TMNT Movies Ranked: Which Ninja Turtles Film Reigns Supreme?

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 35 years since the Ninja Turtles of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello first graced movie theaters. What started as a comic ballooned into a hit cartoon, toy line, and films that used everything from animation to puppetry. The four turtles with their ninja skills and love of pizza haven’t left since, always finding a way back onto screens big and small.

For the generation that didn’t grow up with the iconic superheroes, it’s hard to explain the phenomenon of Turtle Power. But a good place to start would be looking at the movie history of this franchise. Here are ten Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films ranked, ideally paired with a slice of pizza.

10

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

As the first CGI/live-action adaptation, 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a rough transition for the mutant heroes. The familiar staging remains of introducing the underground heroes through the eyes of the plucky reporter April O’Neil (Megan Fox). The weapon-wielding warriors must venture out of their sewer sanctuary to stop the evil Shredder (Tohoru Masamune) from terrorizing New York City.

Produced by Michael Bay, the Ninja Turtles were given the Transformers movie treatment, complete with questionable designs and co-starring Megan Fox to react to all the off-putting CGI characters. It was hard to get used to the bulky design of the Ninja Turtles and the very discomforting scene of them taking off their masks. Even when you get past the designs and lackluster humor, the film is little more than a ho-hum retelling of the Turtles’ origins that hasn’t changed that much.

9

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

As the sequel to 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, Out of the Shadows was a more bearable film for embracing more of the weirdness in the franchise. Shredder has escaped from prison with Bebop and Rocksteady, and enlisted the help of the mad scientist Baxter Stockman. As he devises a plan to take over the world with a serum, the Turtles must fight him back again with allies April O’Neill and Casey Jones.

While the CGI Turtles are still hard to accept, this sequel is more serviceable for marking classic Turtles villains’ CGI/live-action debut, including the alien warlord Krang. There’s also some better writing with one-liners that more amusing than annoying, and fight sequences that are grander in ambition. The film isn’t great, but it might satisfy long-time Turtles fans to finally see the Technodrome realized in live-action.

8

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

As the third and final film of the Turtles puppetry era, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III features the turtles traversing time. When reporter April O’Neil encounters a magical scepter, she’s transported to feudal Japan with the four turtle heroes following her for a rescue. Now trapped in this different period, they must find a way back home while also fighting the forces of the evil Lord Norinaga (Sab Shimono).

In the original Turtles trilogy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III is the weakest, given the wear and tear of this entry. This isn’t just regarding the writing and weak punchlines, but the design of the Turtle costumes, which became far less detailed and expressive. While the premise of placing the Turtles in old Japan was a neat idea, it’s not as exciting due to its forgettable story and lesser visual effects.

7

Turtles Forever

Turtles Forever is the ultimate crossover event for Turtles fans. In this multiverse plot, the new meets the old as the 21st-century Turtles cross paths with the original 1980s cartoon and comics iterations. The many versions must join forces to save their universes and defeat the Shredder(s) and a host of other villains.

For every millennial who grew up with the Turtles cartoon, Turtles Forever is a nostalgic love letter to the fans. Although it had more in common with a less inspiring crossover from Doctor Who, it was nice to see the old designs again. It’s an unapologetic fan-only affair, and it’s pretty neat for bringing together generations of Ninja Turtles fans.

6

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Based on the comic book miniseries, Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comes exactly as advertised. The dark knight and masked turtles cross paths, mistaking each other as dangerous vigilantes that can’t be trusted. But they’ll have to work together as their villains, Shredder and Ra’s al Ghul, have joined forces for a dark scheme of mutant intent.

The plot of Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is pretty silly, given that it serves as little more than an excuse to see Batman characters turned into mutants. That said, it still has its charms for posing the wisecracking Turtles next to the gruff seriousness of Batman. It’s the type of cartoon that would’ve made my juvenile mind explode back in the day as a peanut butter and jelly type of film.

