Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a brand that remains popular with fans, and many are still very fond of the original feature film that was released in 1990. After 34 years, writer Bobby Herbeck spoke with CBR's Kevin Polowy at WonderCon about the film's enduring legacy, sharing an emotional story to explain how the film still holds up today.

"My god, yeah," Herbeck said when asked if Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles still holds up, recalling when he'd taken his grandchildren (12, 5, and twin 8-year-olds) to a screening during the pandemic era. "We figured in ten minutes, they've gotta pee, because it's usually, kids, they go to a show, you got ten minutes and they're done. They never left the screen."

Getting emotional, Herbeck continued, "I'm going to cry in a minute... I had five people, fans that came, plus my family. And I got up and talked to them first, and I said, 'These are my grandkids. Their dad was 14 when this movie was made. He and his brother, they got to [be at] the premiere, they sat with M.C. Hammer. They were blown away, and M.C. is really cool. And I said, 'These kids weren't even on the landscape, and they're here today...' I'm going to cry, this makes me cry... and I said, 'They're here to see this picture.' And when it was done, they looked at me and said, 'Pop, that's the bestest movie I've ever seen,' and I was like, blown away."

Bobby Herbeck Sees the Movie as the Mothership

Herbeck continued on, addressing how he still sees fans of all ages when he does autograph signings, because it "just keeps being handed down." The writer also mentioned how that first TMNT movie is referred to as the "mothership," because it spawned an ongoing franchise that is still putting out successful movies more than three decades later.

"It's become part of the social fabric, the Turtles," he said. "I had no idea. I didn't have a doubt. My instinct was this was going to not be a dud, that this movie was going to be... that we had an audience, and it was going to do well. I had no idea that 34 years later I'd be sitting here talking to you or at a Comic-Con with this movie."

The franchise has also continued on, having released the latest film installment, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, in 2023 to great success. The animated film will also be getting a sequel. Meanwhile, another live-action adaptation is also in the works. It was just revealed that a live-action movie based on the comic book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin is now in development.

The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is streaming on Paramount+.

Source: CBR