I can’t say that I have ever been much of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan. Yes, I watched the original cartoon when it was new, but it was never really one of my favorites. I’d catch a reboot once in a while, but the thing about characters like he Turtles is they’re rebooted rather frequently for whole new batches of fans. Really, newer Turtles shows are probably meant more for new fans than old ones because the Turtles, as a concept, have proven to be rather adaptable. They’re basically just four characters with basic personalities that can change with the times and still be essentially themselves.
That’s a long way towards saying I’ve seen the most recent reboot, Mutant Mayhem.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are tired of hiding in the sewers. Their father, Splinter (voice of Jackie Chan) had bad experiences with humans both as a rat and a mutant and insists the foursome stay hidden. That doesn’t sit well with computer nerd Donatello (Micah Abbey), wannabe improv comedian Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr), and hot-tempered Raphael (Brady Noon), but “good son” Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu) seems reluctant to break Splinter’s rules even as he is often dragged along to do things he knows they shouldn’t. That changes a bit when Leo spots teenage journalist April O’Neil (Ayo Edebiri), and after the Turtles work together to retrieve her stolen scooter, they’re pleasantly surprised to find a human who isn’t afraid of them. April and the Turtles all have an idea: do something big and heroic, and the public will accept them.
It turns out there’s a crime wave going on as it is: the mysterious Superfly (Ice Cube) and his crew have been stealing a number of high tech items for unknown purposes. No one has even seen Superfly and lived, so that sure sees like the sort of crime a group of immature and impressionable young martial artists might be interested in stopping. However, in an unexpected twist, Superfly is himself a mutant housefly, perhaps the most powerful mutant in the city, and he has a whole family/gang of other mutants (many of whom are voiced by recognizable actors like John Cena and Paul Rudd). Superfly’s plans aren’t good for the human race, and between him and a mysterious corporation trying to make mutants for their own purposes. Can the boys stop Superfly? Or will they join him instead?
This one was rather clever in its execution. The characters got a nice redesign–I particularly liked Splinter’s old man look–the Turtles were voiced by actual kids, and there were some truly creative moments. One montage showed the Turtles looking for Superfly, looking at four different sources at once as the animation cycled through each Turtle taking on a bunch of goons in his own distinctive style. The Turtles themselves act like teenagers that don’t know better because, well, they are. Their ambitions are small but understandable. Meanwhile, Ice Cube sounds like he had a ball voicing Superfly, a bad guy who hits close to home for the Turtles and Splinter as well in unexpected ways.
That said, the animation was the sort of stuff a friend of mine who fancies himself an animation buff will probably be complaining about. It’s unique, and I liked a lot of what I saw, but it was also very hard to tell what was happening in a few key moments. Then again, my friend despises co-writer, co-producer, and supporting cast member Seth Rogen, so he might just say that anyway, but he likewise complains about the Spiderverse movies because he claims the animation on the first one gave him a headache and he couldn’t finish it. Regardless of my friend’s views, I just found the animation a little hard to follow at times, but that was about the only flaw this fun family movie had.
Grade: A-
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