Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993 film) poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Stuart Gillard
Written byStuart Gillard
Based on Characters
by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird
Produced by
  • Thomas K. Gray
  • Kim Dawson
  • David Chan
Starring
Cinematography David Gurfinkel
Edited by
  • William D. Gordean
  • James R. Symons
Music by John Du Prez
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • March 19, 1993 (1993-03-19)(United States)
Running time
96 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • Hong Kong
LanguageEnglish
Budget$21 million [1]
Box office$54.4 million [2]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (Subtitled Turtles in Time in PAL region and streaming releases) is a 1993 American superhero film based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Written and directed by Stuart Gillard, it is the sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), and the third installment in the original Turtles film trilogy. It stars Elias Koteas, Paige Turco, Vivian Wu, Sab Shimono, and Stuart Wilson with the voices of Brian Tochi, Robbie Rist, Corey Feldman, and Tim Kelleher. The plot revolves around the "Sacred Sands of Time", a mystical scepter which transports the Turtles and April back in time to feudal Japan, where they become embroiled in a conflict between a daimyō and a group of rebellious villagers.

Contents

The film was released theatrically in the United States on March 19, 1993, by New Line Cinema. It received mostly negative reviews with a general consensus from the critics that the film did not feature any villains and stories from the original Mirage comics or the 1987 animated series. It received moderate box office success, though it was the lowest-grossing entry in the series, grossing $54.4 million against a budget of $21 million. An animated film called TMNT was released in 2007 by Warner Bros. Pictures, and acknowledges the prior live-action films. The film series was completely rebooted with 2014's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, released by Paramount Pictures, following the acquisition of the franchise by Viacom and Nickelodeon.

Plot

In 1603 feudal Japan, four samurai on horseback chase a young man into the woods. A mysterious woman hidden in the underbrush watches closely. The samurai capture the youth, who is revealed to be a prince named Kenshin.

In the present, April O'Neil buys gifts for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles while shopping at a flea market. At their underground lair, April gives Michelangelo an old lamp, Donatello an old radio, Leonardo a book on swords, and a fedora hat for Raphael. Splinter receives an ancient Japanese scepter.

Back in the past, Lord Norinaga berates his son, Kenshin, for disgracing their family name. Kenshin argues that his father's desire for war is the true disgrace. When an English trader named Walker arrives to supply Norinaga with added manpower and firearms, Kenshin leaves to brood alone in a temple. There, he finds the scepter and reads the inscription: "Open Wide the Gates of Time".

The scepter that April is holding lights up and she is sent into the past as Kenshin takes her place; each is wearing what the other wore in their own time. Walker imprisons April after deducing she is not a witch and is powerless. Back in the present, Kenshin thinks the Turtles are "kappa". After Kenshin explains the time swap, the Turtles decide to rescue April. But according to Donatello's calculations, they only have 60 hours to rescue her before the scepter's power disappears. Meanwhile, Casey Jones will watch over Kenshin and the lair. As the turtles warp through time, they are replaced by four of Norinaga's Honor Guards.

The Turtles land in the past dressed as Honor Guards riding horses. Amid the confusion, Michelangelo rides into the forest and is ambushed by the mysterious woman, Mitsu. An unseen person takes the scepter from him. The other Turtles go to Norinaga's castle and rescue April and also free Whit, a prisoner resembling Casey. In the woods, the Turtles, April, and Whit are attacked by villagers mistaking them for Norinaga's forces. Mitsu, the leader of the rebellion against Lord Norinaga, unmasks Raphael and sees that he looks like her prisoner. Realizing Michelangelo is her captive, the Turtles accompany Mitsu to her village. Upon arriving, Walker's men are burning the village. As the Turtles help the villagers, Michelangelo is freed and joins the fight. Walker is forced to retreat, but the fire has trapped Mitsu's younger brother Yoshi inside a house. Michelangelo saves Yoshi, then Leonardo performs CPR; this earns the Turtles the villagers' gratitude and respect.

Walker bargains with Lord Norinaga over weapons for gold. Michelangelo consoles Mitsu about Kenshin, whom she loves. In the present, Casey tries to help the Honor Guards adjust to the 20th Century, while Kenshin and Splinter fear the Ninja Turtles will not return before the sixty hours are up.

In the past, Donatello has a replica scepter made, but Michelangelo and Raphael break it during an argument. Mitsu informs them that Lord Norinaga is buying Walker's guns and will attack the village the next morning. Raphael discovers that Yoshi has the original scepter. The Turtles are angry at Mitsu for hiding it and forcing them to fight her war. However, Mitsu's grandfather admits it was his idea for the Turtles to fight in her place.

