Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (1990)
73%RT Audience Score: 81%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 3 nominations
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is exactly as advertised: one-liners, brawls, and general silliness. Good for the young at heart, irritating for everyone else
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been around for decades, and while some critics may not be impressed with the latest movie, it’s still a fun ride for fans of the franchise. Sure, the product placements are a bit much, but who doesn’t love pizza? And while the plot may not be the most fleshed out, the fights and stunts are genuinely exciting. Plus, the hokey humor and characters have a certain charm that’s perfect for a late-’80s kitsch fix. So grab some pizza and enjoy the ride with the turtles!
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
New Line Cinema
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Castle Hayne, North Carolina, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1990
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 33m
-
Language(s):English, French
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 30, 1990 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 24, 1998
Genre(s)
Fantasy/Adventure
Keyword(s)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, PG, Fantasy, Adventure, 1h 33m, directed by Steve Barron, written by Todd W Langen, Bobby Herbeck, produced by David Chan, Kim Dawson, Simon Fields, starring Judith Hoag, Elias Koteas, Josh Pais, Michelan Sisti, Leif Tilden, David Forman, reviewed by John Dorschner, Valerie Monroe, Henry Sheehan, Gene Siskel, Michael Wilmington, Carrie Rickey, Sean Collier, Mike Cecchini, Tim Brayton, Roger Hurlburt, Ralph Novak, box office gross $133.1M
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
Elias Koteas – Casey Jones
Josh Pais – Raphael, Man in Cab
Michelan Sisti – Michaelangelo, Pizza Man
Leif Tilden – Donatello, Foot Messenger
David Forman – Leonardo, Gang Leader
Director(s)
Steve Barron
Writer(s)
Todd W. Langen, Bobby Herbeck
Producer(s)
David Chan, Kim Dawson, Simon Fields
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (54) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (32)
The calculated money-grubbing motives are so obvious it overwhelms the delightful turtles.
August 18, 2021 | Rating: 2/4
John Dorschner
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
So should you take your kid to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? I’m not recommending that you do – this movie will not enrich your child’s worldview.
March 17, 2020
Valerie Monroe
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
The one subplot that could have been milked, about a young friend of O’Neil’s who falls in with the gang, is handled indifferently and fails to supply much in the way of a youthful identification figure.
May 29, 2015
Henry Sheehan
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
The cynicism of the motion picture industry will be apparent to any child who is exposed to the many product plugs for a nationwide pizza delivery company.
August 6, 2014 | Rating: 2/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
As a movie, Ninja Turtles would make a better cereal. It looks like it needs a little milk and mother-wit poured over it, something to make it snap, crackle and pop.
August 6, 2014
Michael Wilmington
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Ninja Turtles is cluttered and flashy. In terms of plot, there’s not much flesh on its bones.
August 6, 2014 | Rating: 2/4
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was, if not conventionally good, very, very interesting.
October 11, 2021 | Rating: 7/10
Sean Collier
Box Office Prophets
The fights and stunts in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are genuinely exciting, made all the more remarkable by the fact that they’re mostly being done by guys in 50 pounds of foam rubber.
March 17, 2020
Mike Cecchini
Den of Geek
The unapologetically hokey humor and dialogue and characters have their charms for sheer late-’80s kitsch value.
August 14, 2014 | Rating: 6/10
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
Despite brisk direction by Steve Barron, plus unbridled energy and fine special effects, an overt glorification of violence is still at the crux of this stunt film.
August 6, 2014
Roger Hurlburt
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
A movie that displays two traits nobody would ever associate with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: It is grim and it is no fun.
August 6, 2014
Ralph Novak
People Magazine
Elias Koteas scores as a mock-turtle vigilante, and there are some nifty turtle effects from the Henson Creature Shop, but little else hits the target, despite Barron covering the cracks with fast editing.
August 6, 2014 | Rating: 2/5
Alan Jones
Radio Times…
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 found in the Fresh Kernels database for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Steve-Barron.jpg
