The film was released on March 22, 1991, and received mixed to negative reviews from critics who felt it departed from the much darker tone of the original 1990 film, and was more light-hearted. They instead fight bare-fisted for much of the film as part of an attempt to tone down the violence of the previous movie. Unlike the first film, this one rarely showed the use of the Turtles' weapons. The film sheds some light on the origins of Splinter and the Turtles, as well as introduces two new villains: Tokka and Rahzar. When he learns the secret behind the Turtles' mutation, he becomes more dangerous than ever. Roughly resuming from the events of the last film, the villain, Shredder, returns to take back command of the Foot Clan, and work towards getting revenge on the Turtles. The film follows the adventures of the four Turtles: Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, and their Master Splinter. It was internationally distributed by 20th Century Fox.

The movie is distributed by New Line Cinema. The Secret of the Ooze was then followed by a third film in 1993, and a fourth film (TMNT) in 2007. It is the sequel to the 1990 film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze is a 1991 American live-action film based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters published by Mirage Studios.