ListNook

Computica Mar 22, 2026 +72

I hate that parents complained about them using weapons.

72

Morgan-Moonscar Mar 22, 2026 +36

Judith Hoag also complained about the violence in the first film and got fired as a result.

36

Grayx_2887 Mar 22, 2026 +17

**Sheesh!!** Lady, it's not really that serious and violent. If Hoag and these other parental groups want to complain about something, then why not complain about the fact that the first movie had a PG rating despite it having a darker tone, kids smoking cigars, drinking beer at a younger age and underage gambling? The first movie literally felt like it was supposed to have a PG-13 rating.

17

Positive_Total_8651 Mar 22, 2026 +8

Ratings were just different back then tbf. Like, Barbarella is PG rated. Same with the original Bad News Bears, Beetlejuice, Gremlins, Ghostbusters, Jaws, a lot of movies that would be PG-13 today were considered PG in the 80s and prior. Sensibilities changed over time. The Beetlejuice sequel was PG-13 and didnt have anything in it any worse than the original.

8

RolloTonyBrownTown Mar 22, 2026 +10

PG-13 didn't exist until midway through the 80s.

10

Wes_Warhammer666 Mar 23, 2026 +3

Beetlejuice came out in 88 and dropped an F bomb, among other things that likely wouldn't fly in a PG film today. Meanwhile the sequel is PG-13 and considerably less offensive as a whole. It's funny that I'd actually expect the ratings to be swapped if I watched each one without knowing.

3

alicefreak47 Mar 23, 2026 +2

I totally got in trouble for saying "Nice f****** tree" as a kid by my neighbor's dad because of that movie.

2

Grayx_2887 Mar 22, 2026 -1

Alright.

-1

Notoneusernameleft Mar 22, 2026 +4

If only there was some form of movie warning system to let parents know that they may want to review what the movie is about to possibly guide the child through concepts in the movie. Parental guidance suggested if you will.

4

Morgan-Moonscar Mar 22, 2026 +5

It's the typical story. Film/show with zero executive meddling (because nobody thought it would be a hit) becomes a success. Execs immediately meddle with the sequel to tone down what was great in first one.

5

MimseyUsa Mar 22, 2026 +4

This is an extremely accurate description of some current movie issues right now.

4

gabbertronnnn Mar 23, 2026 +4

I find this hilarious since she's been fishing recently to return in "The Last Ronin" which is stuck in development hell.

4

StopBeingBad Mar 23, 2026 +1

It's more nuanced than that. She complained about poor working conditions and non-union stuntmen getting injured and being shipped off and replaced. She objected to the violence in the movie because it was marketed heavily to kids. She would've been ok if they had targeted an older audience.

1

TheLaughingMannofRed Mar 22, 2026 +8

Parents complained enough about how the first movie turned out that the sequel was pretty much a course-correction. But there's a damn good reason why the first movie is so memorable to this day. You could just watch that movie and ignore the sequels (although if you love the IP, the first sequel is good enough, and the third is...OK), and feel like you saw *absolute cinema*. It was just serious enough that even adults could appreciate it, but also enough that kids weren't going to see things they weren't supposed to.

8

gabbertronnnn Mar 23, 2026 +4

The second movie ruled for the wall to wall one liners and the Ninja Rap alone. I f****** love that movie despite of its hangups.

4

Paetheas Mar 24, 2026 +2

That was easy. Yeah, a little too easy. It's quiet. Yeah, a little too quiet. It's Raph! Yeah, a little too Raph. Hahahaha

2

gabbertronnnn Mar 24, 2026 +2

Combat cold cuts! Rahhhhhh!

2

aukondk Mar 23, 2026 +3

In Britain we weren't allowed to see Nun-chucks being used throughout eh 80s and 90s. At the end of the first film it looks like Shredder runs at Splinter and just falls off the roof. Even the bit in 2 where Mikey is swinging the sausages is cut. [Eddache has a fun video about the whole thing.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jenooym8_o)

3

Computica Mar 23, 2026 +2

Holy censor!

2

Grayx_2887 Mar 22, 2026 +3

Tell me about it.

3

i010011010 Mar 23, 2026 +3

They had weapons in the **cartoon**. They came with the toys. Same ones already watched+owned by the kids seeing the movies.

3

Computica Mar 23, 2026 +3

If you noticed they don't use them at all in the 2nd movie.

3

i010011010 Mar 23, 2026 +3

Well yeah, the video says they went out of their way to make them improvise sausages and other things. I'm pointing out the hypocrisy in complaining about the first movie when it's based off a cartoon that was already doing the same exact thing. That would be like complaining if a Transformers movie had laser guns.

3

TeamStark31 Mar 22, 2026 +65

Fun fact, there was a whole alien subplot that was supposed to explain the ooze and the Dr was one of the aliens which would have made it make more sense but they dropped the idea.

