Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990 film)

Did You Know?

• The turtle costumes were developed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, one of Jim Henson's last projects before his death shortly after the premiere.
• Many major studios turned down distribution for the film, worrying it could be a box office disappointment; New Line Cinema acquired the rights halfway through production.

Plot

April O'Neil, a television reporter investigating a crime wave in New York City, is attacked by thieves but saved by unseen vigilantes—the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Raphael loses a sai, which April recovers. The turtles return to their sewer lair, where their adoptive father, a rat named Splinter, advises them to continue practicing ninjutsu. April suspects the Foot Clan is behind the thefts, angering Police Chief Sterns. The Shredder, the Foot's leader, sends soldiers after April; Raphael defeats them and brings her to the lair, unknowingly followed by a Foot soldier. Splinter explains that he and the turtles were mutated by a mysterious chemical. After escorting April home, the turtles find their lair ransacked and Splinter kidnapped. Danny Pennington, a delinquent recruited by the Foot, informs Shredder of the turtles' location. Raphael argues with Leonardo over leadership and is ambushed and beaten by the Foot. Casey Jones helps the turtles fight off the Foot and escape with April. The turtles retreat to April's family farm upstate, where Raphael recovers. Leonardo receives a vision of Splinter and contacts him through astral projection; Splinter delivers a final lesson, inspiring the turtles to return to the city.

Production

In the mid-1980s, creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were pitched a live-action film concept by Roger Corman for New World Pictures, which would have starred comedians Sam Kinison, Gallagher, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Billy Crystal in makeup as the turtles. The script is based mainly on the early Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, including the turtles' origins, rooftop battle, farmhouse sojourn, and battle with Shredder. Elements from the 1980s animated series include the turtles' colored bandanas, love of pizza, Michelangelo's character, and April O'Neil as a television reporter. The budget was $13.5 million. Much of the production took place in North Carolina, with location shoots in New York City during summer 1989. Production designer Roy Forge Smith and art director Gary Wissner photographed New York rooftops and explored an abandoned Brooklyn subway line and a water tunnel for set design.

Release

Live Entertainment Inc. announced the film would go to VHS via its Family Home Entertainment label on October 4, 1990, at a suggested price of $24.99 per cassette. Pizza Hut engaged in a $20 million marketing campaign tied into the film, despite Domino's Pizza being used as product placement. The UK version removed Eastern fighting weapons like nunchaku, using alternate shots of Michelangelo or omitting scenes, and edited the song 'Turtle Power' to change 'ninja' to 'hero'. The unedited version was released on DVD in 2004 in the UK. On October 4, 1990, the film reached No. 4 in the home video market. On August 11, 2009, it was included in a 25th anniversary box set on DVD and Blu-ray. In December 2025, Arrow Video released the film on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray in the UK, US, and Canada.

Reception

The 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film hit US theaters on March 30, 1990, and immediately shot to number one, earning over $25 million in its opening weekend. That set a new record for an independent film at the time. Its opening week gross made it the second biggest US opening ever, trailing only 1989's Batman. The movie proved a massive hit, pulling in more than $135 million domestically and over $66 million internationally for a worldwide total exceeding $200 million, ranking as the ninth highest-grossing film of 1990 globally. It also earned nominations from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. When it returned to theaters in 2025, it earned $3.3 million in its first week, prompting Fathom Events to extend the run and schedule a re-release for the sequel in March 2026. Roger Ebert gave it 2.5 out of 4 stars, calling it "nowhere near as bad as it might have been" and praising the production design as a low-rent take on Batman or Metropolis, though he mistakenly thought it was based on a video game. Variety liked the tongue-in-cheek humor and martial arts but found it visually rough and sluggish. Janet Maslin criticized the poor cinematography, and Kim Newman compared the turtles to Godzilla monsters in foam rubber suits.