This weekend’s Toronto Comicon is celebrating the Heroes in a Half-Shell with the 90s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film stars Brian Tochi, Kenn Scott, Ernie Reyes Jr. and François Chau, who played Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Shredder respectively.
Scott portrayed Raphael, the hot-headed member of the turtles, in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze is costume during the film’s production, performing many of the fight scenes in the bulky suit which was designed by the Jim Henson Company. The sequel is currently celebrating its 35th anniversary with some theatre chains releasing its 4K remaster for special anniversary screenings.
The impact and longevity of the franchise is not lost on Scott who has recognized what the characters mean to its many fans around the globe.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, met a lot of fans now, and one thing that I’ve learned is not only the responsibility I carry but what this has meant to a generation and more of fans,” Scott said. “Ninja Turtles is not just a movie, its not just a thing that came and went that people like. It actually created a mythology for a whole generation of kids and those kids are now 35 to almost 50 years of age and they’re imparting that to their kids sometimes and even their parents, who are now the grandparents, are part of it because they bought all the toys and comics when the kids were younger.
I’ve been able to watch now three generations of people latch onto Ninja Turtles and have it mean something so important to them. People have shared stories of helping in their family families, of brothers coming together, and families getting over hard times. I recognize the responsibility we are now carrying of what this means to people.”
Scott has also written a book about his experiences filming Ninja Turtles and taking part in the fandom titled Teenage Ninja to Mutant Turtle: Becoming The Real Raphael which is available now. You can check out our full interview on the Flickering Myth YouTube channel below…
