Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990 film)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 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.

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 in 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. Then-small and independent production company, New Line Cinema, ultimately 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 theatrically in the United States on March 30, 1990, by New Line Cinema. It grossed $202 million on a budget of $13.5 million; it was the highest-grossing independent film up to that time and the ninth-highest-grossing film worldwide of 1990. It was followed by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993).