By Jose Anguiano
Aug. 7th, 2023
Since acquiring the property in 2009, Paramount and Nickelodeon wasted no time in adapting the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” for new audiences. Some were successful like the 2012 tv series while others were shellshocked like the Michael Bay produced live action duology. Then there was the short lived “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” that fell off the face of the Earth following the Netflix movie finale. While the characters and story were polarizing, the 2D animation was more expressive than the CG animation. Aside from “SpongeBob SquarePants”, no other Nickelodeon property has received as much attention, including this new movie written and produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Despite the over saturation of the franchise, this might be one of its best movies considering how many have been made.
Rather than casting adults, these turtles are voiced by actual teenagers (Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown, Nicolas Cantu and Brady Noon) who want to live outside the shadows in the human world. This helps their comradery during the best and worst of times like when master Splinter (Jackie Chan) keeps them on a short leash in between grocery runs. Things take a turn when they run into April O’Neil (Ayo Edebiri), who for some reason received a lot of backlash because she is apparently “ugly”. However, like a lot of media reception in 2023, it’s mostly a toxic response from YouTubers who take everything out of context and don’t conduct research like real journalists. Instead, they throw around the word “woke” in an attempt to fan the flames and get people to click on their videos. Let’s dissect this accusation.
First of all, April’s character design keeps to the Eastman/Laird aesthetic. Just because she was exempt from the New York makeover in the past doesn’t mean she is immune to change since all of the lore is changed in this movie. Second, where was this backlash when the same thing happened in “Rise”? Regardless of whether or not she started out as a mixed-race character in the comics, April O’Neil is always different to the point where fans even complained about her redesign in the 2012 tv series. At this point, it feels like a horrible tradition to whine about changes in new adaptations of the same media when past versions still exist rather than being lost to time. If people were so upset about this version, there’s always Megan Fox from the Bay movies to fall back on.
Third, this April O’Neil is not the typical strong female character with no personality like in a lot of current media; she goes through a lot of development when dealing with her friendship with the turtles and her high school career as a journalist. Aside from her appearance, she’s still the same character that goes through her own arc that not even the 1987 series could top.
Speaking of changes, all of the lore goes against traditional cannon which may throw off hardcore fans, but given how many variations have been created since 2009, these changes are refreshing. For example, the mutants are well handled in casting, narrative and designs. The movie is aware of its own history and doesn’t waste time in delivering the fan service. Rogan and John Cena are particularly great as Bebop and Rocksteady with some of the funniest banter between the pair. Paul Rudd is the unsung hero for being unrecognizable as Mondo Gecko. Then there is Ice Cube as Superfly, which is a great change from the usual Baxter Stockman routine. Not since Killmonger from “Black Panther” has there been a villain who is relatable yet still goes a step too far in his quest for acceptance. When the mutants and the turtles interact with one another, it’s some of the freshest character building in the series and it keeps with the themes of prejudice that have always been prevalent in the series. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect movie despite all the hype.
While the characters and themes are spot on ,the narrative resorts to hurling exposition paragraphs to establish who, what, when, where, why and how for those who are using this movie as a jumping off point to the series. Thankfully, compared to “Disney’s Haunted Mansion”, the product placement is more subtle and in character when it comes to real world foods like chips and pizza. If only the same could be said for the humor which mostly relies on pop culture references. True, the turtles are no strangers to popular media, but they still had timeless jokes in between all the movies and video game parodies. Here, ninety percent of the jokes reference films like “Shrek”, “Despicable Me” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. When there is grounded humor, it works, but it’s used sparingly instead of being the main crux. Take this clip from the 2012 series episode “The Manhattan Project” as an example:
With that said, the ending leads to more possibilities that the series never experimented with minus a tease in the second Bay film. In a sea of franchises where not everything needs a sequel, this is the one exception following the mid credit scene.
Like a lot of animated movies this decade, this takes a lot of cues from Sony’s animated “Spider-Man” movies, but it’s not just borrowing the 2D/3D hybrid style; it’s combining this revolution with the Eastman/Laird aesthetic. Some might find it too ugly but given how every animated incarnation is clean and polished, this sticks out with its grungy New York City makeover akin to the 1990 film. It’s nice seeing animation branch out since CGI took over in the early 2000s. The sketches in the background constantly changing are a refreshing style that looks like Klasky Csupo and Aardman had a child. The character designs play with speed and lighting that combines different approaches from film noir to modern comic books, as if the indie scene experienced a resurgence. The animators certainly watched a lot of Chan’s films when Splinter gets to crack the nun chucks, which is one of the many highlights in the action sequences. Whatever anyone’s thoughts on the story are, there’s no denying that this is another evolution in animation variety.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” might be the best media from these heroes in a half shell since 2022’s “Cowabunga Collection”. It took the best parts of the past adaptations and trimmed the fat in terms of narrative, action, character, and presentation. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it comes close in the franchise’s nearly four decades on paper and on screen. Parents be warned because this is a hardcore PG movie instead of the softcore rating animated films receive when one mandatory swear word gets caught by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Whether or not this is as big of a financial success as “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer”, the positive critical reception from other reviewers like Chris Stuckmann and Double Toasted once again debunks the unfounded “Go woke go broke” statement that’s been infecting YouTube in this new decade. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer to the streets of New York, this will have something for everyone who wants to indulge in some mutant mayhem!
Cinematic Bandicoot 
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