NECA Debuts 1/4 Scale 1990 Movie Donatello Action Figure at Toy Fair

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If the recently revealed statues from Prime 1 Studios don't fit your budget (or your display space), it seems like NECA has a "compromise" to offer you. Depending on your collecting habits, it might not even be much of a compromise.

The first of a planned series of four, NECA's 1990 movie-style Donatello stands approximately 16.5" and features 30 points of articulation, including double knee joints. With an incredibly detailed sculpt, he comes with bo staff accessory and interchangeable hands.

Watch for Donatello to hit specialty toy retailers around June for about $100. The remaining Turtles should then be released one a quarter.

Photos: NECA and ToyArk

Prime 1 Studio Debuts 1990 TMNT Movie Statues at Tokyo Wonder Festival

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Hey, everyone! Forgive me for a bunch of delayed reporting that is going to be coming your way in upcoming days. I took a little vacation and am now just getting back into the swing of things. And with Toy Fair happening in New York, plus other events, there's quite a bit of news to share!

Let's start with these pretty impressive 1/4 scale statues from Prime 1 Studio, which were on display recently in Tokyo at Wonder Festival. Of course, the really exciting thing about these is that they're based on the 1990 movie costumes by Jim Henson.

Prime 1 Studio has previously offered 1/4 scale statues of the 2014 movie Turtles, at a MSRP of $699-$749. These new statues will most likely be similarly priced, so they are definitely an investment. But if you are looking to add these to your collection, watch for them later this year from retailers such as Sideshow Collectibles.

Photos: itakon.it

The World Trade Center as the TMNT Saw It

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Ten years ago today, the skyline of New York City changed forever. As the Turtles have always called New York home, that lost skyline was often seen throughout all the mediums in which TMNT stories have been told. To reflect on the time before September 11, 2001, here's a look at some of the reminders we are left with of the World Trade Center, as seen through the eyes of a TMNT fan.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

The Twin Towers silently established the location of all three live-action TMNT movies.

TMNT 2: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 (1993)

TMNT (1990) Movie Screening in Cleveland, OH (Plus a Sandwich!)

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The Capitol Theater in Cleveland, OH, will be hosting a midnight screening of the original 1990 TMNT movie this coming Saturday night, August 20, 2011. You can buy advance tickets to the screening here.

The screening is part of the Melt Bar & Grilled Late Shift series, which combines classic movies with grilled sandwiches. The poster to the left was specially designed for this event and promotes the TMNT sandwich that will be available for only two nights. According to the poster, the sandwich features "real cheese pizza rolls deep friend 'til extra crispy and atomic hot, rich homemade marinara, green ooze basil pesto cream cheese, and provolone and romano cheese." You can also add crisp pepperoni for $1. (Whoa, heart attack!)

So if you're in Cleveland, this sounds like a fun opportunity to see the original TMNT movie. And if you try the sandwich, at least it will be a delicious last meal! ;)

Thanks to I Crave Pizza No More on The Technodrome for the heads-up!

Special Features Update on German TMNT 1 DVD

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German TMNT fan hudemx has reported in again with some new details on the upcoming German DVD release of the first TMNT movie, which will be including special features not yet released anywhere else.

He states that a friend of his has received an advance copy of the DVD, and has this to say about the special features:

• Commentary: Director Steve Barron greets the audience in German, but then continues in English for the rest of the duration.

• Deleted Scenes: There are two scenes included, both of which are alternate cuts from two scenes in the movie. The first is of Michaelangelo ordering pizza in the sewers, and the second is of the Turtles fighting the Foot in April's apartment.

• Alternate Ending: This is the same ending as has been previously detailed by Ninja Pizza.

And here are some screen shots from the alternate ending:

The DVD is available for pre-order over at Amazon.de, but make sure you're able to play Region 2, PAL-coded DVDs before you do so.

Original TMNT Movie to be Released in Germany ... With Bonus Features!

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TMNT fans have been crying out for a better DVD release of the original TMNT movie ever since it first appeared on DVD in 1997. Although it and its sequels have been rereleased several times over the last 13 years, the content on the disc has always been the same, and simple requests like including deleted scenes and director commentary have fallen on deaf ears.

