29.01.26, 20:30, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

Cowabunga! We conclude our theme month with cinema's most beloved monsters. Flushed down the toilet as pets and drenched in radioactive sludge, baby turtles Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael come under the guardianship of Sensei Splinter – a life-size rat who has retrained himself in the sewers to become a master of Eastern martial arts. The four may bear the names of Renaissance artists, but their attitude is that of runaway youths. Skating, pizza-slurping and beatboxing, this septic superhero team scours New York to fight crime. When the mysterious Foot Clan appears on the scene, the Turtles are forced to crawl out of their shells and save the city from the sinister Shredder.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) was the definitive 80s animated series, a colourful cocktail of everything that was considered cool at the time. After much nagging from everyone's mothers, it finally became a feature film. Although many studio executives believed the film was doomed to fail, TMNT became the biggest blockbuster of the early 90s. Animatronics legend Jim Henson designed the robotically controlled turtle suits. Reboot after reboot shows how these reptilian heroes ooze their way into the present, but nothing beats the original. Turtle Power, indeed.