Whit betrays everyone, captures Mitsu, and steals the scepter. The Turtles go to the palace to rescue Mitsu but are cornered by Norinaga and his soldiers. The Turtles free all prisoners, who join the battle. After lengthy fighting, Leonardo defeats Lord Norinaga in a sword duel. Walker escapes with the scepter, but is trapped at the boat dock. Walker throws the scepter into the air, but the Turtles catch it. Whit, who switched his alliance after Walker betrayed him, launches a flaming boulder from a wooden catapult at Walker, knocking him off the dock to his death in the crashing river below.

Michelangelo and Raphael want to stay in the past, feeling appreciated there. When Kenshin activates the scepter, their decision becomes urgent. Mitsu reminds Michelangelo of his promise to return Kenshin to his own time. Michelangelo reluctantly agrees, but he misses grabbing the scepter and is left behind as the Honor Guards switch back with the Turtles. The remaining Honor Guard activates the scepter and swaps places with Michelangelo just before the scepter burns out.

Norinaga surrenders to Mitsu, and Kenshin is given the scepter; the two lovers are reunited. Meanwhile, Michelangelo is depressed about growing up. Splinter cheers him up by performing an Elvis Presley impression, and the other Turtles join in with a final dance number.

Cast

Live action

Voice cast

Rist and Tochi, who voice Michelangelo and Leonardo, respectively, are the only actors to voice the same characters in all three live-action TMNT movies. Corey Feldman returned as the voice of Donatello after being absent for the second movie.

Puppeteers

Music

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.jpg
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
ReleasedMarch 9, 1993 (1993-03-09)
Genre
Length45:01
Label SBK
Producer Pete Ganbarg
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtracks chronology
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II The Secret of the Ooze: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(1991)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(1993)
TMNT: Music from the Motion Picture
(2007)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released by SBK Records on March 9, 1993. [3] It features the tracks "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora and "Can't Stop Rockin'" by ZZ Top.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Tarzan Boy [4] "
Baltimora 3:44
2."Can't Stop Rockin'" ZZ Top 3:03
3."Rockin' Over the Beat" Technotronic featuring Ya Kid K 5:47
4."Conga"Enrique E. GarciaThe Barrio Boyzz4:43
5."Turtle Jam"
Psychedelic Dust featuring Loose Bruce3:59
6."Fighter" Rose Windross Definition of Sound 5:44
7.""Yoshi's Theme"John Du Prez John Du Prez and Ocean Music3:24
8."Turtle Power"
  • James P. Alpern
  • Richard A. Usher Jr.
Partners in Kryme 4:22
9."Tarzan Boy" (Remix)
  • Bassi
  • Hackett
Baltimora3:44
10."Rockin' Over the Beat" (Rockin' Over Manchester Hacienda Remix)
  • Bogaert
  • Kamosi
Technotronic featuring Ya Kid K6:33
Total length:45:01

Release

Home media

As with both of the previous films, the British PG version was censored due to usage of forbidden weapons (Michelangelo's nunchaku). For these scenes, alternate material was used. The cuts were waived for the DVD release. [5] The German theatrical and video version was based on the censored UK cut; the DVD is uncut.

The film was released to VHS and Laserdisc in 1993. [6] [7]

The film has been released on DVD, and also two Blu-ray box sets with both of its predecessors. Some home media releases label the film as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles in Time on their front cover.

Filming

Principal photography began on June 15 and August 5, 1992[ citation needed ]

Reception

Box office

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III debuted at number 1 at the U.S. box office with a gross of $12.4 million from 2,087 screens. [8] [9] The film grossed $42.2 million in the United States and Canada, [1] and $12.2 internationally, giving a worldwide gross of $54.4 million. [2]

Critical response

The film holds a 19% approval rating and has an average rating of 4.10/10 on Rotten Tomatoes based on 32 reviews, with the consensus: "It's a case of one sequel too many for the heroes in a half shell, with a tired time-travel plot gimmick failing to save the franchise from rapidly diminishing returns". [10] On Metacritic it has a score of 40 out of 100 based on reviews from 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [11]

Michael Wilmington of Los Angeles Times noted that distributors deliberately kept the film away from critics. Despite mild praise for the look of the film, Wilmington called the first film a fluke hit and called this third film "sequel hell". [12] James Berardinelli gave it one out of four stars, citing that "any adults accompanying their kids will have to invent new and interesting ways to stay awake. Not only is this movie aimed at young children, the script could have been written by them". [13] TV Guide gave it two out of four stars and said in their review: "If the time-travel gimmick has to be employed twice in a row then it's probably best to banish these characters to a retirement sewer", [14] when commenting about a possible future film invoking time travel.

