Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Play trailer

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

PG

Released Mar 30, 1990

1h 33m

Kids & Family

Fantasy

Adventure

Action

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

46%

Tomatometer

57 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

In New York, mysterious radioactive ooze has mutated four sewer turtles into talking, upright-walking, crime-fighting ninjas. The intrepid heroes -- Michelangelo (Robbie Rist), Donatello (Corey Feldman), Raphael (Josh Pais) and Leonardo (Brian Tochi) -- are trained in the Ninjutsu arts by their rat sensei, Splinter. When a villainous rogue ninja, who is a former pupil of Splinter, arrives and spreads lawlessness throughout the city, it's up to the plucky turtles to stop him.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is exactly as advertised: one-liners, brawls, and general silliness. Good for the young at heart, irritating for everyone else.

Read Critics Reviews

Valerie Monroe

Entertainment Weekly

So should you take your kid to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? I'm not recommending that you do - this movie will not enrich your child's worldview.

Mar 17, 2020

Full Review

Henry Sheehan

The Hollywood Reporter

The one subplot that could have been milked, about a young friend of O'Neil's who falls in with the gang, is handled indifferently and fails to supply much in the way of a youthful identification figure.

May 29, 2015

Full Review

Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

The cynicism of the motion picture industry will be apparent to any child who is exposed to the many product plugs for a nationwide pizza delivery company.

Rated: 2/4

Aug 6, 2014

Full Review

Dom Fisher

Geek Vibes Nation

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 35th Anniversary is a classic slice of nostalgia with extra cheese. Fans will feel at home as they witness our radical heroes in all their '90s glory.

Rated: 8.5/10

Aug 21, 2025

Full Review

Ben Sherlock

Screen Rant

The script is formulaic and the characters are one-note, but this live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie still works better than it should.

Rated: 5/10

Aug 20, 2025

Full Review

Fred Topel

United Press International

Martial artists are already impressive, but performing moves comparable to Jackie Chan and Jet Li while wearing bulky turtle suits and heavy heads they probably couldn't see out of, was a miracle.

Aug 14, 2025

Full Review

Read all reviews

Robert

Making beautiful memories with my family and seeing this in theaters was a treat. Amazing film that holds up very well today as it did back in the 90s. My 5 year old said it was the coolest film she has seen in theaters all year. Which was a great feeling of how I remember feeling as a kid when my father took me.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/02/25

Full Review

Snaffu

Loved it! Still as fun as I remember when I saw it in theaters when it first came out.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/01/25

Full Review

Patrick F

personally biased, I grew up on Ninja Turtles when it first came out. I appreciate how much work was involved in such a short amount of time. All this before CGI was a thing.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/01/25

Full Review

Landon C

Turtle mania is BACK! So incredibly amazing to see the mean, green boys back on the screen. Effects by the legendary Jim Henson company hold up exceptionally well. The eyes of the Turtles look alive and the 4k really shows off the talent and work. See it while you can. Again!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/01/25

Full Review

Kalif

I liked that this movie aged well in 35 years. The cold opening deals with things that we are still dealing with today and it wasnt a jarring revelation. The comedy, the action, the writing, the acting, makes me wish this movie can return every anniversary.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/31/25

Full Review

Danny

Still the best Turtles Movie to this day !!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/02/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Steve Barron

Director

Judith Hoag

April O'Neil

Elias Koteas

Casey Jones

Josh Pais

Raphael

Michelan Sisti

Michaelangelo

Leif Tilden

Donatello

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

19%

33%

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

Watchlist

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

36%

67%

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

Watchlist

Spy Kids 3: Game Over

45%

25%

Spy Kids 3: Game Over

Watchlist

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D

23%

36%

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D

Watchlist

Ghostbusters II

54%

61%

Ghostbusters II

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Rotten Tomatoes is Wrong About...Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

49:24

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

In New York, mysterious radioactive ooze has mutated four sewer turtles into talking, upright-walking, crime-fighting ninjas. The intrepid heroes -- Michelangelo (Robbie Rist), Donatello (Corey Feldman), Raphael (Josh Pais) and Leonardo (Brian Tochi) -- are trained in the Ninjutsu arts by their rat sensei, Splinter. When a villainous rogue ninja, who is a former pupil of Splinter, arrives and spreads lawlessness throughout the city, it's up to the plucky turtles to stop him.

Director: Steve Barron
Producer: David Chan, Kim Dawson, Simon Fields
Screenwriter: Todd W. Langen, Bobby Herbeck
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Production Co: Image Comics, Golden Harvest Company, New Line Cinema, Mirage Studios, Northshore Investments Ltd., Limelight Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Kids & Family, Fantasy, Adventure, Action, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 30, 1990, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Aug 15, 2025
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $133.1M
Runtime: 1h 33m
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now