History Film / TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1990

* AdaptationalModesty: Both The Shredder and Casey Jones wore [[SleevesAreForWimps sleeveless outfits]] in [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage the original comics]] and [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 the 1987 animated series]]. Here, they both have sleeves, though Casey spends several scenes in a tank top in the farm, presumably to show off Creator/EliasKoteas' muscular physique.
* AdaptationalPersonalityChange: Donatello's intelligence is expressed more subtly here than in most other adaptations; limited mostly to making nerdy or esoteric references when attempting to join his brothers in being TotallyRadical and fixing a truck with Casey (and ''somebody'' patched the payphone in the lair). Outside of these instances, [[ThoseTwoGuys he spends most of his screentime screwing around with Mikey]]. He is briefly seen tinkering with a gadget in the sewers before Danny reveals that he had Pizza, at which point he [[TrademarkFavoriteFood gets distracted and drops it]]. However, Don does wind up becoming one of the most caring and empathetic of the turtles: Don put his hand on Raph's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him after he lost his sai, Don asked Mikey if he had given any thought to Splinter's speach about him being gone in the future, and when April said it was perhaps not finiancially sound to loose money on an antique shop just because she missed her dad, Don said that it wasn't a dumb call.

** The ''"Return to New York"'' storyline was a three part epic storyline, which started with Raph and Leo having a huge disagreement that resulted in the two getting into a big fight that ends with Raph winning and leaving for New York alone. He continued fighting the Foot alone and ended up allying himself with Zog, a delusional Triceraton and his brothers joined him shortly afterwards. Most of these elements have been AdaptedOut and The four brothers decide to Return to New York together.

** In the version of the origin story recounted in the comics, Splinter got the turtles' names from a book on Renaissance art that had washed down a storm drain. This isn't brought up in the movie, so exactly why these turtles raised by a Japanese rat all have Italian names is never explained. Although this ''was'' mentioned in the sequel.
** It is never explained how four baby Turtles ended up in the sewers of New York city, outside a brief mention of them being near a shattered glass jar. The original comics and the 1987 series shows that they were being carried by a boy, who accidentally dropped the glass jar near the sewers (in the comics it was a road accident similar to the origin story of ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'', while in the animated series, the boy merely tripped and dropped the jar).

* BadNewsInAGoodWay: When April says she has to go to a neighbor's house four miles away to call Charles, Casey responds, "Hey, you just saved yourself an eight-mile round tripper. You were fired." April doesn't take it well--either the news or Casey's attempt at "sensitivity."

* BigNo: Raph, Mikey and Don yell "No!" when it appears Shredder is going to kill Leo.

* ConservationOfNinjitsu: Averted. While the Turtles are able to defeat individual Foot ninjas with ease (and Raph takes out a small group at once thanks to the element of surprise), a large group of them at once beats Raph nearly to death and forces the other three to retreat. Played straight later where the Turtles defeat an entire army of ninjas but then have trouble against The Shredder alone. Although with Shredder, it's played with: [[JustifiedTrope The Foot ninjas were intentionally leading the Turtles to the rooftop where he was waiting and partially tired them out so he could take them on fresh. He stepped in after his ninja were beaten and fights defensively using minimal movements and turning the Turtles' aggression against them, making him the freshest and most conservative fighter]]. But as the fight drags on, this approach starts to fail him; he is fighting four skilled opponents half his age, as ''Leonardo'' draws first blood, something that we never saw Shredder do to the Turtles. Shredder admits the Turtles might have won eventually with only the loss of one of them. If anything, the trope is inverted in the climactic showdown, as the Turtles continually try to rush him one at a time, and by the time Shredder himself points out they had a chance at taking him down together, he's already gotten them to disarm and leave themselves at his mercy.

** Leif Tilden (Donatello) plays the Foot messenger that meets April in the subway station.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Compared to the '80s cartoon. The poster lampshades this with the tagline, "Hey, dude, this is ''no'' cartoon." Justified as it was inspired more by the original Volume I comics by Mirage. The second and third movies [[LighterAndSofter reverse this]], with the fourth film striking a satisfying balance between the two.

