Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

Four teenage mutant ninja turtles emerge from the shadows to protect New York City from a gang of criminal ninjas.

Director:

Steve Barron

Writers:

Kevin Eastman (characters), Peter Laird (characters)

Stars:

Judith Hoag, Elias Koteas, Josh Pais

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Judith Hoag	...	April O'Neil
Elias Koteas	...	Casey Jones
Josh Pais	...	Raphael (voice) / Passenger In Cab
David Forman	...	Leonardo / Gang Member
Brian Tochi	...	Leonardo (voice)
Leif Tilden	...	Donatello / Foot Messenger
Corey Feldman	...	Donatello (voice)
Michelan Sisti	...	Michaelangelo / Pizza Man
Robbie Rist	...	Michaelangelo (voice)
Kevin Clash	...	Splinter (voice)
James Saito	...	The Shredder
David McCharen	...	The Shredder / Oroku Saki (voice)
Toshishiro Obata	...	Tatsu
Michael McConnohie	...	Tatsu (voice)
Michael Turney	...	Danny Pennington

Storyline

Through contact with a mysterious ooze, four turtles in the sewers of New York mutate into intelligent pizza-loving humanoids, and are mentored in the art of ninja combat by the wise rat Splinter. When the evil Shredder attempts to take over the world, the turtles set out to stop him.

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Plot Keywords:

teenage mutant ninja turtles | splinter character | april o'neil character | anthropomorphic animal as protagonist | animal hero | 

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Taglines:

Lean, green and on the screen everywhere.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Danny only appears in this movie. He is never seen again or heard from in any other variant of the Ninja Turtles history.

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Goofs

In the beginning, when the Turtles are shouting various phrases after their first battle, Donatello yells, off-screen, "Bossa nova!" but on-screen Leonardo's lips move.

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Quotes

[first lines]
April O'Neil: Much more than just a series of small, isolated incidents, it's now apparent that an organized criminal element is at work and at the moment, business is good. So good in fact that there appear to be no eyewitnesses to any of these crimes. With complaints ranging from purse snatching to breaking and entering, police switchboards have been swamped with the angry voices of more and more citizens who have fallen prey to the recent surge of crime that continues to plague the city. ...

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Crazy Credits

The film title appears from behind the corner of the sewer, just before the Turtles come around it and are fully seen for the first time.

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Alternate Versions

A scene during the meeting with Shredder and the Foot Clan, with Shredder fighting two of his students, was cut. For years, the only evidence of this scene was a still image, but the scene has been resurfaced in the documentary, Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

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Connections

Featured in Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

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Soundtracks

Let the Walls Come Down
Written by Johnny Kemp and Rhett Lawrence
Performed by Johnny Kemp
Courtesy of Columbia Records

User Reviews

One of the most Underrated movies ever!

I speak out on behalf of all fans of the TMNT!

This is not a bad movie!

You might say it has no storyline but I say it's kept simplistic for all the comic book fans. You don't want to confuse people with a massive complex tale. No one argues with 'Enter the Dragon' having a bad storyline!

The characters in this movie are wonderfully set up. Right from the start we see that Raphael has issues. This anger forces him to distance himself and in the process we feel his fury. We immerse ourselves in the character and see how deep he can go. From woefully staring into New York from a rooftop or letting out a frenzy upon the gang that has literally knocked April to the ground we are getting to know the character inside and out. This is the hero of the movie. As for the comedic cheek of Casey Jones or the light-hearted double wisecracks of Michaelangelo and Donatello, I'd love to see the reason behind this movie having "no character study" as some people might say.

The action scenes are set up within the constraints of a normal fun movie with great camera angles just dying to be put on an advert or poster.

The turtle effects by the Jim Henson creature shop don't disappoint even though Splinter looks like he walked straight off the set of 'Labyrinth'. The turtles are so good you shouldn't care anyway. The animatronics are fab and the voice characterisation is well chosen.

As for the main blessing, Steve Barron has chosen a dark tone for his movie. The original comic book would have been made proud by this attempt at making the movie more adult than people could believe. The crime-filled backdrops of New York make a great battleground, and the whole mythological element that all crime is ruled by a master ninja adds to the drama. The soundtrack couldn't be better for the beginning.

This is a fantastic movie and horribly underrated. With so many great elements this goes down as one of the all time great fantasy adventures. 10 out of 10 and a cowabunga to boot!

Details

Official Sites:

Official TMNT site

Country:

USA Hong Kong

Language:

English French

Release Date:

30 March 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$25,398,367, 1 April 1990

Gross USA:

$135,265,915

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$201,965,915

Company Credits

Production Co:

888 Productions, Golden Harvest Company, Image Comics

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1