Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) - Comic to Movie #21

"Ultimate mastering comes not from the body, but from the mind. Together, there is nothing your four minds cannot accomplish."

Director

Steve Barron

Cast
Brian Tochi - Voice of Leonardo

     *David Forman - Leonardo performer
Josh Pais - Voice and performer of Raphael

Corey Feldman - Voice of Donatello

      *Leif Tilden - Donatello performer
Robbie Rist - Voice of Michelangelo

      *Michelan Sisti - Michelangelo performer 

Kevin Clash - Voice and puppeteer of Splinter

James Saito - Oroku Saki / The Shredder

Toshishiro Obata - Master Tatsu
Judith Hoag - April O'Neil
Elias Koteas - Casey Jones
Jay Patterson - Charles Pennington
Michael Turney - Danny Pennington

If there's one thing I can say about the 1990 comic-based movie "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," it's that the movie is much better than a lot of folks and critics give it credit for.

Sure, the idea of four mutated talking juvenile turtles named after Renaissance painters is an outlandishly silly idea. Creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird knew that when they created these characters as a lark back in the early 1980s.  

I recently watched the 1990 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" with my kids. And I've seen it several times before. So, obviously it was time for me to say something about it.

While I enjoyed this movie in my youth, it has taken some deeper meaning in my adult years. I'm not referring to any nostalgic investment I have in this movie specifically, or in the Ninja Turtles in general. 

This movie brings together the style of a children's movie against a gritty, dark comic book action story.

In this movie, New York City is suddenly plagued with a crime wave...as though crime waves are a new problem in the "Big Apple." 

April O'Neill (Judith Hoag), a news reporter for channel 3 news, has been reporting on this silent wave of crime involving a high level of theft and juvenile delinquency. 

She suspects that hotheaded Police Chief Sterns (Raymond Serra) knows more about the group behind this rise in crime than he's letting on. 

After getting off work one evening, April happens to catch a group of young thugs stealing from one of the news vans. 

They jump her, but she's saved by unseen vigilantes which are obviously the Ninja Turtles. Who doesn't know their names by now? Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello. Incidentally, Donatello - the brains of the turtles - was almost named after Italian sculptor and architect. Gianlorenzo Bernini. After a coin toss, Eastman and Laird decided on Donatello instead. So, the world almost got Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bernini. Doesn't quite have the same effect. 

Anyways, the turtles live in a liar in the sewer along with their mentor, Master Splinter - a mutated rat who is a master of ninjutsu. He taught the turtles this form of martial arts while raising them himself. 

After the turtles rescue April, they return to their lair where Splinter instructs them to master the art of invisibility. 

Raphael, meanwhile, returns in a bad mood because he lost one of his weapons - a sai - during the rescue. She happened to see it just as the police arrived and stuck it in her purse. 

He decides to head to the street surface, disguised of course, to catch a movie and cool off. While up on the street, he gets into a fight with another vigilante called Casey Jones (Elias Koteas).

April keeps digging into this crime wave, discovering that the group behind it all is known as the "Foot Clan" who use an abandoned warehouse as a hideaway. As she reports it on television, the head of the Foot Clan, the Shredder (James Saito) orders some of his clan to silence her. 

The Shredder has been recruiting wayward kids to commit these crimes all around the city. 

Some of the Foot Clan ninjas attack April on a subway platform. Little do they know that Raphael happened to follow her down there. After they knock her out, Raphael attacks them, rescues the

unconscious April and takes her back to the sewer lair.

Thinking he took down all the ninjas, Raphael doesn't realize that one of the Foot Clan is following him back to the turtles' lair only to report back to the Shredder. 

After April wakes up and freaks out at the sight of four talking mutated turtles and a rat, Splinter reveals their origins to her. 

As odd as the situation is, she lets the turtles escort her home where she invites them in for pizza. As luck would have it, that's their favorite food. So, how could they say no.

After hanging out and having a laugh, they head back to the sewer only to find the place sacked and Splinter missing. 

They return to April's to hide and figure out what to do next. 

When April's boss, Charles Pennington (Jay Patterson) and his delinquent son, Danny (Michael Turney) drop by April's apartment to check in after her attack. 

The turtles hide like the ninjas they are. But Danny happens to catch a glimpse of one of the turtles, who disappears just before he can get a good look. 

Danny, who's involved in this Foot Clan, tells Shredder about what he saw and where he saw it. 

The Shredder sends his Foot Clan to April's apartment just as Raphael is up on her roof blowing off some steam. 

They outnumber him, and then attack the rest of the turtles. Casey Jones, who's up on his own apartment roof, happens to spot the Foot Clan attack Raphael from a distance. 

So, he goes to help. 

The fight leaves April's apartment up in flames. She and the turtles are forced to escape and hide in an abandoned farmhouse that belongs to April's family. Casey Jones joins them there. 

Danny quickly feels immensely guilty that his actions have caused so much chaos. 

