The recently released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is currently scoring with moviegoers and critics, and it has made fans look back at all the adaptations of the superhero team created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Across various theatrical releases and animated series adaptations, we have seen various depictions of Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. Still, it’s the first film, 1990s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that best represents Eastman and Laird’s look and feel of its comic book beginnings.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles began as a comic book by Eastman and Laird which was originally conceived as a parody of popular comic book troupes in superhero comics at the time. The teenager aspect was a play on New Teen Titans, while the mutant element was a direct reference to the mutants of the Uncanny X-Men.
The final two hooks of ninjas and funny animals were their take on Daredevil and Howard the Duck. When putting together their backstory, Daredevil would play another big role by having their funny animals, in this case, turtles, genetically altered by radioactive material, and having their sensei and mentor, Splinter, be a reference to Daredevil’s sensei, Stick. The culmination of all these inspirations was a mix of light and dark elements that also informed the look of the initial comic books, which were grittier in tone.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Became a Lighthearted Animated Series
Before the 1990 film was released, Eastman and Laird licensed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Playmates Toys, and that’s when the brand blew up into a merchandising bonanza. According to most estimates, $1.1 billion toys were sold in four years, making the Turtles toys the third best-selling action figures ever at the time, behind GI Joe and Star Wars.
In the wake of the success of the toys, an animated series was produced in 1987, and its popularity took the brand to a new level. Since it was an animated series geared towards kids, the tone of the show was very light and a bit unlike its comic book inspirations. A film adaptation could’ve easily followed in that direction, but the decision was made to bring the concept back to its roots.
The movie adaptation chose to look back to the source material for the inspiration of its story. There are moments that make things a bit more lighthearted, but the look is more in line with the early black-and-white TMNT comics that were a bit more violent and bleak. The movie itself is almost a near-total adaptation of four early issues of the comic books with other story beats borrowed from two others.
The Shredder’s final battle and defeat on a rooftop from the film? It’s pretty much lifted from that first issue of the comic book published in 1984. Another aspect, which sees Splinter abducted by the Foot, Raphael’s subsequent impulsive reaction to the event, and the Turtles seeking April’s help by staying in her apartment, is also inspired by the opening moments of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3.
Even the depiction of martial arts in the first live-action film is closer to the source material than the animated adaptation. The animated series was mostly prohibited by television’s Standards and Practices departments from showing the Turtles using their weapons in effective ways.
That’s not to say that anyone is being impaled in a movie that is primarily aimed at children but take a moment towards the end when Leonardo and Shredder are sparring, and Leo’s sword makes contact with Shredder’s arm. It’s not a bloody affair, but you see a PG-appropriate result of what that weapon is capable of. This plays on the comic book’s original take on the characters, which had the Turtles completely unafraid to use their weapons lethally if they needed to.
The First Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Is Closer in Tone to the Darker Comic Books
The 1990 film is surprisingly dark, especially when viewed by the movie that followed. In New York City, the world created by the film actually brings to life the unsafe and gritty vibe of a city ravaged by crime. The Foot Clan, as depicted in the movie, feels like a realistic gang that a powerful criminal overlord could’ve formed.
In the cartoon, the Foot were depicted as robots which diluted the realism of the characters, but the film shows that most of the Foot are troubled teenagers in training to commit crimes across the city. They are wayward kids seeking guidance in all the wrong places, which makes them easily influenced by Shredder. This is a far cry from the cartoony sci-fi angle of the animated series and the “Ninja Rap” antics of its subsequent sequel.
The decision to go dark was brave because the animated series was at the peak of popularity when the 1990 film was released, going into its fourth season of a ten-season run. It would’ve been easy for director Steve Barron and writers Todd Langen and Bobby Herbeck to play it safe by adapting the world of the animated series, but they instead opted for a more faithful comic book adaptation that would likely get instant respect today from fans who are sticklers for that kind of thing.
Their decision to not play it safe ultimately paid off in the end. When Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was released on March 30, 1990, it became an instant hit. Made for $13.5 million, the film grossed $202 million globally and became the highest-grossing independent film up to that time.
Reviews from critics were mixed, but, let’s face it, the movie wasn’t made for them. Kids ate all of this up, even if it didn’t quite look like the animated series they were watching every week. The character’s antics and attitudes were in line with what they were familiar with, and the movie was lighthearted enough to still be perceived as a film for kids. Well, mostly…
The film drew some criticism at the time of its release for its darker tone and depiction of violence. Looking at it now, the violence of that first movie is relatively tame, but in 1990, it raised the eyebrow of many parents who took their kids to see the film.
The criticisms were so strong that when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze was released just a year later, the tone was shifted drastically to mirror the animated series rather than the darker vibe of the comic books. The Turtles fight bare-fisted for much of the movie, and only Donatello gets to use his staff as a weapon, while the other Turtles don’t use their weapons against their opponents.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brand has gone on to continue to entertain kids and adults alike, even today. There are many takes that have worked and been able to engage the audience, but the 1990 live-action film remains the definitive adaptation of the source material. It’s unclear if any other takes will return to the source material’s roots, but this adaptation still stands tall as how the Turtles are best represented in pop culture.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is playing in theaters now.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