For German fans (and region-savvy fans elsewhere) that is now changing!! TMNT fan hudemx at The Technodrome forums has brought to attention the upcoming German DVD release of the 1990 film.

If you visit the website for the DVD distributor, you can find the list of included bonus features, which are:

• Trailer
• Deleted scenes
• Alternate ending
• Audio commentary from Director Steve Barron

If you've been reading this site for awhile, you may recall posts that detailed the alternate ending as well as one of the deleted scenes.

So, obviously, this is great news!! Although the bad news is that this seems to be restricted to Germans (for now?). While that may seem like a catch-22 for American fans and other non-Europeans, there are work-arounds to bypass region-locking and PAL coding if you look hard enough.

This DVD will be released on March 12, 2010. If you're ready to order, you can go ahead and do so over at Amazon.de.

Tribeca Film Festival Movie Screening Details

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Here's the low-down on how to see the free screening of the first TMNT movie for free at the Tribeca Film Festival, courtesy of TMNT25.com.

Free TMNT Movie Screenings @ Tribeca Film Festival

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To celebrate the TMNT's 25th anniversary there will be free screenings of the debut Turtles film during the Tribeca Film Festival, April 23-25 in New York City. The screenings will be held as part of the Tribeca Drive-In at the World Financial Center.

How to acquire tickets is still unconfirmed, but it's probably a good idea to stay tuned to the official Tribeca Film Festival Web site. If any other news comes of the events I'll post the info here.

(I think this is the "Big News" TMNT25.com was planning on breaking tomorrow - Oops.)

First TMNT Movie Screenings in Oakland, April 3-5

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This upcoming weekend, April 3-5, the Piedmont Theater in Oakland, CA will be having screenings of the original TMNT movie. Friday and Saturday night the show starts at midnight, but if that's a wee bit too late for you, there's a 10am screening on Sunday.

You can check here for info on the screening (ignore the picture from TMNT2, it's the first movie they're playing).

And you can click here to purchase tickets.

To get you pumped for the screening, here's a look at the original theatrical trailer for the movie:

Interviews with "Michaelangelo"

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European TMNT fan Rutger has posted brand new interviews he conducted with two men who can each claim to be Michaelangelo.

Check out his chats with Michelan Sisti (Michaelangelo body actor in the first two live-action films) and Robbie Rist (Michaelangelo voice actor in all three live-action films)!

And if you haven't already, be sure to check out Rutger's massive TMNT autograph collection!

First TMNT Movie Screening in LA January 23

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The Nuart Theater in LA will be screening the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie Friday, January 23 at midnight (Saturday morning).

Click here for details.

Thanks to Archon_Turtle for the heads-up!

Foot Soldier Mask Movie Prop

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Ryan writes in showing off a very exciting acquisition he's made:

Like many of you I grew up a big TMNT fan. I was 10 years old when I saw the first action figure commercials in 1988 and remember looking everywhere for them before they finally arrived in stores. I actually still have most all my toys, over 65 + some still in package. I was so into the cartoons and definitely loved the first 2 films along with the CG release of TMNT last year which was great to see the 4 heroes in green back in theaters.

I was so taken back by the first movie being 12 years old. When the opening scene came up I'll never forget seeing for the first time those real-life Foot Soldiers packing up the truck with stolen goods. Who would have thought that 18 years later I would get an opportunity to own a piece of that movie magic.

I found this through the Prop Store of London posted one morning back in June I believe. Perhaps it came from a former owner or production crew member? I honestly don't know how it happend upon the site being available. I really don't know how long it was up that morning, but without blinking I placed a layaway on it and paid for it over a few months time until my last payment and shortly arriving finally in September. I was a bit unimpressed by how they presented it on their site, but I was certain I could improve how it displayed. The initial photo shows what the mask looked like as received.

I finally got around to working on it this past week and now it looks a lot more presentable. The only minor thing I did was fix up the few broken seams along the sides and removal of all the fuzz in the hook loop velcro. Other than that, this mask is maintained as it was received and think that the usage gives it personality. I wanted to maintain the overall integrity of the piece, but those seams didn't look good. It's amazing to see in person how different it looks than how it showed on screen. I thought the BUG EYES were metal wire mesh... its actually a plastic grid and painted! And the mask itself you'd think is black... no! Silvery gray spandex and then coated with a black fabric spray paint of some sort, giving it that weathered look. I would have never guessed as well as the metal gromets on the mouth that look to have originally been painted black, but has since worn through. This mask has definitely seen a lot of action looking at how worn it is.

