Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, Set-Ready, Stuffed Ninja Rap Is Born! Newspaper

original movie prop

This is an original Ninja Rap Is Born! newspaper from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991). The prop master on the film confirmed its authenticity, recognizing it as one of three set-ready, stuffed versions. The newspaper measures 10" x 14.5".

And "stuffed" this newspaper certainly is! There are pages and pages of fake news stories, even a sports page on the back. The newspaper was printed in Wilmington at The Star News, a real local paper.

Splinter holds up this newspaper and chastises the Turtles at the very end of the movie, making them do ten back flips as punishment for their very un-ninja-like behavior of showing up on the front page of the Daily News after getting down and busting some radical dance moves with Vanilla Ice the previous night.

"Ten flips now!" commands Splinter. "And remember: Go, ninja! Go, ninja! Go! I made another funny! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha..."

A prop newspaper using a similar template as this one can be seen in the 1990 Saved by the Bell episode "Save the Max." The school's student newspaper, The Bayside Breeze, features the same sports page section on the back. Another version of the newspaper can be seen in the Full House episode entitled "The King and I."

There are production stills of this exact paper in Splinter's hands.