Anyone born and raised during the eighties and early nineties, it’s a very good chance four of your heroes happened to be a team of anthropomorphized terrapins. Who happened to be ninjas, and love pizza. Artists Kevin Eastman And Peter Laird created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a joke. The two artists parodied Marvel books like Frank Miller’s epic run on Daredevil. They also took jabs at Cerebus and Miller’s Ronin. Plus, in the eighties, ninjas were everywhere thanks to Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, and a whole heap of B-level Saturday afternoon style martial arts movies constantly being shown in syndication.

The comic was an independent book and always has been. But it was a meeting that Laird and Eastman had with licensing agent Mark Freedman that would turn the byproduct of their little parody into a full-fledged franchise juggernaut. Video games, clothes, and an army of action figures to name a few things. If you could slap one or all four turtles on a product, you did.

A movie adaptation was inevitable. What fans got was completely absurd, unheard of, and; when you take latter-day live-action adaptations like Transformers and GI Joe into ; way ahead of its time. Here are 25 Hidden Details Only True Fans Noticed In The Original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movies.

Raining On April’s Parade

Before we see even one hint of green in the first movie, we’re introduced to intrepid Channel 3 reporter, April O’Neil. Known to the plethora of TMNT fans by her bright yellow jumpsuit (something all reporters should wear), the actress behind April, Judith Hoag, refused the silly costume choice.

But that wasn’t the only headache she caused on set. Hoag was apparently a chore to deal with. When it came time for the inevitable sequel, she was disinvited from the festivities. Paige Turco ed the party instead.

The Turtles Were Based On Daredevil

 

According to Marvel Comics, young Matt Murdock was blinded by radioactive chemicals. The chemical blinded him but heightened all of his other senses. He was trained how to be a ninja by an old man, Stick, to fight a group of life-takers infesting New York, The Hand.

If that sounds like a group of turtles being gifted by a mutagen, who are taught by an ancient rat, Splinter, to prepare them to fight a group of life-takers infiltrating New York, The Foot – then you’d be 100% right. One of the main influences on the original comic book series was The Man Without Fear.

The Real Secret Was No Violence

The original Eastman and Laird stories were a mix of dark action and dark humor. When the original movie came out, fans got to see a live action version of the Turtles kicking behind and taking names. Ninjas being ninjas.

Prior to filming Secret Of The Ooze, several "parents groups" expressed their concerns over the violence from the first movie. Rather than deal with more angry parents, the action was significantly reduced during the second adventure. The turtles barely used their weapons.

TMNT II’s Grandiose Ambitions

With the success of 1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the sequel was greenlit instantaneously. One year later, The Secret Of The Ooze was released. It’s a kid movie, so it’s not the biggest deal in the world. But it certainly seems rushed. One of the concepts that was dropped was the very ambition of the film.

The movie was supposed to kickstart a whole trilogy of films. The big reveal was that the Mutagen that created them would reveal Dimension X, as well as the Utrom and Triceraton races, and the rogue robot Fugitoid.

Kevin Nash As Super Shredder

The Shredder wasn’t eliminated during the first movie. Instead, he endured his endeavor with a garbage truck and returned for the sequel. When it seemed that he was going to be defeated, he instead drank a vial of mutagen and became the Super Shredder.

What has become an Easter egg of sorts for wrestling fans, the massive Kevin Nash was underneath all of the makeup behind the movie’s big bad. If you see pictures of the man from the early nineties, you’ll realize very little prosthetics were used. At 6’10 and over 300 pounds of motor–city muscle, the WWE Hall Of Famer really looked the part.

Professor Perry Is Baxter Stockman

One of the strange characters in the TMNT universe is the mad scientist, Baxter Stockman. The franchise’s answer to Seth Brundle. Whether he’s working with his Mo prototypes or doing Shredder’s bidding, in most iterations; whatever Stockman is trying to do, he becomes a giant fly.

Professor Perry looks like plenty of stereotypical scientists in Secret. That’s because he was supposed to be an analog for Stockman and with all of his work with TGRI Mutagen and eventually transform into the giant menacing fly.

The Meaning Behind “Hi Sally"

For any violence and quick one-liner loving Quentin Tarantino fan, you’ve no doubt heard the phrase “Hi Sally” being uttered in the behind-the-scenes of all of his DVDs, up until Inglourious Basterds. Sally sadly ed away from the heat in 2010, while hiking.

Menke’s first big break as an editor was the very first Turtles movie. The Mineola, New York native cut her teeth cutting this movie. Maybe the intensity in this movie prepared her for Tarantino’s insatiable bloodlust.

Sam Rockwell Shows Up Briefly

Over the years, Sam Rockwell has amassed quite a devoted fan following for his quirky performances and delivery in all kinds of movies from Matchstick Men to Iron Man 2 to his Academy Award-winning turn in Three Billboards. That charm of his started way back in 1990 when he played one of the misguided youths of the Foot Clan.

For a bit role, the kid got about five minutes of screen time as one of the lead teenagers and got to deliver several lines that helped to shape the thoughts of the entire group of kids. Knowing that its Rockwell playing the role makes it a little more comical than it was ever I tended to be, but that fact wouldn’t happen for several more years after the film came out.

No Little Caesars?

Being teenagers, the turtles preferred food of choice was always pizza. Or maybe it was because they’re New Yorkers? But other than being turtles, their love of bread, sauce, and cheese is their most well-known trait. Two big brands, Dominos and Pizza Hut, duked it for rights fees heading into the first film.

Pizza Hut won out and got to feature the Turtles in their establishment. Somehow Dominoes wound up winning the war – their pizza and delivery guy is what wound up in the movie.

Tatsu’s Intense Rage

We’ve established that the first adventure was a little too dark for some kiddies. But it was also a little more faithful to the comics. In one scene, Shredder’s top right-hand man (right foot man?), Tatsu, is seen physically harming a kid. The other henchmen are able to separate them before a lot of damage is done.

The scene from the books though shows Tatsu eliminate the guy in an act of uncontrollable rage. The producers of the movie decided that was slightly too dark for the kids to see and pulled back the original shot.