All 10 TMNT Movies Ranked
Teenage Mutant Ninja Movies! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re ranking ten Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films from worst to best.
Transcript
00:00 God, I love being a turtle!
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're
00:06 ranking 10 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
00:09 films from worst to best.
00:11 What are those?
00:13 Teenagers.
00:14 Mutants.
00:15 Ninjas.
00:16 Turtles.
00:18 Number 10, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3.
00:22 Hey, dude, let's check it out.
00:24 We're in show.
00:26 Scraping the bottom of the sewer is
00:28 the end to the '90s live action trilogy.
00:31 The third film wanted to cash in quickly
00:33 on the turtles' popularity.
00:34 Unfortunately, the budget was slashed,
00:37 and the film had an incredibly rushed production.
00:40 The result was a cheap-looking mess that
00:43 did the main turtles dirty.
00:45 Would somebody please tell me what
00:46 the heck is going on around here?
00:48 To make matters worse, the low cost and hurried effort
00:51 completely overshadowed the movie's cool time travel
00:54 premise.
00:55 But to be fair, the cheesy dialogue and weak script
00:58 didn't help sell the plot either.
01:00 I don't think I'll ever laugh again.
01:02 Every aspect of this time-bending turtle film
01:05 failed to deliver.
01:07 It's no question why the '90s live action franchise ended
01:10 its film run with this dud.
01:12 Number 9, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
01:17 You're Ninja Mutant Turtle.
01:23 Teenagers.
01:25 Well, when you put it like that, it sounds ridiculous.
01:27 This film got flack before release
01:29 when rumors swirled that the turtles would
01:31 be aliens this time around.
01:33 After the plot point was walked back,
01:35 fans found issues with the lackluster plot,
01:38 uneven tone, and ugly designs for the heroes.
01:41 And Shredder's casting opened up another can of worms.
01:44 Although the villain was going to be played by William
01:47 Fichtner, accusations of whitewashing
01:49 the traditionally Asian character
01:51 made the studio do last-minute rewrites and reshoots.
01:54 This caused Shredder's backstory
01:55 to be an absolute mess.
01:57 Three, four total turtles.
02:00 One's fighting a robot samurai.
02:02 Why not?
02:03 Fortunately, a few decent action scenes
02:05 and the mo-cap performances received praise from critics.
02:08 The special effects and acting showed
02:10 that there was a chance the franchise
02:12 could survive this misfire.
02:13 Are you crying?
02:18 I don't think so.
02:19 It's just a little dusty out here.
02:21 Number eight, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2,
02:25 The Secret of the Ooze.
02:27 After the phenomenal success of the first film,
02:29 the second was fast-tracked.
02:31 But there was one major change to the tone.
02:34 Donatello.
02:36 I'm Rafael.
02:37 Yeah, all the good ones had to know.
02:40 In order to address the concerns of angry parents,
02:42 the sequel was made to be more child-friendly.
02:45 Rafael and Leonardo were barely allowed
02:47 to use their sharpsinger weapons.
02:49 Additionally, two of the main villains
02:51 literally had the minds of babies.
02:54 Babies!
02:57 They're babies!
02:59 But it wasn't all doom and gloom.
03:02 In a very early '90s move, Vanilla Ice
03:04 sung the undeniably catchy ninja rap.
03:07 Go, ninja!
03:08 Go, ninja!
03:09 Go!
03:09 Go, ninja!
03:10 Go, ninja!
03:11 Go!
03:11 Go, ninja!
03:12 Go, ninja!
03:12 Go!
03:13 And the film did address the mystery surrounding
03:17 the quartet's origins.
03:18 If this sequel was allowed to have an edgier tone,
03:21 it might have been a tale that was truly worthy of the Turtles.
03:25 Number seven, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,
03:29 Out of the Shadows.
03:30 Out of the Shadows was immediately
03:32 heralded as a massive improvement over its 2014
03:35 predecessor.
