Turtles Are Always Home

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American superhero comedy film directed by Steve Barron and written by Todd W. Langen and Bobby Herbeck. Based on the comic book characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, it is the first film adaptation of the characters. The story follows four anthropomorphic mutant turtles who must use their ninja training to save their master and adoptive father Splinter from his long-lost foe the Shredder and his Foot Clan of ninjas. They are aided by their new human allies April O'Neil (Judith Hoag) and Casey Jones (Elias Koteas). The film adapts the early Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, with several elements taken from the animated series airing at the time. Filming took place from July to September 1989 in North Carolina and New York City. Many major studios turned down distribution for the film, worrying that it could be a box office disappointment. New Line Cinema, at that time a small independent production company, acquired the rights halfway through production. The turtle costumes were developed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, one of Jim Henson's last projects before his death shortly after the premiere. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was released in the United States on March 30, 1990, by New Line Cinema, and received mixed reviews from critics. It grossed $202 million on a budget of $13.5 million, and was the highest-grossing independent film up to that time and the ninth-highest-grossing film of 1990. It was followed by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993).