Trivia Facts

In the original script, Bebop and Rocksteady were meant to appear, mutate and fight the turtles.  However, they were written out and later appeared in the sequel Out Of The Shadows

This film was released on the 30th anniversary of the Ninja Turtles universe started in 1984.

Raphael has "Mikey was here" written on his shell in Japanese kanji.

The film was originally going to be called "Ninja Turtles" but because the "Teenage Mutant" part was removed, there was negative feedback from the fans.

The VFX team incorporated the facial features of various actors into the mutants' appearances:

• Leonardo's face was based on Tom Hanks and Russell Crowe
• Raphael's face was based on Russell Crowe and Clint Eastwood 
• Donatello's face was based on Leonard Nimoy
• Michelangelo's face was based on comedian Bill Murray
• Splinter's face was based on Japanese actor Toshirô Mifune

The car horn of the Turtle van plays the theme of the 1987 cartoon series.

In other versions of Ninja Turtle pop-culture, Leonardo wields two ninjato swords, but in this movie, he wields two katana swords.

Through out the movie, April wears a yellow jumpsuit just like her 1987 cartoon version.

Originally, the Turtles to be aliens from Dimension X and Shredder also an alien that grows spikes and escapes a Foot base on a mountainside.  However, the fans backlashed against the idea and it was discarded.  The mountainside scene still remains.  April uses the line "Aliens? Now that's stupid!"

Shredder says the line "Tonight, I dine on turtle soup," which was a line in the 1987 cartoon episode "Shredder Is Splintered."

Ernie Reyes, Jr. played a Donatello stunt double in the original 1990 movie and played as Keno in The Secret Of The Ooze.  He made a stunt video to show Michael Bay that he would be a great stunt coordinator.

Whoopi Goldberg's movie goal was to be in a Ninja Turtles movie, which she attempted to with past Ninja Turtles movies.  She asked around a lot to get a part as Bernadette Thompson.

Originally Michelangelo was going to wear a gold chain, but it got criticism for being a stereotype towards black people.  Instead he wore seashells around his neck to pay homage to his cool surfer personality.  He did wear the gold chain in the sequel.

Vernon makes a sandwich with only mustard and cheese, singing "Careless Whisper."  This is a reference to Will Arnette's character in Arrested Development.

The Turtles are visually based on their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) designs:

• the Turtles have no snouts
• the Turtles all bear bandage wraps on their shells, arms and legs
• Leonardo and Michelangelo have blue eyes and Raphael has green eyes
• Michelangelo is the shorter of the Turtles
• Donatello is distinctly leaner than his brothers
• and Raphael is the most muscular and scarred, having a cracked shell.

Eric Sacks mentioned doing a mutation on rabbits, which is a reference to Usagi Yojimbo, a samurai rabbit from ancient Japan.

Michelangelo sings the 1967 song "Happy Together" to April at the end of the movie.

Master Splinter incorporates a variety of design elements from his previous incarnations:

• he is smaller compared to his Turtle stepsons, as in the original Mirage "TMNT" comics
• he has a distinct nick on his ear, as in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) where he had his ear sliced
• his whiskers form a mustache and his incisors are prominently featured, as in the IDW "TMNT" comics
• and he has bandage wraps on his arms, as in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012).

Producer Michael Bay suggested that the Turtles be aliens, which character creator Kevin Eastman showed a liking for.  In the turtles origins in other media, the Turtles were mutated by an ooze by space aliens called Utroms.

This is the first live-action Ninja Turtles movie to feature Karai.

The Turtles are primarily influenced by their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) characteristics: Leonardo is a samurai, Raphael is a brute fighter, Michaelangelo is a cool punk and Donatello is a tinkerer.