Those who grew up in the late 80s and early 90s will more than likely remember Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the series the followed four turtle brothers as they stopped crime and the evil Shredder in New York City.
Started as a comic and later turned into a cartoon in 1987, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came to the big screen in 1990 and proved to be a surprise hit. The success of the first film spawned two more films, forming the original trilogy that has stayed near-and-dear for fans of the Turtles. Not only were these films action-packed, but they were funny, as well. Let's look back at the 10 funniest moments from the original TMNT trilogy.
Leonardo Cuts Hair With His Sword
Part three of the film trilogy will always leave fans of the Turtles a little bit miffed. Going back in time to 1603, Leonardo got into a rare sward fight with Lord Norinaga. Toward the end of the fight, Leonardo decides to give Norinaga a little haircut, seeing that his hair was a bit long to begin with. This scene fits in perfectly with the film's crazy storyline.
Annoying Ralph With The Butterfinger
Michelangelo is clearly the funny guy within his clan, and, while he was a bit more restrained in the first film, he was able to let it rip in the second installment of the trilogy. One subtle scene involves the Turtles watching the news, and Michelangelo, armed with a Butterfinger, takes it upon himself to annoy Ralph with his crunching. It's little scenes like this that carries the biggest laughs in this trilogy.
Ralph vs. Casey Jones
This scene combines both comedy and action that made the first entry in the trilogy so iconic. Ralph, who was on one of his late-night crime hunts, ran into Casey Jones, who got the upper hand on Ralph before escaping.
Giving chase, Ralph barrel rolls over a taxi cab, and, realizing he can't catch him, he screams into the New York night. It was funny seeing the taxi cab drivers look at Ralph like it was no big deal for an anthropomorphic turtle roaming the streets.
Tokka And Rahzar
Looking to gain the upper-hand in his battle against the Turtles, Shredder grows two animals from the secret, toxic ooze that served as the backdrop of the second film.
However, once the monsters are revealed, he quickly finds out that Tokka and Rahzar are not the ferocious monsters that he wanted, but overgrown babies that have to be trained to fight. Seeing the two scream "mama!" to Shredder was one of the scenes that made the second film the comedic highlight of the trilogy.
Waking Up "James Dean"
The third installment in the trilogy takes some time to grow on you, but, in the end, it combined the action of the first film with the comedy of the second film nicely. One of the underrated funnier scenes of the movies starts at the beginning, with Michelangelo waking up a "James Dean" like character while he's wearing the hilarious hat April O'Neal got him at a thrift shop. Leave it to Mikey to give us the comedic highlights.
My Hero
The third film may have felt a bit out-of-place in Turtles lore, but it did pack in some pretty funny moments. A scene in the third installment saw two village men mistaking Michealagelo for a beautiful woman, only to find out that he was... well, Michelangelo, a big, talking turtle. The rest of the scene is pure hilarity as Michealgelo tells the two guys "my hero!" in the only way he can, which will have you holding your tummy in laughter.
Making Pizza In The 1600s
With the Turtles traveling back to the 1600s, they were, of course, going to have to teach the village people how to make their favorite delicacy, pizza. In one scene, Michelangelo tries to teach someone how to make a pizza "under 30-minutes," which would be impossible, given that the tools to make a fast pizza wouldn't have been available to them at the time. It could have been seen as an attempt to force a joke on the audience, but it did work in tickling the funny bone.
A Fellow Chucker
This scene in the first film started out all action, with Ralph getting surprised by the Foote Clan on the rooftop of April O'Neal's apartment building. After crashing through the skylight and the Foote breaking in, Michelangelo comes into a hilarious chucking battle with a member of the Foote.
It's a classic scene from the first film, one that you can watch over-and-over again and still get a good laugh in.
Mikey Does Bogie
Ah, where would the Turtles be without Michelangelo? He's the party guy in the clan, the one that adds in the comedy in all of the films.
In the second film, he was able to let loose the comedy, and he certainly didn't disappoint in one scene where, as the Turtles and Splinter were moving into their new subterranean home, Mikey does his best Bogie to April. He did an impressive job, and it was certainly one of the many comedic high points in this installment of the original trilogy.
Fight In The Mall
Was there any doubt that the opening scene to the second movie would be the Turtle's funniest moment? It is a classic scene that has full replay value 29-years later. From Donatello posing as a rocking clown to the hilarious fight scene, the opening to the second film will forever be among the Turtles' funniest moments.