''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'' is a 1991 American
superhero film
Superhero film/movie is a film genre categorized by the presence of superhero characters, individuals with extraordinary abilities who are dedicated to fighting crime, saving the world, or helping the innocent. It is sometimes considered a sub ...
based on the ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
'' characters created by
Kevin Eastman
Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comic book writer and artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ''Heavy Metal ...
and
Peter Laird
Peter Alan Laird (born January 27, 1954) is an American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with writer and artist Kevin Eastman.
Early life and career
Laird was born on January 27, 1 ...
. Directed by
Michael Pressman
Michael Pressman is an American film and television producer and director.
Early life
A native of Manhattan, Pressman was born into a theatrical family. His mother, Sasha, a modern dancer, was an original member of Martha Graham's first danc ...
and written by
Todd W. Langen, it is the sequel to ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
'' (1990) and the second installment in the original
''Turtles'' film trilogy. It stars
Paige Turco
Jean Paige Turco (born May 17, 1965) is an American actress, who portrayed April O'Neil in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'' and ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III''. Other roles include Dinah Marler on daytime’s ''G ...
replacing
Judith Hoag
Judith Hoag (; born June 29, 1963) is an American actress. She is known for playing April O'Neil in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (1990) and Gwen Cromwell Piper in the Disney Channel television film series '' Halloweentown'', from 1998 to 200 ...
as
April O'Neil
April O'Neil is a fictional Character (arts), character from the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' comics. She is the first human ally of the Ninja Turtles.
April made her first appearance in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Studios), Mir ...
and
David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to:
Sports
* Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor
* David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier
* David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer
Othe ...
, with the voices of
Brian Tochi
Brian Tochi (born Brian Keith Tochihara) is an American actor. During the late 1960s through much of the 1970s and 1980s, he was one of the most widely seen East Asian child actors working in U.S. television, appearing in various TV series and ...
,
Robbie Rist
Robert Anthony Rist (born April 4, 1964) is an
American actor. He is known for playing Cousin Oliver in ''The Brady Bunch'', Martin in ''Grady (American TV series), Grady'' and "Little John" in ''Big John, Little John''. Rist is also known fo ...
, Adam Carl, and Laurie Faso. Resuming from the events of the first film,
the Shredder
The Shredder is a supervillain and the main antagonist of the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' media franchise created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The character debuted in the Mirage Studios comic book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage ...
returns at command of the
Foot Clan
The Foot Clan (also known simply as the Foot) is a fictional ninja clan in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, serving as the main antagonists. It is led by the devious Shredder and his second in command Karai. The Foot Clan was original ...
for revenge on the Turtles. When he learns the secret behind the Turtles' mutation, he becomes more dangerous than ever. The film reveals the origins of Splinter and the Turtles and introduces two new villains,
Tokka and Rahzar. Unlike the first film, the Turtles mostly fight bare-fisted, to tone down the violence.
The film was released theatrically in the United States on March 22, 1991, by
New Line Cinema
New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...
. It received mixed reviews from critics, who said it departed from the much darker tone of the original 1990 film. However, it was financially successful, grossing $78.7 million against a budget of $25 million, becoming the thirteenth highest-grossing film domestically in the year of its release.
A sequel, ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'' (subtitled ''Turtles in Time'' in some home media releases) is a 1993 superhero film based on the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Written and directed ...
'', was released in 1993.
Plot
In
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, one month after the events of the
first film, a young
pizza delivery
Pizza delivery is a service in which a pizzeria or pizza chain delivers a pizza to a customer. An order is typically made either by telephone or over the internet, in which the customer can request pizza type and size, and other items to be ...
boy named Keno inadvertently encounters
burglars
Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...
on his route and tries to stop them. The burglars attack Keno, who proves to be a skilled
martial artist
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...
, but he is soon overwhelmed before the arrival of the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
. They vanish after rescuing Keno, tying the burglars up, and taking the pizza he was delivering, leaving behind the money to pay for it.
Leonardo,
Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), known mononymously as Donatello (; ), was an Italian Renaissance sculpture, Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sc ...
,
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...
and
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
, along with their master
Splinter
A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...
, are currently living with
April O'Neil
April O'Neil is a fictional Character (arts), character from the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' comics. She is the first human ally of the Ninja Turtles.
