Line #14 YMMV/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIII


1	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The movie has Music/ZZTop's "Can't Stop Rockin'" and Baltimora's "Tarzan Boy," both '80s chart toppers.
2	* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Creator/EliasKoteas does an excellent job as both Casey and his (possible) ancestor Whit. Some viewers even questioned if Whit was indeed played by a separate actor.
3	* HilariousInHindsight:
4	** Near the end of the film, the Turtles bluff Walker and his men into thinking they're ImmuneToBullets, and that their bullets would just bounce off and kill them instead. Come [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014 the next live-action film]], and in that continuity, their shells really ''are'' bulletproof, and bullets ''do'' bounce off.
5	* OlderThanTheyThink: Fans lament that this film has little to nothing to do with the first two films and barely feels like a TMNT story. But in reality, the film actually works quite well as a condensed, simplified retelling of the two-part ''Masks'' storyline (issues 46 and 47) from the original Mirage comics, just with some characters and any fantastical elements (like Savanti Romero and the lizard man Chote) taken out.
6	* QuestionableCasting: Creator/MattHill as Raphael's suit actor. While Hill has acted in live action movies and TV shows, him being the suit actor means, he has no actual lines of dialogue at all and he just acted physically under the suit. He eventually went on to voice Raph in [[Series/NinjaTurtlesTheNextMutation the 1997 TV show]].
7	* ReplacementScrappy: Walker and Lord Norinaga are considered a major step down from the Shredder.
8	* {{Sequelitis}}: The film has a rather dull time travel plot, two uninspired villains, fewer fight scenes (although the fights that ''are'' in the movie are longer and more elaborate), and [[SpecialEffectFailure costumes/animatronics that looked unbelievably cheap]] due to the absence of Creator/JimHensonsCreatureShop. [[FranchiseKiller There wouldn't be another Ninja Turtles movie]] until the franchise was rebooted [[WesternAnimation/{{TMNT}} in 2007]], and no live-action movies until [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014 over twenty years later]]. Some longtime fans go as far as to say this film was the end of the initial Turtle mania wave that started in the late 80s and early 90s, arguing this film didn't just hurt the film series, but the franchise as a whole, something many longtime fans still resent the film for. [[Series/NinjaTurtlesTheNextMutation A live-action TV series]], which [[BroadStrokes seemed to loosely follow the continuity of the movies]], did come out four years after this movie, but lasted only for one season before it was canceled. It was not until ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' came along and proved that the Ninja Turtles had staying power well past their initial popularity.
9	* SpecialEffectFailure:
10	** [[spoiler:Walker]]'s death, where he falls to a watery grave without making a splash, apparently just disappearing while making a splash sound. After examining this failure, [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd AVGN]] noted that if the crew didn't want to spend extra money on animating a splash, they could've cut to a shot of the turtles watching the plunge as an off-screen splash is heard.
11	** The turtles and Splinter look a lot more cheaply made this time around (albeit, not as cheaply made as their [[Series/NinjaTurtlesTheNextMutation Next Mutation counterparts]]). The turtles have mouths that move too quickly and robotically, visible seams where the neck meets the headpiece, eyeholes under the bandanas that are just slightly visible in half the film, giant overbites, and poorly blended spots on their bodies, giving them a more rubbery, cartoony look. Splinter is a ''very'' obvious robotic puppet as opposed to the advanced hand puppet of the first two films, and was seemingly only built from the waist up, as the viewer never sees his legs like in the first two[[labelnote:*]]his feet and tail are shown in one scene, however, when he's sitting in a chair cross-legged, though his legs are still obscured implying separate props were constructed. Behind-the-scenes material [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1sdT_DlptA uploaded by All Effects]] does show they built a full-bodied puppet for the movie akin to the previous films.[[/labelnote]] He also has barely-existent lip sync between the voice and the animatronic mouth movements. This is largely due to the Creator/JimHensonsCreatureShop not returning, and a company less experienced in creature effects, Eric Allard's All Effects Company (who are better known for their robotic and on-set effects work in the likes of ''Film/ShortCircuit'', ''Film/ClassOf1999'' and ''Film/DemolitionMan''), taking over instead.
12	---> '''AVGN''': "He looks like a puppet that should be used on ''Series/SesameStreet!''"
13	** The first film used angles and puppetry techniques to pull of Mikey pulling his head into his shell. in this film, they just slide Leo's ''entire upper body'' down into a stationary shell. And it is very clear the actor was replaced with a full animatronic prop for the scene. The {{Undercrank}} applied to this moment doesn't help in the slightest.
14	** When April and Kenshin switch places, Leo's arm and elbow is in the same shot (though slightly out of focus) and it jumps around a lot, switching position, revealing that a series of shots were spliced together to achieve the effect of April disappearing and Kenshin appearing in her place.
15	* SpiritualSuccessor: This movie felt more like an ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'' movie than it did a ''Ninja Turtles'' movie.
16	* TearJerker: The film comes close to one at the end when Mikey admits that he would rather stay in the feudal Japan of the distant past, which he actually finds preferable to the 20th century, where he has to live in a sewer. Raph and even Leo agree that they feel better off in the past than in their own present. It's a rare moment where Mikey steps outside his usual "party dude" persona and shows a different side of himself.
17	* UnintentionalUncannyValley: As noted above, the suits were not handled by the Creator/JimHensonsCreatureShop this time around, and the results speak for themselves. Only being a step above the ones from the [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014 2014 film]]. Common complaints include their rubbery appearance and jerky facial animatronics and ''very'' visible eye slits under the masks. Their teeth are quite visibly larger than the previous film and baring them in anger or determination makes the turtles look like they have shit-eating grins instead. Splinter fares worse, being fully mechanical this time with movements that look outright broken.
18	* VindicatedByHistory: While it's still not considered a ''good'' film, and widely considered the worst film in the original trilogy, the reactions to [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014 the 2014 film]] have caused many to look back on this film and at the very least, no longer consider it the worst in the franchise. Plus, newer fans who go back and watch the older films have the benefit of knowing that the damage this film did to the franchise ultimately didn't last. Some fans (and franchise co-creators Eastman and Laird) have actually said that beyond the SpecialEffectsFailure, this movie actually holds up better than the previous one, due to better martial arts action scenes, with the Turtles using their weapons and because of the more epic feel of the movie.

Context YMMV / TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIII