This movie holds up. The Jim Henson turtle outfits look great, the humor is mostly still spot on, and Elias Koteas has always been an underrated performer.

The plot of this film is so tight. The way it's just barely implied that Chief Sterns uses April's boss to shut April up and eventually get her fired in order to clear the charges on Danny, the way Danny sells out April and causes all the chaos, and the way it trusts the audience to make those connections without showing us any of it is really well done.

This movie is timeless for me. They will never make a better TMNT movie ever IMO.

“Ah, the rat. So it has a name…. It had a name.” Dayumn, that line is still chilling, even 30+ years later. That movie was, and still is, incredible!

I only knew of the Turtles because of the cartoon and I was obsessed with the show even though any merchandising including toys was nowhere to be found in my country. One day my uncle calls our home and asks to speak to me to tell me he has a movie of those “Ninja Frogs” that I love so much. I was so confused but after I visited his home a few days after I saw that it was a movie about the TMNT. It was given out with a special meal offer from a local Pizza chain. I watched the movie and I was completely captivated by everything I saw. The TMNT will also forever be connected to a childhood trauma that I had when my country was invaded by Iraq in august 1990 and when we escaped to Saudi Arabia it was safe for us but my grandmother was staying in southern England at the time as she had left there for vacation in July. That’s where we ended up going later in October and discovering everything TMNT related you could possibly think of. My mom bought me the toys, candy, clothing, backpack..and I played the 1989 arcade game and even got a couple of VHS tapes. I also learned how to draw them when I was there. Something that I still know how to do. Believe it or not I’m giving you guys the short version. TMNT was the only thing that made that whole situation bearable for me. I was only 10 years old.

I almost died seeing this movie. I was 4 years old, I was so excited i ran out of my room slipped and fell down a flight of stairs. It did not stop me and it was totally worth it.

The fight on the Rooftop with Shredder was, and still is, one of the best fights in Turtles period. What they did at the time was amazing and has yet to be outdone.

Rewatching this as an adult, I think the reason this movie holds up so well is the character drama, and just how SOLID and grounded the story is. It's a story about family, and what being a family means. When folks tell me it was just a silly kid movie, I always say something along the lines of, "If you simply replaced the turtles and Splinter with normal humans, just orphaned teenagers growing up in a dojo, you wouldn't be saying that. " It would feel like the exact same film, with the same drama, action, and comedy. But, I bet they wouldn't think of it the same manner they did before. I'd almost guarantee they would see it as it really is: A terrific story about what it means to be part of a family. That's how good the story beats and plot are.

As a kid it’s amazing to see the Ninja Turtles. As an adult it’s amazing to see actual humans doing backflips and fight scenes in full body suits with remotely controlled animatronic faces.

This movie aged like fine wine, i would consider it one of the best comic book adaptations of all time. Loved it as a kid, still love it as an adult. Thank you so much for this episode Dan, you guys rock ❤❤❤ NOW PLZ PLZ PLZ DO AN EPISODE ON WINSPECTOR ALREADY

I firmly believe that TMNT is one of the best movies ever made. shredders plan? One of the best villian plans of all time. “First we steal stuff. Then we sell it.” No lights in the sky. No killing everyone on the planet. Just plain human greed. The scene where Raphael is angry about losing a sai, Leonard gingerly puts his hand on Raphaels shoulder, Raphael swats it away, and then Leonardo punches him, is some of the best non verbal scriptwriting in any film ever. It tells you volumes about two characters, their personalities and their complicated relationship in literally two seconds.

This movie came out just a few days before my 8th birthday. It was everything 8 year old me could have ever wanted to see on screen. I didn’t care that it was missing bebop, rocksteady, and Krang. I didn’t care that it didn’t have the blimp or turtle communicators. I didn’t even care that the origin was different from what I knew. The turtles just looked that good. And they still do.

I remember seeing it in the theater opening night and all the kids (myself included) squealed and lost their minds when Leonardo jumped out from the shadows as the title appeared. The build up to the reveal was so well done. The filmmakers knew what they were doing.

The soundtrack to this movie was insanely good

God bless the director and sticking to his guns and making the movie how he saw fit. Definitely one of the best comic to live action movies of all time. And of course big thanks to Jim Henson and his amazing puppet talent.

Watched it again on HBO Max expecting to just enjoy the nostalgia but was re-entertained. It's actually a pretty decent film!

My late uncle brought home a movie and didn't tell us what it was. All of us kids figured it out and were like YES!

