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 substance, called Ooze, 4 little turtles in the canalization of New York mutate to giant turtles. They can speak, walk upright and love pizza. The wise rat Splinter becomes their mentor and educates them to Ninja fighters. Their arch-enemy is the bad, bad guy Shredder, who struggles to gain power over the world. Of course the ninja turtles will do everything to stop him.

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Plot Keywords:

teenage mutant ninja turtles | raphael character | splinter character | michelangelo character | donatello character | 

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Taglines:

Hey dude, this is NO cartoon!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

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)

Gross USA:

$135,265,915

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$201,965,915

Company Credits

Production Co:

888 Productions, Golden Harvest Company, Limelight Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The motors that were built into each Turtle head to create facial expressions were packed very tightly into it and very uncomfortable for the performers in the suit. Josh Pais has described the noise 'like being in Grand Central Station at rush hour with a tin can over your head'.

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Goofs

During the final fight, a foot soldier is thrown into the staircase of a fire escape. He grabs his head in pain and we hear the clanging sound, but we see that his head never even got within a foot of the metal.

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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

In the UK theatrical, television and VHS versions, the ban on chain-sticks caused two scene notable scene trims. The face-off in April's apartment in which Michaelangelo and a member of The Foot perform chain-stick moves in succession was removed completely, with the fight starting instead with Donatello diving through the air directly after this sequence. Another sequence trimmed heavily was the apparent death of Shredder. In the full length version, Shredder charges at Splinter, who produces a pair of chain-sticks, wraps them around Shredder's staff and hurls him over the edge of the building. Shredder hands onto his staff which Splinter maintains his grip on, and Splinter begins a speech, but is interrupted by Shredder, throwing a scythe at him. Splinter moves to one side, and Shredder looses his grip on the staff, falling into the garbage truck where he is crushed. This was heavily trimmed so that it appears Shredder runs at Splinter, who seemingly trips him up, and Shredder just falls over the edge as Splinter watches on. The original versions of both scenes were reinstated for the 2004 DVD.

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Connections

Referenced in How It Should Have Ended: How Guardians of the Galaxy Should Have Ended (2014)

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Soundtracks

Spin That Wheel
Written by Ya Kid K - Kovali/El Sati
Performed by Technotronic (as Hi Tek 3)
Courtesy of ARS Records

User Reviews

A Movie that Changed my Life

As a new generation turns 18-20 this movie was vital for many growing up. It WAS their Saturday morning routine. A necessary part of growing up, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles instilled values for a generation. Both the movie and the TV show were key in this upcoming generation's development and coming of age. I recently watched this movie again for the first time in a decade, and yes it was cheesy and tacky. However, that doesn't make it bad in anyway. There are some complex issues going on beneath the surface here. First, this movie was released close to the peak of crime wave that occurred across the country in the early 1990's. A city lost in crime is saved by a few of the next generation's heroes, who are nothing more than teenagers on a quest for pizza. Second, there is a definite connection between Splinter and Jesus when he is nailed up to a wall and talking to his "sons". Many reading my comments may laugh because, lets face it, the idea of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is hilarious, but the movie spoke to a specific generation at a specific time and as a period piece it can still be appreciated. This was more than just a movie; it defined a generation. Even if the movie makes no sense go with it and watch it for the ridiculous 1990's dialogue...Its funny, enjoy!