# Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III** is a 1993 American live-action superhero comedy film, the third in the [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles](https://www.edgepedia.org/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles) film series, in which the Turtles travel through a magical scepter to feudal Japan to rescue reporter [April O'Neil](https://www.edgepedia.org/april-oneil). It was written and directed by Stuart Gillard, produced by Golden Harvest, and released in the United States by [New Line Cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-line-cinema) on March 19, 1993.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59678) • [2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-III) • [3](https://ninjaturtles.tv/cartoons/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | March 19, 1993 (wide, United States), distributed by New Line Cinema; opened on 80 screens in Canada on March 16, three days earlier[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-III) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59678) |
| Director and writer | Stuart Gillard, working from a time-travel idea developed with franchise creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59678) |
| Budget and gross | $21,000,000 production budget; $42,273,609 domestic gross, the lowest-grossing entry of the original trilogy[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-III) • [3](https://ninjaturtles.tv/cartoons/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/) |
| Opening weekend | $12,419,597 from 2,087 theaters, number one at the U.S. box office[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0108308/) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59678) |
| Principal cast | Paige Turco (April O'Neil), Elias Koteas (Casey Jones / Whit), Vivian Wu (Mitsu), Sab Shimono (Lord Norinaga), Stuart Wilson (Walker)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59678) • [3](https://ninjaturtles.tv/cartoons/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/) |
| Rating and runtime | PG ("swashbuckling violence and mild language"); 96 minutes[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-III) |
| Reception | 19% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (32 reviews); Metascore 40 on Metacritic[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_iii) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/critic-reviews/) |
| Aftermath | The last live-action TMNT film until the 2014 Paramount and Nickelodeon reboot[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59678) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The story turns on an ancient Japanese scepter that swaps people holding it simultaneously in different centuries. Reporter April O'Neil ([Paige Turco](https://www.edgepedia.org/paige-turco)) buys the scepter at a flea market and gives it to Splinter as a gift; she is transported to 17th-century feudal Japan, and the Turtles follow her.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_iii) • [3](https://ninjaturtles.tv/cartoons/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/) The film's opening is set in 1603, when four samurai capture a young man revealed to be a prince named Kenshin; in the present, April distributes gifts to the Turtles and Splinter at their underground lair.[3](https://ninjaturtles.tv/cartoons/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/)
Once in the past, the Turtles learn that April has been captured by the villainous Lord Norinaga (Sab Shimono) and team up with the rebel leader Mitsu ([Vivian Wu](https://www.edgepedia.org/vivian-wu)) to rescue her, becoming involved in a conflict between the daimyo and rebellious villagers.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_iii) • [3](https://ninjaturtles.tv/cartoons/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/) [Elias Koteas](https://www.edgepedia.org/elias-koteas) plays a dual role as [Casey Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/casey-jones) in the present and Whit in the past, and Stuart Wilson plays Walker.[3](https://ninjaturtles.tv/cartoons/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/)
## Production
On March 27, 1991, the trade press reported that the Hong Kong company Golden Harvest Pictures would develop a third live-action installment in the commercially successful franchise, with Michael Pressman, director of the second film, in talks to direct. By January 1992 the $17 million production was scheduled to begin in March 1992 in Vancouver, Canada, with a Canadian writer-director, later announced as Stuart Gillard.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59678)
**A change of setting and studio.** Gillard, a first-time feature director, said he was concerned about setting another story in the New York City sewers and met with original comic creators [Kevin Eastman](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-eastman) and [Peter Laird](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-laird) at their [Northampton, Massachusetts](https://www.edgepedia.org/northampton-massachusetts) office to develop new ideas; he settled on a time-travel script based on a comic following Michelangelo on adventures in feudal Japan.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59678) Although Vancouver's North Shore Studios had been booked for four months of preproduction, Golden Harvest moved the production to Astoria, Oregon, citing scheduling demands and cheaper studio space, a change the Vancouver film community had spent more than a year preparing for.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59678)
The animatronic Turtle suits, previously built by the Jim Henson Creature Shop in England, were overseen for this film by All Effects Company of California's San Fernando Valley.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59678) Mark Caso, who played Leonardo, was the only original Turtle suit performer to reprise his role.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59678) The voice cast included returning performers [Brian Tochi](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-tochi) (Leonardo), [Corey Feldman](https://www.edgepedia.org/corey-feldman) ([Donatello](https://www.edgepedia.org/donatello)), and Robbie Rist (Michelangelo), with Tim Kelleher as Raphael.[3](https://ninjaturtles.tv/cartoons/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/) The martial-arts and stunt team included Pat E. Johnson as action director and stunt coordinator, with Liu Chia-Liang among the choreographers and Ho-Sung Pak, Steven Ho, and Larry Lam among the stunt performers and doubles.[7](https://watch.afi.com/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-3-1993?whereToWatch=all)
