Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)

When their closest friend April O'Neil discovers an ancient scepter with magical powers, the turtles must cow-a-bunga their way back to 17th century Japan to rescue her from the evil clutches of Lord Norinaga.

Director:

Stuart Gillard

Writers:

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

Stars:

Elias Koteas, Paige Turco, Stuart Wilson

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elias Koteas	...	Casey Jones / Whit
Paige Turco	...	April O'Neil
Stuart Wilson	...	Walker
Sab Shimono	...	Lord Norinaga
Vivian Wu	...	Mitsu
Mark Caso	...	Leonardo
Matt Hill	...	Raphael
Jim Raposa	...	Donatello
David Fraser	...	Michaelangelo
James Murray	...	Splinter
Eidan Hanzei	...	Kenshin (as Henry Hayashi)
John Aylward	...	Niles
Mak Takano	...	Benkei - Honor Guard #1
Steve Akahoshi	...	Honor Guard #2 (as Steven Getson Akahoshi)
Kent Kim	...	Honor Guard #3

Storyline

Ancient Japan, 1393. Without a map. Without a clue. Without a pizza. The international phenomenon that is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, returns for a daring trip back in time. When their closest friend April O'Neil is accidentally transported to 17th century Japan, the Turtles spring into action, using a mysterious scepter to travel after her. Cowabunga. What they discover is they've landed right in the middle of a rebel samurai war. Now, with precious time on their side, they must save April and survive the deadly battle before it spills over into present day New York City.

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Plot Keywords:

splinter character | april o'neil character | sequel to cult film | arcade game | mutant | 

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Taglines:

The Turtles Are Back....In Time

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the last Turtles movie to have a VHS release.

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Goofs

When Raphael is having his heart to heart with Yoshi, one of his wristbands is missing. When he joins Yoshi in flying the kite, his wristband has reappeared.

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Quotes

Lord Norinaga: Kenshin, I forbid you to leave the castle. You have disgraced me.
Kenshin: No, father! It is you who have disgraced me.

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Alternate Versions

The depiction of chainsticks on screen was rarely allowed in the UK, so the movie was heavily cut or reframed to remove every last trace of them. In total 7 secs were removed from the reframed print with most of the edits made to the opening scene where Michaelangelo practices with the nunchakus and hits a punching ball (this was replaced with images of the turtles dancing). The cuts were fully waived in 2002 for the DVD.

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Connections

References Star Trek: The Original Series (1966)

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Soundtracks

William Tell Overture
(uncredited)
Written by Gioachino Rossini
Performed by Arthur Fiedler

User Reviews

The least enjoyable of the series

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

A magic sceptor transports an ancient warrior from 1603 Japan to present day New York.The heroic foursome in turn learn they must travel back to the warrior's timeframe to battle Lord Norinaga (Sho Shinoba) and his right-hand man Walker (Stuart Wilson) who are enslaving the people.

The only film in the series to be completely absent of Shredder,the desperation begins to seep through at a very early stage.An obviously different,helium voiced actor plays Splinter,whilst we see Raphael adopt a less aggressive nature as events in the film progress.For this,and a fairly engaging script,the film is not a total failure.However,the lack of an engaging story proves to be quite a hindrance.The Turtles were certainly massive in the late 80s and early 90s and in retrospect,you could say good on them for wrangling all they could out of feature film adaptations for the franchise.Lets just say,they were certainly wise to leave it at this.**

Details

Country:

USA Hong Kong

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 March 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Sacred Scroll of Death

Filming Locations:

Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$21,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,419,597, 21 March 1993

Gross USA:

$42,273,609

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$42,273,609

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company, Clearwater Holdings, GH Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1