Wow, until you mentioned it, I didn't think I had any significant memories of this film. However...I saw this movie with my friend Sean whim I had known since Kindergarten. We were both finishing 8th grade in 1990 when this came out. Although we had been in different schools since 3rd grade because my family moved to the next city over, we still found time to hang out once in a while. 3 months later however I would move 100 miles away, and never see him again. Hard to believe this is coming up on 32 years ago. If you are out there Sean I hope you are well Bro.

Saw this movie when I was 5 years old with my mom. I distinctly recall T-U-R-T-L-E Power being etched in my brain at that point when the credits rolled and it stayed there for years to come. To say the movie holds a high rank in my childhood memories is an absolute understatement

This film introduced me to the world of pirate movies. It took nearly a year for it to be shown in British cinemas, and by that time everyone has seen it through a bootleg VHS their mates dad had got from some nefarious person.

I'll never forget how much I freaked out when the first words out of Raphael were, "Aw man... Damn." Being a youngster, I wasn't familiar with the comics, and the darker tone of the movie genuinely baffled me... But I still loved every moment of it. Now, as an adult I really love the balance it achieved between the comics and the cartoon.

After watching this with my kids, I had a greater appreciation for how sincerely touching this story is in and of itself is as an examination of love and family. Yes, I watched it as a kid for Ninja Turtle action. As an adult, it's like enjoying a well-crafted drama for its nuances and effective delivery of its thematic action. Also, I'm going to point to an elephant in the room I discovered as I got older: April and Casey were a mess of sexual frustration that finally got some release when the Turtles went out to meditate at the campfire. You just didn't get to see the culmination of it like that unnecessary beginning to "The Killing Joke", but the aftermath was absolutely there. They acted completely different with each other. See how he acts macho about not sleeping in the sewer and she doesn't flare up at him like before. Him expecting her to judge him after Tatsu beats him up is his way of easing into possible rejection from her because he isn't as tough as he projects, and she dismisses it like she accepts him anyway. Her shut-up-and-kiss-me line reads that wasn't their first time to do more than smooching, unlike other action movies where the hero and leading lady might have had tension build up to a kiss at the end during a climactic battle. April and Casey's morning after on the porch swing totally went over my head as a kid.

One of my favorite things about this movie was how much of a threat Shredder actually was. Since he was a ninja master (Higher level than the Turtles, and possibly Splinter cause Splinter wasnt Hamato Yoshi) he was able to show his true skill, Splinter just used his anger against him.

One of the greatest films ever made. I've watched this film a zillion times over the decades. I grew up in Brooklyn NY, and my mother took me and my cousins to a movie theater in during Brooklyn to see TMNT, back in 1990 (I was 11 yesrs old). We watched the movie twice that night, and the theater for both showings were packed to the brim with excited families. This film blew our fucking minds. EVERYONE (parents included) was cheering, laughing, and clapping after the films end credits started to roll. This film got a literal standing ovation after both showings. It was unprecedented for what it achieved at the time. This movie singlehandedly elevated the TMNT in pop culture. After it's success, the cartoon, and the merchandise were more popular than they previous were by an exponential degree. It's the main reason why the TMNT have endured for so many decades. I love this film. I also love you too, Dan😅

Oh yeah. My favorite TMNT movie. Decades later and still one of the best comic book movies ever.

This movie still looks great 30+ years later. The quality got worse as the movies went on.

Still the best tmnt film, and it simply isn't close. Great mix of the grit of the comics and silliness of the cartoon. "DAAAAAAMN!!"

I watched this again recently and this movie absolutely holds up. And it’s not just the costumes, which are fantastic. It’s the theme of family and being a father that makes it work so well.

This was the movie that taught me movie seats can sell out. Mind you I was like 6. I remember standing in line hearing "sold out" and people leaving. My brother and I walked up and just bought tickets for the next showing 🤣 (his idea) and came back later

1990 TMNT was on Netflix last month and now this. Fond memories of a great movie that still holds up. I couldn't watch the reboots and tv series; There is something special here with keeping it grim with humor. Jim Henson's creativity in making things come to life also helps elevate this movie above a lot of comic book movies.

As I was between 5 and 6 years old when the 89' Batman and 90' Turtles movies came out, those two franchises alongside GI-Joe were basically my entire childhood. He-Man was a brief entry vaguely remembered as being there before the other three, but it was mostly Batman, Turtles and Joes for me.