* {{Determinator}}: April. She won't stop in her efforts to get the scoop on the Foot, even when it's members are threatening her life.
-->'''April:''' Are you denying such organization known as the Foot exist?\\
'''Sterns:''' I'm not denying anything. Again Ms. O'Neil, you're putting words into my mouth!\\

* DistressedDude: Splinter ends up captured by the Foot not long after the Turtles meet April. The Turtles aren't even sure if he's alive or not, and finding him becomes their motivation for the rest of film.

* DudeNotFunny: The jocular mood comes to an awkward halt when April suggests Mike's "dirty rat" impression is Splinter's favorite. The turtles take offense until April clarifies she was joking. Everyone start laughing, [[ActuallyPrettyFunny even Raph is seen chuckling]].
* DullSurprise: Oroku Saki takes the fact he's been feuding with his dead rival's pet rat in his stride, judging by his face when he unmasks himself. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], however, as he is aware of the existence of the Turtles and Splinter (whom he also has been violently interrogating) since the first half of the movie, in fact, when he first mentions punishing said turtles, he sounds baffled by the mere existence of Mutant ninja turtles and later also mentions he finds their [[FightingFingerprint fighting style familiar]] and it reminds him of "something from the past". So when Splinter reveals who he is, everything makes sense to him.

* EvilCounterpart: Shredder and the Foot are this to Splinter and the Turtles. Both groups identify themselves as a family, with Shredder and Splinter as their respective fathers. However, whereas the Turtles and Splinter, whatever their differences, are a loving family that stick together, the Foot is a dysfunctional family, which serves Shredder's selfish goals.

* FailedASpotCheck: When Raphael rescues April from getting jumped by The Foot in the subway and brings her to the lair, he neglected to double-check if there were any followers after him. Sure enough, after he continues on his way home, a Foot soldier is shown to be hiding in the shadows and following after him. It's because of this that he blames himself for the home invasion and Splinter getting captured.

* FightingFingerprint: After the battle Tatsu led against the turtles in April's antique shop, Shredder ruminates on Tatsu's report of the fight, causing Tatsu to ask what the issue is. Shredder clearly had this trope in mind when he answers "Something about the way you describe their fighting. Something familiar. Something... from the past." He would later find out the turtles were taught by the former pet rat of his arch nemesis Hamato Yoshi.

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: If you can follow Mikey's phone call to the pizza place while Splinter is giving his opening speech they clearly get tired with his list of toppings and ask if he just wants ''everything'' on it, setting up his [[HoldTheUnsolicitedIngredient anchovies line.]]

* GolfClubbing: Casey uses a driver to nasty effect against Tatsu. He heavily hints to do this on the teens should they try to attack him next.

** At the start of the film, Splinter, Leo, Mike and Don have pizza from the local Domino's while Raph goes out to watch ''Film/{{Critters}}''.

* HourglassPlot: The movie starts with Leo, Don and Mike being carefree and joking around, while Raph is the moody, angsty teen, who prefers being alone. He also ends up butting heads with Leo over his leadership skills after Splinter is abducted and questions why they don't go look for their sensei right away, while Leo tells him they should be patient and wait for April to get more information to help them out. After he is beaten to near death, Raph's attitude towards Leo changes a lot after seeing the latter's BigBrotherInstinct towards him. He lightens up enough to start enjoying with his brothers, even sitting down to play trivial pursuit with Don and Mike, while Leo grows increasingly worried for Splinter, meditating alone in the farm, when he manages to make contact with him telepathically. Later, when the Shredder [[ItIsDehumanizing insults Master Splinter]] and implies that he has him killed, Leo loses his temper and ends up attacking the Shredder.

* InternalHomage: The movie contains a recreation of ''Raphael #1'' with Raph leaving the lair to blow off steam, running into Casey and getting into a fight with him after stopping him from beating up some thugs. It also adapts ''Leonardo #1'' with one of the Turtles fighting a horde of foot while the others are in April's apartment. The lone fighter loses to the horde and crashes through the window, and after the team does their best to fight back the rest of the team is forced to make a getway, ending up at an old farm house to recover and plan a counter attack. However, in the film it is Raph, not Leo, who plays this role and gets taken down.

