Movie Review – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

In honor of the reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film released to the theaters, today we’re taking a look at the original, 1990 version of the film.

Chances are likely that if you were a kid growing up in the late 1980s and early 1990s, you either watched or at least knew about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon show.  The show had a hit intro, it had fantastic characters, and it also featured plenty of karate action scenes.  The toys were also some of the hottest toys in the stores.  It was just a matter of time before somebody cashed in on the incredible popularity of the cartoon show and made it into a full-length movie.

Released on March 30, 1990, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a live-action film that brought the series to the big screen.  The movie follows along as the ninja turtles fight against the Foot Clan and its leader, Shredder.  Directed by Steve Barron, the movie used costumed characters from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to bring the ninja turtles to life.

Set in New York City, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles begins with news reporter April O’ Neil (Judith Hoag) reporting about the rise in crime reports throughout the city.  Most of the crime, petty things like robberies, is thought to be controlled by a mysterious organization known as the Foot Clan.  The Foot is believed to be an international crime syndicate that goes back to Japan.

That evening when April leaves the news station, she runs into a group of thugs robbing her station’s news van.  Just as the punks are about to attack her, a sai goes flying through the air and breaks the lone light bulb.  The area goes pitch dark and we hear the sounds of the punks getting beat up in a fight.  When the police quickly arrive, April is stunned and the punks are all tied up and waiting to be arrested.  Nearby is a set of eyes watching from underneath a manhole.  The eyes watch in frustration as April picks up the sai and keeps it.

Down in the sewers we see that the mysterious creatures that beat up the punks and saved April are mutated turtles.  Not only can they walk and talk like humans, but they’re also ninjas and masters in combat.  The four of them are Leonardo (voiced by Brian Tochi), Michelangelo (voiced by Robbie Rist), Donatello (voiced by Corey Feldman) and Raphael (voiced by Josh Pais).  Leonardo, the leader of the turtles, wears a blue mask and uses a pair of katanas (swords) as his weapons.  Michelangelo, the party and fun turtle, wears an orange mask and uses a pair of nunchaku for his weapons.  Donatello, the smartest of the turtles, wears a purple mask and uses a bo (wooden staff) as his weapon.  Raphael, the rebel with anger problems, wears a red mask and uses a pair of sai for his weapons.

Leo, Mikey and Donny are thrilled with their easy victory over the street punks as it was their first real challenge as ninja warriors.  Raph is upset that he was careless and lost his sai to the news reporter.  When the turtles return to their secret lair in the sewers, their sensei, Splinter (voiced by Kevin Clash), a mutated rat, warns the turtles not to get overconfident as they still have one more lesson to learn before they become ninja masters.  He also warns them that he will not be around forever.  Michelangelo orders a pizza, and when Splinter suggests that the turtles meditate, Raphael leaves to go watch a movie instead.  Apparently the turtles are used to wearing disguises and roaming the city’s streets at night.

Later, Raphael leaves the movie and stops a pair of purse snatchers on the streets.  After retrieving the woman’s purse, Raph lets the two punks get away with a warning.  The punks then run into Casey Jones (Elias Koteas), a vigilante who wears a hockey mask and uses sports equipment as his weapons.  He intends on beating the punks and teaching them a lesson, but Raph stops him and allows the two punks to flee.  Casey and Raph then have a minor fight.  When Raph is knocked into a trash can, Casey accepts it as a win and then flees the scene.

Raphael then returns to the lair in the sewers and is surprised that Splinter is still awake and waiting for him.  The master and student have a bonding moment as Splinter tries to help Raph conquer his anger problems.  He urges Raphael to reach out and use the help of his brothers to solve that problem.

The next morning, April’s boss, Charles Pennington (Jay Patterson), pays her a visit in her apartment to check on her after her altercation with the street punks the previous night.  Charles has brought along his teenage son, Danny (Michael Turney).  Charles knows that Danny has behavior problems and tends to skip school, but he does not know that his son is one of the street punks associate with the Foot Clan.  While Charles is talking to April, Danny sees April’s wallet and steals some of her money.

When April later interviews Police Chief Sterns (Raymond Serra) about the Foot Clan and its connection with Japan, the chief of police doesn’t seem to be too concerned.  In their lair, the turtles are watching the news and see April on TV.  They quickly learn that she was the one that they rescued the previous night.  April’s broadcast also attracts the attention of The Shredder (James Saito), the leader of the Foot Clan.  Shredder is not pleased with April’s investigation, so he orders her to be silenced.