That intro was spot on! I was 6/7 years old when I saw this in theatres and it was epic to me. I remember being so hyped up throughout the whole movie and even getting out into the aisle after it ended and attempting my best turtle shell spin on my back. Man, I loved being a turtle!

I was still a toddler when this movie came out in theatres, but BOY OH BOY did I wear out my VHS copy due to how many times I watched that thing a few years later.

Golden Harvest.... Raymond Chow. The Studio that brought me SO many of my favorite Kung fu action stars and made Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and a bunch of other guys household names. OMG the STORYTELLER!!!!! That series buried itself in my brain like wood tick. Waited decades to finally get it released on DVD to see it again. Had no idea the same guy worked on the turtles.

I re-watched this not too long ago and found myself enjoying it quite a bit. I think I like it more now than I did as a kid because I have a greater understanding of how hard it was to pull off, given the suits and animatronic faces. I really felt for the characters, especially during the farmhouse part, which I always found boring as a kid, but now feel adds a lot of emotional content to the characters. The concept of the Foot Clan corrupting the youth of the streets is also pretty dark; an aspect I never though too much of as a child, but now realize how it mirrors reality with children being drafted into street gangs or even open warfare in places like Africa. It's a great movie with a lot of heart.

The thing I love most about this movie is how it pulled no punches with its realistic depiction of late 80s /early 90s NYC and the real life "crime wave" that was ripped straight from the headlines at the time. My first ever trip to NYC was in '89 when I was 5, the family went to see the live action Wizard of Oz tour at the MSG Theater, and the first thing I remember was coming out of the Lincoln Tunnel and being greeted by a "squeegee man" coming right up to the windows and harassing us for money. I was not prepared for that lol.

YESSSSS!!!!! I stopped counting how many times i watched this. The music by john du prez, the effects by hanson, the fights, the Bad guy, the everything... this Comic book Adaptation is as good as they come. 🥇🥂🎉

I remember watching this in the theatre and joyfully renting this on laserdisc sometime before it came out on VHS. Then bragging to my classmates that I have it on home video.

I just rewatched this a few weeks ago. It has held up surprisingly well. I recall first learning about the movie via a still of the Leonardo suit. My jaw hit the floor because I thought for a few minutes that the Ninja Turtles were actually REAL

My first time watching this was with my dad in one of the last grind house theaters in Times Square before it became Disney-fied. It was THE MOVIE to watch when it released and one of those few moments where the grown-ups in the theater authentically enjoyed a movie whose demographic, thanks to the cartoon, was predominantly kids.

TMNT: The Movie was insane madness to me at the time and still is 😜

8.5 years old when my pops and I went to see this at a midnight screening for this. I collected the playmates movie toys & reenacted the rooftop fight on a homemade diorama. God, I love being a turtle fan. ❤

This probably wasn't the first movie I had ever seen on a big screen, but it's at least the first I have a distinct memory of. It was the greatest thing ever at the time, and watching it now today as a grown-ass man, I have to say, it's shocking how good it is.

Such an underrated movie. And it indeed still holds up surprisingly well now.

I remember my dad taking me to see this at the HANES MALL CINEMA. I love the Turtles animatronic suits, Splinter, and Shredder. I always thought Casey Jones was played by the guy from Law & Order: SVU.

I saw this movie with my family when it came out. We got the last 4 seats, front row "break-neck" area. and it remains the one of the most memorable films I have seen in theatres. As far as my 9 year old self was concerned, these were 100% real ninja turtles.

I remember seeing this one opening weekend and when we got their, there was a line going around the building! I was in awe before the movie even started, and that never let up! It also blew my seven year old minds that Raph said damn three times! I still love the movie and watch it a couple times a year. 🙂

It’s nothing short of a miracle that this film even got made. You gotta give a lot of credit to all those involved

I saw Turtles ‘90 in theater, loved it then, and still love it! My 11yo and 5yo daughters still enjoy the movie! We also watch the TMNT animated movie which is pretty good, and we have enjoyed some of the Nickelodeon seasons. God I love being a turtle!

We need a directors cut of this movie, I wanna see the edit done by the actual filmmakers. I love the Movie Star Turtles, best Playmate TMNT figures IMO.

The arcade reference was spot on. The big kids always blocked me from getting a chance to play Ninja Turtles. When Street Fighter II came out, I finally had that worn out TMNT cabinet all to myself.

If there's one childhood craze that has tuck with me all my life, it's my love for the Ninja Turtles. I still buy the figures and collect the comics.

