Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American
live-action independent film directed by Steve Barron, based on the
comic book characters of the same name. It was released on March 30,
1990. The film presents the origin story of Splinter and the Turtles,
the initial meeting between them, April O'Neil and Casey Jones, and
their first confrontation with The Shredder and his Foot Clan. The film
stars Judith Hoag, Elias Koteas, and the voices of Brian Tochi, Robbie
Rist, Josh Pais and Corey Feldman as the four title characters.
When the New York City Police Department is unable to stop a severe
crime wave caused by the Foot Clan, four mutated vigilante turtles —
Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael — come forth to save the
city. Under the leadership of mutated rat, Splinter, and together with
their new-found allies April O'Neil and Casey Jones, they fight back and
take the battle to The Shredder. The film kept very close to the dark
feel of the original comics, and is a direct adaptation of the comic
book storyline involving the defeat of Shredder, with several elements
also taken from the 1987 TV series that was airing at the time, such as
April being a news reporter, and the turtles having different-colored
masks, as opposed to the uniform red masks of the comic.
The film became the second-highest-grossing independent film of all
time, as well as the ninth-highest-grossing film worldwide of 1990. It
was the most successful film in the series until the 2014 reboot. It was
followed by two sequels, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of
the Ooze in 1991 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993.
Plot
As a crime wave rises in
New York City, Channel 3 news reporter April O'Neil talks about rumors
of young children and teenagers being reported as the majority of the
thieves, connecting it to a rumored Foot Clan, which originated in
Japan. On an ordinary night, she comes across thieves stealing from a
news van and is attacked. She is rescued and one of her rescuers leaves
behind a sai when the police arrive to collect the tied up criminals. In
the storm sewers, four anthropomorphic turtles return to their
underground home and meet with their master Splinter, who advises them
to remain hidden from the world and work only in the shadow. Raphael
admits he lost his weapon, and when the others order pizza he leaves in
disguise to see a movie. After leaving the movie, he encounters Casey
Jones who tries to exact justice on a pair of muggers by beating them
with sporting implements. After a brief stand off between the two, Casey
takes off into the city and Raphael loses his temper. Returning home,
Splinter confronts Raph about his temper.
April is attacked in the subway by members of the Foot, after spouting
rumors of them on television. She is knocked unconscious while trying to
fend them off but is saved by Raphael, who takes her back to their
home. After calming her down, Splinter explains their origins and
introduces her to Raphael, Michaelangelo, Donatello and Leonardo.
Unfortunately, Raph had been followed by a member of the Foot. After the
turtles take April home, and spend some time over pizza, they return to
find their home demolished and Splinter missing. With nowhere else to
turn, they return to April's apartment. The next morning, April's
supervisor Charles Pennington and his son Danny arrive; Charles chides
April on her behavior with police chief Sterns and advises her to be
careful, while Danny catches a glimpse of Michaelangelo, garnering his
suspicions. Later, Charles confronts Danny for being arrested for
stealing and Danny runs away into the subway. He escapes to a warehouse
on Lairdman Island, the hideout for the teenaged thieves of the Foot. It
is revealed that Splinter is there, held prisoner by The Shredder, who
acts as a surrogate father to the outcast teenagers. Danny gives The
Shredder his information on the Turtles.
After a heated argument between Leo and Raph, Raph goes up to the roof
of April's building and is attacked by dozens of Foot Clan members. The
fight moves into the building, where April and the others are attacked
after Raph is thrown down a skylight window. The numbers cause the floor
to give way, and they continue their battle in the basement. After Foot
reinforcements arrive, overwhelming the turtles, Casey appears, having
seen Raph earlier on the roof and he helps even the odds. In the melee,
with Raph in a coma, the building catches fire, forcing the Turtles to
escape. Retreating to an abandoned farm April's family owns, April
learns that Charles has fired her from the television station. Raph
awakens from his coma and makes amends with Leo. The four of them train.
After receiving visions from Splinter, Leonardo and the rest decide it
is time to return to the city. Meanwhile, Danny encounters Splinter,
whose kindness casts doubts on his decision to betray the Turtles. He
goes to hide in the Turtles' den, and is there when they return. In the
night, Danny slips away, followed by Casey who discovers the thieves'
hideout. Danny meets with Splinter again, who tells him the story of his
master who was killed by a man named Oroku Saki, whom he and Splinter
realize was The Shredder himself 15 years prior. Danny grasps how insane
The Shredder truly is after learning his past, but he inadvertently
alerts him that the turtles have returned. The Shredder sends his men to
raid the turtles' home, but the Foot are ambushed as the group has
already anticipated their attack.
Casey and Danny free Splinter, and after Casey defeats Shredder's second
in command Tatsu, they convince the teens to follow them and teach them
the error of their ways. They return to the city as the Turtles face
off against Shredder, who outmatches them. The Shredder taunts the
Turtles, saying he killed Splinter, causing Leo to attack Shredder.
Shredder disarms Leo, threatening to impale him with his spear unless
the Turtles drop their weapons. The Turtles do so, but Shredder plans on
killing Leonardo anyway. Before he can do so, he is distracted by
Splinter, allowing Leo to escape. Splinter then faces Shredder,
revealing that he was Hamato Yoshi's pet rat who disfigured Oroku Saki
after the latter killed Hamato. Vengeful, Shredder charges Splinter but
he falls over the ledge of the roof after the fight. Splinter tries to
spare him, but Shredder attacks, forcing the rat to let go, and he falls
into a garbage truck. Casey turns on the trash compactor and crushes
Shredder.
The police arrive and arrest the defeated Foot Ninjas. April is
reinstated by Charles, with better perks, to cover the story. Danny
reunites with his father who is overjoyed to see him, and they have
reconciled. Casey and April meet, and she tells him to kiss her, which
he obliges, much to the cheering from the Turtles.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles_(1990_film)