Retro Reviews – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — or Hero Turtles if you go back to the censored title of the 1980s cartoon — are once again culturally relevant with a new hit cartoon in its second season and a new film arriving next year produced by Michael Bay. No matter what Bay does, we will always have the original series of films, but how do they hold up all these years later? 

For 1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the filmmakers actually put in genuine craft and care into what could’ve been nothing more than a shameless cash-in on a popular trend. The most striking element about the first film was how dark it was both visually and in tone. The filmmakers could’ve chosen to simply adopt the broad tone of the cartoon, but instead chose to blend it with the more intense elements of the original comic book.

Created by the Jim Henson Company, the turtles and their menor, the rat Splinter, are remarkably convincing. These incarnations would stick around for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, but the Jim Henson versions would be replaced for the third film and the switch was noticeably cheaper.

Of the non-costumed actors, Elias Koteas as the hockey mask-wearing vigilante Casey Jones makes the most lasting impression. His introduction, a fight scene with the hot-headed Raphael, is an amusing highlight. Side note: why isn’t anyone working on a Casey Jones Vs. Jason Voorhees film?

While Ninja Turtles relies too heavily on Star Wars thematically and the timeline of the events feels overly compressed, the script does take the material as serious as can be possible. There’s a lengthy respite at a farm with their allies April O’Neil (Judith Hoag) and Casey. In this sequence there’s time for reflection and character development.

With the sequels, which are closer in style to the cartoon, there is little time for introspection. Secret of the Ooze, while being a bit goofier, is a fair continuation of the story elements in the first film as long as you ignore the appearance of Vanilla Ice. But the third film gives up any pretense of being serious and relies heavily on pop culture references in a plot that sends the turtles back to feudal Japan.

In 2007, a CGI sequel was produced that attempted to regain a serious tone while retaining a sense of humour but struggled to find the right balance. The film had a slick animation style, but was marred by an incomprehensible plot. One thing this film gets right is the rivalry between Leonardo and Raphael, a key theme throughout the previous films. They have a showdown that is worth seeing even if the rest of the film is not.

Alec Kerr