Later that day, April is alone in a subway station when she’s surrounded by members of the Foot Clan.  She tries to intimidate them with the sai, but they easily kick it out of her hand.  They then attack April and knock her unconscious.  Raphael emerges from a hiding spot in the subway station, retrieves his missing sai, and then fights and easily beats the group of Foot soldiers.  He then takes the unconscious April into the sewers and to the secret lair.  However, unknown to Raph, one of the Foot soldiers follows him through the subway tunnel and sewer.

It’s not long before April awakens on a couch in the lair.  She’s initially terrified of Splinter and the turtles, and she thinks that she’s just dreaming and having a nightmare.  Reality slowly sinks in as Splinter speaks with April and explains how he and the turtles came to be.  He explains how he used to be a pet rat for Yoshi.  Splinter was a highly intelligent rat who would mimic Yoshi’s karate moves inside of his cage and learn the art of ninjitsu, the ways of the ninja.  Splinter then explains that when he came to New York City he was homeless and forced to live in the sewers.  In the sewers he discovered four baby turtles wandering around in a container of radioactive ooze.  He cleaned and took care of the turtles.  Because of the ooze, the turtles and Splinter all quickly grew in size and learned how to walk and talk like human beings.  Splinter named the four turtles after four Renaissance painters in Italy, and he taught them martial arts and the art of invisibility.

After learning about the turtles and recovering from her attack in the subway station, the turtles give April an escort back to her apartment.  She invites them inside for some pizza, and April and the turtles have a good time getting to know one another.

When the turtles return to the sewers, they discover that somebody attacked the lair while they were gone.  Splinter is now missing.  The four turtles are shocked, but Raphael takes the news the hardest.  They reluctantly return to April’s apartment and seek refuge there while figuring out what to do next.

Meanwhile, Danny had been arrested by the police.  Chief Sterns calls Charles Pennington and uses the arrest of his son to put some pressure on April O’Neil and get her off the case of the Foot Clan and the apparent lack of progress by the police department.  The next morning Charles warns April to back off on her story, but April refuses.  Inside of her apartment, Danny catches a glimpse of one of the turtles hiding.  After they leave April’s apartment, Charles gets into an argument with his son and Danny flees the car, running away from his dad.

Across town is the secret lair of the Foot Clan in an abandoned warehouse.  The lair is full of street punks as well as Foot soldiers and those training to become Foot soldiers.  Tatsu (Toshishiro Obata) runs the operation and uses harsh techniques to teach the punks how to become better fighters.  Shredder then gathers everybody and tells the punks that they are all now part of the same family and that he is their father.  He wants them all to become full members of the Foot.  When Shredder tells them that there is a new enemy in town, certain “freaks of nature,” Danny steps forward and reveals where the mutated turtles are hiding.  We also see that Splinter is being held captive and chained to a wall inside of the Foot’s lair.

Back at April’s apartment, the turtles grow frustrated and they are now relying on April to find any leads on Splinter’s location.  Raphael becomes angered and he gets into an argument with Leonardo.  Raph then goes to the building’s roof to blow off some steam, but he’s spotted by Casey Jones on top of another nearby roof.

April returns to her apartment but does not have any new information about finding Splinter.  She then takes the three turtles on a tour of her family’s antique store located underneath the apartment.  While they’re touring the store, Raphael is ambushed and attacked by the Foot Clan.  Raph is able to fight them off until he’s swarmed by a few dozen of the Foot soldiers.  He is beaten unconscious and then tossed through a window and into April’s apartment.

The fight escalates as more Foot soldiers led by Tatsu swarm into April’s apartment.  There’s a large brawl as the three turtles try to fight off the Foot soldiers.  Suddenly Casey Jones appears and fights along side the turtles.  One of the Foot soldiers accidentally creates a fire, and soon there’s a raging inferno.  April leads the turtles out through a hidden door.  Before Casey Jones flees with them, he hears Charles Pennington call and leave a message on April’s answering machine, informing her that she has just been fired.  Casey Jones, April O’Neil and the four turtles escape from the burning building and flee to April’s family farm in upstate New York.

Back at the Foot’s lair, Shredder and Tatsu are angry that the Foot soldiers allowed for the turtles to escape.  Tatsu takes his anger out on the students and he attacks one of them, giving him a severe beating.  Danny goes exploring and discovers Splinter being held captive.  Splinter tries to talk to Danny, but it’s clear that Splinter is concerned about the turtles.

