TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE ORIGINAL MOVIE [1990] - PART 2

Welcome back to our look at "THE ORIGINAL TMNT MOVIE"! 

When we ended "PART 1" of this review we talked about "MIKEY'S" role in the T.V. special: "CARTOON ALL-STARS TO THE RESCUE". So let's start with some "behind the shells" facts about that!

This special teamed up many of the toons' original voice-actors as well as some recognizable replacements including:

• TOWNSEND COLEMAN as "MICHAELANGELO" from "TMNT"[obviously!] [Oddly enough even though "MIKEY" does appear in this special, he does not appear on the VHS cover and for some reason "SMURFETTE", who's not in the program, for some reason does appear on the cover!]

•  ROSS BAGDASARIAN as "ALVIN" and "SIMON" and JANICE KARMAN as "THEODORE" from "ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS"

• JIM CUMMINGS as "WINNIE THE POOH" and "TIGGER" from "WINNIE THE POOH"

• FRANK WELKER as "SLIMER" from "THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS", "BABY KERMIT THE FROG" from "THE MUPPET BABIES" and "HEFTY SMURF" from "THE SMURFS"

• PAUL FUSCO as "ALF" from both the live-action and animated "ALF" T.V. series'

• JEFF BERGMAN as "BUGS BUNNY" and "DAFFY DUCK" from "THE LOONEY TUNES"

• RUSSI TAYLOR as "BABY GONZO" from "THE MUPPET BABIES" and "HUEY", "DEWEY" and "LOUIE DUCK" - "DONALD DUCK'S" nephews - from the classic DISNEY cartoons and the 1990 "DUCKTALES" T.V. series

• LORENZO MUSIC as "GARFIELD" from "GARFIELD & FRIENDS" and other "GARFIELD" T.V. specials

• DON MESSICK as "PAPA SMURF" from "THE SMURFS"

• LAURIE O'BRIEN as "BABY PIGGY" from "THE MUPPET BABIES" and DANNY GOLDMAN as "BRAINY SMURF" from "THE SMURFS"

The cast was also joined by legendary film, T.V. and broadway star GEORGE C. SCOTT ["PATTON", "STANLEY KUBBRICK'S DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB" and the 1984 film version of "A CHRISTMAS CAROL"] as the drug named "SMOKE"!

[GEORGE C. SCOTT as "EBENEZER SCROOGE" in the 1984 film version  of "A CHRISTMAS CAROL.]

This special also includes an introduction by former PRESIDENT GEORGE H. W. BUSH and former FIRST LADY BARBARA BUSH. foreign  versions of the special were introduced by the government leaders of their respective countries! 

[PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. and FIRST LADY BARBARA BUSH at BARBARA'S birthday celebration.]

And finally, the special also includes the musical number "WONDERFUL WAYS TO SAY NO" written by the ACADEMY AWARD winning musical team of ALAN MENKEN and the late HOWARD ASHMAN ["DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID", "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" and "ALADDIN"].

[ALAN MENKEN and the late HOWARD ASHMAN at "THE 62ND ACADEMY AWARDS" - MARCH 26, 1990]

Now let's get  back to "THE TURTLES":

Did you know that "THE TMNT" have also had a number of one-off direct-to-video specials?

This list of specials includes:

"RTD PRESENTS - OPERATION: BLUE LINE: STARRING THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES" 

[This VHS tape was given away for free. Not surprising, considering it's more or less an advertisement for the Metro Blue Line trains.]

"TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: WE WISH YOU A TURTLE CHRISTMAS"

["THE TURTLES" get a present for "MASTER SPLINTER" while singing their own versions of classic CHRISTMAS CAROLS!]

"TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE COMING OUT OF THEIR SHELLS TOUR [PLUS] THE MAKING OF THE COMING OUT OF THEIR SHELLS TOUR [DOUBLE FEATURE]"

["THE TURTLES" decide to become a rock 'n roll band and play their first sold-out concert show at "RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL" and take us "BEHIND THE SHELLS" to see how the show was made!]

[This home video release was also available on two separate VHS titles as well!]

"TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE GETTIN' DOWN IN YOUR TOWN TOUR"

[This title is a sequel to "THE COMING OUT OF THEIR SHELLS TOUR" concert!]

"VANILLA ICE: NINJA RAP: THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 2: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE VIDEO SINGLE"

[As the title suggests: This is simply a music video of the song "NINJA RAP" PERFORMED BY VANILLA ICE from the second "TURTLES MOVIE" and soundtrack cd: "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 2: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE".]

"THE MAKING OF TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: BEHIND THE SHELLS [AKA] TMNT MANIA: BEHIND THE SHELLS - SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION"

[This video is a behind the scenes look at the "TURTLE-PHENOMENON" that includes interviews with creators KEVIN EASTMAN AND PETER LAIRD and the cast & crew members of   "TMNT 2: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE".]

"NICKELODEON'S TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: HALF-SHELL HEROES: BLAST TO THE PAST"

[A 45-minute animated special based on the PLAYMATES TOYS' HALF-SHELL HEROES action-figures! "THE TURTLES" get trapped in another time-period!]

AND "TURTLE POWER: THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES"

[A special feature-length documentary that celebrates "THE TURTLES' 30TH ANNIVERSARY". This film reveals some behind the scenes stories from the franchise's past! Including:

-How EASTMAN AND LAIRD first met

-The creation of the original black and white "EASTMAN AND LAIRD'S TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES" comic books

-The birth of the PLAYMATES TOYS action-figures and the original 1987 animated T.V. series

-1990S' "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE ORIGINAL MOVIE" production secrets

-Concert performers fan reaction stories from "THE COMING OUT OF THEIR SHELLS TOUR"]

"

Did you know that a sequel to the "TURTLE POWER" documentary is currently in production?

The working-title of the film, for now, is called: "TURTLE POWER: THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES VOLUME 2"

[This film will include material that was not shown in "VOLUME 1". This video is said to include stories behind:

-The IDW COMICS re-launch

-The 2003 [4KIDS] and 2012 [NICKELODEON] animated series reboots

-The live-action T.V. series: "NINJA TURTLES: THE NEXT MUTATION"

-The '90's and 2007 sequels

-The 2014 NICKELODEON/PARAMOUNT/MICHAEL BAY executive produced movie reboot and more!]

They have yet to decide on a 2018 DVD release date as of yet!

Did you know that "TURTLE-ACTOR"JOSH PAIS ["RAPHAEL"] had anxiety about wearing his Raphael mask? The actor was also the only one to provide his own character voice, but he wasn’t a fan of wearing the turtle mask because of severe claustrophobia. Pais would immediately remove his mask after every cut. At one point the filmmakers decided to use PAIS' phobia as an in-joke during the scene where the gang returns to the NYC sewer system and their human friend "CASEY JONES" [ELIAS KOTEAS] is horrified to learn that they'll be spending the night there, while "APRIL O'NEAL" [JUDITH HOAG] and "DONATELLO" poke some fun at his unease.

[PAIS taking a very, very much needed break from his "head" during filming]

Did you know that it took three puppeteers to make "SPLINTER" come to life? One of the puppeteers is KEVIN CLASH, the puppeteer who portrays "ELMO" on the "SESAME STREET" franchise, who also provides "SPLINTERS'" voice!

[CLASH with "ELMO" filming a scene outside of "OSCAR THE GROUCH'S" trashcan on the "SESAME STREET" set!]

[A side-by-side/split-screen image comparison of "SPLINTER" and CLASH.]

Did you know that JIM HENSON had some mixed reactions about the film? While HENSON was said to be upset by the amount of violence in the finished film, the turtle costumes were created by his Creature Shop in London. Henson said that the costumes were the most advanced technology that he had worked with at the time. His involvement in this film and the sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze probably explains why the Ninja Turtles were parodied in "THE MUPPET BABIES", MUPPETS TONIGHT and "DINOSAURS", where a “TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA CAVEMEN” poster could be seen hanging in  "ROBBIE SINCLAIR'S" bedroom.

[For some reason this picture is comprised of two images but you can clearly see the poster on "ROBBIE'S" - He's the dinosaur who's face can be seen in the picture above - bedroom door in both images!]

