Overview: A shell-shocking saga of mutants, martial arts and New York mayhem, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trilogy brought comic book grit, practical effects wizardry and pizza-fuelled fun to a generation of moviegoers, helping turn four sewer-dwelling brothers into global pop culture icons. Launching in 1990 with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, director Steve Barron’s gritty, high-energy adaptation of the underground comic became a box office phenomenon, fusing martial arts action, streetwise humor and the groundbreaking animatronics of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

The 1991 sequel The Secret of the Ooze is an irresistibly fun second slice: a deep-dive into the turtles’ origins where new mutant foes Tokka and Rahzar are thrown in the mix... double the stakes, double the pizza!

Rounding out the trilogy, 1993’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III sends the heroes in a half shell back to feudal Japan in a time-travel adventure full of samurai showdowns, ancient legends and comic chaos.

Restored in glorious 4K and packed with extras, this radical set celebrates the legacy of Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael in one of the most iconic franchises of the era, blending innovative effects, comic-book heart and early ’90s attitude.

4K Blu-ray Verdict: Up first is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and I actually saw this when it was first released at the start of the ’90s and loved it. Rewatching it now after many years reminds me of why. This is such a fun movie. The voicework for the Turtles and Splinter is terrific. Judith Hoag is a perfect April O’Neil. Elias Koteas has a field day as sports-inspired vigilante Casey Jones.

The action is silly fun. The sets and costumes are great. The special effects by the Jim Henson Workshop are charmingly effective. In short it is just a big live-action cartoon, which is mighty fine with me. These kind of movies don’t often work but this one does. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a dumb kiddie movie. It’s easygoing and funny but it has darker parts too. Oh, and let’s not forget that soundtrack featuring the anthem to end all anthems: Turtle Power by Partners in Kryme!

Then we get the sequel The Secret of the Ooze (1991) where they came back with a different April O’Neil eschewing Judith Hoag for Paige Turco. And they even dropped party crasher Casey Jones for another little sidekick in Keno (Ernie Reyes Jr.).

In this one they discovered the ooze that made them and the TGRI scientist responsible. Shredder, back from the dead, got a hold of the ooze and experimented with it himself. He didn’t quite create Bebop and Rocksteady, but he did create Rahzar and Tokka, a mutated dog and snapping turtle!

The Turtles were going to have to stop these two new super-mutants before Shredder used them to wreck Central Park and the people in it!

I think part two was even zanier than the first. The fights were a lot more Three Stooges-like and one fight even took them into a club where Vanilla Ice was performing. Say what you want about Vanilla Ice now, but in 1991 he was the hottest thing after M.C. Hammer. TMNT 2 is a cool follow-up worthy of nine cowabunga’s dude!

Finally we got Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993) which featured a plot that revolved around the Sacred Sands of Time, a mystical scepter which transports the Turtles back in time to feudal Japan, where they become embroiled in a conflict between a daimyo and a group of rebellious villagers.

The plot of this movie just drives me a little bit crazy, in all truth, as the story is a little bit incoherent in a few areas, but it can also get really amazing and thus should have gotten more praise and acclaim than the first film did [and I really don’t know why people hate this movie so, so much].

OK, sure, the turtles look stupid as hell in this film, but the visuals are impressive, and so part of the reason why I think the turtles look as bad as they do is because and they are just fantastic and simply amazing at what they do that the art department forgot to concentrate their talents of these three half-shells!

The music is composed by John Du Prez and it is spectacular throughout and the visuals and over design of the film are simply amazing and really cool and spectacular also.

As a little footnote, after this film, another film was in development for a release in 1997 titled TMNT: The Next Mutation where the film would introduced new turtles, but this project was cancelled after trying to get it made.

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentations in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of all three films
New 4K restoration of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from the original 35mm negative by Arrow Films
New 4K restorations of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II & III from the original 35mm interpositives by Arrow Films
Original lossless stereo audio and remixed Dolby Atmos surround audio for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Original lossless stereo audio and remixed DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II & III
Brand new director’s commentaries for all three films
Brand new cast and crew interviews for all three films
Perfect bound collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Simon Ward, John Torrani, and John Walsh
Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Florey

Official Purchase Link

www.arrowvideo.com