Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)

The turtles find themselves transported back in time to ancient Japan.

Director:

Stuart Gillard

Writers:

Kevin Eastman (based on characters created by), Peter Laird (based on characters created by),

Stars:

Paige Turco, Stuart Wilson, Sab Shimono

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paige Turco	...	April O'Neil
Stuart Wilson	...	Walker
Sab Shimono	...	Lord Norinaga
Vivian Wu	...	Mitsu
Mark Caso	...	Leonardo
Corey Feldman	...	Donatello (voice)
Matt Hill	...	Raphael
Jim Raposa	...	Donatello
David Fraser	...	Michaelangelo
Elias Koteas	...	Casey Jones / Whit
James Murray	...	Splinter
Henry Hayashi	...	Kenshin
John Aylward	...	Niles
Mak Takano	...	Benkei - Honor Guard #1
Steve Akahoshi	...	Honor Guard #2 (as Steven Getson Akahoshi)

Storyline

The four turtles travel back in time to the days of the legendary and deadly samurai in ancient Japan, where they train to perfect the art of becoming one. The turtles also assist a small village in an uprising.

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Plot Keywords:

japan | turtle | magic | sewer | battle | 

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Taglines:

They're Back in Time . . . for Their NEWEST MOVIE Adventure!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for swashbuckling violence and mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official TMNT site

Country:

USA Hong Kong

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 March 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Sacred Scroll of Death

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

£523,324 (UK) (13 August 1993)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company, Clearwater Holdings

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point in the movie, one of the turtles refer to Walker (Stuart Wilson) as the "Zorro dude". Wilson later starred in The Mask of Zorro as Zorro's arch-nemesis, Don Rafael Montero.

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Goofs

When April's walkman first starts playing after she arrives in Japan, the headphones are not plugged in, yet the music is still audible.

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Quotes

Whit: Take me with you.
April: Where? New York? Nahh, you wouldn't fit in. I mean, uh,
[takes in his grungy appearance]
April: well, actually you *would* fit in.

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Connections

References Backdraft (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Tarzan Boy"
Performed by Baltimora
Written by N. Hackett, M. Bassi
Published by Screen Gems - EMI Music Inc. (BMI)
Courtesy of EMI Records / EMI Records Group North America
Trademark TARZAN® owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. and used by permission.

User Reviews

Tame and sickening kiddie fare

Oh dear, if you're diabetic then I would seriously advise against watching this film. It' so sugary it'll rot the brain right out of your head.

Why on earth Eastman and Laird allowed this to be made is beyond me. It's soooooooo far removed from their black and white comic book. Okay, I know the cartoon series was too but the first movie did have a hard edge to it. I mean, take a look at the cover-the Turtles are smiling and happy. Then look a cover of one of the original comic books. They're almost always gritting their teeth and frowning. THAT'S how it should be. Not like this.

Even the animatronics look fake. The first 2 had a rather believable Splinter but now he's juddering and stiff and obviously operated by a couple of technicians loitering a few feet off camera. His voice is also totally different and he seems a touch more upbeat and lively. HARDLY the way Splinter is supposed to be.

The plot itself defies logic and there are massive holes all over the place. With such a dramatic change in locale from New York to Fuedal Japan you'd think the movie would take advantage of that and go nuts with imagination.

But sadly not. It just...goes nowhere. I mean, what is the deal with the character of Whit. Why does he look like the great, great, great grandfather of Casey Jones.

In fact, the return of Casey is the only reason I am not giving this a 1-star rating. It's a pretty wretched movie but Elias Koteas can make it a tiny bit less unbearable.

Hopefully the new cartoon show and the possibility of another (harder) movie will cancel this one out. It's nothing but dated, mindless fodder for under-fives. At the risk of repeating myself; this is NOT how the Turtles should be.

Extras are almost non-existent but the animated menus are cool. The 1.85:1 anamorphic picture is in pretty good shape but the Dolby 5.1 track isn't up to much I'm afraid. The film was originally recorded in Dolby SR so this is obviously a remastering job. It's just adequate is all I'm saying.