Just watched it again yesterday, so good. Amazing how much better it still is than any of the newer turtle movies. Also TMNT vs Batman animated is my next fave. ✌🏾🍕

This movie is perfection, and to this day, it still holds up. The excitement I had as a kid when this came out was through the roof.

"Who's that?" "Wayne Gretzky...on steroids?!"

I remember when I was a kid in kindergarten, seeing this movie for the first time in theaters, I REALLY thought they were real, and remember every time I went anywhere, I always yelled down the sewers thinking the turtles would respond to me LOL. My mom had to tell me that they were not living in our state, they lived in New York LOL. That following year, my mom sat me down and had me watch this special on TV that was promoting Secret of the Ooze and it was a behind-the-scenes thing I think it was called "Under the Shell or Behind the Shell which had me learned that they were actors in suits (which I didn't care, it was ALL ABOUT THE TURTLES and their NEW MOVIE lol). All I know is that I loved the original three movies. While the first movie is all-time the greatest. The secret of the Ooze will ALWAYS be my favorite TMNT film.

TMNT 1990 was one of the best live action takes ever made, as it took what was popular as a Cartoon and translated it into something that even non-Cartoon watchers could get into.

"Ninja kick the damn rabbit!!"

This movie is an classic. Especially the "Turtle Power" theme song at the end of the movie, and the "Go Ninja" theme song in the second movie. I would re-watch this over Michael Bay's Ninja Turtle any day.

You guys kill this with every episode. Thank you for continuing to be "tubular."

The theater I saw this movie at got plowed under the dozer two years ago. It had been abandoned and "for sale" for years, but no one wanted to buy it. It would have cost too much to update the place.

Thank you for this!! This movie is still one of my favorites of all time.

I was 4 years old my sister was a week maybe days old when we went to see it. I just remember coming out of the theater yelling “God, I love being a turtle” I still believe that this is the best Turtle movie of all time and it’s the best way to do live-action Turtles

"Bossanova!"😄 Thank you for sharing this insightful story about how one of my favourite live-action movies was made👍

Hey Dan! Haven't even watched the episode yet, but I already know I love it. TMNT the Movie, is my top favourite film of all time, I was chuckled at in Film school for stating as much and yet I still stand behind it. Seriously can't wait to watch this one. 😍

I like tmnt 1990 movie it's still kick ass 200%.😀👍🐢

I can't imagine this movie at all were it not for Jim Henson's groundbreaking turtle design. And even today the design hold up for the most part which says a lot considering how far movie effects have come since 1990.

I remember seeing this in my small hometown. It's the only time I can recall waiting in a line that was outside of the theater.

That minute before this video dropped was one of the longest minutes of my life!

I loved the turtles! I loved this movie as a kid and upon recently rewatching I feel like it definitely still holds up really well, all things considered. I think that shows how much the original director cared about getting the heart of it right, despite getting fought over it. My memory sucks, but I'm pretty sure I have my ticket stub...SOMEWHERE. I also had one of the original movie-based toys and I loved how weird and rubbery they were and how easy it was to pop off their arms and legs and re-attach them, LOL. it's one of my favourite toys in my collection for that reason.

I had just moved from a small town in Arizona to Tucson, and to celebrate my uncle to me and my cousin to the theater. We were early and the show had just ended. The attendants said we could go in because they just cleaned it. So we sat in the end credits listening to the music and my cousin and I looked at each other like, “This is gonna be awesome I can already tell.” Thank you for saying we all remember where we were when it came out. Because it is forever engrained in my mind. One of the happiest moments of my childhood.

I'll never forget seeing this movie in the theater when I was six. It was incredible.

Love this and secret of the ooze. Jim Henson is a legend for helping make this come to life and this is why he and his stories he helped comes to life, will carry his own life and story on forever..

You have done me and my fellow Turtle Heads proud Dan. Thank you for such an awesome and informative review and "history of"!

Cool video. Love the photo you used for Robbie Rist, that was taken in Chicago 2009 during a Hollywood Stars Convention. I skipped school the morning TMNT came out, with my mom’s permission to go see the first showing at our theater. I ended up seeing it over 30 times in the theater and it remains my favorite movie ever released. :)

Awesome episode, this is one of my childhood favorites so thanks for posting it. I noticed that you missed one important aspect of this though, the music. The vocal soundtrack was a mix of rap, hip-hop, new jack swing and at least one soft contemporary song, "Every Heart Needs A Home" by Saint Paul which was also the longest track at almost five minutes. Interesting fact: the vocal mix was originally planned to be punk rock in order to match the movie's tone (hence Danny's tee shirt in the movie with Sid Vicious on it) but it was later decided to make it rap and hip-hop because they were popular with junior high and high school kids at the time, which ultimately rendered Danny's shirt completely pointless. Fortunately, the punk rock aesthetic did make it into the awesome, ground breaking and, thankfully, tone matching score by John Du Prez which was finally released on it's own official album by Waxwork Records in 2018 (and I could kiss them all for it).

