‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ Review: The Turtles Tower at an All-Time High
The Spider-Verse films have spawned a whole new sub-genre of animation; the loose style that was introduced in those films have led to hits like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Netflix’s The Mitchells vs. The Machines, and In those cases, the style is pretty similar to the original source material. That doesn’t mean those films aren’t great, they certainly are, but they wear that inspiration on their sleeves unabashedly. While that same look is the base for the visuals of ‘Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’, it may be the first film to actually twist it a little bit, forging a distinct vision.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is the first time the turtles have been on the big screen since 2016’s Out of the Shadows. Safe to say, they’re much more welcome this time around. They stand out in a scribbly, surprisingly grimy New York City, one that takes advantage of the unique animation down to the very last line. The familiar cell-shaded style is given a jagged overlay here; director Jeff Rowe (co-director of MvM) paints problems on the faces of their victims.
Humans do not look normal. Their faces are asymmetrical, with lines flowing in, from, and around their heads. Discoloration defines them, and their combined disfiguration sells a greater hitch in the human condition. The film spends a ton of time touching on humans’ arguably inherent tendency to reject that which is different from them, often based on looks alone. The issue is a touchy one, but it’s treated with class here.
Much of it is illustrated quite plainly through visual irony. The turtles, despite being the supposed monstrous intruders into society, look the most normal within it. They’re clean, mostly symmetrical, and layered in colorful details. They are the opposite of what the humans claim them to be and exactly what the humans think of themselves. Not only does this ensure empathy for the turtles, but it’s a great example of subtle theming.
Though unlike some of the most popular animated efforts as of late, Mutant Mayhem is mainly focused on fun. A narrative purpose is present and it gets through, but the constant gags take first priority. In well-known Ninja Turtles fashion, pop culture references are abundant as well. Most often in films such nods tend to be a bit behind, but here, they’re on-point across the board. The film touches a few corners of the internet you’d never expect, but does so with extreme tact. The resulting jokes hit hard for people who understand them and still go down easy for those who don’t, due to the undeniably infectious energy present in all the gut-busting bits.
Beyond being the cinematic equivalent to laugh gas, the film also finds the space for simple smiles. You’ll grin ear-to-ear watching these awkward teenagers stumble around the simple things, like meeting new people and making impressions, after destroying a gang of people triple their size and number. It just gets to the heart of these characters, and what makes them so likable. The voice cast is a big part of this too; the quad-core of Nicolas Cantu (Leonardo), Brady Noon (Raphael), Micah Abbey (Donatello), and Shamon Brown Jr. (Michelangelo) work wonders in portraying a younger teenage version of the team than we’ve really ever seen before. Their lightheartedness is insatiable.
The whole voice cast is a stroke of genius, really. Paul Rudd plays a hippie gecko concerned only with skateboarding and iterations of the word “bro”, while Ice Cube plays a self-absorbed mutant fly that wants to literally destroy all of humanity, with a boombox by his side. There’s also Post Malone as a singing shark, Seth Rogen and John Cena as the beloved Bebop and Rocksteady, and Jackie Chan as an unusually chipper Splinter. Despite their larger than life names, these people disappear into these roles. It’s neat to know it was them in retrospect, but they go the extra mile to make these characters more than the sound of their voice. Jeff Rowe gets props for his direction here, too.
Truly, Rowe deserves more credit for this film. The marketing has heavily featured Seth Rogen’s name, which makes sense, as this is his story and he’s producing it, but Lowe’s direction ticks things up an extra notch. He leans into the natural sensibilities of the teens’ behavior and conversations, allowing shots to hold and wiggle around as talks unfold and play out. When it needs to move, it moves, but the film spends a lot of time just hanging out with the turtles, visually unmoving as they over-explain one of their quirky tendencies or argue with each other about their chances in the real world. The full experience feels more realistic as a result, and greatly steepens the effectiveness of the turtles’ brotherhood as the main driver of the story.
A story that is, on its own, remarkably simple. There aren’t any crazy twists or threads to follow as they unravel throughout a multi-layered plot. It’s very “Point A to Point B”, and that’s okay. It stays close to what works, relies heavily on the banter, and delivers an unadulterated 90-minute blast. Mutant Mayhem doesn’t aim all that high, but that also means you’ll never have to reach for it.
Just like all the best Saturday morning cartoons, Mutant Mayhem is made to watch over and over again without it ever getting old. The pop-culture nods may not be eternal, but that’ll be part of the charm a few decades down the line. The rest of it certainly is; the film is lively in every respect, from the hectic action to the endless compelling conversations regarding discovery of self and life on a larger scale.
Seth Rogen and Jeff Rowe have ushered in a new age for a set of legendary characters that deserved it. They stay true to what popularized the turtles in the first place, whilst still finding ways to modernize their stories and personal journeys. Both nostalgic and revitalizing, Mutant Mayhem will take you back to the first time you met the Ninja Turtles, remind you why you love them, and lock you in for whatever comes next.