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TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (PG)(1990) Running time of 1 hour and 33 minutes. Rated PG. Fun for the whole family!Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 martial arts superhero film, based on the fictional superhero team of the same name. It is the first theatrical Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. The film follows the turtles on a quest to save their master, Splinter, with their new allies, April O'Neil and Casey Jones, from The Shredder and his Foot Clan. Directed by Steve Barron, it stars Judith Hoag, Elias Koteas, and the voices of Brian Tochi, Robbie Rist, Corey Feldman, and Josh Pais.
The film is an adaptation of the early Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, with several elements taken from the animated series airing at the time. The turtle costumes were developed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, one of Henson's last projects before his death shortly after the premiere.
Despite mixed reviews, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became the highest-grossing independent film up to that time (surpassed in 1999 by The Blair Witch Project), the ninth-highest-grossing film worldwide of 1990, and the highest-grossing film in the series until the 2014 reboot. It was followed by three sequels, one of which is animated in CGI animation.
The film opened in the United States on March 30, 1990, and was number one at the box office over the weekend, grossing more than $25 million, the biggest opening weekend an independent film had ever had up to that time. The film turned out to be a huge success at the box office, eventually making over $135 million in North America, and over $66 million outside North America, for a worldwide total of over $200 million, making it the ninth highest-grossing film of 1990 worldwide. The film was also nominated for awards by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.
The film received an approval rating of 40% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on reviews from 50 critics. The website's consensus states, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is exactly as advertised: one-liners, brawls, and general silliness. Good for the young at heart, irritating for everyone else". It is the highest rated film in the franchise besides the direct-to-video crossover Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. On Metacritic, it has a score of 51 based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
On the film's initial release, Owen Gleiberman, writing for Entertainment Weekly, gave the movie an F rating, finding that none of the four turtles or Splinter had any personality, but felt that a young audience might enjoy the film, noting that the reviewer might have "gone for it too had I been raised on Nintendo games and the robotic animation that passes for entertainment on today's Saturday-morning TV". Kim Newman wrote in the Monthly Film Bulletin that he found the characters reminiscent of the early 1970s Godzilla film series, describing the turtles as "loveable monsters in baggy foam rubber suits" who "befriended lost children and smashed things up in orgies of destruction that somehow never hurt anyone", and that the turtles "drop the occasional teenage buzzword but are never remotely convincing as teenagers, mutants, ninjas or turtles, leaving them stranded on the screen as big green Muppets with different coloured headbands".
Both Gleiberman and Maslin praised the work of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, with Maslin stating "without which there would have been no film at all". Variety praised the film's tongue-in-cheek humor and the "amusingly outlandish" martial arts sequences. Roger Ebert gave the film a 2.5 out of 4 stars and concluded that the film is "nowhere near as bad as it might have been, and probably is the best possible Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie. It supplies, in other words, more or less what Turtle fans will expect". Lloyd Bradley of Empire Magazine gave the film a four out of five stars, stating: "A well-rounded, unpretentious, very funny, knockabout adventure - subtly blended so that it's fun for all the family".
Maslin of The New York Times criticized the cinematography, stating that it was so "poorly photographed that the red-masked turtle looks almost exactly like the orange-masked one". Variety described the film as "visually rough around the edges... sometimes sluggish in its plotting". Ebert stated that the "most interesting part of the film for a non-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan is the production design", which he described as a "low-rent version of Batman or Metropolis."
Variety, the New York Times, and the Monthly Film Bulletin all noted the Asian villains of the film; Variety described "overtones of racism in its use of Oriental villains", while the Times' Janet Maslin stated "the story's villainous types are Asian, and the film plays the yellow-peril aspects of this to the hilt". Newman noted a racist joke in April O'Neil's response to the Foot Clan, "What's the matter, did I fall behind on my Sony payments?", finding that the film expressed a "resentment of Japan's economic strength even while the film is plundering Japan's popular culture". Ebert felt there was "no racism" in the film.
Following the huge success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at the box office, several films were created. A year later, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze was released in theaters, and was a commercial success. In 1993, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III was released in theaters, to a smaller box office take. After a 14-year absence from theaters, a fourth film, TMNT, was released in 2007, though unlike the trilogy, this was a CGI animated film. 7 years later, a reboot, also with the title Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, was released in 2014, and a sequel titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows was released in theaters on June 3, 2016. The image of the four heroes in the movie's poster served as a Continue Screen of their game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time.
PLEASE PURCHASE ONE (1) TICKET PER VEHICLE.
ONE (1) vehicle admission ticket COVERS EVERYONE IN YOUR VEHICLE!
FAQ's
WHAT TIME DOES THE MOVIE START?
Movie starts at 8:00 PM.