April made her first appearance in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Studios), Mir ...
while looking for a new place to live after defeating
The Shredder
The Shredder is a supervillain and the main antagonist of the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' media franchise created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The character debuted in the Mirage Studios comic book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage ...
. Splinter wants to remain in the shadows, while Raphael thinks they should live out in the open. At a
junkyard where the remnants of
The Foot The Foot can refer to:
* An episode of the first season of '' Six Feet Under''.
*The Foot Clan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
* The Foot Book
* The Foot of Cupid
*The Foot can refer to the 4 Grey Goose Bottles that are blocked on a back bar.
* The ...
and the Shredder's second-in-command Tatsu are hiding out, they are met by their master, who has been disfigured by his previous defeat and vows revenge on the turtles.
April interviews Professor Jordan Perry of Techno Global Research Industries (TGRI) about a possible
toxic waste
Toxic waste is any unwanted material in all forms that can cause harm (e.g. by being inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin). Mostly generated by industry, consumer products like televisions, computers, and phones contain toxic chemi ...
leak. He assures her that everything is fine, but their scientists secretly discover
dandelions
''Taraxacum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus has a near-cosmopolitan distribu ...
which have been mutated by the leak. Freddy, a spy for the Foot Clan posing as April's cameraman, discovers this, collects one of the dandelions, and reports it to his master, who decides to have Perry interrogated. Back at April's apartment, Splinter reveals to her and the turtles that the canister of mutagen (dubbed "Ooze" by the turtles) which mutated them 15 years prior was created by TGRI, and they too decide to talk to Perry. The Foot gets to Perry first and kidnap him, salvaging the last canister of ooze in the process. The turtles attempt to get the canister back, but ultimately fail. Afterwards, Keno gets into April's apartment under the guise of delivering pizza and discovers Splinter and the turtles.
At the Shredder's hideout, Perry is forced to use the remaining ooze on a
snapping turtle
The Chelydridae is a family of turtles that has seven extinct and two extant genera. The extant genera are the snapping turtles, ''Chelydra'' and ''Macrochelys''. Both are endemic to the Western Hemisphere. The extinct genera are '' Acherontemys' ...
and a
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...
, which mutates them into
Tokka and Rahzar, respectively. Unfortunately, Tokka and Rahzar have the mindset of infants. Shredder considered doing away with the creatures until Perry pointed out their super strength. With the imminent threat to April's safety by the Foot Clan, the turtles start to actively look for a new home. After an argument with Leonardo, Raphael breaks off from the group, while Michelangelo discovers
the abandoned City Hall subway station and deems it a perfect hideout. Raphael and Keno defy Splinter's orders and implant Keno into the Foot Clan to find their hideout. However, they are caught and Raphael is captured, while Keno escapes to warn the others. When they come, they are ambushed by the Shredder and the Foot; Splinter saves the group, but leaves as they face Tokka and Rahzar, who prove too strong to defeat. Donatello finds a bound and gagged Perry after being tossed into a building by Tokka, and the five of them make a tactical retreat. Once back in their hideout, Perry explains that the creation of the ooze was an accident, disheartening Donatello, Leonardo and Raphael, who saw a higher purpose for their existence.
The Shredder unleashes Tokka and Rahzar into a nearby neighborhood to cause damage. The next day, Freddy sends a message to April that Tokka and Rahzar will be released into
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
if the turtles don't meet the Foot Clan at the construction site. Perry develops an antidote to the mutations, but it must be ingested to work. When the turtles confront the Foot at the site, they try using donuts to trick Tokka and Rahzar into eating the antidote. Tokka and Rahzar soon discover the trick and brutally attack, throwing Raphael into a public dance club where
Vanilla Ice
Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in Dallas, raised in Miami, he was the first solo white rapper to achieve commercial success foll ...
is performing. A big fight ensues among hundreds of witnesses. The club owners consider calling the police but see that their customers are enjoying the show. Eventually, the turtles revert Tokka and Rahzar back to their natural state, using a fire extinguisher. Shredder appears and attempts to take a hostage until Keno appears and interrupts his plans. The turtles and Shredder take the fight to the docks, where Shredder is transformed into a Super Shredder after consuming the last of the ooze. The heavily mutated Shredder is too strong for the turtles to fight, but he rips the dock apart in his rampage, causing it to collapse and kill him, much to the turtles' relief who wind up in the bay.
