Random Behind-The-Scenes Stories Of How 'TMNT II: Secret of Ooze' Became A Cinematic Disast (14 items)

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  (#2) The Ninja Rap Was Written In Half An Hour

  Every once in a while, there comes a piece of cinema whose soundtrack makes as much of a splash as the film itself. Such is the case of Secret of the Ooze. Hot off the success of “Ice, Ice, Baby,” rapper Vanilla Ice was tapped by the studio to create a theme for the sequel, which ended up earning him some substantial screen time in the third act.

  While the lyrics of “The Ninja Rap” might be burrowed into your long-term memory even more than the state capitals, the song itself took Mr. Ice a mere 30 minutes to write.
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  (#1) The Movie Was Hastily Rushed Into Production 

  These days, franchises choosing to film their sequels back-to-back is not uncommon, with the last two Avengers films and the final chapters of the Harry Potter series being prominent examples. But back in the time of TMNT, it was almost unheard of.

  When the first film drastically exceeded its box-office expectations, the financial backers fast-tracked production of the sequel, which came out just under a year after the release of the first entry. Golden Harvest was surprised by the first film's success and, believing audiences would soon lose interest in the Turtles, decided to strike while the iron was hot.
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  (#5) April O'Neil Was Unceremoniously Replaced

  When fans of the original film turned up for the franchise’s triumphant return, they were surprised to find that reporter April O’Neil looked a little different this time around. Judith Hoag, the comic actress who first teamed up with the Turtles in 1990, was quietly replaced by Paige Turco for mysterious reasons.

  Hoag believes it had to do with her voicing concerns about the strenuous conditions on set, both for her and the stunt team, as well as her opinions about the level of aggression in the film. “Everybody was beating everybody up,” Hoag lamented. “I thought the movie suffered because of that. It was something I spoke to the producers about, I think they thought I was too demanding, and moved on.”
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  (#6) Corey Feldman Was In Rehab During Production

  Sharp-eared fans of the TMNT franchise most likely noticed that the voice of Donatello sounded a little different in between the first and third films of the series. This was because Corey Feldman, who originally starred in the role, was in the middle of a rehab stint during the production of the second film.

  Unlike fellow absent co-star Judith Hoag, Feldman was asked to reprise his role once the third film went into development.
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  (#14) The Bad Guys Had To Let Themselves Get Beat Up

  Stuntman and pioneering motion-capture performer Daniel Pesina was one of many stunt performers who portrayed henchmen in TMNT II. During an appearance on the game-themed YouTube show UpUpDownDown, he attested to the difficulty of fighting properly with the Turtle performers, mainly due to the costumes' limited field of vision.

  In fact, the stuntmen literally had to dive into the Turtles' punches and kicks just to sell each fight move. This explains why you see the henchmen dancing around on their toes so much instead of going on the attack.
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  (#10) Things Got Too Cartoony

  We may have thankfully escaped a Krang cameo in TMNT II, but the sequel did take a hard turn into references to the cartoon series, which were noticeably absent in the first film. The menacing Shredder from the original was given a new purple outfit and melodramatic temper tantrums that strongly echoed the cartoon.

  This was in contrast to the prior film, which earned praise for being a darker and grittier interpretation of the material. The dialogue and character choices were also noticeably lighter and sillier in tone.

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