Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II – The Secret of the Ooze (1991)
64%RT Audience Score: 67%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 3 nominations
Not only is the movie’s juvenile dialogue unbearable for adults, but the turtles’ dopey and casual attitude towards physical violence makes them poor kids’ role models
Cowabunga, dude! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze is a kitschy, colorful, and action-packed sequel that’s perfect for a fun movie night with friends. Sure, the plot revolves around toxic waste, but who cares when you have four pizza-loving turtles kicking butt and taking names? And let’s not forget the iconic catchphrase that never gets old: “Cowabunga, dude!” So grab some pizza, sit back, and enjoy the ride with the heroes in a half shell.
Production Company(ies)
Wildwood Enterprises Artemis Rising Foundation Foothill Productions,
Distributor
New Line Cinema
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Castle Hayne, North Carolina, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1991
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 28m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 22, 1991 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 3, 2002
Genre(s)
Fantasy/Adventure
Keyword(s)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, PG, 1991, Fantasy/Adventure, 1h 28m, starring Paige Turco, David Warner, Michelan Sisti, Leif Tilden, Kenn Scott, Mark Caso, directed by Michael Pressman, written by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Todd W Langen, produced by David Chan, Kim Dawson, Thomas K Gray, box office gross $78.7M, reviewed by Gene Siskel, Michael Sragow, Michael Wilmington, Dave Kehr, Jay Boyar, Desmond Ryan, Brian D Johnson, John Robinson, Felix Vasquez Jr., Brian Costello, Tim Brayton, Roger Hurlburt, PG rating, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, turtles, ninja, Shredder, radioactive ooze, mutants, Tokka, Rahzar, martial arts, action, adventure, comedy, puppetry, animatronics, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, New Line Cinema
Worldwide gross: $202,084,756
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $465,884,048
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 309
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 50,805,240
US/Canada gross: $135,384,756
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $312,114,577
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 177
US/Canada opening weekend: $25,398,367
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $58,553,125
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 186
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $13,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $31,122,756
Production budget ranking: 1,136
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $16,759,604
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $418,001,687
ROI to date (est.): 873%
ROI ranking: 144
David Warner – Professor Jordan Perry
Michelan Sisti – Michaelangelo, Soho Man
Leif Tilden – Donatello, Foot #3
Kenn Scott – Raphael
Mark Caso – Leonardo, News Room Staff
Director(s)
Michael Pressman
Writer(s)
Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Todd W. Langen
Producer(s)
David Chan, Kim Dawson, Thomas K. Gray
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (15) | Rotten (28)
I don’t think my negative reaction is a case of a parent forgetting the sort of mindless entertainment that he himself enjoyed as a child; rather the turtle fights are more depressing than joyful.
August 6, 2014 | Rating: 1/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
The artful grunge is gone — and so’s the edge. The whole movie is bright yet colorless
August 6, 2014
Michael Sragow
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
More dialogue-heavy and somewhat less frenetic, this sequel is somewhat more to my own taste.
August 6, 2014
Michael Wilmington
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
One finds in them the same unabashed enjoyment of color and movement, of spectacular athletics and outrageous stunts, that animates the Hong Kong action cinema as a whole and makes it so superbly entertaining.
August 6, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Dave Kehr
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
If the new film is considerably less imaginative than your average Punch-and-Judy show, it is, nevertheless, a step up from last year’s turtle-fest.
August 6, 2014 | Rating: 2/5
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
The plot of Turtles II hinges on toxic waste and that turns out to be a pretty accurate description of the film.
August 6, 2014 | Rating: 1.5/4
Desmond Ryan
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lI: The Secret Ooze is funnier, smarter and more entertaining than the original.
March 26, 2019
Brian D. Johnson
Maclean’s Magazine
I found myself sort of liking the turtles and you have to admit that “Cowabunga dude,” is the perfect response to every question.
March 26, 2019
John Robinson
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Nostalgia lens aside, it’s a pretty crummy follow up to the 1990 movie.
June 19, 2016
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
Kitschy nostalgia trip with some martial-arts violence.
May 5, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Brian Costello
Common Sense Media
Hellbent on being innocuous, high-spirited fun, but it just comes off as shrill and shallow and dimwitted.
August 14, 2014 | Rating: 5/10
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
While Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo and Donatello are the spunky, upstaging stars of the film, they also have a better cast and story to work with.
August 6, 2014
Roger Hurlburt
South Florida Sun-Sentinel…
Plot
Through contact with a mysterious ooze, four turtles in the sewers of New York mutate into intelligent pizza-loving humanoids, and are mentored in the art of ninja combat by the wise rat Splinter. When the evil Shredder attempts to take over the world, the turtles set out to stop him.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny comments were made about the film in the Fresh Kernels database.
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