Did you know that there was originally going to be a fourth live-action '09's "TURTLE MOVIE"? That's right and it was going to be as dark as the original film too! I've heard of a couple of possible ideas that were considered [All artwork by "TMNT" CO-CREATORS KEVIN EASTMAN AND PETER LAIRD]:

[Cover art and title for "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 4: THE NEXT MUTATION".]

1 - "SPLINTER" and "THE TURTLES" would goat through a terrifying second mutation that would instantly prove to be problematic! 

["SPLINTER"]

["DONNIE"]

["LEO"]

["MIKEY"]

["RAPH" or "RAPTOR RAPH" as EASTMAN AND LAIRD - jokingly - like to call him!]

2 - A "5th TURTLE" named "KIRBY" [named after legendary comic book artist, writer and creator JACK KIRBY], who was more brutish in combat, would have been introduced!

3 - "SHREDDER" would have returned, except this time he would've looked a lot less like "THE SHREDDER" and more like PAUL STANLEY and GENE SIMMONS from the '70's rock band KISS!

["KISS-SHREDDER"]

4 - We could have been introduced to an evil version of "APRIL" with a rather "controversial" outfit.

Many of the films concepts have been repurposed for other variations of the "TMNT" franchise including:

1 - More feral versions of the secondary mutations would appear in the 9th and 10th seasons of the '87 animated series.

2 - Another monster version of "RAPH" also appears in "VOLUME 4" of the     EASTMAN AND LAIRD comic book series. His name was "GAMERAPH".

3 - The movies' sub-title was used for the live-action T.V. series; "NINJA TURTLES: THE NEXT MUTATION".

4 - While we did not get "KIRBY", "NINJA TURTLES: THE NEXT MUTATION" did give us a "5th female turtle" named "VENUS DE MILO".

Did you know that STEVE BARRON, the DIRECTOR of "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE ORIGINAL MOVIE", and BRENDAN McCARTHY, "THE ORIGINAL MOVIE'S" CONCEPT and STORYBOARD ARTIST, have reunited in 2001 to create their own attempt at "A FOURTH NINJA TURTLE MOVIE"?

Yes, they did! This "TURTLE MOVIE" would have given them a much more street-like feel.

[A concept-art drawing from BARRON and McCARTHY'S original pitch.] Sadly, this film was dropped in-favor of the 2007 CGI-ANIMATED feature film "TMNT"!

There are now seven "turtle movies" in total, with six theatrical movies and one T.V. movie, including:

[From NEW LINE CINEMA and GOLDEN HARVEST]

 1 - "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE:THE ORIGINAL MOVIE" [1990]

2 - "TMNT 2: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE" [1991]

3 - "TMNT 3: TURTLES IN TIME" [1993]

[From WARNER BROS. PICTURES/THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY and IMAGI ANIMATION STUDIOS]

4 - TMNT [2007]

[Same poster as before.]

[From NICKELODEON MOVIES and PARAMOUNT PICTURES]

5 - "TMNT: TURTLES FOREVER" [2009 T.V. movie]

6 - "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES" [2014]

7 - "TMNT: OUT OF THE SHADOWS" [2016]

Did you know that NICKELODEON is currently making a new animated turtles T.V.-series that's set to air later this year? The new show is called "NICKELODEON'S RISE OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES".

[Our five "heroes on a half-shell" from left to right: "LEONARDO", "DONATELLO", The first-ever african-american "APRIL O'NEAL", "MICHELANGELO" and - strangely enough - the leader "RAPHAEL".]

"WWE SUPER-STAR" JOHN CENA is joining the cast as a new villain named "BARON DRAXOM", an alchemist warrior mutant who seeks to turn all of humanity into mutants. CENA'S reoccurring character will appear in the premiere episode and throughout the series, which follows the band of brothers as they encounter new mutants and villains and discover a mystical world they never knew existed beneath the streets of New York City.

[CENA with a "2018 NICKELODEON KID'S CHOICE AWARDS" ORANGE BLIMP.]

Well "TURTLE-FANS" that's all i have to say in this entry so i'm gonna go grab a slice of pizza. Later dudes, COWABUNGA!