Credit: Paramount PicturesThe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles emerged from the New York City sewers in 1984. They started life as a grungy comic book series under Mirage, before exploding onto the pop culture scene with a hugely popular cartoon series in 1987, a live-action movie in 1990, and waves of toy lines that flooded toy stores and kids’ bedrooms the world over.
What’s particularly interesting about the Ninja Turtles is that, over the last 40 years, their popularity hasn’t really waned all that much. There was a bit of a hiatus on the theatrical side of things during the early part of the millennium, but in total, we’ve had seven Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies to date. And here they are, ranked from worst to best.
7. Mutant Mayhem
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) is the latest big-screen TMNT outing. The CG-animated reboot from producer Seth Rogen and director Jeff Rowe finally focuses on the teenage aspect of the titular half-shell heroes, and, for the first time ever, they’re also played by actual teenagers.
The chemistry between Nicolas Cantu (Leonardo), Micah Abbey (Donatello), Shamon Brown Jr. (Michelangelo), and Brady Noon (Raphael) is palpable. The film is also great fun from start to finish, and the soundtrack oozes ’80s-inspired synth that channels Stranger Things (2016). There’s also enough early ’90s hip-hop for the lifelong TMNT fans.
But what lets the film down is the “mutant mayhem.” There’s fun to be had watching Ice Cube’s Superfly tearing up the streets of New York, and Paul Rudd’s Mondo Gecko, like, totally “vibe-ing” with Michelangelo, but by the time we reach the third act, the film becomes more of a “mutant mess.”
Superfly (Ice Cube) turns into a Kaiju-inspired monster with a blue whale for a head and horses for legs, while other iconic villains inexplicably befriend the Ninja Turtles.
The film also suffers from a major identity crisis: one minute, it’s oddly poignant, the next, Splinter (Jackie Chan) is making out with a cockroach (Scumbug) who’s now the Turtles’ stepmom, or something.
Mutant Mayhem at times it feels like an amalgamation of most big-screen TMNT entries that have come before it (the Turtles wanting to live among humans, super-villains wanting to harness their mutagen-blood, and so on), which explains why it feels like a hodgepodge of ideas. If it was live action, audiences and critics would have absolutely torn it apart.
Related: Every Version of April O’Neil From ‘Ninja Turtles’ Ranked
6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993) is an easy picking, not just because it’s a bad film, but also because of the jarring nosedive in quality after the first two movies, which sadly includes the Turtles themselves. But the truth is that the cheapish-looking costumes of the third movie would have been gladly overlooked in exchange for a half-decent outing.
In hindsight, though, the costumes aren’t the worst thing about this movie — it’s everything around them that’s unforgivable. And seeing the Turtles go back in time and abandon their signature New York City playground goes down like a pizza that’s on the turn.
But why is it one place above Mutant Mayhem, you might ask? Well, it’s a guilty pleasure — there’s a ton of fun to be had, provided you’ve got some pizza and beer to hand.
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
There was a time when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) seemed like the best thing since sliced pizza, but, just like pizza, as the decades pass, it becomes totally inedible. There’s a lot of fun to be had here, too, but with its predecessor just a year old when it his theaters, it’s clear that this pie went in the microwave.
The fact that this film was churned out isn’t the only issue — following a backlash of complaints from parents about the levels of “violence” in the 1987 cartoon show, which was still airing at the time, the studio omitted all violence from the movie, and replaced the Turtles’ signature ninja weapons with things like hotdogs instead of nunchakus. Hotdogs.
“Go, ninja, go”? More like, “no, ninja, just no…”
Related: Will One of These Actresses Play April O’Neil In the Live-Action ‘Ninja Turtles’ Reboot?!
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
It’s impossible to rank a franchise without at least one controversial entry (although, as you’ve probably already noticed, we have a few).
Enter the Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), the first reboot on the cinematic side of TMNT (there have been numerous small-screen reboots). Just like Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), this reboot angered fans with its trailer alone.
At the time, many fans drew comparisons between the Turtles’ designs and Shrek, but now that we’ve gotten used to their look, it’s easier to appreciate the special effects and motion-capture performances on display.
The plot, however, is such a horrible mess, largely because the filmmakers messed around with the iconic villain The Shredder (William Fichtner’s Eric Sachs was originally The Shredder, then he wasn’t, but it’s so painfully obvious that he kind of still is).
The Turtles, on the other hand, aren’t the worst iterations like many will have you believe, and Megan Fox (April O’Neil) and Will Arnett (Vernon Fenwick) are fun to watch.
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) is a very special movie, as it became the highest-grossing independent film of all time, a title it held proudly until the found-footage horror classic The Blair Witch Project (1999) claimed it nine years later.
The first theatrical outing for the half-shell heroes is the grittiest of all, but it’s not without plenty of cheese, either (two perfect ingredients for a TMNT movie).
It’s very nostalgic to watch Leonardo (Brian Tochi), Raphael (John Pais), Donatello (Corey Feldman), Michelangelo (Robbie Rist), Splinter (Kevin Clash), and April O’Neil (Judith Hoag) battle The Shredder (James Saito). And while the film hasn’t aged all that well, those excellent Turtles costumes from the Jim Henson Creature Shop are still spectacular.
Related: All 12 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Explained (Yes, 12!)
2. TMNT (2007)
When ranking movies that feature our favorite heroes, it’s easy to get caught up with which entry has the best interpretations of those characters. And we’d be lying if we said that this doesn’t factor in with ranking the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies.
Is TMNT (2007) a vastly better movie than some below it? Not necessarily, but its Turtles are among the most authentic.
The cast includes Sarah Michelle Gellar (April O’Neil), Chris Evans (Casey Jones), James Arnold Taylor (Leonardo), Nolan North (Raphael), Mitchell Whitfield (Donatello), and Mikey Kelley (Michelangelo). Sadly, TMNT suffers from an incredibly underwhelming plot, but what makes this movie interesting is that it’s actually canon with the first three.
1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016)
You might think we’re being controversial, but let it be said that not one of the TMNT movies is perfect. On the other hand, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016), the sequel to the 2014 reboot, is a near-perfect big-screen adaptation of the popular 1987-born children’s cartoon (but with a ton of flaws, nonetheless).
The movie’s greatest strengths are the performances from Pete Ploszek (Leonardo), Alan Ritchson (Raphael), Noel Fisher (Michelangelo), and Jeremy Howard (Donatello).
The film also wisely retcons elements of its 2014 predecessor, while bringing franchise-favorites, Krang (Brad Garrett), Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams), and Rocksteady (Sheamus) into live-action for the first time.
An R-rated, live-action adaptation of the hugely popular IDW comic book series “The Last Ronin” is currently in development.
Mutant Mayhem 2 is scheduled for release on October 9, 2026.
How would you rank all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies? Let us know in the comments below!