For those who were between the ages of nine and 12 in 1990, Steve Barron’s film “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” was a banner event.
It was the first time the ultra-popular mutants were seen in live-action, and Barron did not disappoint.
The Turtles were provided by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop who constructed full-body foam latex suits for the actors, as well as animatronic, full-head masks.
Voice actors would record dialogue, and puppeteers would operate myriad facial servos by remote, making it look like the Turtles were talking.
Each of the four title teens required a voice actor, a body actor, a facial puppeteer, and, in a few cases, a fight or skateboarding double.
It took 11 actors in total to play four characters.The result was rather astonishing.
The Turtles felt more real than they ever had before or, arguably, since.
The facial movements on the mutant masks may have been…
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