65

Tasty-Traffic-680 Mar 22, 2026 +31

And here this whole time I thought it was toxic waste. Could have saved a whole bunch of turtles from a terrible fate...

31

Personal_Comb_6745 Mar 22, 2026 +20

I imagine it was a budget/time issue, since you could tell something was up with why Super Shredder has like 30 seconds of screentime then just dies.

20

TeamStark31 Mar 22, 2026 +7

Yeah. Also a group of parents protested after the first film saying it was too violent for kids, so that almost certainly played into the sequel as well.

7

TylerBourbon Mar 22, 2026 +24

You know who didn't complain about it being too violent? Us kids. We loved it.

24

Wes_Warhammer666 Mar 23, 2026 +7

SERIOUSLY! These movies were like holy scripture to us back in the day. God damn busybody parents gotta try and ruin everything.

7

NeuHundred Mar 23, 2026 +4

I imagine the issue was stuff like Tetsuo hurting that one Foot solider, Shredder being crushed, the fact that Raph got seriously injured... and I kind of get that, but it does set serious stakes for the movie and shows that fighting can be dangerous.

4

TylerBourbon Mar 23, 2026 +2

yep, and considering that turtles are showing taking about bad guys usually with kicks as opposed to their weapons. Leo and Ralph never actually injure anyone with their weapons. I'd argue, as a former kid, who was a kid when those "darker" movies came out, we could handle it, and to be frank, those films are almost always the ones you can still watch decades later and enjoy it because it wasn't talking down to it's audience like a lot of kids movies do. And movies like TMNT with some violence make the film feel more authentic, even to a kid. Like in ET, with the guns being pointed at kids with an alien, that is probably what would happen in real life. Kids are far more resilient and intelligent than people give them credit for. Hell, it's wild to think how dark Grimm Fairy Tales could be and those were for children too lol.

2

Shok3001 Mar 22, 2026 +7

It’s been a long time since I saw it. Why would that make more sense?

7

MrGittz Mar 22, 2026 +3

You can see the meteor chunk in the finished film

3

Koomsy_410 Mar 22, 2026 +54

“A little too Raph” still hold up as one of the best setup jokes of all time. I only got to watch it on VHS as a kid, but I saw it last week in theaters for the first time and the energy was amazing. Just a bunch of 40-something year old nerds in the theater all reliving our childhood. The animatronics and turtle suits looked so good! Makes me dislike CGI and AI even more.

54

Enthusiasms Mar 22, 2026 +16

To this day, like clockwork, my friends and I will always follow up someone saying " too x" with "yeah a little too Raph" and will also just randomly blurt out "THEY'RE BABIES"

16

Personal_Comb_6745 Mar 22, 2026 +4

CGI is good when handled right. Though there's no way it would look good in these movies, if it was at the level of, say, Jurassic Park, it might've saved a few bruises and broken noses for the stunt guys in the turtle suits. *F**** AI, though. At least CGI has real talent behind it.

4

adamsorkin Mar 22, 2026 +28

Obligatory "Go Ninja Go Ninja Go!"

28

scruffles360 Mar 22, 2026 +5

I went to an MCHammer concert to see Vanilla ICE open for him but he dropped out for the filming of TMNT2.

5

Waybinder Mar 23, 2026 +2

Amazing

2

ArchEast Mar 23, 2026 +2

Yo, it's the Green Machine...

2

jackneva Mar 22, 2026 +14

The teenage mutant turtles my favorite movies ever.

14

Glad-Energy-3492 Mar 22, 2026 +14

Absolutely incredible. It’s a shame that such wondrous creativity is lost from filmmaking these days. This movie was pure magic to kid me when I saw it in theaters. I still love it to this day.

14

Ragman676 Mar 23, 2026 +1

Its hard to describe how mind blowing this was as a kid.

1

evildrtran Mar 22, 2026 +12

To younger fans who were born after these movies, do y'all prefer the practical effects or CGI versions? Or both?

12

Cferretrun Mar 23, 2026 +1

I prefer this. The memories I have watching the original movies with my sibling are irreplaceable. We would go out in the backyard after and play ninja turtles. Cgi is charming and can convey more emotion than full facial masks and prosthetics even with animatronics, but there’s something immensely artistic and satisfying about watching practical effects come together in a way that makes you forget what you’re watching is fake. I still have to remind myself there’s a man in that turtle suit cause as a kid the immersion was intense. I’m 39, F

1

Cutthechitchata-hole Mar 22, 2026 +2

My daughter wont watch anything that is Jim Henson. She thinks all these movies are "old." Kinda how i dis talking about B & W Films. I still dont

2

Trips-Over-Tail Mar 22, 2026 +10

The whole team was mourning Jim Henson while they were making this.

