Superhero films were a thing long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe refined our expectations for superhero movies. Admittedly, these movies ranged in quality, but one could argue that’s still happening today. The ’90s created so many fantastic comic book movies, including Men in Black, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Blade, and The Mask. However, one of the best adaptations of the time is arguably one of the most underrated, and in this case that’s especially criminal. We mean none other than the 1990 superhero film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a live-action movie with grand goals and which wasn’t afraid to take a big risk.
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This 1990 movie was the first film adaptation of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). Prior to its debut, the series had been made famous by its toy line and animated series, which the movie pulled liberally from. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was only 93 minutes long, telling an incredibly tight story in a short amount of time. It took dozens of creatives working together to make this production work, as actors, voice actors, and puppeteers were all needed to bring this story to life.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Required A lot of Work Behind the Scenes
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is as impressive now as it was when it was released, but maybe not for the reasons you might think. It took a lot of passion to bring this film to life, plus a fair bit of fighting and shopping around. Our iconic four characters were created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, which is exactly as cool as it sounds. On a more somber note, this was one of the final projects Jim Henson himself worked on, and that should be noteworthy. It took so many people working together to bring each of these fighters to life. We’re talking voice actors, in-suit performers, puppeteers for the faces, plus stunt doubles. To say Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a labor of love would be an understatement, and it shows through every small detail and reveal.
Getting the visuals for the TMNT right was critical, and the Creature Shop went all out to make it right. It’s hard to believe that this movie wasn’t all CGI, but groundbreaking animatronics and clever practical effects enabled the crew to make lifelike characters without having to lean too heavily on CGI. The suit design is part of the reason behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles‘ shorter runtime. The suits were physically demanding to wear and operate, limiting the length of scenes, reshooting abilities, and more. As such, the team had to work to create a story that made sense in a shorter timeframe, limiting the need for expensive additional scenes or reshoots.
Capturing the Tone of What Makes TMNT Work
If there’s one thing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had to get right, it was the tone. The movie was both gritty and playful, which is difficult to juggle even now. The TMNT may be a group of goofballs at heart, but there’s a reason this city needs them, and the film does a fantastic job of portraying this. Despite the more playful nature of the iconic team, there were real stakes at hand, with Splinter captured, near-death experiences, and vulnerable adolescents at risk. Out of all the TMNT movies, 1990 did the best job at capturing this blend of tones, providing a story that’s closest to what comic book fans craved. While not all the others were necessarily bad films, this one stands out in our hearts, for obvious reasons.
One of the best parts about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is that it trusted its audience. It didn’t talk down to the children watching it, and it assumed they’d be able to keep up with the more complex themes. As such, Shredder was allowed to be a major threat and not just the butt to all TMNT jokes. Likewise, the themes of family, fatherhood, and legacy rang true, especially as Splinter interacted with his children and the humans he met along the way.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles should still be considered an underrated movie after decades of high profile superhero movies. It did great at the box office, hitting number one in sales for its opening weekend; however, the critics were quick to tear into it, giving it poor ratings and harshly comparing it to other superhero films of the time. The older we get, the more we see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as the gem it is. This movie had heart, passion, and a lot of comedy. It didn’t take itself too seriously and delivered on all the promises it made, including daring visuals at the time.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is available to rent from several platforms, including Amazon Prime Video and Google Play.
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