Do you think the 1990 film will ever be equalled (or surprassed) in the future?
 

Its been more than 25 years since the original turtles flick and while I think the films after it have been interesting, I don't think any of them have ever been as great as the original or even great films on their own. (excluding turtles forever)

Do you think there will ever be a new tmnt film that will be on the level of the original or even above it? If yes, how do you think this would be achieved? (for e.g. Which characters and stories to use).

In this scenario, I wouldn't count turtles forever because as great of a film it was, it wasn't a theatrical release introducing a new turtles Universe, being more of an extended 2k3 episode in my eyes.

No, I don't.

It's not possible to top Henson/Mirage. Not to mention that 80's/90's charm which cannot be recreated no matter how hard Hollywood tries.

Why would they recreate the 80s/90s charm, as for surpassing the 90s film they potentially could but they need a decent crew which I don't see happening anytime soon after Bay tarnished the franchise's film reputation.

It could, but not anytime soon as this era of TMNT has left me disappointed (Nick series and the PD movies) and it would take another few years of the franchise being silent before a 4th era would begin again.

Powder does have a point since usually the introduction of a phenomenally successful franchise is hard to beat since both the movie, comic, and 80s/90s cartoon left such a high mark, which also explains why TMNT has been revisited twice because of its revenue potential from the past.

I think the bigger hurdle though, is trying to convince Hollywood executives that TMNT can be appreciated on a more mature level as the first movie did. The first movie was able to balance a more serious tone that an older generation could enjoy while not being too excessively violent that would alienate the child audience revenue. It was a time when Eastman and Laird still had some creative control over their work, and viewed TMNT through an artist perspective rather than a corporate perspective. Nowadays though, looking at the more immature tone of comedy with both the Nick series (I stopped watching after the second season) and recent movies, it seems that TMNT is more solidified into a child-targeted franchise for the mainstream while the more serious-toned TMNT comics are for a fringe adult audience.

Certainly I'm sure there is the artistic effort (creativity and writing) and talent to make such a proposed movie, but it's going to come down to the financial backing, and very rarely do Hollywood executives want to take risks since they approach entertainment from a business/corporate perspective.

Never in this cruel world. But perhaps in a parallel universe.

There's always a chance, you just need that devoted guy/crew that gets the property and its themes, mythos and personality.

Fans who grew up during the 1989–1994 TMNT-hysteria are too nostalgic for confessing anything beating the original.

In order for a new movie to hold a candle to the first movie the people making it would have to care about it. They have to care about the characters, that have to care about the plot, they have to care about the production values.

And on top of that they would have to care enough to fight the studios.

I firmly believe part of the reason that the Nickelodeon cartoon has been drifting and quality is because of how much time must now be dedicated to fighting the powers-that-be on storyline and presentation.

Movies that angle for box office success, over quality just don't go the distance.

So let's examine this film WITHOUT nostalgia. Hmm....

It's actually true. Within the series, nothing has beaten the original. It's a good film. It has its flaws, but they are insignificant flaws. It is the only film that balances the humor, heart, and action well. It has a grounded story. Yes, people could complain about its dated references. But it was made in the 90s, it's gonna be 90s, like every other thing made in the 90s. Deal with it. And, true, people could call its wayward teens subplot indicative of an after school special. But it was relevant then and it is relevant now. (Unless you wanna pretend that drug-addicted teens who steal things for money doesn't exist. Yes, it is portrayed a little differently in the film. That is called subtext and what is in the film is hardly preachy.)

From a financial perspective it is technically more successful than any other TMNT film. It was an independent movie made on a very modest budget and made waaaaayy more than 100% of its profit back. In fact, it made around ten times its budget back. That's, frankly, amazing.

The movie can be surpassed. It probably will be surpassed. But right now, it hasn't. Not even close. Not the sequels. Not the 2007 film. And, hell no, not the PD films. So when people talk about the 1990 film, it is NOT all about nostalgia. There's a legitimate reason. It is the best TMNT film made *so far.*

EDIT: I'd also like to add that it has the best live acton April. She has spunk, personality. So did Paige Turco, but Judith made April feel real, an actual woman. Charming, beautiful, and sexy but in a down to earth, real world way. She isn't just there for people who think women in movies need to reflect their browsing history.

Not under the Nick/Viacom banner, no.

Dated references at least are not negative.

Yeah, you can't get mad about dated references. It's not like anyone set out to make TMNT (1990), like, this timeless classic. It worked for the time.

True it has dated references, but the "heart" is pretty timeless. The characterizations and emotions are top notch.

New Line Cinema
 

It was produced by New Line Cinema. Here are the other titles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Line_Cinema

...

New Line was a small indie company at the time.

Actually it was distributed by New Line, it was produced by Golden Harvest.

I never said the dated references were bad. That was in reference to another thread, where people are nitpicking the dated references. I was also thinking of the silly jabs people make about a film's datedness when they whine about nostalgia.

New Line distributed the film, it didn't produce it. That's a pretty well known fact. For the longest time, it held the title as "The most successful independent film of all time" until The Blair Witch Project.

Bigger than Star Wars? Huh?

Star Wars wasn't independent. It was produced by a major studio, 20th Century Fox. That's also a completely different ballpark.

TMNT '90 was definitely the highest grossing independent film until The Blair Witch Project. People often forget it was an independent film, perhaps because the word "indie movie" has a more "artsy drama" connotation and because of the cartoon was so popular back then.

There's no way another film could surpass the original. It was an all-ages movie with a compelling story, satisfying action, good looking props, and most if all: heart. Something these modern movies lack. With Viacom running the show, if they make any more movies, they'll just be more kid-oriented garbage.