5

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie

As a finale to the 2018 animated series, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles finds the Turtles dealing with a dark future they’ll have to prevent. When Krang and his army invade Earth in the future, the time-traveling Casey Jones tries to stop the invasion by arriving now. With the Turtles having successfully defeated Shredder, they must now face a bigger threat as they work together in this action-packed and surprisingly emotional adventure.

The eccentric and vivid animation of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is rather eye-popping, given the highly divergent character designs that make the heroes more distinct in size and shape. It places these charming characters in a darker plot that feels fitting for the show and true to Turtle lore. This was a satisfying way to end the show, as the movie received the Individual Achievement in Animation award at the Children’s and Family Emmy Awards.

4

TMNT

As the first animated Ninja Turtles film made for the big screen, TMNT introduced the next generation of kids to the foursome through a fairly faithful CGI adaptation. The turtles have split ways since their last mission, which finally ended Shredder. But a new threat presents itself as ancient monsters, bringing the ninja team back together to save the world.

For being the first animated film developed by Imagi Animation Studios, TMNT made for a solid transition into computer animation. There’s plenty of action, and the characters are treated with a stern nature lacking in previous Turtles films and TV shows. It’s a little rough now, given that it was a mid-2000 CGI film, but the choreography is great and there’s a surprising voice cast that includes Chris Evans, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mako, Kevin Smith, Patrick Stewart, Ziyi Zhang, and Laurence Fishburne.

3

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

The Secret of the Ooze finds the four turtles discovering more about the mysterious ooze that turned them into wisecracking ninjas. When a revived Shredder gets his hands on this substance, he creates his mutant warriors. With Shredder stronger than ever, the turtles will have to defeat the Footclan once again, train the plucky delivery boy Keno (Ernie Reyes Jr.), and try to find a new sewer location to call home.

While not as dark as the Ninja Turtles film that preceded it, The Secret of the Ooze is still a lot of fun because it has more absurdity than atmosphere. It’s hard not to love a film with goofy fight scenes, a dryly comedic scientist played by David Warner, and a Vanilla Ice concert shoved into the climax. It’s an adorably dorky film from the ’90s I love so much, with Vanilla Ice’s “Ninja Rap” firmly lodged in my brain forever.

2

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Mutant Mayhem reboots the Ninja Turtles as more teenagers than adults who sound like teenagers. The adolescent mutants crave to live among humans their age, but end up falling in with a crowd of other mutant creatures. Soon, the turtles will have to decide whether to save New York City from mutants or fight alongside them.

Mutant Mayhem has a refreshing revamp yet fitting style that embraces the grit and wit of the mutant heroes. Their chemistry has a natural flow that sounds like youthful banter, a brooding soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and some fantastic animation embracing a sketchy graffiti style that looks unlike any other CGI film. It’s the best Ninja Turtles animated movie, especially for how well it translates familiar characters like April (Ayo Edebiri) being posed more as a plucky teenage reporter, and introduces appropriate new characters like the antagonist Superfly (Ice Cube).

1

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie still holds up as the best. Set in a dark and grimy depiction of New York City, the film follows the four turtles investigating Shredder’s mysterious crime operations while remaining hidden in the shadows. Their eccentric nature, however, eventually leads them to embrace reporter April O’Neill and punk Casey Jones as their human allies in this urban war against an underground ninja cult.

The atmosphere and special effects in this Ninja Turtles movie make it such an engrossing picture. It’s shot with darkness and anticipation for the action and revelation of turtles, living up to the hype of their mesmerizing craftsmanship by the Jim Henson Workshop. Packed with wry humor and its exciting fight sequences, this film makes you feel good to be a turtle (fan).

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have had a long history and never really left the pop culture scene. There is always some new Turtles movie, cartoon, comic, or video game in the works, usually with some new perspective on the four heroic characters. There’s an enduring nature to the goofy one-liners and love of pizza that will never die, ensuring future generations will know the true depths of Turtle Power and maybe the lyrics of the Ninja Rap.