Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) - One of the most underrated children’s films of all time

‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: the movie.’ Was it a hit?  It’s hard to tell.  Yes, it made a fair amount of money at the box office and spawned a couple of (awful, straight to video) sequels, yet it always comes across as quite an ‘unloved’ little number.  Basically, a lot of people objected to its ‘dark tone.’

The cartoon/comic source material it was based on was decidedly cheery.  Therefore, some objected to setting the film in the dark, seedy back alleys of New York.  So, it looks like something Tim Burton would make, yet, every few lines, the writers throw in some hip ‘one-liner’ to lighten the mood.  These two aspects kind of contradict each other.  Still... I enjoyed it.

However, now I’ve watched it as an adult, I do see that it’s a pretty basic film.  Each line/scene is absolutely essential to moving the plot on.  We’re introduced to the turtles pretty quickly, given a whistle-stop explanation as to how they became man-sized and brilliant at martial arts, then rushed to the next vital plot-point.  Rinse and repeat.

I’m not sure how the ‘youth of today’ would find the film.  They may think it’s all a little tame.  The turtles have just been remade and there’s loads of high-action, computer-generated action scenes like it’s something out of a Marvel superhero movie.  In the 1990 version the most ‘special’ the special effects ever reached are having someone thrown through a window.

Whether the 1990 version will stand up to the test of time is one thing.  However, if you watched it during its heyday then you should have a natural appreciation for the film which will keep it alive for at least a few generations to come (at least enough of us parents should be able to force our kids to watch it and hopefully keep it alive for a little while longer).

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one