Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (1990)

Featured Audience Ratings

• E.J. B

  
  Growing up as a kid, I had two obsessions: Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And of these two, the latter practically consumed me for the first five years of my life. I had countless TMNT toys and would spend hours playing and making up my own adventures. When I discovered… More
  Growing up as a kid, I had two obsessions: Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And of these two, the latter practically consumed me for the first five years of my life. I had countless TMNT toys and would spend hours playing and making up my own adventures. When I discovered the show and the movies, well let's just say the hours I spent not playing with my TMNT toys were spent watching TMNT. Twenty years later, I'm all grown up, but I still look back on the heroes in a half shell with a nostalgic admiration. And I'll even defend this first live action movie as a legitimately good film. The costumes are remarkably well done, from the design to the people underneath the turtle suits. The action is lots of fun while not being too overly violent. Shredder is as much a badass here as he is in the cartoons, and even for an 80s film the story is well told and relevant. The Turtles have always had underlying themes of family and brotherhood. Possessing excellent martial arts skills, they fight only in self defense and to help those who can't fight for themselves. Beyond that, the Turtles are very much like kids, having much to learn about life and looking up to a mentor and role model in their Master, Splinter. I think the whole idea lends itself well to kids because there is so much that they can relate to, especially if they come from broken or single family homes. This film really confronts this kind of subject matter by showing a lot of homeless runaway teens, some no more than 8 years old, finding solace in the wrong place due to a lack of guidance and parents but nevertheless being tempted by the notion of belonging to a family. Even among the comedy, silly Turtle antics, and Elias Koteas' amazing performance as Casey Jones, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has a lot of heart. It bugs me that so many parents were outraged by the dark tone of this film. Its story allows kids to escape from reality while confronting some of the harsher aspects of it. I would have loved to see more films like this one rather than Turtles in Time or Vanilla Ice's Ninja Rap.

• Jeff "

  
  Growing up as a kid, I used to be a huge fan of the cartoon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I remember when this film came out, I was very excited. What five year old wouldn't be? After re-watching this film a while back, I was disappointed. The film has aged very badly, and now I… More
  Growing up as a kid, I used to be a huge fan of the cartoon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I remember when this film came out, I was very excited. What five year old wouldn't be? After re-watching this film a while back, I was disappointed. The film has aged very badly, and now I noticed all the faults that this film possessed. The film might have good back when it was first released, but it hasn't stood the test of time whatsoever. The acting, plot and directing are all bad. This is the type of film that was great as a kid, but when you watch it years later, you wonder why there's anything appealing about it. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a film that hasn't stood the test of time, and looking back, the film was way better back when I was a kid. This is a film that really can't be seen as a classic of your child because the film looks like crap now. Films like The Sandlot and Toy Story are still great because they were well made, and really haven't aged that bad either. But this one has, and it definitely looks dated and looks awful. The acting is terrible, the plot is bad, and the whole is silly. This is one of those films you look at years later, and you're like "what the hell did I love that for?" Well, the cartoon will always be a classic no matter what, it's just a shame that the film hasn't aged well, because when I was a kid, I thoroughly enjoyed it. But now, I saw the films faults, and there are too many to mention. Oh well, the cartoon is great.

• Eric A

  
  Loved this as a little kid, but I gotta rate it overall.

• Chris W

  
  This debuted in theaters on my 4th birthday, and it has been a favorite of mine ever since. I like the second and third ones, but this one has always been my favorite. It's also the best of the three, but that's generally how these things tend to work anyway (for the most… More
  This debuted in theaters on my 4th birthday, and it has been a favorite of mine ever since. I like the second and third ones, but this one has always been my favorite. It's also the best of the three, but that's generally how these things tend to work anyway (for the most part). Anyways, this still holds up pretty well. When I was a kid, I knew this film had a darker edge, but it wasn't until I got older that I realized how dark and edgy it was, and how that works in the film's favor. This came out at a time when the PG rating still meant something, and kids thought it was awesome due to the mild swearing, the rough teens being punks and smoking, and the actual sense of danger and suspense one felt during the fight scenes. It also wasn't until later that I knew that Corey Feldman voiced Donatello, and that the lead punk (the one who offers cigarettes, confronts Casey, Splinter, and Danny at the warehouse, and talks to the cops at the end) was played by Sam Rockwell. I like Judith Hoag, but I like Paige Turco better as April. If only Turco was in this one. Hoag nonetheless does a good job though. Koteas is great as Casey Jones, but it's a shame his character got softened up as the series went on. Even though this is a comic and cartoon adaptation geared towards kids, it still shows some balls, and does a great job of creating atmosphere and building tension. If you suspend disbelief about the Turtles and Splinter being unrealistic, the rest of this movie actually feels pretty plausible. Shredder makes for a dark and convincing crime lord type figure, ninjas make for great menacing thieves, and the idea of using troubled kids as recruits works well in a social problems/urban issues context. Yes, that's right, there is a bit of substance in this film, and a major theme/motif is family, and the powerful bond of it. Of course this is not preachy, and it is given a back seat to turtle action, but it does mean that the film is trying for something greater, even if it is downplayed and not handled in the way an uberserious auteur would. I also like that this is a more serious film, but that there's still some humor, and it is balanced pretty nicely with the more serious stuff. Damn I love this movie. It makes me really nostalgic for the early 90s, and, should a live action reboot ever happen (if done right, it should), I think this is the film that used be used as the main model/template. If it is to be done, make it live action, use puppets and animatronics (not CG), make it dark, make it hard edged (but still retain the humor), and for the love of God, make the turtles actually seem real and plausible, and not cartoony. That's the thing here: you actually feel like what happens, could happen.