At the farm, everybody gets into a routine while they wait for Raphael to wake from his coma.  Michelangelo enjoys life on the farm, Donatello latches on to Casey Jones, Leonardo keeps a constant vigil on Raphael, and Casey and April begin to bond and become a couple.  Soon Raph wakes and he and Leo make up their differences.

The turtles then focus on training and staying focused on their skills.  One day Leonardo meditates and he hears the voice of Splinter.  He then has the other turtles join him around a campfire and they all meditate.  Suddenly the spirit of Splinter appears over the fire.  He talks to the turtles and tells them that they have mastered the final step in becoming a ninja as they have conquered their own minds.  He tells them to stay focused on one another and to remain as a team.  Splinter concludes his spirit message by telling the turtles that he loves them all.

Knowing that Splinter is still alive, and now that their skills have been improved, it’s time to head back to New York City.  They return to their lair in the sewers and discover that Danny is also there and hiding from his father.  They allow him to stay with them for the night.  Casey Jones is uncomfortable sleeping underground, so he chooses to go back to the surface and sleep in the truck.  Danny has conflicting thoughts in his sleep and he chooses to return to Shredder and the Foot Clan.  Casey sees Danny slip away in the night and chooses to follow him and see where he goes.

Back at the Foot’s lair, Danny goes to Splinter and seeks his advice.  Splinter tells his tale about how he used to have a family when he was the pet of his master Yoshi.  Yoshi was one of Japan’s top fighters.  His only rival was another fighter named Oroku Saki (James Saito).  Both Yoshi and Oroku loved the same woman, but the woman only loved Yoshi.  She persuaded him to flee with her and Splinter to America to seek out a new life.  They did so, but Oroku followed them there.  One day Oroku killed both Yoshi and his wife.  Splinter’s cage was knocked open in the struggle, and the rat jumped onto Oroku’s face, biting and clawing him.  Oroku then used his katana and sliced off one of Splinter’s ears before fleeing the scene.

When Danny asks Splinter about what ultimately happened to Oroku Saki, Splinter tells him that nobody knows.  However, Oroku’s symbol is being used by the Foot Clan today.  Danny realizes that the Foot Clan and Shredder are really evil, and that Shredder has been using him this whole time, so he quits the organization.

Shredder catches Danny by Splinter and thinks that he’s hiding something.  Shredder finds one of April’s drawings of the turtles in Danny’s pocket, so he sends his Foot Clan army back to the sewers to finish the turtles once and for all.

This time the turtles are ready for the attack.  The four ninja turtles work together and easily fight off wave after wave of Foot soldiers.  The fighting eventually shifts back to the surface and then on top of a nearby building.  Just when it seems like they’ve won the battle, suddenly Shredder appears armed with a yari (a spear-like weapon).  When the turtles fight Shredder, they quickly discover that he’s much stronger, faster and tougher than anything that they’ve ever faced.

Meanwhile, back at the Foot Clan’s lair, Casey Jones has infiltrated the building and he runs into Danny.  They quickly find Splinter and start to free him, but they’re stopped by Tatsu.  Casey fights Tatsu and ultimately wins by beating him unconscious with a golf club.  A bunch of street punks then try to fight Casey, but Casey and Splinter both tell them how Shredder has been using them, and that despite calling them a family he cares nothing about them or the people that they have hurt.  The street punks change their minds and allow Casey and Danny to help Splinter escape.

On top of the roof, Shredder eggs on the turtles by telling them that Splinter is dead.  Leonardo is furious and he fights Shredder, but Shredder pins him against the roof.  He threatens to kill him unless the other turtles throw away their weapons.  They do so but one of Michelangelo’s nunchaku catches on the railing and doesn’t fall to the ground.  Just as Shredder is about to kill Leonardo, suddenly Splinter appears on the roof.  Splinter revels Shredder’s true name as Oroku Saki.  When Oroku removes his mask we see that his face is still scarred from when Splinter attacked him years ago.  Now knowing Splinter’s true identity and his connection with Yoshi, Oroku Saki takes his yari and runs to Splinter, intending to kill him.  Splinter dodges the attack and uses Michelangelo’s nunchaku to ensnare Shredder’s yari, leaving him hanging on the edge of the building.