My favorite person on the internet, thank you for doing this!

I'm sure Michaelangelo would use Albert to pay for their pizza 🍕.

Remember my father buying a bootleg VHS of 1990 TMNT for me. Always loved watching the animated series weekday afternoons on WPIX CH.11 here in The Bronx, New York. Ah, the 80's, how I've only come to appreciate my childhood entertainment as an adult in the 21st Century. FRAGGLE ROCK, YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON TELEVISION, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS, MUPPET BABIES, THE WITCHES!

This was my ONLY Turtles experience & I loved it! Older brother had the toys but I couldn't play with them. I watched the cartoon but don't recall plot. As a kid knew Saban's 'Next Mutation' wasn't it. Was too old for 'TMNT'. The Mike Bay wrecking ball smashed TF and hit the Turtles on the back swing.. twice. My lasting Turtles memory is the VHS of this movie. And that's all I ever needed :)

I still enjoy the film till this day, and I'm glad that those involved in the making of the film decided not to change the tone of the film despite the studio, it's lead actress and angry parents. And I think the film fared better for it.(Soto didn't stand a chance), and for this, I've always wanted to say.. Cowabunga!! I've made a funny

We need a Kasey Jones spin off. I know that indie one exist. And isn't too bad. Just want a longer one

As an aside, I met one of the artists who worked on the suits and he talked about Henson was meticulous about making sure there were cuts and bruises during the fights, something I never noticed. That artist did the make up effects for Blue Velvet and yes, still had the ear, and i got to hold it.

TMNT, Batman, Dick Tracy, and Rocketeer was a hell of run of great comic book films. It was a magical time.

I was in my early 20’s when this film came out and was the only person standing line without kids. This was in fact the singular moment when I realized I wanted to be a dad one day, in part so I could take my children to see films like this. That all came full circle in 2007 when I finally got to take the kids I wound up having to see the TMNT film.

I don't think Superman 2 lowered the bar at all.

As a kid I would rewind and re-watch the wide shot of New York while Raph yelled "Damn!". I was of the belief that it was the actual funniest thing ever.

That movie was a real classic, I saw it the other day and it has aged well. I think the plot the theme was really well done even the incredible customs.

Still kicks ass. Can you imagine if John Woo and Jackie Chan handled the fight or action scenes? Damn, they would have taken it up to 11.

this movie is still damn good, and the soundtrack slaps

Amazing summary. I feel I've heard, read, seen so many recollections of the behind the scenes process for this movie and still got a bunch of new info from this video. Awesome

I recall seeing this in a cinema in my town. The place has been demolished now. It was a 3 screen cinema and it was showing on screen 1, the biggest screen they had. They even opened up the upstairs seating area, which didn't happen very often.

The original TMNT is still the best live-action adaptation of the whole franchise and one of the best adaptations of the original comic book storyline that it was based on.

I found it as a kid on TV. It was the scene where Raphael fought Casey Jones I saw first. That was the first time as a kid from the 80s to actually get invested in something turtles related. But since there was nothing comparable to this film, I forgot about it soon and moved over to Gargoyles. This year I stumbled upon Rise and came back to the franchise as 39 yo woman.

So well made. Thank you for putting this together.

It was strange to know that you had Leo voiced by Takashi from Revenge of the Nerds, Mikey voiced by Cousin Oliver from the Brady Bunch and Don voiced by Tommy Jarvis

I always enjoy your videos, even the ones for the properties I didn't follow as a child. They are always entertaining and informative and the added commercials in the middle are always a blast to see.

Wow, great episode! I'm a huge fan & knew very little of this. And I remember waiting in line for over an hour to catch TMNT on opening weekend with my mom. As someone who just picked up the Neca figure set about a week ago, I fully concur with Dan's assessment of TMNT toys.

I was in 6th grade when I saw this in theater. Still my favorite comic book movie of all time and the closest we're gonna get to a Mirage movie. And the Soundtrack was FANTASTIC !

That shot you did of the toys playing the arcade... I so want a wallpaper with that! It's so beautiful!