In a press release, April reads a note from Perry, thanking the turtles for saving him. When they return home, Splinter orders the four of them to do ten flips as punishment for being seen by humans, as evidenced by the morning's newspaper.
Cast
Live action
*
Paige Turco
Jean Paige Turco (born May 17, 1965) is an American actress, who portrayed April O'Neil in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'' and ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III''. Other roles include Dinah Marler on daytime’s ''G ...
as
April O'Neil
April O'Neil is a fictional Character (arts), character from the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' comics. She is the first human ally of the Ninja Turtles.
April made her first appearance in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Studios), Mir ...
, a news reporter, and the human companion of the Turtles and Splinter. April was originally portrayed by
Judith Hoag
Judith Hoag (; born June 29, 1963) is an American actress. She is known for playing April O'Neil in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (1990) and Gwen Cromwell Piper in the Disney Channel television film series '' Halloweentown'', from 1998 to 200 ...
in
The first film
''The First Film'' is a 2015 British documentary film about cinema pioneer Louis Le Prince, made by David Nicholas Wilkinson. It argues the case that Le Prince, rather than the Lumière brothers, was the true inventor of moving pictures, making ...
.
*
David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to:
Sports
* Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor
* David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier
* David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer
Othe ...
as Professor Jordan Perry, a scientist who works for the TGRI company as head scientist. He works with the Turtles to create an antidote for the mutated
Tokka and Rahzar.
*
Ernie Reyes Jr.
Ernie Reyes Jr. (born January 15, 1972) is an American actor and martial artist, known for his acting work in films such as ''The Last Dragon'', ''Red Sonja'' (1985), as Donatello's stuntman in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (1990), '' Teenage ...
as Keno, a pizza delivery boy, and martial arts expert who meets the turtles in the beginning of the film and befriends them. Reyes was an in-suit performer and stunt double for Donatello in the previous film.
*
François Chau
François Chau (born October 26, 1959) is a Cambodian and American actor. He is known for his roles as Dr. Pierre Chang in ABC's '' Lost'', Quick Kick on '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'', Dr. Chang in the film '' 21 & Over'', Shredder in '' ...
as
The Shredder
The Shredder is a supervillain and the main antagonist of the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' media franchise created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The character debuted in the Mirage Studios comic book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage ...
, the Turtles and Splinter arch-nemesis who survived the battle with Splinter from the first film, and wishes to get revenge on Splinter and the Turtles. François Chau replaced
James Saito
James Saito is an American actor.
Saito is best known as the original Shredder in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', Dr. Chen in the ABC series ''Eli Stone'', Harry Kim in the Netflix film ''Always Be My Maybe'', and Kenji in '' Modern Love''. ...
in this film.
**
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor, podcaster and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is also known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Ac ...
as Super Shredder, a mutated version of Shredder.
* Toshishiro Obata as Tatsu, Shredder's right-hand man and temporary leader of the Foot Clan in Shredder's absence.
* Mark Doerr as Freddy, a Foot Clan member who poses as April's camera operator.
*
Michael Pressman
Michael Pressman is an American film and television producer and director.
Early life
A native of Manhattan, Pressman was born into a theatrical family. His mother, Sasha, a modern dancer, was an original member of Martha Graham's first danc ...
as News Manager
*
Raymond Serra
Raymond Serra (born Aurelio Lacagnina; August 13, 1936 – June 20, 2003) was an American character actor known for his many supporting roles in theater, film, and television over a 30-year career.
Early life and education
Born in Little Italy, ...
as police chief Stern from the first film.
*
Vanilla Ice
Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in Dallas, raised in Miami, he was the first solo white rapper to achieve commercial success foll ...
as himself
Michael Jai White
Michael Jai White (born November 10, 1967) is an American actor, martial artist, and director. Though he has appeared in a variety of genres, White is best known for his Action film, action and martial arts films. His first major starring role an ...
makes an uncredited cameo as an audience member that joins the Foot Clan with Keno.
Voice cast
*
Brian Tochi
Brian Tochi (born Brian Keith Tochihara) is an American actor. During the late 1960s through much of the 1970s and 1980s, he was one of the most widely seen East Asian child actors working in U.S. television, appearing in various TV series and ...
as
Leonardo: the leader and oldest of the Turtles. He wears a blue bandana and carries two
ninjaken on the back of his shell.