To finish off the bust I sewed a chest piece to cover over the shoulders/bust to make it look more complete. I still want to get a display case and darken the bottom base, but overall am very happy with the result compared to before.

Unfortunately this kinda dwarfs my entire TMNT toy collection, so I don't know what I'll be doing with the toys! It is overall a very impressive piece and I do feel extremely lucky to own a true piece of my childhood from that day I first saw those Foot Soldiers on screen. That was a big deal then, it's a huge deal to own one of those masks.

Ryan also adds:

I'd like to add one more bit of importance to this piece for me. I believe this was the last project that Jim Henson worked on before he died. Owning a piece of something he was involved in is a real treat and I have always loved the work he has done with puppetry and creatures. I remembered crying the day of hearing of his death. He was so ahead of his time.

I REALLY HOPE they are working on a BluRay edition of the live action films. They desperately need the HD treatment and I'd sure be one of the first to buy a set. Come on, New Line! Get with the program!

I think those are words all Turtle fans can agree with - Hear, hear!

DVD Update ... Or Not

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The above DVD covers caused quite a stir when they appeared on Amazon.com out of the blue yesterday. Not just with fans, but at Mirage itself where they first learned of these new DVD covers at the same time.

What does this mean? Are these DVDs with brand new content? Or just repackaging of the old content? Unfortunately, it's just repackaging of the old content.

Does this mean that there's no chance of a Special Edition and/or Blu-Ray release of one or all of the movies? NO. I can report that there is still hope in both regards, although it is also far from being a certain thing. Hopefully I can provide a more specific update within the next couple of months.

Peter Laird Comments on TMNT Movie Rumors

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MTV today posted an interview with TMNT co-creator Peter Laird to set the record straight on the current status of a potential new TMNT movie. You can read the interview in its entirety here.

There really isn't any new information revealed. Everything is the same as it was before people went and freaked out over comments made by Kevin Eastman. However, I would like to make note of these comments:

MTV: Which elements of the original live-action film do you think could benefit from another treatment?
PL: I don’t think the first film needs to be remade, if that’s what you mean. But I would love to see a “Director’s Cut” or special edition of that movie, with some things that were cut out put back in. And although I think it HIGHLY unlikely, I would love to see the first film given a “digital touch-up,” if you will. By that I mean it would be very cool to go through it very carefully and digitally tweak all of the mistakes and goofs — for example, scenes where you can see an actor’s face inside a Turtle’s open mouth, wires hanging off the shell of a Turtle, and so forth.
Here’s one that always bugged me: As Leonardo is exiting April’s apartment, one of his sword hilts rubs against the wall… and it BENDS like rubber (which, in fact, it was, being a “stunt sword”). And taking it a step further, it would be fantastic to utilize digital technology to go back in and tweak and enhance the expressions on the animatronic faces of the Turtles, which in some scenes just don’t work too well.

Concerning his desire to give the 1990 film a "digital touch-up": For the love of pizza, Peter Laird will you just freaking stop trying to fix things that aren't broken. You've already ripped the heart and soul out of the original TMNT 1 comic book, leave the damn movie alone.

The problem with this idiotic statement isn't even the likelihood that it would actually happen, because Peter Laird thankfully doesn't have any power to make it happen, but now we're going to have to deal with stupid people discussing this possibility for the rest of eternity. Please find something better to do with your time people and forget this statement ever happened.

TMNT: The Original 1990 Press Kit

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In case it's not already obvious, a Press Kit gets constructed and released - to the press - as part of the marketing effort for a film. These days they're all done digitally, compiled onto DVDs. Back in 1990 it was a simple folder loaded with some 8x10 black and white photos and some photocopied production notes.

Instead of focusing on a deleted scene today, I thought I would give typing a break and scan the contents of the press kit for the original movie. After I did that, I ended up typing 20 pages of production notes, so I really didn't save myself from anything.

