Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles *** (1990, Judith Hoag, Elias Koteas, Josh Pais) – Classic Movie Review 1769

Cowabunga! Director Steve Barron was first to put the four lean and green hip, pizza-spinning superheroes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the big screen in 1990, following the start of the half-hour ten-season 1987 TV series cartoon, which ran till 1996.

The tame handling of the daft, predictable, none-too-imaginative yarn makes the movie less than bodacious. But there is enough fast-paced slapstick and action to keep children and their parents fairly amused. It was enormously popular worldwide and a huge money-spinner. On a lowish cost of  $13,500,000, it took  $135,270,000 in the US alone. And more films were demanded, with two sequels in succeeding years, and eventually a reboot.

A quartet of mutated humanoid turtles – the inventive Donatello (Corey Feldman and voice of Leif Tilden), leader of the gang Leonardo (David Forman and voice of Brian Tochi), witty Raphael (voice of Josh Pais) and fun-loving Michelangelo (Michelan Sisti and voice of Robbie Rist) – were once mere sewer turtles. But then they were accidentally dropped into a mysterious radioactive substance called Ooze that gave them the gift of speech and caused them to grow and walk tall upright , as well as love pizza.

Splinter (voice of Kevin Clash) is a wise rat becomes their mentor and educates them to become Ninja fighters. They are pitted against Shredder (James Saito and voice of David McCharen), who is after nothing less than world domination.

One day they rescue feisty TV reporter April O’Neil (played by Judith Hoag) from a criminal gang of ninja thieves and soon the awesome foursome plus April are cleaning up the whole of Gotham City and tackling Shredder. Elias Koteas co-stars as Casey Jones.

Writers Todd W Langen and Bobby Herbeck haven’t managed very much real excitement in this rather plain and over-straightforward good-guys-versus-the-bad guys fantasy adventure for children that is rather violent for small kids who would otherwise enjoy it. And the humans are a dull lot. But the ingenious mix of guys in turtle suits and Jim Henson’s animatronics for the heads and long-shots help to make the Teenage Turtles a fairly magical experience.

Sam Rockwell has an early role as Head Thug.

Sequel: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, directed by Michael Pressman in 1991. Second sequel: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, directed by Stuart Gillard in 1992. Rebooted in 2014.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1769

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