Thoughts on TMNT (1990) · 4:27am Aug 27th, 2023
Rewatched this earlier in the week, as I'd been in the mood to revisit the original TMNT movie after having seen "Mutant Mayhem."
It was fun to watch this again, even if I wouldn't call it a "great" movie. But as far as live-action versions of cartoons go, it's still very solid. And for that matter, while this movie takes a few cues from the 1987 Turtles cartoon (the Turtles' color-coded masks, their distinct personalities and love of pizza, April's job as a reporter), a lot of the movie's plot very strongly takes from the original Turtles comics: in a lot of ways I'd say that this movie very deftly threads the needle between the lighthearted Saturday morning cartoon, and the much grimmer and more violent Mirage comics.
The title characters have plenty of silly moments between them, but the Shredder is a genuinely serious villain. One thing that I really like about this movie in particular is the way it balances the cartoon Shredder (a would-be world conqueror) with the comics Shredder (who died in his debut issue): the character is still a threat to the city, but he isn't a supervillain, he is more like a crime lord; recruiting disaffected teens to steal for him, and indoctrinating them to become ninjas in the brutal Foot Clan. This also makes him an evil counterpart to Master Splinter, the Turtles' father figure, as well; which nicely adds to the dynamic between the Turtles' sensei and the master of the Foot.
Another thing that this movie does nicely is its presentation of the theme about families and fathers: you have the Turtles and Splinter (the good, happy family), Shredder and the Foot (the evil and abusive "family"), and then you have Danny and his father (who are in the middle) Having typed that out, it's also interesting to look back on this movie and note that the cast is still very large - you have the four Turtles, Splinter, April, Danny and Charles, the Shredder, Casey Jones, and the police chief - and yet, it still largely works.
I did notice, more so than on previous viewings, how Raphael is the only Turtle who really gets an actual character arc (which to be fair is quite nicely done), and Michelangelo and Donatello are largely comedy relief; that April and Casey's romance is very perfunctory; and the Shredder's ultimate defeat happens thanks to Splinter and not the Turtles' own efforts... but even with all of that, the movie still manages to entertain, and even impress in some places. 
(For one thing, more than ever, I am amazed at the animatronics work done for the Turtles themselves. The Jim Henson Creature Shop really did an outstanding job with the work for both the Turtles and Splinter. 
On an emotive level, the campfire scene for the Turtles is a standout. On an action level, the climactic battle with the Foot, and then Shredder, is another standout. Splinter in general is a great puppet character. I particularly enjoyed the scene where he consoles Raphael.)
(And for another, I'm still impressed by the teeth that the movie shows with the Shredder's demise. Bad guys falling to their doom is nothing new, but falling into the bed of a garbage truck and the compactor being turned on? Wow! 
)
All in all, a fun way to have passed a lazy morning. May not be a "great" movie by any means, but it was enjoyable to revisit for sure. 
This movie is the very first iteration of the Turtles I have ever seen; while I'm more of a casual viewer of the franchise, I do still enjoy the movie. Which reminds me, I should check it out again at some point...
All in all, solid review ^^
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This movie was also my first ever exposure to the Turtles as a whole. I think I first watched it when I was a kid, maybe seven or eight, being babysat. I most strongly remembered Splinter's flashback of his and the Turtles' origin, as well as the final fight with the Shredder. I didn't get into the Turtles in general until later on, when I was in high school. Then I eventually sought out my own copy to see if it held up and it's remained on my shelf since.
Thanks for the compliment! If you do check the movie out again, I hope it's still fun
I remember this movie from my childhood. Wasn't my first exposure to the TMNT - that honor goes to the cartoon - but I liked it well enough. I'd probably like it better now.
Hey how do you feel about Rise of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show?
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Haven't seen it. My TMNT cartoons so far have been the 4Kids show from the 'oughts, and then the 2012 series from Nickelodeon. I've heard good things about Rise Of, but haven't watched it as of yet.
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It's a good movie.
And I need to look into the original cartoon someday, honestly... after all, it's the one that put the heroes on the half shell on the map, as it were.
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You really should. A warning. It STARTS OFF seemingly more goofy but the whole series and it's finale movie are worth watching.
5744194
I don't mind the show starting off goofy and getting more serious. That's not an issue at all.
But thanks for the heads up all the same.
5744195
Another thing to is the weapons are different... well aside from Donnie. But stick is hard to change up.
5744210
I've heard that the weapons are different too. That doesn't bother me one bit, honestly.
The Turtles have only been around for a good few decades. It's not the end of the frigging world if they mix it up some. (Plus, hey, in the 2012 cartoon, Donnie's staff could become a naginata and Mikey's nunchaku could become a kusarigama. So it's not like this is completely brand new.)
5744215
My only complaint IMO is..... how they do my boy Shredder. NOT how strong he is or design wise.... but character wise the poor guy kinda suffers.
Though Oroku Saki himself is solid as is.
And trust me there's a reason that portion is spoilered. Don't look if you wanna go in spoiler free.