Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was one of the strangest phenomenon’s in kids tv history. Starting off as a graphic novel series created as a satirical look on brooding action stories like Batman and Daredevil in 1984 by Mirage Studios, the concept was so popular and silly that it somehow made its way into television, with the first animated tv show of the concept being created in 1987. Like most crazy ideas that were made into children’s entertainment at the time, the show was mainly made to sell toys, relied heavily on episodic situations and crazy humor to stick with kids, and was expected to crash and burn the second a new trend was invented. Though through some miracle, the story of four mutant turtles that practice ninjutsu didn’t only keep going after the 80s but is still going strong with its fourth animated series, Rise of the Ninja Turtles, just being created in 2018. Along with the cartoon, several comics have still been made with tons of cross-overs, a bunch of toys that were created for the show to draw from as opposed to the other way around, and several movie versions from across the generations and various versions. The first film to start this trend was the 1990 film. As the crime rates in New York skyrocket due to an underground gang known as The Foot run by a dangerous figure called The Shredder (played by James Saito), news reporter April O’Neal (played by Judith Hoag) tries to uncover the crime’s source but gets jumped and saved by four anthropomorphic ninja turtles named Michelangelo (voiced by Robbie Rist), Leonardo (voiced by Brian Tochi), Donatello (voiced by Corey Feldman) and Raphael (voiced by Josh Pais). Taking her to their sewer home to their father, a giant talking rat named Splinter (voiced by Kevin Clash) April and the turtles find themselves caught up in The Foot’s attacks and become a new target, which results in Splinter being captured. Along with fellow vigilante Casey Jones (played by Elias Koteas), the turtles have to find their lost father and take down The Foot for good. Ninja Turtles has always been dumb; the main premise was not even meant to be taken seriously upon its creation. But for fans of the Turtles in any of their incarnations, this movie will deliver exactly what you are expecting.
At the time, the movie was forced to be made independently; despite how massive a franchise it was and how much money was earned from the property, no company was willing to make the movie as it was feared it wouldn’t work as a film. So, at the time, the film was the highest grossing independent movie until The Blair Witch Project took that position. The movie took heavy inspiration from the 80s cartoon, incorporating the turtle’s characteristics and the goofier tone, while also taking elements from the original graphic novel which was much serious in tone and featured the turtles backstory, adding to the film’s story direction and atmosphere. If someone was to unpack the actual pieces for this story, there wouldn’t be took much to hold onto; the villain’s motivation is seriously minimal, the real dilemma of the movie doesn’t really start until halfway through, and the actual story beats are still very silly. It is a very dumb film, but it’s clear that its aware of this and doesn’t feel ashamed of it. It understands its target demographic and really only directs itself towards them instead of being higher than it can reach. For that specific audience, this film is perfect for them; creating an atmosphere and spirit that is goofy and fun like the show yet grounded just enough that it feels like the stakes are upped compared to the cartoon. It’s a fairly short sit to get through and while there are a lot of moments that won’t work for casual film-viewers, for fans of the show it will get them sucked in easily and let them witness their favorite turtles kick butt on the big screen.
The Turtles characters were never the most complex of personalities to begin with, really only existing as a means to separate them apart and give them renaissance painter names to pretend like they were teaching kids something important. But with that said, they each are likeable enough and stand out from the other, as well as incorporating aspects of teenage hood that they could identify with; Leo was the need to step forward and lead, Ralph was the angst rebellious angle, Donnie was the brain-heavy geeky side, and Mickey was the goof-ball kiddish angle. Each one looks different not just in headband color but also in size and facial structure as well so they can be easily told apart from the other. Splinter is your typical wise mentor figure but having him be a gigantic fighting rat with the voice actor of Elmo makes him pretty cool and likeable. The real two stars of the movie are Judith Hoag as April O’Neal and Elias Koteas as Casey Jones. These two bring so much life and passion to their parts that they are both infectiously charming. Though neither look anything like their comic versions, both embodied their character’s identities and attitudes perfectly while also adding their own spins on them, they both share great chemistry with each other and are wonderful to watch the whole time. Shredder as a villain is pretty bad; doing nothing of value until the last minutes of the film, having a backstory that is good but not really utilised, a costume that is kinda threatening but also pretty silly, and going out in a pretty ridiculous way. That mixed with his pathetic plan makes him work for fans of the show, but not for anyone else.
For creations that could so easily be done in CGI nowadays, seeing the turtles in physical space due to puppetry and animatronics is amazing and very impressive to witness. The suits were created by famous muppet creator Jim Henson and his team, giving them that great illusion that comes with the majority of his work that even though it’s obvious they’re just suits with people inside (as sometimes you can actually see them) they feel alive in how they move and express. They don’t feel restrictive in their motions or in any of the action scenes and the physicality that comes with them removes any distance of realism that CG creates regardless of how good it is. They can look strange for some and often times the technical issues can be spotted, but the effort is clearly shown, and they still look amazing even in current times. Even though the action doesn’t feel slow or difficult with the costumes on, the fight scenes are not anything that special. They have nice room for space due to the open areas and once and a while there’s an impressive stunt, but overall, they are utilised more for entertaining purposes instead of any dramatic purposes, at least above what the film views as emotional. The writing has a very strong 80s vibe that is influenced by the style the film creates and the environment it lives in, where a majority of the characters feel defined, despite how minimal time is given, the acting is allowed to be a hint over-the-top and the tone can more easily flow between silly and serious.
If you aren’t pushed away by a story about four talking humanoid ninja-practicing pizza loving turtles who fight a massive ninja gang led by a man looking more like a pin-needle than a warrior, then this movie is going to offer exactly what you’re looking for. If you don’t like Ninja Turtles, this film will in no way sway you, instead remind you of why you didn’t like it. However, if you like the series, this will be pretty amazing for you as it feels like a mixture between its cartoon roots and its comic roots, blending together surprisingly nicely. The movie has some very good charming actors, a lot of impressive technology, and a tone that is surprisingly balanced and not distracting for what it’s doing. It’s a great movie for what it’s trying to be, and that makes it a fairly good movie as an overall experience. Not as weird as when they made a female one with breasts, and not as annoying as when they gave the property over to Michael Bay, this film will be cowabunga fun for anyone who likes the Turtles.