How the film "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" was filmed: footage from the filming and 15 interesting facts about the film (15 photos)

As a child, I (like many other children and teenagers) loved the animated series "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", which was shown on the 2x2 TV channel. The animated series turned out to be so successful that the first full-length film was released in 1990, which also had an incredible success with viewers.





1. The idea to make a film about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appeared even before the release of the first episode of the cult animated series. At that time, they wanted to make a film based on the original comics. But not a single studio wanted to take on such a project, since everyone believed that this project was too risky.

But after the success of the animated series, there was no longer any doubt about the need to make a full-length feature film about turtles.



2. The turtle costumes were created at the Jim Henson Studio, which is famous for its cult children's program "Sesame Street" (originally "Muppets show"). Unfortunately, Jim Henson himself died approximately 1.5 months after the premiere of the film "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"





3. Turtle suits were expendable. They were constantly torn during filming, as the actors had to perform various stunts in them.



4. The actor who played Raphael suffered from claustrophobia, so it was terribly uncomfortable for him to be in a mask. As a result, after filming each scene, the poor actor, in a cold sweat, took off his Raphael mask and for some time came to his senses.



5. I think you have already realized that the turtle costumes were very heavy. The shells of the main characters alone weighed almost 30 kg. Well, that’s understandable, because a lot of electronics were hidden inside them.



Yes, despite the fact that in the head the head of the turtles was a complex mechanism, thanks to which the turtles could move their eyebrows, open their mouths, and, in principle, work with facial expressions, wires from the head went into the shell, where electric motors and other elements were located. But the battery was already attached to the actors’ belts.



6. Unlike the turtles, teacher Splinter was not stuffed with mechanisms and electronics. It was essentially an ordinary doll, which was controlled simultaneously by three puppeteers.



7. The actors who played the turtles also appeared in the same film, but played cameo roles as a taxi passenger, gang members, and the delivery man who brought the pizza into the sewer. That is, we were still able to see who played the main characters.

8. The fight scenes with the turtles were filmed at 22 frames per second. This was done so that when the film was played back at 24 frames per second, the movements of the turtles seemed faster and more technical, because it is worth considering that the costumes were bulky.



The operator controls the turtles' facial expressions

9. The film producer went to the Playment toys company, which produced toys based on the animated series. He wanted to invite them to release a line of toys based on their future film, but the company's managers refused this idea. But in vain. Given the success of the film, they could hit a big jackpot.



10. A number of scenes were removed from the film. For example, we never saw the farm scene. All that can be found now are only small excerpts and photographs.



Still from a deleted scene from the movie "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"

11. With a budget of $13.5 million, the film grossed $202 million worldwide, which of course was a success. And naturally, this became a signal that it was worth thinking about a continuation.



12. The film has an alternate ending where April brings her Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic to the publishing house, but is told that this is not the case.The comic is not interesting because it is too unrealistic. At this very moment, the main characters appear outside the window.



13. Judith Hoag, who played April O'Neil, said that she did not like the film. Moreover, the actress constantly complained about the six-day work week, as well as about violence in films. Therefore, the creators decided not to involve her in the filming of the second part. And that is why actress Paige Turco played April in the second part of the film.



14. To better get into the role of April, actress Judith Hoag turned to actor Robin Williams, who was an ardent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan. And he gladly helped her with this.

15. Almost every turtle was played by two actors. One was responsible for the movements, and the second for the voice. And only Lee Josh Pace played Raphael himself and voiced him himself.



The actor is wearing a heavy turtle shell