Below you'll find all of the photos included with the kit as well as an excerpt from the production notes. If you download the complete .zip file, you'll have more production notes to read. One of the reasons I went through with typing 20 pages of these things was that all of the information is really, really unique and interesting, and I'm not sure that there's anywhere else that you can read something similar to this. There are quotes from all of the major players who had a hand in making the movie, including the late and great Jim Henson.

It's really all quite fantastic and I think it will also give you extra appreciation for all of the hard work that people put into this movie to make it the classic it ended up being.

A classic that should receive proper DVD treatment! *ahem*

You can download the complete .zip file here.

TMNT Deleted Scene: Training on the Farm - UPDATE!

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I've updated the original post with the "Training on the Farm" deleted scene with two more pictures that I just found. You can check them out fully here.

TMNT Movie Mistakes

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This isn't a new video, but I thought it'd be a good supplement to the TMNT Special Edition DVD effort.



All movies are full of little mistakes that their makers hope the movie viewers won't spot, but if you watch something enough times and pay close enough attention, something's bound to stand out as not quite right. My long-time pal and fellow TMNT fan Karen put this video together last year in the wake of the excitement over the release of the 2007 CGI movie.

With well over 600,00 views, it has become one of the most-viewed TMNT videos on YouTube and spent a weekend as one of Digg.com's top videos. While the video may highlight the mistakes in the film, I believe its popularity is a reflection of the general overall continued popularity of the movie. Surely enough popularity to warrant a Special Edition DVD release.

TMNT Deleted Scene: Training on the Farm

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Here is the second deleted scene from the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film that I am highlighting in support of the TMNT Special Edition project. Warner Brothers isn't yet convinced that this is a good idea - But they ARE watching us! - so be sure to let them know personally that you want this Special Edition DVD!

This scene is also pretty well documented, and bits and pieces of it can be seen in the actual movie. I've scanned a few stickers, trading cards, and pics taken from a book and magazine from this part, but the lengthy bit from the script might be more interesting to you.

This scene comes immediately after April yells at Casey, "I wouldn't ask for your help if you were the last... "thing" on the face of the planet!" and Casey follows with, "Coming along 'nicely' ..."

TMNT Deleted Scene: Alternate Ending

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This is the first entry in a series to highlight all of the deleted scenes from the original 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. While all of the deleted scenes from the movie are fairly well documented throughout books and comics, we still have yet to see any of these scenes in their entirety. This is a key reason why releasing a Special Edition DVD of this movie is a necessity!

While the movie ended with our heroes triumphant on the rooftop of a building, there was one final scene in the script. This scene had April and Danny in the office of a comic book publisher, trying to pitch the idea of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Here are some photos from that scene, as well as the actual script that was used for filming!

It's Time For a TMNT 1 Special Edition

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Fans have made half-hazard efforts to get New Line Cinema (and now, Warner Brothers) to release a special edition of, at least, the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film - if not all three - for many years. The response has consistently been, "We are not interested in that project."

Today, Steve Murphy of Mirage Studios posted the following, a quote of an email sent by Steve Barron, director of the first TMNT film, to a Warner Brothers representative:

"...there has been quite a lot of blogging about a director's special edition of the first movie, particularly in the light of its impending 25th anniversary. I would be very keen to contribute to this idea if you thought it a good one. I have lots of original artwork and even a rough cut with a few extra scenes on tape. I think it would be nice to do a definitive release as the extras have always been very limited."

This is not the first time Barron has made such a comment. In fact, a very similar comment was quoted in a Peter Laird, "Blast From the Past" Web site feature back in late 2001.

With this new spark of inspiration from Murphy and Mr. Barron collectively, perhaps it's time to take the effort to make this project happen seriously. Next year is the 25th anniversary celebration of the TMNT - What better way to celebrate than with a special edition of one of the greatest highlights of that 25 year history? Emails from the same handful of fanboys/fangirls to Warner Brothers aren't going to convince them to change their minds about this project. It's time to get bigger and more visual.

Watch this space for more information coming soon.

If you have graphic design skills or video editing skills, please email me if you're willing to provide hands-on help with this effort.