Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990): A Retrospect

[Stanlore]

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

I love the 1990 film. I was 8 when it came out and the exact target of the TMNT obsession back then. I watched the cartoon religiously and had a bunch of the toys (I remember the actual four turtles were hard to find for a while when the film hit).

That one still holds up-- I love the story and characters, and in retrospect I like that they based it primarily on the old comics with a couple of nods to the cartoon (Like April being a reporter). I also thought Judith Hoag was great at playing that hard-nosed reporter role very well. And the legit martial arts with the Foot Clan and especially Shredder is great.

The sequel, which I loved even more as a kid, is horrible to me now I can watch it every great once in a while out of nostalgia, but it's so much cheezier and sanitized for kids. Doesn't hold up well.

And of course the third film, which I call the Chuck E. Cheese animatronic Turtles movie, is beyond bad. I had just about grown out of the turtles when this one came out, and I can't help but think the awfulness of it had a hand in that.

Everything he said. Except liking Judith Hoag. When I was a kid, i thought she was too ugly to play April O'Neil (i know... i know...). And like how i've grown up, TMNT2 went from favorite to bareable, I've also grown appreciation for the first April. Although, this is because she was the better of the 2, and not because she was so fantastic in the part.