*
Robbie Rist
Robert Anthony Rist (born April 4, 1964) is an
American actor. He is known for playing Cousin Oliver in ''The Brady Bunch'', Martin in ''Grady (American TV series), Grady'' and "Little John" in ''Big John, Little John''. Rist is also known fo ...
as
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...
: the youngest of the Turtles. He wears an orange bandana and carries dual
nunchaku
is a traditional East-Asian martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks (traditionally made of wood), connected to each other at their ends by a short metal chain or a rope. It is approximately (sticks) and (rope). A person who has pract ...
on each side within his belt.
* Adam Carl as
Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), known mononymously as Donatello (; ), was an Italian Renaissance sculpture, Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sc ...
: the smart one of the Turtles and is known for his technological expertise and joining in with Michelangelo on their jokes and pratfalls. He wears a purple bandana and carries a
bo on the back of his shell. Carl replaced
Corey Feldman
Corey Scott Feldman (born July 16, 1971) is an American actor and musician. As a youth, he became well known for his roles in popular 1980s films such as '' Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter'' (1984), '' Gremlins'' (1984), '' The Goonies'' (198 ...
as the voice of Donnie for this film.
* Laurie Faso as
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
: the strong one of the Turtles. He wears a red bandana and carries two
sai in his belt, Troum and Faso replace
Josh Pais
Joshua Atwill Pais (born June 21, 1958) is an American actor and acting coach. He has appeared in the films ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (1990), ''Music of the Heart'' (1999), ''Assassination of a High School President'' (2008), '' I Saw the ...
in this film.
*
Kevin Clash
Kevin Jeffrey Clash (born September 17, 1960) is an American puppeteer, director and producer best known for puppeteering Elmo on ''Sesame Street'' from 1985 to 2012. He also performed puppets for ''Labyrinth'', ''Dinosaurs'', '' Oobi'', and vari ...
as
Splinter
A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...
: a wise mutant rat who is the master and father figure of the turtles.
* David McCharen as
Oroku Saki / The Shredder
*
Michael McConnohie
Michael McConnohie is an American voice actor, writer and director who has provided many voice roles in movies, anime, and video games. He and fellow actress Melodee Spevack run a production company called VoxWorks. For twenty-plus years he has ...
as Tatsu
*
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...
as
Tokka and Rahzar: a mutated
alligator snapping turtle
The alligator snapping turtle (''Macrochelys temminckii'') is a large species of turtle in the Family (biology), family Chelydridae. They are the largest freshwater turtle in North America. The species is Endemism, endemic to freshwater habitat ...
and a mutated
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...
created by Professor Perry under orders from the Shredder using a canister of ooze stolen from the TGRI company.
Puppeteers
*
Mark Caso as Leonardo (in-suit performer)
** Rob Tygner as Leonardo (facial assistant)
** Larry Lam as Leonardo (in-suit martial arts stunt double)
*
Michelan Sisti
Michelan Sisti (born May 27, 1949) is an Italian/American actor born Michael Alan Sisti to parents, Mildred and Frank. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico while his father and family were stationed there for the US Army. He is also a puppeteer, ...
as Michelangelo (in-suit performer)
**
Mak Wilson
Mak Wilson (born 3 September 1957) is a retired English puppeteer, writer, animation director, and motion capture artist. He is also known as Mac Wilson and Malcolm Wilson.
Early life and career
Wilson was born in Consett, England, but grew up i ...
as Michelangelo (facial assistant)
** Nick Palma as Michelangelo (in-suit martial arts stunt double)
*
Leif Tilden
David Leif Tilden, known as Leif Tilden, is an American actor, puppeteer, director and writer. He was the costume actor for Donatello in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' and its sequel as well as playing Robbie Sinclair and Richfield in the sitc ...
as Donatello (in-suit performer)
** Rob Mills as Donatello (facial assistant)
**
Steven Ho as Donatello (in-suit martial arts stunt double)
*
Kenn Troum as Raphael (in-suit performer)
** David Greenaway as Raphael (facial assistant)
**
Hosung Pak as Raphael (in-suit martial arts stunt double)
*
Kevin Clash
Kevin Jeffrey Clash (born September 17, 1960) is an American puppeteer, director and producer best known for puppeteering Elmo on ''Sesame Street'' from 1985 to 2012. He also performed puppets for ''Labyrinth'', ''Dinosaurs'', '' Oobi'', and vari ...
