‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy’ 4K UHD Review (Arrow Video)
In 1987, children’s television was transformed by the arrival of four sewer-dwelling, pizza-loving teenage ninja turtles and their wise rat mentor, Splinter. After the initial six-episode run, demand exploded, leading to multiple seasons and full-blown Turtle Mania sweeping the globe. With the franchise at its peak, a live-action adaptation became inevitable, and between 1990 and 1993 audiences were treated to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film trilogy.
Now, in 2025, the first film celebrates its 35th anniversary, and Arrow Video have marked the occasion in style with a fully restored, super-deluxe 4K Ultra HD release of the entire trilogy. As someone who grew up on the cartoon reruns and wore out the VHS tapes, I couldn’t be more thrilled to see these classics getting the premium treatment they deserve.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) – With a new crime group known as the Foot Clan are harassing New York City. From the shadows emerges four teenage ninja fighters of crime, and they just happened to be mutant turtles. ***
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) – The evil Shredder and his Foot Clan are back and this time they are not alone. Shredder uses the ‘ooze’ to create mutant monster to destroy his 4 thorns in his side, the Turtles. ***
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles in Time (1993) – Journalist April O’Neil discovers an ancient scepter that transports her back to 17th century Japan. Now it is up to the Turtles to rescue her from the evil clutches of Lord Norinaga. **
These films were never highbrow action epics, but they remain charming and wildly entertaining adventures. The Jim Henson Creature Shop’s work is nothing short of remarkable, and even after more than three decades, the effects still hold up beautifully. I won’t pretend otherwise – I had an absolute blast revisiting the trilogy in 4K. Even TMNT III, often considered the weakest of the series, benefits from the upgraded presentation.
Speaking of upgraded presentation, Arrow Video did a tremendous job on restoring this trilogy in Ultra HD. These restorations have been performed from the best quality prints possible, and what results are crisp and clean versions of the 90s action films. The grungy part of the city is gritty and detailed to extreme degrees, and the colours are bright and vibrant, really bringing the 90s culture and colours into the UHD light. I am amazed at how good these films look in 4K!
But Arrow Video didn’t just restore and throw these films on discs and call it a day. Nope. Each film receives its own 4K disc loaded with bonus features, including:
DISC 1 – TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
- 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative by Arrow Films, approved by director Steve Barron
- Two lossless stereo mixes (original theatrical mix and alternate “warrior” mix) plus newly remixed Dolby Atmos audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new commentary with director Steve Barron
- Brand new commentary with comic book expert and podcast host Dave Baxter
- Rising When We Fall, a newly filmed interview with director Steve Barron
- Turtle Talk, a newly filmed interview with actors Robbie Rist, Brian Tochi, Ernie Reyes Jr and Kenn Scott
- O’Neil on the Beat, a newly filmed interview with actor Judith Hoag
- Wet Behind the Shells, a newly filmed interview with producer Simon Fields
- Beneath the Shell, a newly filmed interview with puppet coordinator and second unit director Brian Henson, and Rob Tygner, puppeteer for both Splinter and Leonardo
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turf, a newly filmed featurette exploring the film’s locations in New York City and North Carolina
- Alternate UK version with unique footage prepared for censorship reasons, presented in 4K via seamless branching
- Alternate ending from VHS workprint
- Alternate Korean footage
- Theatrical trailers
- Image gallery
DISC 2 – TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES II: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE
- 4K restoration of the film from the 35mm interpositive by Arrow Films
- Original lossless stereo audio and optional DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new commentary with director Michael Pressman, moderated by filmmaker Gillian Wallace Horvat
- John Du Prez to the Rescue, a newly filmed interview with composer of the trilogy John Du Prez
- Hard Cores, a newly filmed interview with Kenny Wilson, mould shop supervisor at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop
- The Secret of the Edit, a newly filmed interview with editor Steve Mirkovich
- Behind the Shells, an archive featurette from 1991
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery
DISC 3 – TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES III
- 4K restoration of the film from the 35mm interpositive by Arrow Films
- Original lossless stereo audio and optional DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new commentary with director Stuart Gillard
- Daimyos & Demons, a newly filmed interview with actor Sab Shimono
- Rebel Rebel, a newly filmed interview with actor Vivian Wu
- Alternate UK opening
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery
Now, if all those bonus features weren’t enough, look at all the physical extras included in this super deluxe 4K set:
- Perfect bound collector’s booklet in the style of a Roy’s Pizza menu, featuring new writing on the films by Simon Ward, John Torrani and John Walsh
- Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Frank and Roberto Rivera Padro
- Double-sided foldout poster featuring original artwork from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the “Map of the Kappa Realm”, a stylised re-creation of the ancient scroll that appears in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
- Two additional double-sided foldout posters featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Frank and Roberto Rivera Padro
- Eight character trading cards
- Roy’s Pizza loyalty card
- Four character stickers
I have to say, if you love Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as much as I did and still do to this day, Arrow Video really went above and beyond and brought fans a 4K box set that will have us shouting Cowabunga!
***** 5/5
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy will be released on both Blu-ray and 4K UHD on December 16th. Pre-order your copy here (US) or here (UK).
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