## Box office
The film debuted at number one in the United States with $12,419,597 from 2,087 theaters, reported by the trade press on March 23, 1993 despite largely negative reviews.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0108308/) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59678) Weekly grosses fell steeply: $7,405,465 in the second weekend (a 40 percent drop), then $4,688,034, $3,150,318, and $2,025,796 over the following three weekends, all in the same 2,087-theater run.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-III) The domestic total of $42,273,609 came against a $21,000,000 production budget, and [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) records no international gross, giving a worldwide figure equal to the domestic one.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0108308/) The fan-maintained franchise site lists a worldwide figure of $54.4 million and calls it the lowest-grossing entry in the series.[3](https://ninjaturtles.tv/cartoons/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/) New Line Home Video released the film on video on March 28, 2000.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-III)
## Reception and place in the franchise
Critical response was mostly negative. Rotten Tomatoes records a 19 percent Tomatometer from 32 reviews, with a critics consensus calling it "one sequel too many" with a "tired time-travel plot gimmick," and an audience Popcornmeter score of 33 percent from more than 50,000 ratings.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_iii) Metacritic's Metascore is 40, categorized as mixed or average, with 8 of 12 collected reviews mixed and 4 negative.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/critic-reviews/) Reviewers differed in emphasis: Janet Maslin of The New York Times found it less violent and more scenic than its predecessors, while Mick LaSalle of the [San Francisco Chronicle](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-chronicle) wrote that the plot was unintelligible and that the film failed to capitalize on the characters' charm.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/critic-reviews/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_iii) Janet Maslin also noted the film's cost, calling it the third and, at $30 million, most expensive go-around for the characters.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/critic-reviews/)
**End of the original trilogy.** The film closed the book on the original live-action trilogy; Rotten Tomatoes' franchise retrospective describes it as a box office under-performer that ended the 1990s movie run.[8](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-movies-ranked/) Although the trade press predicted New Line would continue the series, no further live-action TMNT film was released until the Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies reboot of 2014.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59678) Co-creator Peter Laird said in the 2014 documentary *Turtle Power* that he disliked the film, while Kevin Eastman noted the efforts taken to create it.[3](https://ninjaturtles.tv/cartoons/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/) In a 2016 aggregate ranking of franchises by Rotten Tomatoes scores, Time listed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III as the lowest-scored film of the TMNT franchise at 21 percent.[9](https://time.com/4604580/best-movies-franchises-rotten-tomatoes/)
The film has remained available in home-video form, including Arrow Video's restoration of the complete original trilogy on Blu-ray, and some later DVD releases carried the subtitle "Turtles in Time," though the film's official title has generally remained Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.[3](https://ninjaturtles.tv/cartoons/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/)
## References
1. [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Turtles Are Back...In Time (1993), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/59678)
2. [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-III)
3. [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), NinjaTurtles.tv movies section](https://ninjaturtles.tv/cartoons/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/)
4. [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0108308/)
5. [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_iii)
6. [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-iii/critic-reviews/)
7. [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, American Film Institute streaming catalog](https://watch.afi.com/movie/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-3-1993?whereToWatch=all)
8. [All Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movies Ranked, Rotten Tomatoes editorial](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-movies-ranked/)
9. [These Are the Best and Worst Movie Franchises of All Time, According to Rotten Tomatoes, Time](https://time.com/4604580/best-movies-franchises-rotten-tomatoes/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Television-, game-, and toy-derived film entries › Toy and merchandise adaptations*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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