* JerkassHasAPoint: While Raph was incredibly rude and disrespectful and talked back to Leo, he has every reason to not like his plan of waiting on April to gather intel, considering that ''he'' was the one who accidentally led the Foot their lair (therefore, Splinter's disappearance, in a way, falls on Raph's shoulders), leading to Splinter's kidnapping. There's also the fact that Splinter could be ''dead'' for all they know.
** Raph is also, as rude as he was, correct that "just sitting there on their butts" (his words) ''isn't'' going to help them find Splinter and that they should be out there looking for him, though he fails to acknowledge the timing and the fact that they don't even know ''where'' to look. [[BothSidesHaveAPoint On the other hand, Leo's argument]] ("What ''can'' we do about it? April's our only link to these guys, we have to wait until she comes up with something") is also valid, as the Turtles at this point have no knowledge of the Foot Clan and April is the only one who has at least heard of them, therefore, she's their only key to finding Splinter. Raph had fought some Foot Ninjas in the subway but they are all gone and if they hadn't ambushed Raph later, they would never meet them again until April found more clues about them.

* JokersLoveJunkFood: In addition to large amounts of the Turtles' TrademarkFavoriteFood, pizza, the only other food given mention in the film is a bag of pork rinds being shared by Michaelangelo and Donatello. In fact, the scene where they consume them is when they're watching the fighting between Casey Jones and April O'Neil and comparing it jokingly to ''Series/{{Moonlighting}}'' as if they were watching a t.v. program.

-->'''Leonardo''': We have had our first battle, Master Splinter. They were many, but we kicked--! ''[catches himself]'' ...We fought well.

** April also remains in the dark about the reason her boss fired her. He was blackmailed by Chief Sterns to get April to back off in his case and he'll erase Danny's criminal record. So April doesn't completely forgive Charles, even after he rehired her.

** Mikey, Donnie and the Foot mooks when they realize the floorboard in April's apartment is about to give way.

** Mike, Donnie and Raph in the final battle when they throw away their weapons, only for the Shredder to taunt them and deliver the CoupDeGrace on [[spoiler:Leo]].

* MentorOccupationalHazard: [[spoiler:Subverted in Splinter's case, but his owner Hamato Yoshi (who he learned ninjitsu from) isn't so lucky.]]

* MoodWhiplash: The movie seems almost as funny and lighthearted as the cartoon series (it's a little bit darker, but we have to AvoidTheDreadedGRating here!), [[spoiler:until the Turtles return home to find it completely destroyed and Splinter missing]]. Watching it as a little kid, the effect is like someone punching you in the stomach.

** The apartment fight scene starts out pretty comedic and triumphant, giving us the impression that this could be an easy win. However when they are overrun with more foot soldiers the music and the mood changes. Even the music itself is pretty much saying OhCrap. [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence And then a Foot ninja is electrocuted.]]

* MuggedForDisguise: After beating up a Foot mook near the end, Casey disguises himself by wearing the mook's clothes over his own. He ditches the disguise shortly after confronting Danny and before rescuing Splinter.
* MundaneUtility: Casey at one point uses one of Leonardo's katana's to chop up carrots.

** Raph shows regret after he and the other turtles discover the Foot has ransacked their home and kidnapped Splinter.

** While April reports on the crime wave at the start of the film, the delivery truck driver is shocked upon discovering most of his boxes have been stolen out from under him. Seconds later, a lady sitting on her apartment patio shares this reaction when the local Foot clan thief steals her portable television.
** April when [[EekAMouse she sees a brown rat near the sewers]] upon leaving the studio, and moments later when she encounters three Foot clan thieves stealing equipment from her news van.

** Three more in quick succession. The older lady on the street has one when two runaway teenagers steal their purse. Then the teenagers have one when Raphael trips them and hands the snatched purse back. Shortly after that, the teenagers have another one upon meeting the masked Casey Jones for the first time in Central Park.

* OhCrapSmile: April in the subway station as she turns around to see the Foot waiting for her, shortly before she gets knocked down.

* PoliceAreUseless: Chief Sterns practically embodies this trope, refusing to take any meaningful action against the organized crime ring and refusing to hear out April's warnings as to what they are up to. Also counts as ObstructiveBureaucrat, as he makes adeal with Charles to clear his son's criminal record, in exchange for him calling April off the story, which leads to her getting fired when she keeps reporting on it, despite Charles telling her to drop it.

** The Turtles say things like "awesome" and "wicked," while Don says something lame like "Bossa Nova" or, in [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze the sequel]] "A Capella." The last one makes it funnier, because the music cuts out when the Turtles stare at him at how lame it is. At the end of the first movie, as the other Turtles, including Raph, are celebrating, he briefly tries to come up with something cool twice. At the first instance he gives up with a "this is not my cup of tea" like gesture, and the second time he tries to say something that begins with "mega", but gets interrupted by Splinter.

