Every Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie, Ranked

Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" comics began running in 1984. Nobody knew when those issues began hitting shelves that a pop culture phenomenon was brewing which would dominate every medium imaginable in the years to come. That included movie theaters, where the "Ninja Turtles" brand found itself just six years after the first comic. 1990's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" kickstarted a slew of further sequels and separate "Ninja Turtles" adaptations. The visual and tonal aesthetic of these projects ranged widely from gritty realism to heavily stylized comic book mayhem, but they all built on the enduring popularity these characters have had in the theatrical realm.

However, not all "Ninja Turtles" movies are created equally. These movies have garnered tremendously varying critical and audience receptions over the years. Ranking the various theatrical "Ninja Turtles" films from their lowest to highest average Letterboxd rating is helpful to examine what defines the saga's highs and lows. For instance, showmanship, a zippier atmosphere, and taking the Turtles seriously as emotionally engaging characters are usually a recipe for making a well-liked "Ninja Turtles" production, whereas just going through the motions and removing all the energy from these young heroes leads to a more dismissive response.

Every big screen "Ninja Turtles" movie has certain recurring elements, like pizza and nunchucks. However, ranking these theatrical films from worst to best makes it clear that not every "Ninja Turtles" feature has the quality to make fans say "cowabunga!"

Resorting to time travel for a new plotline in 1993's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III" was already a vivid sign that this initial series of "TMNT" films was on its last legs. In this entry, the four turtles get tossed back to ancient Japan, where they must (among other tasks) help a bunch of villagers fight back against evil. It's not a voyage that's held in high esteem today, particularly in how the four titular leads look so janky in the subpar costume design. The earlier live-action "Ninja Turtles" movies had truly impressive Jim Henson Creature Workshop concoctions, making the visual effects on these characters in "Turtles III" extra noticeable.

Other recurring critiques of this installment have centered on how the "Ninja Turtles" world isn't as entertaining when these heroes in a half shell are removed from New York City. So much of the fun of these movies comes from juxtaposing oversized reptiles with the city that never sleeps. Tossing them into ancient Japan already sucks so much fun out of the proceedings, while the script doesn't even make especially inspired use of its Japanese backdrop.

Forgettable villains, limp fight choreography, and Ninja Turtles that often look shoddy enough to function as nightmare fuel: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III" was proof positive that turtle power was running low in this era.

In hindsight, 2014's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" is the apotheosis of Hollywood's grim n' gritty reboot obsession. What worked for "Batman Begins" and "Casino Royale" doesn't work for every pop culture property. Just look at how this "Ninja Turtles" outing drapes the characters in a dimly-colored world devoid of stylish hues or architecture. Director Jonathan Liebesman also deployed this visual approach in his 2011 film "Battle: Los Angeles," a fitting parallel since "Ninja Turtles" is as bad as that feature. Meanwhile, Leonardo and friends are given radical redesigns to make them not look "cartoony," with terrifying results. Splinter's design is especially an eyesore, since it means a massive, realistic CG rat keeps filling the screen. 

These aesthetically unpleasant takes on familiar "Ninja Turtles" characters are one of many ways "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" evaporates any spunky fun from the production. The score lacks much energy, while the story is told through the eyes of a human character (Megan Fox's April O'Neil), to ensure there's a "realistic" audience surrogate. This just keeps the titular reptiles always at arm's length, despite this supposedly being their movie. Poor Fox has nothing to do in her screentime, and neither do the other human actors, including William Fichtner in a thankless villain turn.

By diluting the outlandish touches in the "Ninja Turtles" universe, this box office blockbuster becomes a generic pile of mush indistinguishable from countless other 2010s tentpoles. Look upon 2024's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and despair at what "realistic" reboots have wrought.

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows" can only be so good. After all, it ports over the "realistic" and muted visual sensibilities of its immediate predecessor. It's also got a human cast heavily anchored by a wooden Stephen Amell, while the third act just boils down to a bunch of digital blobs attacking New York City. An overcrowded script, meanwhile, tries juggling too many iconic "Ninja Turtles" villains (like Krang and Shredder) at once to mixed results. At its worst, "Out of the Shadows" is excessively noisy and visually questionable.

Thankfully, "Out of the Shadows" regains its footing in one department: tone. This is a more confident creation that's willing to embrace some serious Saturday morning cartoon energy, compared to the 2014 reboot. Already, that's a more pleasant world to soak in compared to the film's aggressively dour predecessor. The execution of that aesthetic in a live-action setting is erratic, but the higher points of this ambiance are surprisingly fun. New director Dave Green is also a welcome presence behind the camera with his solidly coherent execution of action sequences. There's also amusement (likely unintentional) in seeing esteemed actors like Laura Linney play off all this ludicrous material.

Again, don't mistake "Out of the Shadows" for some misunderstood classic. But considering the movie it followed, it's shocking how much fun it provides. 2014's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" certainly showed that it could have been significantly worse.