• AJ V

  
  If you're a huge fan of the Ninja Turtles, you can't miss this movie. It's fun, slightly cheesy, and exciting. I liked it when I was a kid.

• Tim S

  
  I'd say most of the reason I love this movie is due to nostalgia. I was a turtle fan and was excited out of my skull for a live action movie. Being an adult and trying to be objective about it, it winds up being one of the best comic book movies ever made and just an all around… More
  I'd say most of the reason I love this movie is due to nostalgia. I was a turtle fan and was excited out of my skull for a live action movie. Being an adult and trying to be objective about it, it winds up being one of the best comic book movies ever made and just an all around good time. I never considered this a very family-friendly movie and never understood why it is still marketed that way. It's dark and brooding and has an overall tone to it that doesn't really scream family fun - at least to me. But I love the fact that it's dark. It just makes it all that more interesting. I'm still waiting for the day when this is given a proper deluxe edition treatment on either DVD or Blu-ray, or both. Until then, I'll still continue to enjoy the film in hopes of getting a good presentation of it.

• Coxxie M

  
  if you grew up in the 90's and didnt fall in love with ninja turtles way before u liked boobs, then please, for the good of mankind go move to Iowa.

• Richard C

  
  C

• Conner R

  
  A great movie that almost perfectly captures the tone of the comics. It is way more dark than the cartoon series and has a better feel for the characters. The effects look amazing, even today. They really brought the turtles to life. It is a great story and a lot more in depth than… More
  A great movie that almost perfectly captures the tone of the comics. It is way more dark than the cartoon series and has a better feel for the characters. The effects look amazing, even today. They really brought the turtles to life. It is a great story and a lot more in depth than one might expect.

• Anthony L

  
  It was the classic playground must-see-movie of the time. It?s quite crap though looking at it now! Crap but fun!

• Phil H

  
  Wow, this has aged badly lol check Elias Koteas with hair lol basically this is good clean fun, the animatronic heads and puppets are pretty good (for their time) and the action is well worked, its alittle police academy-ish hehe but this is old remember, its enjoyable but Im not sure… More
  Wow, this has aged badly lol check Elias Koteas with hair lol basically this is good clean fun, the animatronic heads and puppets are pretty good (for their time) and the action is well worked, its alittle police academy-ish hehe but this is old remember, its enjoyable but Im not sure why. Check the Turtles rap at the end, very popular in its time.

• Dean !

  
  An ok live action film version of the popular cartoon. Overall it's pretty good but more for the youngsters.

• Ken S

  
  Classic

• Lenny M

  
  Brilliant.

• Alexander W

  
  Cory Fieldman years, really lives up to its name, and will shock you how old you really are.

• Jason S

  
  When I was a kid the idea of a live action Turtles movie was the most exciting thing in the world. I loved seeing the ad showing the city street with the colorful masks peering out from under a man hole cover. The movie did not disappoint. It was fun and exciting and the effects… More
  When I was a kid the idea of a live action Turtles movie was the most exciting thing in the world. I loved seeing the ad showing the city street with the colorful masks peering out from under a man hole cover. The movie did not disappoint. It was fun and exciting and the effects for the turtles was well done. One of the cool things was that it followed the original comic book pretty closely. All of the cheesy stuff from the cartoon was gone and we were left with a world that looked and sounded much like our own and that made the five foot turtles believable. The movie still holds up today when you watch it.

• danny d

  
  one of the classics, very well done and fun to watch

• Justin Y

  
  If there ever was a successful cartoon to movie adaptation, this is one of them.<p>The story is pretty good and it does a nice job with giving back story of the turtles, Splinter, and Shredder. It would have been nice to have some background on Casey Jones though. Although the… More
  If there ever was a successful cartoon to movie adaptation, this is one of them.<p>The story is pretty good and it does a nice job with giving back story of the turtles, Splinter, and Shredder. It would have been nice to have some background on Casey Jones though. Although the story is good it still tended to feel a little too slow in the middle. Drama fans should enjoy this part since it really is an emotional part of the movie. What the movie also did pretty well was to add humor, but not too much as to turn this film into a comedy. It does a nice job of keeping a serious tone throughout.</p><p>The acting is surprisingly good. Judith Hoag does a nice job as April O'Neill. Its too bad she didn't reprise the role in the future installments. Elias Koteas also did a nice job as Casey Jones. As far as the turtles go, their voices where good and the puppeteers did a decent job with facial movements. Each turtle had their own personality as well. Great stuff.</p><p>The martial arts is good. Especially for guys in turtle suits. The actors could still kick it with the best of them walking around in those things. In fact, the martial arts is still better than the fighting in movies that have come out to this day. That is saying something. I only wished that they could have found the time to insert more of the fighting throughout the film.</p><p>I grew up on this flick and many young people will find this movie enjoyable. This is a good family film to watch on a Saturday night. Cowabunga dudes!

• Lafe F

  
  It was fascinating to see a big-screen adaptation of the TMNT comics. It was not as edgy as the comics. Things were commercial and mainstream. The turtle and rat costumes were well done. The movie had a glossy dark contrasty look. A landmark in filmmaking. The story was very formulaic… More
  It was fascinating to see a big-screen adaptation of the TMNT comics. It was not as edgy as the comics. Things were commercial and mainstream. The turtle and rat costumes were well done. The movie had a glossy dark contrasty look. A landmark in filmmaking. The story was very formulaic and uninteresting. A curiosity to watch, but nothing to treasure.

• Dean M

  
  Cowabunga, dude! Great fun and action-packed comic book for the screen. Four ninja turtles look excellent in the live-action onto their fight scenes against the minions of the evil Shredder.

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