Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 superhero film based on the superhero team of the same name. It is the first theatrical Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film and the first installment in the original trilogy. It was also a struggle to get to the screen. Between running out of money and a potential backroom deal to get more getting the director fired, there was also the the perception that comic book movies wouldn't work after a string of misfires like Superman 4, Howard the Duck and more.