Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Leonardo. These four pizza-loving, butt-kicking turtles began their cinematic journey with three action-comedies in the 1990s. These films might not appear to be that logical or nuanced in today's times, but the sheer goofiness and nostalgia in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trilogy is why they are still loved by fans today.
From the turtles' suits to the soundtracks, there are many memorable aspects of these films. It's perhaps for reasons like these that the original trilogy has been more impactful as compared to the 2007 CGI-driven TMNT and the two Michael Bay-produced reboots.
10 Vanilla Ice's 'Ninja Rap'
Releasing his trademark song Ice Ice Baby in 1989, rapper Vanilla Ice became a quintessential '90s icon emulating the over-the-top ludicrousness of the early part of the decade. Before making his film debut with the universally-panned Cool As Ice, he made an appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze.
Ice performs a song for the film's soundtrack, called Ninja Rap. He performs the song in a scene from the film as the Turtles fight with Tokka and Razhar in a club. 'Villains you better run and hide because one day you might not slide.So choose, your weapon don't slip. Vanilla's in control with the flex of the mic grip', the lyrics are as '90s-like as one can expect.
9 A Corey Feldman Role
Corey Feldman along with his co-star and friend Corey Haim were youth icons from the '80s, with the '90s probably being their last decade of mainstream fame. Both actors became household names at a pretty young age but unfortunately faced the brunt of unwanted media attention and drug addiction.
For Corey Feldman, the '90s was a decade of ups and downs, with his major appearances being in a few National Lampoon films and the first and third installments of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. He voiced the character of Donatello, the staff-wielding, purple mask-wearing turtle.
8 Multiple Comics
From Star Wars to present-day sci-fi and superhero films, many movie franchises have received special comic-book treatment. The first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was adapted into 3 different comic-book variants simultaneously by Mirage Comics and Archie Comics. The artwork by Kevin Eastman and the story by Peter Laird (both of whom created the original comics) along with the ads in between the pages obviously make these comics perfect time capsules for the early 90s.
Two of the three editions were standard colored comics published by Archie while the Mirage edition featured black-and-white pages with bonus posters.
7 Pizza Hut And Dominos Rivalry
Pizza is an integral part in the lives of these turtles. It makes sense for pizza brands to cash in on the franchise. Along with endorsing the Coming Out Of Shells Tour in the 1990s, Pizza Hut also engaged in a multi-million dollar campaign to promote the first film. As a result, the VHS tapes of the film began with a Pizza Hut ad. Several rebate coupons too were offered for promoting it.
What's funny is that most of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles features boxes of Domino's Pizza and hardly any pizza from Pizza Hut. Such eccentric advertising is rare to see in today's marketing campaigns for films.
6 Steve Barron As Director
Steve Barron served as the director for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The music video director worked with several top-tier clients in the '80s and '90s, including Michael Jackson, Madonna, and A-Ha. In the '90s, he transitioned to films. Apart from the Turtles film, he also directed Coneheads.
The 1993 film was inspired by an SNL sketch and starred Dan Aykroyd as a 'coneheaded' alien who adjusts to a new Earthly life with his family. As for his music videos, the 90s saw him direct diverse songs like Unforgettable by Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole, Heavy Fuel by Dire Straits, as well as Def Leppard's Let's Get Rocked.
5 The Goofy Humor
While the first film still succeeded in balancing dark and childish tones, the two sequels began to get goofier with the dialogues and action. But that's what maybe makes this series iconic. Both Secret of the Ooze and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III make it obvious that they are not trying to achieve a thought-provoking, brooding vigilante tale on justice and crime. And it's this carelessness that makes those films entertaining watches for their time.
In the second film, Michelangelo preaches Mr. Miyagi's 'wax on, wax off' technique to which Raphael replies in a cold manner, 'Mouth off!'. This makes all the turtles laugh amongst themselves. It's hard to see such nonsensical light-hearted humor in today's comic-book films.
4 Jim Henson's Creature Shop's Costumes
Unlike the rebooted Ninja Turtles films, the crew of the original trilogy relied on actual costumes and practical effects rather than CGI. The costumes definitely look unrealistic but at the same time, carry a unique charm to them. After all, Jim Henson's Creature Shop was involved in designing the animatronic creature costumes. Puppeteer and The Muppets creator Jim Henson was personally involved in the project along with his aforementioned special effects company. The first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film was to be one of his last projects.
Jim Henson's Creature Shop was similarly involved in The Secret Of The Ooze, which was released as a tribute to Henson.
3 The Soundtracks
If Vanilla Ice's cameo wasn't enough, the film serves up a good dose of '90s pop and rap in its soundtrack, with many artists who unfortunately couldn't regain their fame in the 21st century. Examples include MC Hammer's This Is What We Do, and ZZ Top's Can't Stop Rocking.
Then, there's the classic Turtle Power by hip-hop duo Partners in Kryme. It's a delightful track filled with amusingly random lyrics. Just take the following lyrics as an example. 'We need heroes like the Lone Ranger whenTonto came pronto when there was danger. They didn't say, "We'd be there in half an hour,'' cause they displayed Turtle Power.'
2 Golden Harvest Serving As Producer
Orange Sky Golden Harvest (previously known as Golden Harvest) is a Hong-Kong based film production and distribution company that has had a monumental impact on martial arts cinema from the 1970s to the 1990s. While the company still operates today, the 1990s was a successful phase for Golden Harvest. It had already acquired cult status after producing several Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee films (including the classic Enter The Dragon).
As the titular turtles in the film franchise owe a lot of their action scenes and weapons to East Asian culture, it made sense for Golden Harvest to serve as co-producers for the trilogy.
1 All Sorts Of Promotional Snacks
For Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret Of The Ooze, the marketing involved not just action figures and official novelizations but also 'ooze food products'. Each product seemed to involve substances termed as the 'ooze'. The Royal Gelatin Desserts Company too used the Ooze name for their product.
Other food products included Ellio's Ninja Turtles Microwave Pizza, Ninja Turtles Popsicle with Bubblegum Eyes, 'Crunchabungas', Pasta Dinner, Fruit Pies, and cookies.
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