Movie Star Turtles: First Ninja Turtle Toys Based on the Movies

Believe it or not, there was actually Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures based on the first two live action films that hit theaters back in the early 90s. These action figures were very unique compared to the other TMNT toys that were available in stores because they were made out of soft rubber and were also the first to have pupils in their eyes. These figures were released around 1992 which was a littler after the second movie was released in theaters. According to www.imdb.com, the reason why these figures were not produced before or after the first live action movie was because the franchise was considered a little too violent for children at the time. For these figures to be manufactured, the Playmates toy company wanted a cheerful and less violent movie to be produced. When this happened, Playmates toys finally released them and the figures were pretty identical to Jim Henson's turtle costumes.

These figures measured up to four and half inches and had ball joints to give them some articulation. Every turtle from this movie line had their own shade of green to give them an even more individual look to them. The Donatello figure was the only turtle that had a shade of brown, but still had a hint of green to it. These set of action figures also had a Master Splinter and foot clan figure to complete the entire movie collection. Unfortunately, the mutant minions Tokka and Rahzar were not produced for this line, but were eventually released about a year later. These guys were made of hard plastic, unlike the exclusive movie line. Due to their enormous popularity, the Movie Star Turtles were reissued twice by Playmates during the mid 1990s.

The Movie Star Turtles action figures cannot be found in stores anymore, but you can find them at www.eBay.com. Unfortunately, these figures do not come cheap since they are now collectibles that can auction as high as sixty five dollars. The rarest turtle is Leonardo for some odd reason and typically goes for fifty dollars and up. The easiest and cheapest one to find is Raphael, who sells for about twenty five to thirty dollars. The good news is that Toys R Us will be reissuing them one more time as exclusives somewhere around the year 2010. These figures will likely retail at around six to eight dollars apiece.