10

Sean_1417 Mar 22, 2026 +21

*Sigh* Time flies. I’ll be 34

21

ClassicLightbulbs Mar 22, 2026 +9

Read this as sigh time flies; rule 34

9

bleedingoutlaw28 Mar 22, 2026 +2

You know what you have to do.

2

_pinklemonade_ Mar 22, 2026 +21

Top ten sequel?

21

ThaGenderOffender Mar 22, 2026 +13

idk, it didn’t really improve on the first movie, which would be hard to top anyways. if anything it’s a fun watch that extends the story. not really necessary but cool we got it anyways. now turtles 3 on the other hand…

13

goldbloodedinthe404 Mar 24, 2026 +2

Counterpoint ninja rap

2

_MrBalls_ Mar 22, 2026 +8

Absolutely

8

HonestOil8045 Mar 22, 2026 -1

Nowhere close lol Even for kids movie sequels I'd put Toy Story 2 and Paddington 2 in its place.

-1

octopusgardeb Mar 22, 2026 +5

Thank you for posting - gonna share these gems w kiddos

5

CrateDoor Mar 22, 2026 +5

Thanks for sharing, never seen this! As an 80s baby I loved the Turtles and still do! Passed along to my own kids. Edit* how cool were the ninja turtle cereal bowls?

5

Person0249 Mar 22, 2026 +6

There’s a bit of absurdity here that makes it feel like a Christopher Guest mockumentary but these folks were just insanely passionate about what they do and what they were doing happened to involve literal teenage mutant ninja turtles. The OG comics were amaaaaazing.

6

policypatchnotes Mar 22, 2026 +5

these movies hold I’ll fight all of you

5

Cutthechitchata-hole Mar 22, 2026 +3

I remember this exact video but dont remember where u saw it. Maybe Entertainment tonight or HBO forst look

3

larikang Mar 23, 2026 +4

Arguably a worse film than the first one, but man it is magical how they brought the turtles to life. You really do forget that they aren't real while you're watching it.

4

CathedralEngine Mar 22, 2026 +2

Somehow my school calendar lined up with the release of the movie and I had a half day that day. Me, my fiend, and our moms all went to the first screening that day.

2

HYphY420ayy Mar 22, 2026 +2

for yeeeaaars i combined this movie and the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers movie in my head.

2

Rhino-Ham Mar 22, 2026 +2

The costumes were noticeably worse than in the first film.

2

cupcakegiraffe Mar 23, 2026 +3

I don’t know what changed between II and III, but III will always be a sad disappointment to me mostly because of the awful changes made to the turtles’ costumes and animatronics. It kind of ruined the movie.

3

ArchEast Mar 23, 2026 +2

At least III had Casey Jones and "Tarzan Boy."

2

cupcakegiraffe Mar 23, 2026 +2

Tarzan Boy is a bop

2

CraigChaotic Mar 22, 2026 +1

I forgot about this film, wow time flies!

1

No-Restaurant-8963 Mar 22, 2026 +1

how many TMNT movies came out?

1

sever_the_connection Mar 23, 2026 +1

I want to make fun of this but… even now there’s just something undeniably compelling about turtles that are ninjas and like pizza

1

apocbane Mar 23, 2026 +1

It's in theaters around here for a limited time!

1

FatalPissShivers Mar 23, 2026 +1

Kino.

1

batcavejanitor Mar 23, 2026 +2

The director is right. At the same time I knew as a kid they were puppets and actors and movie magic but I also believed they were real and was VERY into it. Good times.

2

DJS11Eleven Mar 23, 2026 +1

Leif be like “Im gonna rip the head off!”

1

22LT Mar 23, 2026 +1

I remember getting to leave school early when TMNT came out cause my friends mom took us to the theater to see it. Also anyone ever see the movie from the '93 Showdown with Billy Blanks and Kenn Scott (aka dude in this video that plays Raph)?

1

amo1337 Mar 25, 2026 +1

I know people loved II, but 1 was so much better. And the April casting change really ruined the continuity for me as a kid.

1

silverfox189 Mar 25, 2026 +1

The whole franchise was a ploy to sell pizza. Now you know the truth. 🤣

1

cauliflowerpicks Mar 22, 2026 +1

I must watch now

1

Morgan-Moonscar Mar 22, 2026 +3

I must get pizza... then watch it.

3

dub-fresh Mar 23, 2026 +1

It's hilarious to hear the director (I'm guessing) wax poetic about "Donatello being more sensitive in this picture" ... Like, dude. It's TMNT.

1

Foolish_Fox916 Mar 22, 2026 -3

Nerfed ass turtles movie. 👎🏻👎🏻

-3

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze" (Released 35 years ago on March 22nd, 1991) - A behind-the-scenes look at the special effects used for creating the Turtles

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