The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a phenomenon that has spanned four decades. From the violent, dark Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird comics of the ’80s up through the latest animated film Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie, the Turtles have been a pop culture staple. There have been numerous hit cartoons, animated movies, video games, toys, and even a live show. TMNT was part of the warm-up act to the superhero boom of the 21st Century.

Long before the Avengers assembled on the big screen, the four brothers teamed up for 1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a gritty romp through New York City powered by pizza and puppets. With Jim Henson’s Creature Shop behind the Turtles, an excellent cast, a smart, wry script, and street-level action, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a sneaky top superhero movie of all time and the best of TMNT fare. It spawned a very good, though sillier second installment, and a dud threequel.

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A live-action TMNT reboot was launched in 2014 with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and continued with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows to underwhelming results. With so much TMNT media out there, here’s why none have surpassed the 1990 film.

Capturing the Turtles and Supporting Characters

     New Line Cinema 

The problem with ensemble movies is that the characters are too often one-dimensional and forgettable. Right off the bat, TMNT has four lead characters to contend with and fleshes them all out uniquely per their source material. The script and the casting don’t cop out with lazily constructed lead players.

Raphael, voiced by Josh Pais, is angry, cocky, and a little more violent than his brothers. The bad boy motif is applied liberally and masterfully without getting annoying. Leonardo (Brian Tochi) nails the teacher’s pet angle but also portrays him well as a steady and convincing leader. The party animal, free spirit, and lunkhead of the group, Michelangelo (Robbie Rist), is captured as an exact polar opposite of Raphael. This makes for excellent contrast among the brothers in their scenes together. Finally, we have Donatello, voiced by Corey Feldman. As the resident nerd and brains of the quartet, he often has the answers beyond a brawl.

Beyond the shelled cast, the supporting actors fill out the film well. Judith Hoag excels as the dogged and tough TV reporter April O’Neil. She questions, chases, and annoys to get her job done to the point where you cringe for her interviewee. Elias Koteas compliments the Turtles almost like he’s a fifth member of the group with his portrayal of sporting goods-armed vigilante Casey Jones (Cricket?).

The Turtles’ father figure and ninja master Splinter gets a stellar live-action turn thanks to voice actor Kevin Clash. His Splinter is wise, patient, and compassionate in the face of being a very unique single father. Big bad Shredder is downright scary, especially for what is effectively a kid’s movie. Actor James Saito and voice actor David McCharen instill the character with a looming sense of dread, giving Shredder an almost horror movie bogeyman feel.

And let’s not forget the puppets and puppeteers. The movements, expressions, and actions pulled off by piles of foam rubber and fake fur give the portrayal of the Turtles and Splinter a ton of heart.

TMNT 1990 Is for All Audiences­

     New Line Cinema

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is fun, goofy, and action-packed for the grade schoolers who dragged their parents to the theater. The grown-ups in the seats were pleasantly surprised with a movie that boasted a large share of quirky, adult-targeted humor seamlessly woven into the oohs and aahs for the kids.

The script, penned by Todd W. Langen and Bobby Herbeck, graciously lets adults in on the fun. They almost seem to say, “Look, we know you probably don’t wanna be here, so here are some jokes for you that will go over your kids’ heads.” After all, what 10-year-old understood quips like “A Jose Canseco bat? Tell me, ya didn’t pay money for this?”

Good Old Fashioned Practical Effects

     New Line Cinema / Jim Henson Studios

Before the dawn of CGI, movie makers and actors had to rely on real life instead of a keyboard and software. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a terrific, if not the ultimate exercise, in the advantage of practical effects.

The movie follows that playbook despite the temptation of the time to dive into the new toy chest of the film industry. They could have had a cheesy light show in Dimension X with Krang and his android body flailing around, but they chose to keep it grounded. This helps the movie hold up to this day, as it isn’t bogged down by now primitive CG. It’s rooted in pure martial arts action, and that’s it.

What Will a New TMNT Film or Series Need to Top Its Predecessor?

     Paramount Pictures

Don’t get us wrong. There is great TMNT stuff out there. The animated series of the early 2000s portrayed the brothers and their adventures faithfully, and 2007’s TMNT was a solid entry, even if it was just for kids.

SNL’s Colin Jost and brother Casey have been tapped to write the treatment for a re-reboot. That’s all the info we have right now, but Jost’s involvement is highly encouraging, not to mention the upcoming Seth Rogen-led animated series Mutant Mayhem. The Josts might just bring back some of the character magic that the Michael Bay-produced TMNT movies failed to capture while prioritizing CGI-caked spectacle. The 1990 movie will be incredibly hard, if not impossible, to top, but we’ll keep an open mind for possible successors to the title of Best TMNT Portrayal.