Turtles at the Earth's Core

	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989 Season; September 25, 1989 - Feburary 9, 1990; List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes
	Episodes: "Beneath These Streets"; "Turtles on Trial"; "Attack of the 50-Foot Irma"; "The Maltese Hamster"; "Sky Turtles"; "The Old Switcheroo"; "Burne's Blues"; "The Fifth Turtle"; "Enter the Rat King"; "Turtles at the Earth's Core"; "April Fool"; "Attack of Big MACC"; "The Ninja Sword of Nowhere"; "20,000 Leaks Under the City"; "Take Me to Your Leader"; "Four Musketurtles"; "Turtles, Turtles Everywhere"; "Cowabunga Shredhead"; "Invasion of the Turtle Snatchers"; "Camera Bugged"; "Green With Jealousy"; "Return of the Fly"; "Casey Jones - Outlaw Hero"; "Mutagen Monster"; "Corporate Raiders from Dimension X"; "Pizza by the Shred"; "Super Bebop & Mighty Rocksteady"; "Beware the Lotus"; "Blast from the Past"; "Leatherhead: Terror of the Swamp"; "Michelangelo's Birthday"; "Usagi Yojimbo"; "Case of the Hot Kimono"; "Usagi Come Home"; "The Making of Metalhead"; "Leatherhead Meets the Rat King"; "The Turtle Terminator"; "The Great Boldini"; "The Missing Map"; "The Gang's All Here"; "The Grybyx"; "Mister Ogg Goes to Town"; "Shredderville"; "Bye, Bye, Fly"; "The Big Rip-Off"; "The Big Break In"; "The Big Blow Out"; 1987 Season – 1988 Season – 1989 Season – 1990 Season - 1991 Season – 1992 Season – 1992-1993 Vacation in Europe sideseason – 1993 Season – 1994 Season – 1995 Season – 1996 Season

“Turtles at the Earth's Core”
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 Cartoon) episode
Season Code:	03
Episode:	10
Original airdate	October 6, 1989
Written by	Michael Reaves
Producers:	–
Episode chronology
"Enter the Rat King"	"April's Fool AKA April Foolish"

This article is about the episode "Turtles at the Earth's Core". For the video, go to Turtles at the Earth's Core (home media release).

Turtles at the Earth's Core is a season 3 episode of the 1987-1996 series.

Appearing in Turtles at the Earth's Core[]

Major characters[]

Minor characters[]

Foot Soldiers

Species[]

Dinosaurs
- Allosaurus
- Archaeopteryx
- Brachiosaurus
- Pachycephalosaurus
- Pteranodon
- Stegosaurus
- Triceratops
- Tyrannosaurus rex
Human
Mutant rat
Mutant rhinoceros
Mutant turtle
Mutant warthog

Objects and vehicles[]

Locations[]

Plot[]

Donatello is trying to figure out a module-arrival pattern that would show them where the Technodrome is located. April urges them to let their brains rest by helping her decide where to vacation (Splinter suggests Florida), but is interrupted by a sudden earthquake.

The Turtles surface to see what may have happened, and are shocked to see a Diplodocus walking down the street. They try to herd the beast with limited success, and Michelangelo accidentally falls into a vast hole in the middle of a park. They decide to investigate further.

The answer involves a "lost world" under the Earth's crust, where dinosaurs still live and thrive in underground forests. The diplodocus was sent up by Rocksteady and Bebop on Shredder's orders, although he's irate that they didn't send something more dangerous. Krang orders him to get the giant crystal that allows the lost world to flourish, which they can use to repower the Technodrome. However, antigravity technology doesn't work near the crystal, which makes it difficult to get to.

The Turtles fly their blimp down into the lost world, only to immediately end up grounded by a Pteranodon and menaced by a Tyrannosaurus rex. Fortunately they're found by a Diplodocus, whom they dub "Dippy," and which allows them to ride him. They also find several modules waiting in a field, proving Shredder's presence there.

At this time, Shredder, Rocksteady, Bebop and a number of Foot Soldiers are heading for the crystal on foot. However, they soon find that it's more difficult than expected to actually reach the crystal.

Krang has his own plans, sending a small army of Foot Soldiers to build a small mobile fortress for him to ride inside. The Foot Soldiers are instead sent to attack the Turtles, but Dippy easily disposes of them, though he accidentally and briefly bucks the Turtles and April into a tar pit.

Shredder's minions eventually manage to grab the crystal, but he drops it when the Turtles distract him. He melts the ground around Dippy's feet, creating a river of lava that they barely manage to escape. And without the crystal's power, Dippy and the other dinosaurs begin to grow weaker.

An irritable Krang is repairing the crystal when Dippy starts banging on the fortress' hull but couldn't break through alone. He calls out Stegosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, and Triceratops to attack the fortress, and they eventually tear open one of the hatches. The Turtles rush inside, and a small parade of the dinos follow them just as the crystal is finally repaired.

Raphael electrocutes Krang's body as Rocksteady and Bebop are taken out by a Stegosaurus' tail. Different people in both sides grab and pass the crystal among them until the Turtles and dinosaurs successfully escape with it. An enraged Krang starts burrowing the fortress back to the Technodrome.

With the crystal back in place, Donatello patches the Turtle blimp and they say their goodbyes to Dippy. The Turtles advise April to come there for her vacation, just before she's carried off by a Pteranodon, forcing the Turtles to chase her on Dippy's back.

Notes and errors[]

When the Turtles encounter a dinosaur in the streets, Donatello's Bō-staff is black and not brown.
Rocksteady says "Every man for himself," but his mouth isn't moving.

Home media releases[]

VHS[]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles at the Earth's Core
Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Attack of Big MACC

LaserDisc[]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles at the Earth's Core

DVD[]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Volume 3
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 3
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Classic Series Collection
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Cowabunga Classics