Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - Review: A Blast of Authentically Teenage Turtle Power

 

There have been quite a few Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies over the years. Ever since the foursome was first introduced to the world by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird way back in 1984, there’s been a weird obsession with these young, mutated, turtle kids who know karate. Now, this latest movie, the seventh theatrical release and second animated, seeks to reboot the series with a specific focus on that kid aspect.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” focuses on the four turtle brothers: Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo, voiced by Micah Abbey (“Cousins for Life”), Nicolas Cantu (“The Amazing World of Gumball,” “The Walking Dead: World Beyond”), Brady Noon (“Good Boys,” “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers”), and Shamon Brown Jr. (“The Chi”) respectively, who live with their adoptive rat father Splinter, voiced by Jackie Chan (“Rush Hour,” “Kung Fu Panda”), in the sewers on New York City. After meeting teenaged human April O’Neil, voiced by Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear,” “Big Mouth”), the foursome attempt to make the human world like and accept them by taking down the mysterious super-criminal Superfly, voiced by Ice Cube (“21 Jump Street,” “Friday”).

Those four teenaged boys voicing the turtles are the absolute lifeblood of the entire film. Don’t misunderstand, the rest of the voice cast is also great. Cube is a menacing and fun villain, Chan is the perfect Splinter, balancing his comedy and dramatic chops, and Edebiri is instantly likable as April. But these four boys radiate chemistry and charm like no others. The genius move to have them record their lines together pays off in spades, as their rapport and general chemistry help bring this brotherhood to life. It feels like a legitimate group of siblings, all poking fun at and supporting each other in equal measure. They make the film crackle with electric dialogue and charisma, and it would be a significantly worse movie without them.

The script, written by the film’s director Jeff Rowe (“The Mitchells vs. The Machines,” “Disenchantment”), with Seth Rogen (“Pineapple Express,” “Superbad”), Evan Goldberg (“This Is The End,” “Superbad”), Dan Hernandez (“Pokémon Detective Pikachu,” “The Addams Family 2”), and Benji Samit (“Pokémon Detective Pikachu,” “The Addams Family 2”), from a story by Rogen, Goldberg, Rowe, and Brendan O’Brien (“Neighbors,” “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates”),  is bursting with pop-culture references and teenaged silliness. It feels authentic because of the voices delivering it all, but there’s also a kind of “coolness for kids” feeling that’s hard to fake. These characters say hell and damn, puke, talk about anime and butts. It’s the sort of movie that, while clearly made for kids, can easily make a kid watching it feel like they’re seeing something made for grown ups and therefore makes them feel cool. It just feels different from any other previous TMNT project in a great way.

But even if the voices were bad or the script wasn’t fun or funny, there’d still be one big reason to see this film: the animation. Taking a page from Sony’s “Spider-Verse” films and Rowe’s previous movie “The Mitchells vs. the Machines”, the animation is purposefully stylized and stilted to reflect a mixture between the original comics the Turtles came from and the sketches found in the margins of a teenagers notebook. It results in characters that look sculpted from clay, smoke clouds that are made of squiggles, blacklight glowing nighttime sequences, and scenery that looks almost like a popup book. Lights don’t glow, they seem like they’re colored with highlighter with a light shown through the back of a piece of paper. It’s a bolder and more abstract style than other highly stylized animated films from recent years and it won’t be for everyone. But it’s a thrilling look and it captures your attention instantly.

All of this combines to create something most filmmakers can only dream of capturing: energy. The teenage feeling of it all bleeds through every aspect, from the visuals to the script to the voices. It feels like a movie not made by a bunch of adults for kids, but by a bunch of teenagers who never actually grew up. It creates a great entry point to the Turtles, and also crafts a movie that’s highly engaging and feels like nothing else out there. The score from Trent Reznor (“Soul,” “The Social Network”) and Atticus Ross (“Soul,” “The Social Network”) also helps to reflect this, thumping with electronic and 8-bit beats under each action sequence and fun moment.

If there are any negatives to mention, then there is the fact that some characters seem like they’re introduced and quickly brushed aside to be brought back for future (already confirmed) sequels. The film, despite being 100-minutes, feels so full of life that you’d wish it was longer, just because spending time in this world is so much fun you don’t want it to end. It leaves you wanting more.

If one of the biggest negatives for a film was wishing there was more, you know you’ve got something special on your hands. “Mutant Mayhem” not only is the best Turtles movie ever, but it’s a blast of a teenaged romp that virtually anyone can enjoy. It’s got a great sense of visual style and a voice cast that excels. It’s hard to imagine a better night at the movies than spending it with these sewer dwelling high schoolers. 4.5/5