In 1984, now defunct comic book company, Mirage Comics published a book titled, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” or “TMNT” for short. Inspired by “Daredevil,” Frank Miller & Jack Kirby, it’s about four mutated turtles named after brilliant Italian Renaissance icons, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello & Michelangelo. They’re trained by mutated rat, Master Splinter who’s also a father figure to them. Together the turtles battle a ninja criminal organization called, “The Hand” led by The Shredder. The turtles are aided by computer programmer, April O’Neal and fan favorite vigilante, Casey Jones.
Three Years Later, Fred Wolf Films produced a Saturday Morning Cartoon loosely based on TMNT. They also made a deal with toy company, Playmates Toys to create characters including Bebop and Rocksteady to sell merchandise in an attempt to capitalize the financial success as Transformers, G.I. Joe & He-Man. In order for kids to tell the turtles apart, they wear given color coded bandanas. Rapheal’s the only one who keeps his red one. Despite massive changes like a family friendly tone, April’s job as a television reporter and Splinter was a human until he became a rat, the cartoon was a huge success spanning ten seasons from 1987-1996. Merchandise also boosts notoriety for kids to play their toys and come up with their own episodes.
TMNT remains as one of the best-selling franchises selling more toys, produced cartoons aired in 2003, 2012, 2018 and 2024. New Line Cinema produced a live-action adaptation in 1990 (same year Total Recall came out) mixing elements from the comics and ’80s cartoon. It became a commercial hit. Followed by two underwhelming sequels in 1991 and 1993. An animated film came out in 2007. Michael Bay produced a live-action reboot in 2014 and sequel which flopped in 2016. Then, Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg produced a critical and commercial animated reboot, “Mutant Mayhem.”
Mutant Mayhem’s getting a sequel coming in September 17, 2027. A video game (unrelated to the aforementioned reboot) based on IDW’s mini-series, “The Last Ronin” is in development. Plus, it’s getting an R-rated live action movie treatment. Before they come out, I wanna share my thoughts on TMNT’s first movie.
This review contains no SPOILERS.
Strong & Weak Qualities
Strong; Actors did a good job for their respective performances.
Corey Feldman (now a has-been) provides the voice of Donatello.
Action Sequences are pretty good.
Jim Henson’s Workshop built animatronic suits for the stuntmen to play the characters. They still hold up.
Raphael “Raph” is my favorite turtle.
Humor’s got some funny moments like pop culture references. My favorite part is when Mikey twirls his nunchucks competing with a foot soldier to see who’s got the right skills.
Cinematography was shot normally with no technical issues.
Pacing felt stable for a 90-minute movie.
The movie retains the turtles’ distinctive personalities and their love for pizza.
Chemistry between the titular team, April, Casey & Splinter serves as the main highlight.
The turtles and Splinter’s origin story is shown in a flashback.
Shredder’s linked to Splinter’s backstory prior to the latter’s mutation.
Unlike the cartoon, the movie slightly has a dark tone like the comics beforehand. Raph utters out “Damn.” He’s also given a beatdown by The Foot. Apparently, parents complained about violence and swearing which resulted in the sequels to be less edgy. The parents miss the point the movie has elements from the comics not the cartoon. What a bunch of wussies. They don’t realize it’s not “Goodfellas.”
A campfire scene will make you cry. Michael Bay’s live-action reboot lacked emotional depth.
Random Thought 1: My first exposure to TMNT was a Fox Kids tv show called, “The Next Mutation.” The one with a female turtle who joined the team.
Random Thought 2: One movie critic, BloggedByEric mentioned he thought profane language felt outta place in a Ninja Turtles movie. He thinks they’re family friendly. No disrespect, but his opinion’s incredibly stupid. He has no clue the turtles were edgy in the comics. Coming from a dude who’s never watched a Marvel movie or never read a comic in his life. I’ve seen more R-rated comic book movies than him. Proof he’s never ever watched a single one with F-Bombs and gore. Sorry Eric, you’re gonna have to get used to backlash in movie critic territory.
- The Crow
- Blade movies
- The Punisher 2004
- Sin City and its sequel
- 300
- Wanted
- Watchmen
- Kick-Ass and its sequel
- Deadpool movies
- Logan
- Dredd 2012
- Joker
- Birds of Prey
- James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Weak: The movie’s a tad dated. For instance, there’s a shot of the Twin Towers.
The final battle between Splinter & Shredder felt anti-climactic. That’s like witnessing Bruce Lee & Chuck Norris fight lasting only one minute.
The Final Verdict: B, FOR BIGGER AND BETTER
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ first movie still holds up. It had the right balance between a light and dark tone, funny moments, action chemistry and emotional depth. If you wanna introduce your kids to TMNT, watch the original movies and 2003 cartoon. Which turtle is your favorite? Please leave a comment.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 