WHAT TIME CAN I ARRIVE?
Gates will open at 7:30 PM.
HOW DO THE NEW LA COUNTY COVID RESTRICTIONS AFFECT OUTDOOR CINEMA?
Gardena Cinema hopes to provide a safe and fun environment for all of our patrons. Sit back, relax, and enjoy a safe night out, with us. Please wear a mask when not inside your vehicle and try to stay 6 feet apart from others.
WHERE DO I PARK?
Cars will be placed on a first-come, first-served basis, one car at a time, and in sections based on size of car and desired style of viewing. We have mapped out the back-lot to allow for sedans in front rows and tall cars/SUV's/Trucks in the middle to back rows. An attendant will be available to direct you on where to park. We have accommodated so that every guest has a great viewing experience.
WHERE IS GARDENA CINEMA?
Gardena Cinema is located at 14948 Crenshaw Blvd, Gardena, CA 90249.
HOW DO I REDEEM MY TICKET?
Upon purchase, ticket will be emailed to you as a PDF attachment from Eventbrite. When you arrive to the event, please show the entrance attendant the bar code on your ticket through your car window, either by holding up your printed version, or by displaying it on your phone or smart device. Attendant will scan it to check you in, and you'll be good to go!
DO I NEED FM RADIO IN MY CAR?
YES! This is a outdoor Drive-In event, with no outdoor speakers. In fact, our drive-in cinema city permit expressly disallows outdoor speakers, so if you bring your own speakers, please have them at a low level so as not to disturb our neighbors. There are homes next to our parking lot and we would like to keep our drive-in cinema permit going by being good neighbors. The film’s soundtrack will be accessible exclusively through your car’s FM Radio, for maximum social-distance safety. We will provide you with the FM station upon arrival. Make sure your car has an FM radio so you can hear the film! If you do not have a radio, we lend portable radios for the duration of the movie for $5 and your ID Card. PRO-TIP: Some personal speakers also have FM radio built in, and are allowable as long as volume remains reasonable. Such a cool experience!
CAN I BRING FOOD / SNACKS?
YES! Your car is your screening room -- so bring all your favorite screening room snacks and munchies! Gardena Cinema's lobby will also be open, with FRESHLY popped popcorn, drinks, nachos, hot dogs, candies, and more! Please be sure to pay the lobby a visit and remember to wear your protective face mask.
We don't imagine any of you would, but we have to ask that you don't discard your trash out the window. (It's happened...) We want to keep these fun events going, so please help us keep the grounds tidy! There will be trash and recycle stations if needed.
WILL YOU HAVE RESTROOMS?
YES! Gardena Cinema's lobby and restrooms will be open. As our approval of this event is based on our assurance of safety, we ask that folks wear protective masks when leaving your cars for any reason, including to use the restroom. Attendants will be on hand to keep those restrooms sanitized. Social Distancing is a must, at all times.
MAY I BRING MY PET WITH ME?
Bringing your best friend only enhances the experience for you and we aim to keep you as comfy as possible. We ask that you keep your pet inside your vehicle during the movie. As long as you ensure your pet is properly trained and does not disturb neighboring guests while in the Drive-In. Please remember to keep the pets away from other guests. PETS ARE NOT ALLOWED INSIDE THE ACTUAL CINEMA BUILDING, (where restrooms and snack bar are located).
CAN WE BRING LAWN CHAIRS AND SIT OUTSIDE IN FRONT OF MY VEHICLE?
Unfortunately, safety COVID guidelines prevent us from further allowing any guests to sit outside the boundary of their vehicle. Besides, you get such a better view sitting up top a little higher, rather than sitting low to the floor. Please plan accordingly, as we will be politely enforcing this rule, for everyone's safety.
CAN I SIT IN MY TRUCK BED? - OR - CAN I THROW THE HATCH OF MY HATCHBACK UP AND SIT IN THE BACK TO WATCH THE SHOW?
- Guests are allowed to sit in their truck beds, so long as they keep their protective masks on.
- Raised hatches proved quite obstructive to rows of cars behind them in viewing the screen. You will be asked to park either to the sides of our car staging area, or along the back rows. And -- like truck-beds and convertibles -- if your hatch is open, we ask that you keep your masks on.
WILL YOU BE HOSTING MORE OF THESE?
YES! We intend to continue curating and programming some of the BEST cinema in Los Angeles County! We provide an intimate Drive-In style setting. Please support by following us on Instagram and Facebook -- we'll keep you posted on our screenings and events! @GardenaCinema
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @GARDENACINEMA.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Gardena Cinema, 14948 Crenshaw Blvd, Gardena, CA 90249, United States
Tickets
USD 30 to USD 40