TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES CELEBRATES ITS 35TH ANNIVERSARY!

Like most kids of a certain age, I was not immune to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While I watched episodes of He-Man and Transformers, they never seemed like my cup of tea. Not that either of them was bad; I have a basic understanding of each and respect them. I had watched a lot of reruns of the 1966 Batman series with my dad. As hokey as they were, they were fun, but Batman didn’t hit me until I saw the Tim Burton movie. I don’t remember how I came to find the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; they were just there one day.

The first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic was published in 1984 by Mirage Studios, a company owned by the Turtles’ creators, Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. It was meant as a parody of popular superhero comics at the time. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles origin story is even rumored to be a by-product of how another hero from one of the big two got their powers. The comics became a success, and eventually the two creators licensed the characters. Action figures were made and promoted alongside the 1987 animated series, where most fans found them. By then, it was impossible to avoid a pizza promotion or PSA aimed at kids that didn’t feature the four turtles.

Welcome to the Big Screen!

An amalgamation of the comic book and the animated tv show, the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie was released into the world in 1990.The film was produced by the Chinese film company Golden Harvest, which was known for many classic martial arts movies featuring stars like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Jim Henson Studios’ Creature Shop crafted the suits for the Ninja Turtles, which included animatronic masks to give our heroes in a half shell their personalities. When no other studio would distribute the film, New Line Cinema stepped in. Directed by Steve Barron, who had a long résumé of iconic music videos like Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean and A-ha’s Take on Me. The cast was a grab bag of actors and actresses who would go on to do a range of things as their careers progressed. It doesn’t take an eagle eye to find actor Sam Rockwell in one his first roles as the Head Thug.

The film does a great job of honoring what the franchise started as and had become in its short life, blending elements from both Laird and Eastman’s comic and the Saturday morning cartoon. In most cases, such an approach could be a disaster, but not here. Many of the elements that made the Ninja Turtles kid-friendly appear in their personalities, yet some of the scenes are pulled directly from the comic, albeit in a different context.

For instance, both the movie and the comic start with the Ninja Turtles having an early battle after years of training from Splinter. In the movie, they save April O’Neil from random thieves. Raphael loses a sai in the scuffle, and April takes it. Splinter is pleased with their progress. The comic’s fight serves a different purpose, emphasizing Splinter’s background and establishing Oroku Saki (Shredder) as the villain. Splinter’s motive for training the turtles ties more directly to revenge against Oroku Saki in the comic compared to the movie’s coincidental revenge arc.

The Ninja Turtles’ human allies, April O’Neil and Casey Jones, are introduced much earlier in the movie than in the comic. April’s character was adapted straight from the cartoon, where she is a snooping news reporter. Her public persona and inquisitive nature make her an easy target for trouble. Casey Jones, meanwhile, stays true to his comic depiction. In both mediums, Raphael encounters Casey while blowing off steam. In the comic, Raphael stops Casey from killing some criminals, and after an initial skirmish, they become reluctant allies. The movie draws from this dynamic but takes longer to solidify Casey’s friendship.

In the comics, the turtles all wore red eye masks, and their personalities were less distinct early on. It took several issues to develop their traits. The cartoon updated this by giving the turtles different-colored masks and making them more kid-friendly. Leonardo, the leader in blue. Donatello, the smart one in purple. Michelangelo, the party dude in orange. Raphael the angry one in red. These traits carried over to the movie, along with their love for pizza and skateboarding.

Comics vs Movie

Some key moments remain consistent across both versions. April is saved multiple times throughout the franchise. In the comic, the turtles rescue her from Baxter Stockman’s mousers, while in the movie, she’s saved from thieves and later from members of the Foot Clan. In both versions, April is brought back to the sewer, where she freaks out—understandably so.

Another shared event is Splinter’s kidnapping. In both the comic and movie, this event raises the stakes for the turtles. In the movie, April invites the turtles to her apartment for pizza and conversation after walking her home. Upon returning to their sewer hideout, they find it ransacked and Splinter missing. This sets the main story in motion and leads to the connection between Shredder and Splinter’s past.

The climax of both the comic and movie is a rooftop battle with Shredder. The movie replicates this sequence almost beat for a beat while adding humorous quips and tying up subplots involving Casey and April. In both versions, Shredder falls off the rooftop, but in the movie, Splinter confronts him directly for revenge, rather than the turtles finishing the job.

Balance

The movie strikes a balance between honoring its darker comic roots and appealing to younger audiences. While constrained by budget and the need for a kid-friendly tone, it delivers a heartfelt and action-packed story. Siskel and Ebert’s negative review upset me as a child, but in hindsight, the movie walks the line well. Golden Harvest’s expertise in action films shines through, even if special effects weren’t their forte. Given the limitations, they wisely focused on a more human story.

The movie’s success led to a sequel, but it leaned more heavily on the cartoon’s tone and strayed further from the comics. A more comic-accurate sequel might have focused on Baxter Stockman, his mousers, and the corporate intrigue of TGRI (TCRI in the comics). TGRI is featured in the second movie, but the story line in the comics connects the company to Krang aliens. The logistics of creating alien Krang puppets and hundreds of mousers would have been a nightmare, even with Jim Henson’s Workshop.

Despite its constraints, the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie succeeded in capturing the spirit of the franchise. By blending elements of the comic and cartoon, it became a cultural phenomenon. The movie proved that even heroes in a half shell could leave a lasting impact.