03:36 And there's only one question.
03:39 Why are you wasting time talking to a grumpy old rat?
03:43 Go get him!
03:44 This sequel brought in a variety of fan favorites
03:47 like Crane, Bebop, Rocksteady, and the vigilante Casey Jones.
03:51 It also featured a number of genuinely emotional scenes,
03:54 where the Turtles longed to be seen as more than monsters.
03:57 If there's even a chance that ooze can make us human--
04:00 We're turtles, whether you like it or not.
04:03 And the action scenes were more ambitious than ever.
04:06 Unfortunately, the movie still suffered
04:09 from tonal issues, bad jokes, and confusing plot.
04:12 And despite being an improvement from the first,
04:14 it made almost half of what the first film did.
04:17 The lackluster box office receipts
04:19 ensure that this particular live action franchise
04:22 would stay firmly in the shadows.
04:25 You could live a normal life like the rest of us.
04:30 Normal?
04:31 What fun is that?
04:35 Number six, TMNT.
04:38 Why skate a halfpipe when you can skate a sewerpipe?
04:42 Instead of going live action, this 2007 movie
04:45 broke the mold for the franchise by relying on CGI animation.
04:48 It also decided to embrace a heavier tone.
04:51 TMNT dealt with the brothers growing older and apart.
04:54 But when a new threat arrives in the city,
04:56 the quartet has to overcome their issues
04:59 and fight together.
05:00 Leonardo, this team you are so eager to lead is incomplete.
05:06 You know what you must do.
05:08 Speaking of, this movie features gorgeous action scenes,
05:12 like the 1v1 between Raphael and Leonardo.
05:15 But TMNT was ultimately held back a bit
05:18 by a flimsy story and a sewer full of cliches.
05:22 Although it was intended to launch a new trilogy,
05:24 no sequels ever came to fruition.
05:27 For better or worse, TMNT still stands
05:30 as one of the franchise's most unique entries.
05:32 We strike hard, defend, protect, and fade into the night.
05:38 And there ain't no bad guy or monster
05:39 going to ever change that.
05:41 That's what's important.
05:42 Number five, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,
05:47 the movie.
05:49 Impeccable timing, little brother.
05:51 Very dramatic.
05:52 Two years after a well-received Turtle series wrapped up,
05:56 the story continued in an acclaimed film.
05:58 In this story, Turtles from the year 2044
06:01 send Casey Jones back into the past to prevent a bad future.
06:05 The present-day team has to work with their time-traveling
06:08 guests to fend off a global threat.
06:10 Retreat!
06:11 Retreat?
06:12 We don't retreat.
06:13 Leo, for once, listen to me.
06:15 You're too powerful, and that's hurt.
06:17 Critics loved that the film raised the stakes higher
06:20 than the series had and let the Turtles clash
06:23 against an invading alien force.
06:25 It also provided strong character arcs
06:27 for the main quartet and beyond.
06:28 As the cherry on top, the animation
06:31 was bursting with energy and style.
06:33 We're here, Mikey.
06:35 Together!
06:36 While this Turtle Tale does require prior knowledge
06:39 to fully appreciate, the movie is still a good time.
06:43 Number four, Batman versus Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
06:48 The penguin mentioned a bat.
06:51 Think this is the guy working with Shredder?
06:53 Could be.
06:53 Based on the tremendously popular comic crossover,
06:56 a directed video film saw the four crime fighters
06:59 come face to face with the Caped Crusader himself.
07:02 The film managed to balance the gritty action
07:04 with the camp humor that both franchises
07:06 were known for to perfection.
07:09 They call him the Batman.
07:12 Oh, Batman.
07:14 Yeah, no, I'm glad that a half an hour of research
07:16 pulled up the name I could have guessed in two seconds.
07:19 After the obligatory fight between Batman and the boys,
07:22 they teamed up to take down common enemies.