* SayMyName: "The Turtles are four once again. And yet, still not whole. A lingering doubt remains. An unknown which they can't face. Their greatest fear..."

** After having a fight with Leonardo, Raphael leaves to blow off some steam doing martial art moves on the rooftop. Unfortunately, it is on the rooftop where he gets ambushed by the Foot.

* VillainsNeverLie: Subverted with DramaticIrony in the climax of the film: Shredder certainly believes that [[spoiler:Splinter is dead by now]] and while the audience knows otherwise, the Turtles themselves don't and Leo accuses him of lying.

** When Charles leaves a message for April telling her she's fired during the fight at [=2nd=] Time Around, April's antique shop; his "I know this comes as a blow" is followed up by the Foot soldier underneath the answering machine getting a blow to the head and knocked out.

** The Foot 'chucker Mike engages in a flourish duel is duly impressed by his skills during their showdown.

* YouCanSayThatAgain: During the fight against the Foot, Charles, April's boss, calls her to give her a bad news (that he has to fire her) and he adds that he knows that this message "comes as a blow". As the apartment catches fire, the wire the answering machine is dangling from burns, dropping the machine on a Foot ninja's head, literally delivering a blow.

* YouHaveFailedMe: Shredder stares at Tatsu, who realizes he failed. Tatsu takes his anger out on the Foot ninjas he was commanding, almost (maybe?) killing one.

* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: In the version of the origin story recounted in the comics, Splinter got the turtles' names from a book on Renaissance art that had washed down a storm drain. This isn't brought up in the movie, so exactly why these turtles raised by a Japanese rat all have Italian names is never explained. Although this ''was'' mentioned in the sequel.

* AdaptationalPersonalityChange: Donatello's intelligence is expressed more subtly here than in most other adaptations; limited mostly to making nerdy or esoteric references when attempting to join his brothers in being TotallyRadical and fixing a truck with Casey (and ''somebody'' patched the payphone in the lair). Outside of these instances, [[ThoseTwoGuys he spends most of his screentime screwing around with Mikey]]. He is briefly seen tinkering with a gadget in the sewers before Danny reveals that he had Pizza, at which point he [[TrademarkFavoriteFood gets distracted and drops it]]. However, Donny does wind up becoming one of the most caring and empathetic of the turtles: Donny put his hand on Raph's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him after he lost his sai, Donny asked Mikey if he had given any thought to Splinter's speach about him being gone in the future, and when April said it was perhaps not finiancially sound to loose money on an antique shop just because she missed her dad, Donny said that it wasn't a dumb call.

* TruerToTheText: Although it borrowed elements from the then-current animated series (such as April as a news reporter rather than a scientist), the first film is one of the most faithful adaptations of the original comics in the entire franchise, including direct adaptations of several storylines from the original comics (the first issue, the exile at April's farm[[note]]Casey's farm in the comics[[/note]], and the "Return to New York" arcs). It also had Casey Jones in a prominent role like in the comics, as opposed to his DemotedToExtra in the animated series -- and like in the comics it also made Raphael the most central Turtle, with the other three getting far less attention and plot importance.

-->'''Casey:''' ''(to [[LetsYouAndHimFight Raphael]])'' Welcome to [[Subject101 Pain 101]]. Your instructor is Casey Jones.

--> '''Michaelangelo:''' Now, at exactly what point did we lose control here?
--> '''Donatello:''' Maybe somebody oughta tell him that we're the good guys?

* UnknownRival: Unlike other versions of the story, where the Turtles are aware of Splinter and Shredder's blood feud, they have absolutely no idea of Shredder's existence until the final scene of the movie.

-->'''The Shredder:''' ''[feels his scar]'' "You... now I will finish what I began with your ear!"

** When Charles leaves a message for April telling her she's fired during the fight at [=2nd=] Time Around, April's antique shop; his "I know this must come as a blow" is followed up by the Foot soldier underneath the answering machine getting a blow to the head and knocked out.

* TheOner: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTkA6MXdV2M Shredder's introduction]] is done with a long, lingering shot down the corridor that swoops to the side as he walks down the hallway and meets his men, then goes behind him as his henchman helps with his cape.