Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
Last Watch Date - February 15, 2024
Total Times Watched - Hmm, good question. A lot.
Comments
This movie was a big deal when I was a kid. I remember watching it in theaters AND many times after on "HOME VIDEO." The cartoon from the 80s set the stage for some goofy turtle action and I was a massive fan of Raphael in particular. My dad used to torture me by telling me Race Bannon (from Johnny Quest) would beat up the turtles. My TINY BRAIN couldn't handle this. There's NO WAY an old crusty dude would beat up 4 teenage ninjas! Especially if they're turtles.
The somewhat weird thing about this movie is that it changes the backstory of the turtles and how they came to be. The story of Shredder and Splinter is a bit different as well, although the major strokes are still there. What I find oddest about this movie is the giant teen boy thief / ninja training building. These japanese dudes are training kids to become ninjas simply to steal small electronics and hang out smoking cigarettes? It's a confusing premise.
Because this isn't a typical movie, I'm going to skim over the acting. It's super corny but it fits the theme of the movie. The voices of Raphael and Donatello are probably the worst, while Michaelangelo is by far the biggest improvement over his series voice. Raph never had a good voice actor really. Leonardo sounded way better in the cartoon. April was fine I guess. Casey Jones was similarly fine. I wish he had his mask on more.
So from a story perspective, there's not really all that much here. It's a pretty silly story about turtles trying to save a rat from THE SHREDDER. Lots of corny jokes, SUPER dated references, and silliness ensues. Speaking of those references. They're not even really good for the time period. I think they were meant to be aimed at adults to keep them from killing themselves during this movie.
I watched this tonight with my older kids (who are in their mid-teens) because there are turtles in the Fortnite shop and they don't know anything about them. They laughed at how stupid it was many times. I also laughed! But it dragged a bit in the middle. There's a bit of a lull when Raph goes down and the turtles fight (and lose) to the FOOT CLAN. I can only take so much sulking, especially in a goofy movie like this. I can't remember if the second and third are like this or not, but I'LL FIND OUT!
Recommended?
No probably not. It's fun for me to revisit since it was a childhood staple, but it's so dated. On the plus side, the turtle suits are really well done and their love of pizza will never die.