as Splinter (puppeteer)
** Rickey Boyd as Splinter (assistant puppeteer)
** Sue Dacre as Splinter (assistant puppeteer)
* Mark Ginther as Rahzar (in-suit performer)
** Gord Robertson as Rahzar (facial assistant)
** Hamilton Perkins as Rahzar (in-suit stunt double)
* Kurt Bryant as Tokka (in-suit performer)
**
Rick Lyon
Richard S. Lyon (born February 25, 1958) is an American puppeteer, actor, and puppet designer and builder. He has worked for The Jim Henson Company as one of the operators of Big Bird. He appeared on Broadway theatre, Broadway originating the ro ...
as Tokka (facial assistant)
** David Rowden as Tokka (in-suit stunt double)
Production
Due to the massive success of the first film, a sequel was expected.
The film was produced on a budget of US$25 million, nearly twice the budget of the 1990 film, which was $13.5 million.
Like the first film,
New Line Cinema
New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...
distributed ''The Secret of the Ooze''. Both the voice actors of Michaelangelo and Leonardo reprised their roles in the second film, but
Corey Feldman
Corey Scott Feldman (born July 16, 1971) is an American actor and musician. As a youth, he became well known for his roles in popular 1980s films such as '' Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter'' (1984), '' Gremlins'' (1984), '' The Goonies'' (198 ...
did not voice Donatello in the second movie after pleading no contest to a drug possession charge in December 1990. Cast as April O'Neil,
Paige Turco
Jean Paige Turco (born May 17, 1965) is an American actress, who portrayed April O'Neil in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'' and ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III''. Other roles include Dinah Marler on daytime’s ''G ...
succeeded
Judith Hoag
Judith Hoag (; born June 29, 1963) is an American actress. She is known for playing April O'Neil in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (1990) and Gwen Cromwell Piper in the Disney Channel television film series '' Halloweentown'', from 1998 to 200 ...
from the first film, for this film and ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'' (subtitled ''Turtles in Time'' in some home media releases) is a 1993 superhero film based on the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Written and directed ...
''. According to Hoag, she was not approached to reprise the role because the producers thought she complained too much during the first movie about the strenuous shooting schedule and amount of violence. The character of
Casey Jones
John Luther "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1864 – April 30, 1900) was an American railroader who was killed when his passenger train collided with a stalled freight train in Vaughan, Mississippi.
Jones was a locomotive engineer for the Illinois Cen ...
, who was prominent in the first movie, did not appear here though he returned in the following movie. Ernie Reyes Jr., who was Donatello's fight double in the first film, was cast as a new character, Keno, as the producers admired Reyes and his performance in the first movie so much they asked him to join the sequel. Todd W. Langen returned from the first film to write the screenplay. In July 2022,
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor, podcaster and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is also known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Ac ...
revealed that
Kevin Peter Hall
Kevin Peter Hall (May 9, 1955 – April 10, 1991) was an American actor. Hall stood tall, and frequently played monster characters. He was the original title monster in the science fiction ''Predator'' franchise, appearing in the first 1987 ...
was originally cast as the physical actor for the Super Shredder.
The characters of
Bebop and Rocksteady
Bebop and Rocksteady are a fictional duo of mutant warthog and rhinoceros that have made appearances in various media releases of the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' franchise. The two characters are henchmen who follow the orders of the franch ...
, who were popular villains in the
1987 animated series, could not be used due to
Kevin Eastman
Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comic book writer and artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ''Heavy Metal ...
and
Peter Laird
Peter Alan Laird (born January 27, 1954) is an American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with writer and artist Kevin Eastman.
Early life and career
Laird was born on January 27, 1 ...
objecting, with the latter stating that "their constant one-note shtick in the first animated series
asextremely annoying and silly to the point of being stupid". As a result, Tokka and Rahzar were created. The Turtles fight bare-fisted for much of this film, to tone down the violence.
The abandoned subway station, the new lair for the Turtles, is based on the real-life decommissioned
City Hall station of the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
, built by the former
Interborough Rapid Transit Company
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the private operator of New York City's original underground subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT ...
