Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
A big theme in movies (and as a result, my reviews) over the past couple of years has been nostalgia.
Established brands and entities that are recalled fondly by older generations look to be embraced by the newer ones. The one that really stands out to me from the past year was the fantastic CHIP ‘N DALE: RESCUE RANGERS. It re-introduced iconic characters to the modern world, and did so while remaining hilarious and true to the original.
To be fair, it’s not as if the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have gone anywhere. They have stayed relevant for decades across the vast landscape of pop culture with tv shows, movies, toys, comic books, and more. But for those of us who grew up watching the original animated series and first few live-action movies, none of the newer adventures have quite captured the essence of its original run. And, this is where Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg stepped in.
The duo who brought us SUPERBAD, THIS IS THE END and PINEAPPLE EXPRESS wanted to provide an original take on the turtles. For the first time, the beloved quartet are presented as…wait for it…actual teenagers. It seems ridiculous that this is the first time this novel idea has been attempted, but it is the very aspect that makes TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM such a pleasure to watch.
We’ve seen the origin of the Turtles many times before. Baby amphibians have radioactive ooze spilled on them, as does their surrogate father (a rat named Splinter), and all of them grow exponentially in size. They age quickly and develop incredible strength and agility. From here, MUTANT MAYHEM begins to differ than many of the variations that came before. The young turtles are obsessed with the human world, and Splinter (Jackie Chan) decides to take them out to see the sights. Turns out humanity wasn’t ready for a giant rat (even by NYC standards) and his adolescent, upright turtles, and they are all chased back down into the sewers. Splinter vows to keep them safe, and other than some covert supply runs, forces them to stay below.
As teenagers are bound to do, Donatello (Micah Abbey), Michaelangelo (Shamon Brown, Jr.), and Raphael (Brade Noon) want to branch out and see what the world has to offer, while leader Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu) believes they should comply with their father’s wishes. The rule-breakers get their way, and the teens go out on the town. Within their adventures they meet April O’Neil (THE BEAR’s Ayo Edebiri), a budding journalist who would love to appear on camera if she could just stop vomiting whenever she does do. After seeing the Turtles in action, she realizes that this is the story that could make her popular. If she can record her unique pals taking down a crime syndicate and saving the school (and more importantly, the prom) April will be the star she was born to be.
For this lifelong Turtles fan, MUTANT MAYHEM is a joy to behold, and instantly finds itself as one of the best TMNT movies to date. The animation is incredible, the characters feel fresh, and there are laughs abound. It has countless references to its predecessors, including a quick snippet of a certain Vanilla Ice jam that will no doubt delight anyone old enough to understand it. For those, like me, who also had a collection of the old toys, another sequence introducing a few of the lesser-known characters is nostalgic gold as well. There are numerous laugh-out-loud moments that aren’t based on previous franchise knowledge and illustrate the comedic timing of Rogen and Goldberg isn’t relegated to the real world. 
Most importantly, the decision to make the turtles actual teenagers and have them living in the modern world was the very thing that sets this installment apart from anything that came before it. They are characters with genuine emotions, insecurities, hopes, and dreams, not just crime-fighting amphibians who are happy to live their days chowing pizza in the sewer. It also makes their relationship with Splinter more complex than anything we have seen in the past. He isn’t merely a mentor, but an actual father, and a scene in which he makes a fleeting attempt to show them that they never need to leave their lair is surprisingly heart-wrenching. It’s just one of many unexpected moments that allow this particular production to rise above most others, and hammer home the point that there are plenty of stories in this universe left to tell.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM: B+
Now streaming on Paramount Plus.
