The Short Version
B. Hiller, with the nineteen ninety movie it was based on, and catching up on what’s next for the Turtles. There are spoilers for the ending.
The short version: the book follows the movie very closely, but it softens the ending and adds one extra chapter. And the next Turtles movie is now set for August twenty twenty seven.
The 1990 Movie
The movie came out on March thirtieth, nineteen ninety, from New Line Cinema. It was directed by Steve Barron, and the Turtle suits were built by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, in London.
Judith Hoag played April, Elias Koteas played Casey Jones, and Kevin Clash, the performer behind Elmo, played Splinter.
A Surprise Hit
It was made for around thirteen and a half million dollars, and made about two hundred and two million worldwide. At the time, it was the highest grossing independent film ever.
Critics were mixed, but fans weren’t. It spawned two sequels, in nineteen ninety one and nineteen ninety three.
How Close Is The Book?
Very close. The book follows the movie’s story scene by scene, and it keeps the jokes, from the late pizza delivery to Splinter’s last word, cowabunga.
What the book adds is the inside of everyone’s heads. Danny’s doubts, Raphael’s anger, and April’s diary at the farm get more room than the movie can give them.
Little Changes
There are small differences. In the movie, Raphael comes out of a screening of Critters. In the book, it’s E.T.
Otherwise, the changes are tiny, a trimmed line here, a shifted scene there. Nothing big changes until the very end.
The Ending
The biggest change is Shredder’s death. In both, Splinter sends him off the roof into a garbage truck. But in the movie, Casey deliberately switches on the compactor and crushes him.
In the book, the truck’s jaws just close on their own. It’s a little gentler, which fits a book written for kids.
The Extra Chapter
The book also adds a short final chapter. April and Danny take her sketches of the Turtles to a comic book publisher, who says the idea is too farfetched, while the Turtles hang on his window, laughing.
It’s a sweet wink, since the Turtles really did start as a small black and white comic, by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, in nineteen eighty four.
Which To Pick
Watch the movie first. The suits, the fights and the sewer sets are why people still love it.
Read the book if you want a quick, cozy way to relive it, or if you’re sharing the story with a younger reader.
What’s Next
The Turtles are still going strong. The animated movie Mutant Mayhem came out in twenty twenty three, and its sequel, directed by Jeff Rowe, is now set for August thirteenth, twenty twenty seven.
There’s also a new live action and C G hybrid Turtles movie, dated for November twenty twenty eight.
Your Turn
So, which did you see first, the nineteen ninety movie or the cartoon? Tell me in the comments. My review and the full summary are linked below.