. The station is not completely abandoned, as it appears in the movie. Trains pass through the station daily as they turn around to head uptown, and passengers ride through the station, but the train does not stop and so they cannot disembark. During filming of the scene where the Turtles are trapped in the net and fall to the ground, one of the stuntmen broke an ankle. Some filming took place in
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, like the first, where the New York City skyline was created at the North Carolina Film Studios.
The building used for the entrance to April's apartment is the office of the New York location of
Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Jim Henson's Creature Shop is an American animation and special/visual effects company founded in 1979 by Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The company is based in Hollywood, California, United States.
History
Jim Henson's Creature Shop was ...
, which did the animatronics work for the film and
its predecessor. The film is dedicated to the memory of
Jim Henson
James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...
, who had died the previous May.
Music
An original motion picture soundtrack was released alongside the film in 1991 by SBK Records.
The soundtrack featured 10 tracks from the film, and music from artists such as Magnificent V11, produced by Troy Duncombe and Mickey Mahoney of Cat and Moose productions,
Ya Kid K
Ya Kid K (born Manuela Barbara Kamosi Moaso Djogi, 1972) is a Congolese–Belgian hip hop recording artist. She was the rapper for the dance/house act Technotronic. Her sister is Karoline "Leki" Kamosi.
Early life
At the age of 11, Djogi move ...
,
Cathy Dennis
Catherine Roseanne Dennis (born 25 March 1969)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa; , p. 133 is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. She was discovered as a teenager by music manager Simon F ...
and
David Morales
David Morales (; born August 21, 1961) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer.
David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including Mar ...
, Tribal House and
Dan Hartman
Daniel Earl Hartman (December 8, 1950 – March 22, 1994) was an American pop rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer, and songwriter and original frontman for several bands, including the Soploids, Mak and the Turnarounds, Our Wri ...
. The most famous song featured on the soundtrack is "Ninja Rap" performed by rapper
Vanilla Ice
Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in Dallas, raised in Miami, he was the first solo white rapper to achieve commercial success foll ...
. The song featured prominently, and Ice makes an appearance as himself. This song tricked the audience into believing the fight was a harmless "show" and thus not to panic. A music video was produced for "Ninja Rap".
The soundtrack features two original pieces from the Orchestra On the Half Shell. The original music was composed by
John Du Prez
John Du Prez (born Trevor Jones; 14 December 1946) is a British musician, conductor and composer. He was a member of the 1980s salsa-driven pop band Modern Romance and has since written several film scores including '' Oxford Blues'' (1984), ...
, who won a BMI Film Music Award for his work.
Release
Home media
The film was originally released on
VHS
VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s.
Ma ...
in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
on July 31, 1991. It sold 5 million units.
The film was later released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
in Region 1 on 3 September 2002; it contained only minor special features and interactive menus.
On 4 August 2009, the film was included in a special 25th-anniversary boxset, released to both DVD and
Blu-ray
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
formats. It contains ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
'', ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II'', ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'' (subtitled ''Turtles in Time'' in some home media releases) is a 1993 superhero film based on the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Written and directed ...
'', and the animated release, ''
TMNT
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers trained i ...
'' (2007).
Reception
Box office
''The Secret of the Ooze'' was released in theaters on March 22, 1991, in the United States, and subsequently in other countries from June through to August. The film was number one in North America on its first weekend of release, taking in over , and eventually making $78,656,813 in total,
generating
theatrical rental
A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is frequ ...
s of $41.9 million.
[ The film was a success at the U.S. and Canadian box office, but made less than the first film,] becoming the second highest-grossing independent film ever, behind the original. Overseas, the film did not do so well, with 20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
acquiring the foreign rights for $25 million but the film only earning them rentals of $12 million. In total, the film had worldwide rentals of $54 million.
Like its predecessor, the sequel was censored in the UK due to usage of forbidden weapons (the nunchaku
is a traditional East-Asian martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks (traditionally made of wood), connected to each other at their ends by a short metal chain or a rope. It is approximately (sticks) and (rope). A person who has pract ...
), such as during the opening credits sequence where Michelangelo imitates their use by swinging a pair of sausages. The edits were waived for the DVD release in 2002. The German version was not censored visually; as with the first film, funny cartoon sound effects were added to the fight scenes to soften the violence.