Shredder still tries to kill Splinter by throwing a tanto (knife) at him.  Splinter sees the attack and catches the tanto, allowing the nunchaku to slacked and causing Shredder to fall several stories into a garbage truck.  Casey Jones activates the garbage truck’s compressor, crushing Shredder in the process.

The police arrive and the street punks direct them to the Foot Clan’s lair.  There they’ll find a ton of stolen property as well as other evidence against the Foot.  Charles Pennington also arrives and he reunites with his son.  The two of them now have a better relationship.  Charles also hires April back as a reporter and she talks her way into a bigger office and an increase in pay.  Danny (now going by just “Dan”) also returns the money he stole earlier from April’s wallet.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ends with Splinter and the turtles on top of the roof watching the scene below them.  They cheer when Casey and April kiss each other.  Splinter then tells the turtles that one of his favorite victory cries is “Cowabunga!”

So is 1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a good movie?

Yes, but mainly if you’re a fan of the original TMNT cartoon series from the late 1980s.  Otherwise you’ll probably find this to be a lame, wacky, or just plain weird movie.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon intro – late 1980s / early 1990s

I was nine years old when seeing this movie in the theater with my dad and older brother.  Back then I was a huge fan of the cartoon series, and, naturally, I thought that this was an awesome movie.  The characters were great, the action scenes were plentiful, and the karate moves and ninja weapons were especially appealing.  Back then my brother and I took tae-kwon-do classes (we were in karate class well before the TMNT cartoon and movie came out) and were rapidly moving upwards in the belt rankings.  The fact that TMNT had lots of karate action and was also family-friendly made this a very appealing movie.

Although this movie is full of violence and the turtles use weapons, there’s virtually no blood anywhere on screen.  That was always odd to me as Leonardo’s katanas should have been slicing people open as well as chopping off arms and legs, but we don’t see any of that.  Nor do we see Raphael stabbing people with his sai.  This should have been a bloody movie, but it’s not.  Two of the turtles have deadly weapons, but they never use them to maim or kill anybody.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” Nintendo speed run (w/o cheating)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a hit with the audience.  The success of the movie paved the way for two more live-action sequels.  There was also the promotion with Pizza Hut (even though Domino’s was featured in the movie), and later the ninja turtles went on tour in a rock concert.  The ninja turtles even found their way into the Disney-MGM Studios theme park in Walt Disney World.  And of course, there was a video game for it on the Nintendo.

Looking back at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles today, there’s a great feeling of nostalgia.  While some parts of the movie seem a little bit cheesy by today’s standards, and the dialogue could have used some work, there’s still a powerful message about the family, fatherhood and teamwork.  This movie also heavily uses costumed characters and animatronic puppets.  You won’t find any CGI here.

The ninja turtles were a major part of my childhood.  It also marked the last time that I seriously watched a cartoon show as a kid.  By the time the third ninja turtle film was released I was in middle school and involved in other activities and interests.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) – fan made movie trailer

The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film is a classic today.  Just don’t take it too seriously.  This film has an abundance of corny one-liners and several plot holes as well.  It’s not a perfect movie, but it is still a lot of fun, especially if you were a fan of the original cartoon series.

COWABUNGA!

Michaelangelo – “Yes, Dudes and Dudettes, major-league butt-kicking is back in town.”

——————–

Delivery Man – “Hey, this is a $10! The tab’s $13!”
Michaelangelo – “You’re two minutes late, dude!”
Delivery Man – “Oh, come on, I couldn’t find the place!”
Michaelangelo – “Wise man say: ‘Forgiveness is divine, but never pay pull price for late pizza.’ “

——————–

Casey Jones – “The class is Pain 101. Your instructor is Casey Jones.”
Raphael – “Look, I don’t wanna fight you.”
Casey Jones – “Yeah, well, tough rocks, pal.”

——————–

Splinter – “I am proud of you, my sons. Tonight you have learned the final and greatest truth of the Ninja: that ultimate mastering comes not from the body, but from the mind. Together, there is nothing your four minds cannot accomplish. Help each other, draw upon one another, and always remember the power that binds you. The same is what brought me here tonight, that which I gladly return with my final words: I love you all, my sons.”

——————–

Donatello – “You’re a claustrophobic.”
Casey Jones – “You want a fist in the mouth? I’ve never even looked at another guy before.”

——————–

Danny – “What became of this Oroku Saki?”
Splinter – “No one really knows, but you wear his symbol upon your brow.”