1990's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" was such a smash hit that a sequel, "The Secret of the Ooze," was commissioned to drop roughly one year after the original film. That meant that "Ooze" was much more of a cookie-cutter production than its predecessor. These Turtles now fought with yo-yos and danced to Vanilla Ice tunes rather than get into anything resembling "darker" antics.

Because of this creative pivot, "The Secret of the Ooze" doesn't have anywhere near as good of a reputation as the best "Ninja Turtles" outings. Still, over time, some fondness has brewed for the feature, particularly with '90s kids who grew up on its toyetic sensibilities. Any time spent with this version of these characters is a plus for these audience members. But it isn't just nostalgia propelling some positive "Sectet of the Ooze" assessments. For many, its emphasis on practical costume work and sets is a welcome sight in 2020s cinema, where so many big-budget films resort to omnipresent digital effects. At least "The Secret of the Ooze" lends some tangibility to its ridiculousness.

For some, that and the "bodacious" charms of the wacky Ninja Turtles are enough to make this installment fleeting fun. For most viewers, though, this sequel is too forgettable and lightweight for its own good.

Long before "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" was on anyone's radar, the 2007 Kevin Munroe directorial effort "TMNT" brought the Ninja Turtles to the big screen in a fully animated adventure. The hook of this iteration of the characters was that "TMNT" begins with all four Ninja Turtles living apart. They have gone their separate ways, but eventually must reunite to stop multi-dimensional evil and a slew of beasts attacking New York City. The end result has its moments of exciting storytelling, particularly whenever Munroe and company fully commit to just doing a straightforward action movie. Certain standout scenes, like a rainy rooftop duel between Raphael and Michelangelo, especially benefit from this aesthetic. 

Other times, though, "TMNT" seems self-conscious about leaving behind brasher qualities associated with traditional animated comedies of the 2000s. Any time slapstick or loud humor dominate the proceedings, "TMNT" loses itself. More problematic is the computer animation, which even by 2007 standards looks wonky. Everyone in the world of "TMNT" looks distractingly rubbery. Various human characters are especially off-putting with their rigid movements and unnatural textures. While "Mutant Mayhem" thrived on stylized digital imagery, this earlier all-CG "Ninja Turtles" outing was derailed by clumsy, more standard animation impulses.

Still, the riskier elements and bolder tonal choices of "TMNT" have earned it a soft spot in the hearts of many "Ninja Turtles" fans. Adjust one's expectations accordingly, especially when it comes to tonal inconsistencies, and you might even be surprised by the artistic virtues nestled within the movie's shell.

Like so many starting installments of iconic franchises, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" was an arduous experience to bring to the screen. Would these characters translate properly to live action? Could an independently-financed kids' movie resonate with the family crowd? There was so much uncertainty underpinning the very existence of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," but the end result was a 1990 movie that's still scoring positive marks to this day. Part of that is how this production was a triumph of practical effects work. Those bulky mechanical Ninja Turtle suits were a nightmare to wear on set, but they still look incredibly cool to this day. With these breakthroughs in puppetry, Leonardo and the other characters came to life like never before.

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" has also garnered points for its commitment to an intriguingly dingy vision of New York City, which the puppet Ninja Turtles amusingly bounce off. Emanating a sense of tangible danger and stakes within the confines of something so conceptually silly made "Ninja Turtles" radically different from typical, uber-safe family movies of its era. The fun banter between the turtles has also been praised, ditto the solid chemistry Judith Hoag and Elias Koteas display interacting with their reptilian co-stars as April O'Neil and Casey Jones, respectively. 

The fact that no other live-action "Ninja Turtles" installment has come close to this one in craftsmanship or atmospheric charms has undoubtedly helped "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" procure its esteemed modern reputation.

How many film franchises really hit their stride with their seventh installment? Usually, by that point, ongoing sagas have devolved into direct-to-video nonsense or legacy sequels nobody asked for. The "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" brand name, though, revved up to new levels of creative ingenuity with 2023's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem." Like "TMNT," this was an entirely computer-animated take on our reptilian heroes. But unlike "TMNT," "Mutant Mayhem" embraced a dazzling animation style evoking notebook scribbles and other glorious artistic imperfections. These were characters and environments rife with doodles, imperfect lines, and hand-drawn animated flourishes, all glorious to behold and unlike any other CG-animated film in history (even compared to its obvious inspirations like "The Mitchells vs. The Machines" or the "Spider-Verse" titles).

Just in visual terms, "Mutant Mayhem" blows away its predecessors with uniquely dazzling imagery. Happily, this is also an entry in the saga that's deeply enamored with the Turtles as characters and specifically with exploring them as outcast teenagers. Emphasizing the youthfulness of these characters opens up new doors for untapped comedy, particularly whenever they're out of their depth fighting crime. Exceptional voice acting from a stacked cast, particularly hysterical turns from Ayo Edebiri and Paul Rudd, just sweetens this deal. 

Brimming with creativity, energy, and an unforgettable score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" hit new creative highs for this saga decades after the first "Ninja Turtles" outing.