Since the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made their debut in the 1980s, the heroes-in-a-half-shell have starred in an increasing number of movies, some of which exist in the same continuity and some of which don’t. That’s great, but if you’re a newbie to the world of TMNT, where do you start if you want to watch all the films?
Plus, how many Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies are there and is there a specific order to watch them?
Today I will answer those questions by looking at ALL the TMNT movies – including live-action, animated and docu-film. Below I will dived the movies up into different categories, so you can see what films go where.
Here we go…
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Viewing Order One – The original timeline
This first viewing order is very simple and includes just three movies, all released in chronological order and all featuring a mix of live-action with animatronics. In this timeline, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are given an origin; they meet April O’Neil and Casey Jones; and they defeat Shredder TWICE!
This viewing order is as follows:
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)
This initial series of movies was produced during the early 1990s, when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were at the height of their popularity.
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Viewing Order Two – The revised original timeline
This viewing order follows a similar pattern to Viewing Order One, but with one exception – it includes one more movie. And there’s a reason for this.
During the ’00s, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles underwent their first revival in the form of a new animated series (more about that in a moment). The popularity of this show proved there was potentially some life left in a movie franchise too.
Keen to reignite interest in Turtles movies, Warner Bros. Pictures released a new big screen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie called TMNT (2007). The computer animated movie was designed to be the beginning of a new series, with a new cast taking on the roles of the Turtles, April and Casey.
Unfortunately, TMNT was not a huge success, so did not usher in a new series of movies. As such it technically exists as a solo adventure – but it shouldn’t.
TMNT is a loose sequel to the live-action movies, with a couple of references to the original trilogy. For this reason it IS the fourth movie in the ’90s series.
This viewing order is as follows:
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)
- TMNT (2007)
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Viewing Order Three – The Turtles 2K3 timeline
As mentioned above, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles experienced a revival during the ’00s, spearheaded by a new animated series, often referred to as the Turtles 2K3 series (because it aired in 2003). The series ran for seven seasons in total, as well as one movie, Turtles Forever (2009).
Turtles Forever was released in 2009 as a conclusion to the Turtles 2K3 era and to mark the 25th anniversary of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The film was also the last Turtles production before Viacom bought the rights to the property from Turtles co-creator, Peter Laird.
This viewing order is as follows:
- Turtles Forever (2009)
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Viewing Order Four – The Turtles Multiverse
Now here’s where things get interesting…
The main selling point of Turtles Forever (see above) is that it combines the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of the 1987 cartoon, with the Turtles of the 2K3 series for a huge crossover event. But that’s not all – it also establishes the idea that every Turtles comic book, TV show and movie of the first 25 years of the franchise are all connected!
EVERYTHING!
Yes, that includes the crappy live-action TV series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation. Sorry.
So what does that mean for the movies?
Well, with Turtles Forever establishing a multiverse, technically a new viewing order is created and this one goes as follows:
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)
- TMNT (2007)
- Turtles Forever (2009)
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Viewing Order Five – The docu-film
In 2014, to mark the 30th anniversary of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, FauxPop Media, iProductions and Paramount released a docu-film titled: Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The documentary looked back at three decades of TMNT and featured interviews with key contributors, including Turtles creators, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.
The viewing order for this is as follows:
- Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
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Viewing Order Six – The Michael Bay timeline
In addition to a documentary, the 30th anniversary of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was ushered in with the first entry in a new series of Turtles movies. This series would ‘reboot’ the franchise with a whole new continuity and would run for two movies in total.
The films – from producer Michael Bay – featured a mix of live-action and CGI. They were not well received by fans (although the second movie – Out of the Shadows – is a lot of fun).
This viewing order is as follows:
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016)
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Viewing Order Seven – Batman
In 2019, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appeared in an animated crossover movie with Batman. The film – titled Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – saw the Turtles and the Caped Crusader team up to take down Shredder.
As this film is not connected to any others, the viewing order is as follows:
- Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019)
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Viewing Order Eight – Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
In 2022, Netflix released a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated movie. The film was conceived as a spin-off/conclusion to Nickelodeon’s short-lived animated series, Rise of the TMNT.
The movie – in association with Nickelodeon – pitted the Turtles against the Krang. Although it is a sequel to the animated television series Rise of the TMNT, it can be viewed as a stand-alone affair.
The viewing order for this is:
- Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (2022)
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Viewing order Nine – Mutant Mayhem
In 2023, with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brand still proving ever-popular, Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures released yet another new movie, unconnected to any of the previous films. This animated feature is called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
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Viewing Order Ten – All the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in production order
And finally, should you just want to watch ALL of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies in production order, irrespective of their different continuities, then use the following list:
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)
- TMNT (2007)
- Turtles Forever (2009)
- Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016)
- Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019)
- Rise of the TMNT: The Movie (2022)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)
And now you know!
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Thank you for stopping by this post about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on It’s A Stampede! – I hope you found it informative. For more informative posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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