He goes to speak to Splinter, who's being held captive by the Shredder inside the hideaway. 

Splinter's words give Danny a change of heart about the life of petty crime he's picked up, as well as a change in attitude towards his father whom Danny thinks has no interest in him. 

The turtles receive a message from Splinter through astral projection which spurs them to return to their lair back in the city.

There, they find Danny in hiding. 

Later that night, when everyone's asleep, Danny sneaks off back to the Clan's secret hideout to go talk to Splinter. Casey Jones catches him sneaking out and follows him there. 

Splinter confides in Danny, explaining that before he mutated, he learned ninjutsu from his master, Hamato Yoshi. A rival of Yoshi named Oroku Saki was immensely jealous of Yoshi as he had won the love of a woman named Tang Shen whom Oroku Saki also loved. 

Shen and Yoshi moved to New York together in order to escape Saki's jealous wrath. 

But Saki found out they were in New York, and killed them both. 

In retaliation, Splinter attacked Saki and scratched his face leaving a scar. Saki tried to kill the rat, only to slice Splinter's ear. 

Danny asks what became of Oroku Saki. Splinter replies that no one knows, but his emblem is on the headband Danny's wearing. 

Just then, Shredder catches Danny leaving Splinter's company and can tell he's hiding something. He pulls out a picture April drew of Leonardo from Danny's pocket. Shredder figures out that the turtles have returned. 

Now, the turtles are forced to face Shredder in order to save Splinter and severe the Foot Clan's grip on the city. 

This movie was made at the height of Ninja Turtle popularity. And as a comic book-based movie, it was released in the shadow of Tim Burton's popular 1989 comic book-based movie "Batman." I'll get to that movie in a later post. 

Jim Henson's creature shop does an amazing job at the designs of the turtle costumes and puppetry. Not only does each turtle bear a different color head band to distinguish them, but their facial features are distinct as well. 

On top of that, each performer gives their respective character a unique personality. 

Brian Tochi gives Leonardo a leadership attitude who calls the shots, but not without some uncertainty and trepidation as to whether he's making the right choice or not. 

For the first time, he's left to lead without Splinter's guidance. 

Josh Pais gives Raphael a closed-up personality. He needs his brother turtles, but he doesn't want that need to show. He's gruff and angry. Pais gives him a lower east-side New York accent which makes Raphael sound very sure of himself. But his vulnerabilities aren't as hidden as Raph thinks they are. 

Corey Feldman makes his character, Donatello, the brains of the turtles. He acts as their support. He gives the other turtles a silent respect as he lets them figure out their issues but not without a shoulder or extra ear. 

Robbie Rist makes Michelangelo the most juvenile of the turtles, as his character is more fun-loving and the most teenager-like, especially with his crush on April. He also comes across as the most emotional. 

Cartoon sound effects and corny gags are sprinkled within the gritty tone of the movie. Yet, some scenes are intense, such as the Shredder's initial entrance onto the screen with the camera above him as he walks into frame with a long dark shadow appearing before him. Youth surround him awaiting his instructions. The camera moves from above to behind the Shredder giving his entrance a strong feeling of dread and intimidation. 

There's a warm sense of family through the movie. It starts with Splinter and the four turtles against Shredder's Foot Clan and the wayward children he instructs to steal and terrorize New Yorkers for his sake operating under the false pretense that they're a family. 

The Foot Clan's hideaway, full of stolen goodies like stereos, video games, and electronics, is like a dark inner-city version of Pleasure Island from "Pinocchio."  The Shredder's recruitment of these kids while convincing them that they're all family and he's their father parallels the story, "Oliver Twist" in which children are trained to be thieves and pickpockets by the infamous criminal Fagin. 

On top of that, we see April's boss, Charles Pennington, trying to keep his relationship with his son Danny, who's involved in Shredder's Foot Clan, together.

It's not clear where the fracture in their tumultuous father and son relationship comes from. Maybe a divorce? But it's clear that Danny is looking for guidance and a father who's not too busy for him. He tells Splinter, "My father could care less about me." 

Splinter's response makes him think about himself from his father's point of view.

"I doubt that. All fathers care for their sons." 

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" may be a movie tarnished just a little by the ludicrous but highly imaginative idea of four anthropomorphic turtles who practice ninjutsu, the movie works well thanks to its writing and masterful puppetry and costume designs from Jim Henson's Creature Shop. This movie spawned two sequels, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze," and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III" which I reviewed back in 2020. 

The film is certainly well cast. And the chemistry between the actors is clearly present. In my opinion, Hoag portrays April O'Neill the best compared to the following sequels. Her version is lively with personality, likeability and great chemistry with the four turtles she has to work alongside with. Her April is the most unforgettable. 

Sure, comic book enthusiasts and Ninja Turtle fans give this movie the most credit. Looking past the concept of "teenage mutant ninja turtles," this movie is well executed and deserves that credit and attention.