Flashback: The 'Ninja Turtles' (Briefly) Become Arena Rock Stars In 1990

There's a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie coming out this weekend, but it's clear that no matter how hard they market this thing they'll never come close to replicating the madness surrounding all things TMNT back in 1990. That was back when action figures were flying off the shelves, the cartoon series was a ratings juggernaut and the original movie earned over $200 million on a scant $13.5 million budget, making it one of the highest-grossing independent film of all time.

Not content to merely bask in the unimaginable fortune created by an off-kilter series about pizza-eating ninja turtles,......