Critical response
The second film received mixed from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has a rating of 35% based on reviews from 43 critics, with the consensus: "Not only is the movie's juvenile dialogue unbearable for adults, but the turtles' dopey and casual attitude towards physical violence makes them poor kids' role models". On Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a score of 45 out of 100 based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Dave Kehr of ''The Chicago Sun Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers ...
'' calls the film "a fast, funny, engagingly unpretentious 88 minutes that, moving between martial-arts dustups and random satirical jibes, achieves a more successful mix of action and humor than the first. There is plenty for adults here as well as children".
Janet Maslin of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' noted that "the Turtles fight less, clown more and stray too far from their beloved sewers" and called it an improvement, and was relieved that they had at least made a mainstream movie. Maslin stated that the Turtles "clean up their act" in the movie and also praised ''Secret of the Ooze'' for containing scenes referencing then-growing popular culture trends which were considered major competitors to the TMNT franchise's "greatest assets," such as rap music
Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...
and Bart Simpson
Bartholomew Jo-Jo "Bart" Simpson is a character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' who is part of the titular family. Bart made his television debut in the short " Good Night" on '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' on Apri ...
. Lloyd Bradley of ''Empire
An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
'' gave the film three out of five stars, saying, "This lacks the darkness and subtlety that makes the first film so good, and so adult, but its simplified plot and gags will appeal to the under tens".
Gene Siskel at ''The Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN radio and WGN tel ...
'' was just as unimpressed by this film as the first, calling it "a martial-arts movie in rubber uniforms". Siskel considers that he is an adult "forgetting the sort of mindless entertainment that he himself enjoyed as a child" but rejects the idea and calls the fight scenes "more depressing than joyful". Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
of ''The Chicago Sun Times'' complains that the Turtles look essentially the same, and suggests they are an "emblem of our drab and dreary times" and that they are "an example of the hazards of individuality". He says kids are getting a bad deal and compared to the comic book heroes he grew up with they are being robbed of "a sense of wonder".
Toys
The ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' franchise was arguably at the height of its popularity around the time that ''The Secret of the Ooze'' was released in theaters. A number of tie-ins were brought out alongside the release of the film. A new line of toys were introduced for the release of the film, including "Movie Star" toys of all four Turtles, with the box art depicting stills from the film, and a cartoon rendition of the turtles gathered around a canister of ooze in the top right corner of the package. In contrast to the usual Turtles' figures, the film series figures were softer and more rubbery, to better reflect the look of the animatronic
An animatronic is a puppet controlled electronically to move in a fluent way. Animatronics are the modern adaptation of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films, video games and in theme park attractions.
Anim ...
costumes used in the films. They featured ball joints at the neck, shoulders, and hips, and each figure came with a small, plastic canister with a sticker of "ooze" wrapped around them. An official film adaptation was also released by Eastman and Laird.
Figurines of Super Shredder, Tokka and Rahzar were also available, though they were not as closely aligned to the film as the four turtles were. The Playmates company produced the figurines. The Turtles franchise had by now also immersed itself into the food industry, with characters from the franchise appearing on numerous food products. Royal Gelatin Desserts adapted the "Ooze" name into their product, and featured the Turtles on the packages. The boxes
included various recipes involving ooze in some form.
Sequel
A third film, titled ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'', was released 1993 to a smaller box office take and is the final of the original trilogy.
Notes
References
External links
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{{Portal bar, Film, United States, 1990s, Speculative fiction, Comedy
1991 films
1991 children's films
1990s English-language films
1991 action comedy films
1990s martial arts comedy films
1990s science fiction comedy films
1990s superhero comedy films
1990s superhero films
1990s teen films
1991 independent films
1991 martial arts films
20th Century Fox films
American action comedy films
American independent films
American sequel films
Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department
Films about the New York City Police Department
American films about revenge
Films based on American comics
Films directed by Michael Pressman
Films scored by John Du Prez
Live-action films based on comics
Films set in New York City
Films shot in New York City
Films set in New Jersey
Films shot in North Carolina
Golden Harvest films
Martial arts comedy films
Martial arts science fiction films
New Line Cinema films
Ninja films
Puppet films
Slapstick films
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990 film series)
Secret of the Ooze
1990s American films
1991 science fiction films
English-language science fiction comedy films
English-language independent films
English-language action comedy films