Oroko Saki
Toshirô Obata	...	Tatsu (as Toshishiro Obata)
Sam Rockwell	...	Head Thug
Kitty Fitzgibbon	...	June
Louis Cantarini	...	Cab Driver
Joe D'Onofrio	...	Movie Hoodlum #1 (as Joseph D'Onofrio)

Also Known As:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (USA) (long title)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Original Movie (USA) (DVD box title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA | Hong Kong

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:10 (original rating) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 | Italy:T | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (cut) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2003) (uncut) | USA:PG | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Castle Hayne, North Carolina, USA

Company:

888 Productions

Trivia:

In the comics and the cartoons, the turtles are around 3-4ft. tall. However, for obvious costuming reasons, the turtles are the same height as April, Casey, Shredder, and the Foot Clan (Between 5'6-6'0).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Shortly after Casey is seen chopping vegetables with a sword, there is a shot of all of the turtles gathered in one room. In the bottom center of the screen, you can see a mic cord coming out of the bottom of a turtle's shell and going down his left leg. This is Leonardo. Behind him, another more visible cord can be seen coming out of the left side of Raphael's shell.

Quotes:

Michaelangelo: Yes, dudes and dudettes! Major league butt kicking is back in town!

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Game of Death (1978)

Soundtrack:

TEQUILA

A cult classic.

Whether film buffs would ever admit it or not, the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is a classic film, arguably way before its time. Although for the die-hard fans of the comic book this movie did lack the apparent actual violence it did instead have great dramatic scenes blended in with witty comedic lines.

With a dark tone and gritty cinematography filmed with fantastic sets and locations around New York this 90s movie is far from something to be pigeonholed 'just for kids' or a 'family movie'.

The aforementioned 'surfer dialogue' criticised in other reviews can be put down to personal taste, as the majority of fans do find this lingo both entertaining and quote-worthy. Who could forget Splinter exclaiming "I... have always liked... COWABUNGA!!" Casey Jones is one of the greatest characters in film for a long time and the performances given throughout, even though can be labelled slightly b-grade, are lovable all the same from Chief Sterns to Charles and Master Tatsu. The angst of Raphael to the cheekiness of Michelangelo there is nothing not to like about the characters in this movie.

The musical score is great and ranges from intense to comical - very fitting for a movie that is exactly that in its mood, without becoming corny unlike its follow-up films. MC Hammer creates the best songs of his career. Shameless fun.

All of the scenes are special in different ways to different fans of this cult classic; from Casey Jones vs Raphael in the park to the Antique Store battle.

Extremely under-rated. One of the best comic-book adaptations ever made and one of the defining films in a LOT of people's childhoods. A fantastic film for anyone with direction and storyline that remains highly enjoyable through the test of time.

Brilliant.