On 27 Mar 1991, DV announced that Hong Kong production company Golden Harvest Pictures would develop a third live-action film installment in the commercially successful Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, with Michael Pressman in talks to direct. According to the 7 Jan 1992 DV, however, the $17 million production was scheduled to begin Mar 1992 in Vancouver, Canada, with a yet-unnamed Canadian writer-director. The “computerized ‘Turtles,’” which had been previously constructed by the Jim Henson Creature Shop in England, would now be overseen by All Effects Company in California’s San Fernando Valley. In a 19 Mar 1993 HR article, writer and first-time director Stuart Gillard expressed his initial concern about setting another story in the New York City sewers, and met with original comic book creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird for new ideas. At their office in Northampton, MA, Gillard brainstormed several potential plotlines, and ultimately decided to write a time-travel script based on a comic that followed Michaelangelo on adventures in feudal Japan.
       Although an 11 Nov 1991 Playback magazine item stated the film was booked for four months of preproduction at Vancouver’s North Shore Studios, the 31 Mar 1992 HR announced that Golden Harvest decided to move production to Astoria, OR, due to strict scheduling demands and cheaper studio space. The last-minute change was a great disappointment to the Vancouver film community, which had spent more than a year making preparations, including plans to accommodate the project’s budgetary restrictions by assembling a crew made up of members of the Association of Canadian Film Craftspeople.
       A 16 Jun 1992 HR production chart stated principal photography began 15 Jun 1992, and the 22 Jun 1992 HR listed an expected completion date of 1 Aug 1992. Producer Thomas K. Gray attributed the truncated seven-week schedule to the establishment of a second stunt unit. According to production notes in AMPAS library files, a vacated World War II seaplane hangar on the Columbia River was converted into four studio sound stages large enough to house eight sets, including the Japanese castle, courtyard, and dungeon. The subway set built for the “Turtles’” home in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991, see entry) was transported from that film’s North Carolina location and reassembled in Astoria, while the 17th century Japanese village was built atop Saddle Mountain in the Oregon Coast Range. Japanese media executive and historian James Matsumoto served as a technical advisor to ensure that the customs, costumes, and dialogue were authentic to the era. Despite earlier reports, various contemporary sources listed the final cost at $21-$22 million, which marked a significant increase from the previous two films.
       Mark Caso, who played “Leonardo,” was the only original Turtle cast member to reprise his role. Because Leif Tilden, Kenn Scott, and Michelan Sisti were unavailable for filming, their respective roles were filled by Jim Raposa, Matt Hill, and David Fraser, and the actors’ faces remained obscured by the Turtle costumes. Robbie Rist and Brian Tochi provided voices for all three live-action films, while Corey Feldman reprised his role as the voice of Donatello from the first picture, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990, see entry).
       Prior to the film’s domestic release, the 14 Jan 1993 LAT reported that New Line Cinema’s extensive publicity campaign would include marketing tie-ins with Burger King restaurants, Playmates toys, and more than twenty additional companies. A 10 Apr 1993 LAT news item stated that the Turtles also appeared at the White House to help U.S. President Bill Clinton raise awareness for early child vaccination and National Preschool Immunization Week. For its efforts promoting the sequel as “unique and special,” New Line received the Film Information Council’s Film Marketing Award, as reported in the 26 Apr 1993 DV.
       According to the 2 Mar 1993 DV, the Hollywood, CA, world premiere was scheduled for 6 Mar 1993 at Cineplex Odeon’s Universal City Theater, with proceeds benefitting the Permanent Charities Committee of the Entertainment Industries. The 19 Mar 1993 HR indicated that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Turtles Are Back…In Time opened on eighty screens in Canada on 16 Mar 1993, three days before the U.S. release. Despite largely negative reviews, the 23 Mar 1993 DV reported weekend box-office earnings of $12,419,597 from 2,087 theaters. The final gross was projected at $65 million—a figure substantially less than its predecessors.
       Although DV predicted that New Line Cinemas would continue the series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Turtles Are Back…In Time was the last live-action film released until the Paramount Pictures—Nickelodeon Movies “reboot,” Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014, see entry), and its sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Half Shell, scheduled for release in summer 2016. However, the franchise remained popular throughout the 1990s and 2000s, with several animated and live-action television series, video games, toys, comics, merchandise, and Warner Bros. Pictures’ computer-animated feature, TMNT (2007, see entry).
       End credits state: “Special Thanks to Renay and Mark Freedman,” and, “The Japanese Sword is published by Kodansha International Ltd. © 1983, reprinted by permission. All rights reserved." Additional “Special thanks" are given to: "Cheryl and Jim Prindle, Mirage Studios; Oregon Division of State Lands/E. David Blum; Mayor Willis Van Dusen, the people and the city of Astoria, Oregon; Ben Shaw, Cindy Howe, Michael Ramsdell; Oregon Economic Development Department Film and Video Section/David Woolsen, Karen Runkel; Cavenham Forest Industries/Glenn W. Jacques; Astoria, Oregon Fire Department/Lane Wintermute; Micro Mo Electronics, Inc.; California Microwave, Inc.; Toho Costume Co. Ltd.; Toho International Co. Ltd.” An acknowledgment notes: “The characters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo, Donatello, Splinter, April and Casey Jones are registered copyright © 1984 Mirage Studios and are trademarks.”
       The character “Michelangelo” is credited onscreen as “Michaelangelo.”