TMNT co-creator Peter Laird mentioned in the 2014's Turtle Power documentary that he disliked the film, and Kevin Eastman noted the efforts taken to create it.

What we tried to do with the third movie was to make it as good of a story as we could. We went through a painstaking level of do's and don'ts, what they could and couldn't do. We wanted something that would be good for all ages again. I call movie one the best, movie two the worst, and movie three halfway in between.

Kevin Eastman (2014) [15]

Future

There were early plans for a fourth installment. Playmates toy catalogues indicated a fourth film would be released in 1996 but it never materialized. A script titled TMNT IV: The Foot Walks Again was written by Craig Shapiro and John Travis, while Peter Laird has released concept designs for a version which he says would have been titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: The Next Mutation. Instead, the TV series Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation was produced from 1997 to 1998, sharing little with the prior concept work beside the subtitle.

The next theatrical release is a 2007 CGI animated film titled TMNT which references the prior live-action films.

After Viacom bought the franchise in 2009, Paramount Pictures produced and released a reboot in 2014.

Related Research Articles

Donatello (<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i>) Fictional character

Donatello, nicknamed Donnie, is a superhero and one of the four main characters of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media. He is the smartest and often gentlest of his brothers, wearing a purple mask over his eyes. He wields a bō staff, his primary signature weapon in all media.

Leonardo (<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i>) Fictional character

Leonardo, commonly nicknamed Leo, is a superhero appearing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and related media, and created by American comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. He is one of the four central characters of the franchise, along with his brothers, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Leonardo is the leader and strategist of the turtles.

Raphael (<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i>) Fictional superhero

Raphael, nicknamed Raph, is a superhero and one of the four main characters of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media. In most iterations, he is depicted as the most aggressive of the turtle brothers, physically the strongest, and often at odds with his brother, Leonardo.

Michelangelo  (<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i>) Fictional superhero

Michelangelo, nicknamed Mikey, is a superhero and one of the four main characters of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media. Characterized as the most naturally gifted of the four brothers, Michelangelo prefers leisure to training martial arts. The most jocular and energetic of the team, he is shown to be rather immature; he is known for his wisecracks, quick-wit, optimism, and love of skateboarding and pizza. He is usually depicted wearing an orange eye mask. His signature weapons are a single or dual nunchaku, though he has also been portrayed using other weapons, such as a grappling hook, manriki-gusari, kusarigama, tonfa, and a three-section staff. He is commonly portrayed in media as speaking with a California accent and is most associated with the "Cowabunga" expression that became a pop culture phenomenon.

Shredder (<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i>) Fictional supervillain in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise

The Shredder is a supervillain and the main antagonist of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles media franchise created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The character debuted in the Mirage Studios comic book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, and has since endured as the archenemy of the turtles and their Master Splinter.

Splinter (<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i>) Fictional mutant rat and martial arts instructor of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise

Splinter, often referred to as Master Splinter or Sensei by his students/sons, is a fictional character from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media. A mutant rat, he is the grave and stoic sage of the Turtles, their ninjutsu and martial arts instructor, and their adoptive father. The character was originally a parody of the Marvel Comics character Stick.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (1987 TV series) American animated television series

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series produced by Fred Wolf Films, and based on the comic book characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Set in New York City, the series follows the adventures of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their allies as they battle the Shredder, Krang, and numerous other villains and criminals. The property was changed considerably from the darker-toned comics, to make it more suitable for children and families.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze</i> 1991 film by Michael Pressman

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze is a 1991 American superhero film based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Directed by Michael Pressman and written by Todd W. Langen, it is the sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and the second installment in the original Turtles film trilogy. It stars Paige Turco and David Warner, with the voices of Brian Tochi, Robbie Rist, Adam Carl, and Laurie Faso. Resuming from the events of the first film, the Shredder returns at command of the Foot Clan for revenge on the Turtles. When he learns the secret behind the Turtles' mutation, he becomes more dangerous than ever. The film reveals the origins of Splinter and the Turtles and introduces two new villains, Tokka and Rahzar. Unlike the first film, the Turtles mostly fight bare-fisted, to tone down the violence.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (1990 film) 1990 film by Steve Barron

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American superhero film based on the comic book characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It is the first film adaptation of the characters and was directed by Steve Barron and written by Todd W. Langen and Bobby Herbeck from a story by Herbeck. It stars Judith Hoag and Elias Koteas with the voices of Brian Tochi, Josh Pais, Corey Feldman, and Robbie Rist. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles follows the Turtles on a quest to save their master, Splinter, with their new allies, April O'Neil and Casey Jones, from the Shredder and his Foot Clan.

<i>TMNT</i> (film) 2007 film by Kevin Munroe

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References

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