Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'' is a 1993 American superhero film written and directed by Stuart Gillard. It is the sequel to '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'' (1991), and the final installment in the original ''Teenage Mutant Ninja 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 creature effects were provided by the All Effects Company, rather than Jim Henson's Creature Shop, which acted as the providers for the previous films.

The film was released theatrically in the United States on March 19, 1993, by New Line Cinema. It received mostly negative reviews from critics and, despite being a moderate box office success, grossing $54.4 million against a budget of $21 million, is the lowest rated entry in the series.

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, it is two years after the previous film's events with the defeat of The Shredder and The Foot Clan. April O'Neil, shopping at a flea market, buys gifts for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. At their underground lair, April gives Michelangelo an old lamp, Donatello a broken radio to repair, Leonardo a book on swords, and a fedora hat for Raphael, who stormed out earlier. 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".

In the present day, the scepter that April is holding lights up and blows wind. 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 has no power. Back in the present, Kenshin is distressed upon seeing the Turtles and calls them "kappa". After Kenshin explains the time swap, the Turtles decide to rescue April, but learn they only have sixty hours 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, who arrive confused.

The Turtles land in the past dressed as the Honor Guards and astride horseback. Amid the confusion, Michelangelo, who has the scepter, rides into the forest and is ambushed by the mysterious woman. An unseen person takes the scepter. The other Turtles go to Norinaga's castle and rescue April and also free Whit, a prisoner resembling Casey. Their chaotic escape strands them in the wilderness. Back in the present, Casey introduces Kenshin and the Honor Guards to televised hockey, attempting to keep them calm.

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 it is Michelangelo, the Turtles accompany Mitsu to her village. Upon arriving, Walker's men are burning the village. As the Turtles help the villagers save it, Michelangelo is freed and joins the fight. Walker is forced to retreat, but the fire has trapped a young boy named Yoshi inside a house. Michelangelo saves Yoshi, then Leonardo helps him recover by performing 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 villager make a replica scepter, 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, throws a fireball, knocking Walker off the dock to his death.

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. The Honor Guards switch back with the Turtles, except for Michelangelo. Fortunately, Benkei, 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 by performing an Elvis impression, and the other Turtles join in with a final dance number.

Cast

Live action

* Paige Turco as April O'Neil
* Elias Koteas as Casey Jones / Whit
* Stuart Wilson as Walker
* John Aylward as Niles
* Sab Shimono as Lord Norinaga
* Vivian Wu as Mitsu
* Mak Takano as Benkei
* Henry Hayashi as Kenshin
* Travis A. Moon as Yoshi

Voice cast

* Brian Tochi as Leonardo
* Corey Feldman as Donatello
* Tim Kelleher as Raphael
* Robbie Rist as Michelangelo
* James Murray as Splinter

Rist and Tochi (who did the voices of Michelangelo and Leonardo, respectively) are the only 2 voice actors to voice the same character throughout all 3 live-action ''TMNT'' movies. Corey Feldman returned as the voice of Donatello, after being absent for the second movie.

Puppeteers

* Mark Caso as Leonardo (in-suit performer)
** Jim Martin as Leo (facial assistant)
** Larry Lam as Leonardo (in-suit martial arts stunt double)
* Jim Raposa as Donatello (in-suit performer)
** Rob Mills as Donatello (facial assistant)
** Steven Ho as Donatello (in-suit martial arts stunt double)
* Matt Hill as Raphael (in-suit performer)
** Noel MacNeal as Raphael (facial assistant)
** Hosung Pak as Raphael (in-suit martial arts stunt double)
* David Fraser as Michelangelo (in-suit performer)
** Gordon Robertson as Michelangelo (facial assistant)
** Allan Shishir Inocalla as Michelangelo (in-suit martial arts stunt double)
* James Murray as Splinter (puppeteer)
** Lisa Sturz as Splinter (assistant puppeteer)
** Tim Lawrence as Splinter (assistant puppeteer)

Music

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.
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.

The film has been released on DVD, and also two Blu-ray box sets with both of its predecessors.

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. The film grossed $42.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.2 internationally, giving a worldwide gross of $54.4 million.

Critical response

The film holds a 22% approval rating and has an average rating of 4.20/10 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". On Metacritic it has a score of 40 out of 100 based on reviews from 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

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". 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". ''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", when commenting about a possible future film invoking time travel.

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

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 entitled "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 besides the subtitle.

The next theatrical release was a 2007 CGI animated film titled simply '' TMNT'' which makes reference to the prior live-action films.

After Nickelodeon bought the franchise in 2009, Paramount Pictures created and released a reboot in 2014.

Notes

References

External links

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{{Portal bar, Film, United States, 1990s, Speculative fiction, Comedy

1993 films
1993 independent films
1993 martial arts films
1990s English-language films
1993 action comedy films
1990s science fiction comedy films
1990s superhero films
1990s teen films
20th Century Fox films
American action comedy films
American independent films
American science fantasy films
American sequel films
Films about time travel
Films based on American comics
Films set in 1603
Films set in 1993
Films set in feudal Japan
Films set in New York City
Films shot in Astoria, Oregon
Films shot in Oregon
Films directed by Stuart Gillard
Films produced by Thomas K. Gray
Films produced by David Chan
Films produced by Kim Dawson
Films scored by John Du Prez
Golden Harvest films
Japan in non-Japanese culture
Hong Kong action comedy films
Hong Kong fantasy films
Hong Kong independent films
Hong Kong science fiction films
Hong Kong sequel films
Live-action films based on comics
Martial arts comedy films
Martial arts science fiction films
New Line Cinema films
Ninja films
Samurai films
Slapstick films
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990 film series)
3
1990s American films