Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) are a group of four anthropomorphic turtle brothers, who, as one might infer from the name, are also teenagers, mutants and ninja. The Turtles are each named after a famous Renaissance artist: Leonardo (Leonardo da Vinci), Raphael (Raffaello Santi), Michelangelo (Michelangelo Buonarroti), and Donatello (Donatello). The TMNT live in the sewers of New York City.

Feature films

All the feature films are available on DVD and VHS as well as the 2003 animated series. The 1987 animated series is available on its out of print VHS tapes which are a vintage favorite. There is also a DVD release of the 1987 series available since April of 2004, which contains the original episodes that aired back in December of 1987 and four bonus episodes from its tenth and final season. The second season of the original cartoon is also now available on DVD. The Next Mutation is also available on DVD and VHS.

Related Topics:
Feature films - DVD - VHS - Out of print - April - 2004 - December - 1987

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The first film, simply titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, closely follows the Eastman and Laird original graphic novels, with a little of the silliness of the cartoons. While fans of both the cartoon and the comic were appeased, many felt that the Turtle characters (with the exception of Raphael) seemed to have the same personality with few variations.

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The second film, entitled ', expands on the Turtles' origin story while claiming the dubious distinction of featuring Vanilla Ice's film debut. It also featured new characters: Shredder's mutants Tokka and Rahzar, and a mutated Super-Shredder. The original story was to include Rocksteady and Bebop at the insistence of the stuido, but Laird and Eastman fought tooth and nail to prevent thier inclusion, and created Tokka and Razar as a way of compensating. The original ending to "Ooze" would also reveal the benevolant TGRI scientest Jordon Perry who helps the Turtles (played by David Warner) to have been a Utrom, but due to budget constraints, plus the fear he may be mistaken for Krang, the plot point was dropped.

Related Topics:
Vanilla Ice - Tokka and Rahzar - David Warner - Krang

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The third film in the series was the lukewarm ', which featured the return of the character Casey Jones. The plot of this film includes the Turtles traveling back in time to ancient Japan and donning Samurai armor. It was based on a sub-story involving the Sacred Sands of Time, which debuted in Eastman and Laird's TMNT Volume 1, issue 8.

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The fourth film in the series is currently in pre-production. Unlike the previous films, it will be using Computer-generated imagery. No details have been released regarding the plot.

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