Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

365 Films

Entry #3

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

Directed by Steve Barron

Ah yes, my beloved turtles. In thinking about the best angle from which to approach this particular entry, I came up with a very simple observation: the teenage mutant ninja turtles owned all of my mental real estate for several years. If I wasn’t watching the animated series, I was watching the movies. If I wasn’t playing the video games, I was playing with the laundry bin full of action figures in my possession.  Yet, with all that immersion into Turtle paraphernalia, I don’t have the slightest idea what initiated my obsession. It must have been the cartoon, which premiered in 1987, and maybe the fact that they were green? (another one of my favorite colors). I remember an incredibly brief flirtation with karate around that time in my life (I think we’re talking about a lesson and a half, maybe less). And of course, like most children and adults, I gobbled up pizza without batting an eye. In that regard, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles could not have been MORE up my alley. I remember an incredibly fervent sense of excitement the day before the release of TMNT: The Movie. I was aware of what this movie was, I was aware of what I would mentally acquire by seeing it, and I was super pumped for it. Which, in hindsight, is interesting because it speaks more to the marketing power of the TMNT brand than the actual quality of the film. An adult at the time would have to confirm this for me but something tells me that if you were a boy between the ages of 6 and 12 around 1990, you couldn’t get away from the TMNT marketing bonanza being shoved down your throat. Anyway, what does this have to do with the movie? I guess it’s a rather round about way of saying that I remember the hype more than the movie. Or rather, I’m not sure if my fondness for the film stems from its quality or the excitement that surrounded it.  I remember responding to Raphael and his bad attitude constantly getting him into physical and emotional trouble (I had a bit of a temper problem myself, plus he had the red head band so he was instantly my favorite). I’m glad the movie introduced me to Elias Koteas at such a young age, one of those actors who brighten up any movie in which he appears. And the movie delivers exactly what it promises: wisecracking mutant turtles karate chopping a gang of masked, pajama-wearing runaway youth. What more could a six-year-old ask for?