07:25 Just as the Turtles were a perfect pairing with Batman,
07:28 their foes, Shredder and Ra's al Ghul,
07:31 were a dastardly duel.
07:32 With plenty of Batman's allies and role gallery
07:35 filling out the cast, this crossover is not to be missed.
07:39 So to make it up to you, please accept my skateboard.
07:44 It's just what I've always wanted.
07:47 Number three, Turtles forever.
07:51 The 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle show
07:53 was pitched as a more serious take on the characters.
07:56 So it was a fun twist to see them meet the goofier 1987
08:01 versions of themselves in a movie that
08:02 marked the 25th anniversaries of the team.
08:05 Hey, those dudes look just like us.
08:08 Don't flatter yourselves.
08:09 Although the two groups initially
08:11 don't get along that well, they have
08:13 to respect each other's style to take down multiple Shredders.
08:17 The film served as both a satisfying conclusion
08:20 to the 2003 show and a stellar standalone movie.
08:23 Today, we're more than allies.
08:26 We're brothers.
08:28 Go, Green Machine!
08:30 As a final trick, both teams crossed over
08:33 with the gritty Turtles from the original comics.
08:35 Seeing 12 Turtles fight side by side
08:38 was something that would make a fan of any era jump for joy.
08:42 It's Ninja time!
08:46 Turtle power!
08:48 Number two, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mutant Mayhem.
08:53 I think humans seem kind of cool, to be honest.
08:55 Beyonce--
08:56 - You're wearing a cape without humans.
08:57 - That guy's the GOAT of all time.
08:58 I'd love to have a champagne brunch with Tom Brady.
09:00 Coming from the writing team of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg,
09:03 Mutant Mayhem dealt with Turtles who truly wanted
09:06 to be accepted in society.
09:07 They had to face off against another group of mutants
09:11 who thought the only way to fit in was to mutate everyone.
09:15 Weapons kill.
09:17 What I'm making will create.
09:21 OK, I'm winning, then.
09:23 Despite the heavy themes, the movie was ridiculously funny.
09:26 The film also boasted a unique animation style
09:30 that combined the perks of computer-generated animation
09:32 with hand-drawn techniques.
09:34 Additionally, a strong voice cast that included Ice Cube,
09:38 Jackie Chan, and a great quartet of young actors
09:41 elevated the material.
09:42 Yeah, she sounded like a leader.
09:44 I do?
09:44 Oh, I do!
09:45 Oh, I sound like such a leader.
09:46 Holy crap, that's so dope.
09:47 And you ruined it.
09:48 Not only is this a great TMNT film,
09:51 but it's an all-around stellar animated movie.
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10:10 Number one, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
10:15 I'm in love.
10:17 Adapting a number of storylines from the comics
10:20 and borrowing elements from the cartoon-like individually
10:23 colored masks, this film set the benchmark for everything
10:26 that came after.
10:27 This live-action tale impressed us as soon as we saw the leads.
10:31 The film combined incredible stunt performances,
10:33 great voice work, and costumes from Jim Henson's
10:36 Creature Shop.
10:37 Its excellent story featured moments of triumph
10:40 and pure sorrow.
10:42 And the fight scenes really made you want to kick some shell.
10:45 Hey, one of these guys must know where they're holding Splinter.
10:48 So don't knock him all out.
10:52 I don't think that'll be a problem, Leo.
10:53 Aside from being a staple for anyone who grew up in the '90s,
10:57 the film became the highest grossing independent film
11:00 ever made at the time.
11:01 In more ways than one, this TMNT story truly
11:05 cemented itself in movie history.
11:07 I have always liked Cowabunga.
11:15 Huh?
11:16 Cowabunga!
11:20 Which Turtle films did you think was most radical?
11:23 Let us know in the comments down below.
11:25 Any last words?
11:29 Cowabunga.
11:30 Did you enjoy this video?
11:32 Check out these other clips from WatchMojo.
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11:37 about our latest videos.
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