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Update: August 29, 2023
Dragonlord’s Review of TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM (No spoilers)
Bottom Line: Perfectly balancing the fun action and heartfelt coming-of-age teen drama aspects, Mutant Mayhem is an artistic triumph filled with heart and humor and is my best TMNT movie ever made so far.
There have been six Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie in the past (the original live-action trilogy, the 2007 computer-animated standalone sequel and the two Michael Bay live-action reboot films) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem blows them all out of the water. The new family-friendly film is a refreshing take on the franchise which puts emphasis on the teenage aspect of the main characters while further exploring themes of isolation and the need to fit in but executed better than previous iterations.
The origin story is more or less the same with some different variation – four mutated turtles are raised by a mutated rat and taught the art of ninjutsu. The turtles hunt down a mysterious crime syndicate in the hopes to becoming heroes and being adored by the public. But problem arises when the turtles find out the crime gang is filled with other mutants determined to destroy humanity.
Compared to Michael Bay’s grotesque, Hulk-like turtles, Mutant Mayhem’s turtles design is a welcomed sight with its smaller, leaner, wiry body type typical for a teenage build. Aside from giving every turtles a different physique, each of them have their own distinct personalities and traits as well. For the first time ever, the turtles are all voiced by teenage actors and it pays off as the turtles looked, acted and sounded like actual teenagers. And having the the actors record their voice together rather than one at a time yielded great results as the chemistry and improvisation were on point.
Clearly inspired by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Mutant Mayhem’s computerized animation incorporates a sketch-type of artwork design and utilizes the lower frame rate ratio to capture the comic book feel. Don’t worry, you will easily acclimate yourselves to the unique style of animation after a few minutes into the film. Love also their use of vivid and vibrant colors. Most of the film’s settings are set at night and the way the scenes are stylistically lit gives the film a cool, noir-ish atmosphere that is best viewed in theaters or at home with the lights turned off.
Co-written and produced by Seth Rogen, the story is simple enough but I was pleasantly surprised on the little twists and turns the movie took in the second half. With a runtime of 100 minutes, the film felt jam-packed and fulfilling as it condensed a lot in the story. The film reminded me of Spider-Man (immature/insecure teenager) crossed with X-Men (socially-outcast mutants) and the ending is not only a feel-good, teary-eyed moment, it boldly paves a new exciting direction for the franchise. I can easily foresee a second movie featuring Shredder and a third movie involving Krang/Dimension X.
The film has a cool, edgy 80s/90s New York City street vibe thanks to not only to the remarkable set designs but also by the fantastic score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The song choices were terrific also. There’s a lot of pop culture references thrown in. The unorthodox use of live-action media in some scenes work very well, similar to scenes of Wall-E watching the Hello, Dolly! musical. A lot of the humor was a hit for me especially the milking gag which paid off big time.
The voice cast assembled is just wonderful. Jackie Chan as the overprotective Splinter was very funny and also given a meaningful character arc. They even incorporated Jackie’s awkward fighting style in the Splinter’s fight scenes. Ice Cube is great as the menacing Superfly, an original character made for the film. Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko was hilarious. Though their screen time was short, Giancarlo Esposito, John Cena, Seth Rogen, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne and the rest of the mutant voice actors contributed nuggets of goodness in their roles.
There was a lot outcry surrounding the new April O’Neil when the first trailer hit. At that time, I too was a tad disappointed with the racebending but it was the unattractive character design that really bothered me. Despite all that, the character won me over watching the film midway. This April is a great character and given more depth compared to the generic Lois Lane wannabe versions in the past. The unattractiveness aspect of her character also fits with her story arc. April is voiced adorably by Ayo Edebiri from Hulu’s The Bear which is one of the best show in television today (I strongly recommend you watch the first two seasons).
Speaking of recommendations... Movie-wise, Mutant Mayhem is the best among all of them in my opinion. Television-wise, the 2012 Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, which ran for 5 seasons, is the best among the TMNT cartoons. If you like Avatar: The Last Airbender, check out the 2012 TMNT series.
Mutant Mayhem shares a parallel journey to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Both films failed to impress people watching their trailers. Both had similar art and animation styles. Both did not do well at the box office but critics and moviegoers gave the movies high praise and many declared them as the best iterations of all their movies. And if the pattern continues, Mutant Mayhem will finally find the love and appreciation from viewers when it comes out in home video or streaming. I encourage others to watch Mutant Mayhem in theaters if you still can as this is a special animated film worth the price of admission.
PRELIMINARY RATING: 8/10 or 8.5/10
(Please leave a Like if you appreciate my reviews.)
Dragonlord’s Review of TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM (No spoilers)
Bottom Line: Perfectly balancing the fun action and heartfelt coming-of-age teen drama aspects, Mutant Mayhem is an artistic triumph filled with heart and humor and is my best TMNT movie ever made so far.
There have been six Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie in the past (the original live-action trilogy, the 2007 computer-animated standalone sequel and the two Michael Bay live-action reboot films) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem blows them all out of the water. The new family-friendly film is a refreshing take on the franchise which puts emphasis on the teenage aspect of the main characters while further exploring themes of isolation and the need to fit in but executed better than previous iterations.
The origin story is more or less the same with some different variation – four mutated turtles are raised by a mutated rat and taught the art of ninjutsu. The turtles hunt down a mysterious crime syndicate in the hopes to becoming heroes and being adored by the public. But problem arises when the turtles find out the crime gang is filled with other mutants determined to destroy humanity.
Compared to Michael Bay’s grotesque, Hulk-like turtles, Mutant Mayhem’s turtles design is a welcomed sight with its smaller, leaner, wiry body type typical for a teenage build. Aside from giving every turtles a different physique, each of them have their own distinct personalities and traits as well. For the first time ever, the turtles are all voiced by teenage actors and it pays off as the turtles looked, acted and sounded like actual teenagers. And having the the actors record their voice together rather than one at a time yielded great results as the chemistry and improvisation were on point.
Clearly inspired by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Mutant Mayhem’s computerized animation incorporates a sketch-type of artwork design and utilizes the lower frame rate ratio to capture the comic book feel. Don’t worry, you will easily acclimate yourselves to the unique style of animation after a few minutes into the film. Love also their use of vivid and vibrant colors. Most of the film’s settings are set at night and the way the scenes are stylistically lit gives the film a cool, noir-ish atmosphere that is best viewed in theaters or at home with the lights turned off.
Co-written and produced by Seth Rogen, the story is simple enough but I was pleasantly surprised on the little twists and turns the movie took in the second half. With a runtime of 100 minutes, the film felt jam-packed and fulfilling as it condensed a lot in the story. The film reminded me of Spider-Man (immature/insecure teenager) crossed with X-Men (socially-outcast mutants) and the ending is not only a feel-good, teary-eyed moment, it boldly paves a new exciting direction for the franchise. I can easily foresee a second movie featuring Shredder and a third movie involving Krang/Dimension X.
The film has a cool, edgy 80s/90s New York City street vibe thanks to not only to the remarkable set designs but also by the fantastic score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The song choices were terrific also. There’s a lot of pop culture references thrown in. The unorthodox use of live-action media in some scenes work very well, similar to scenes of Wall-E watching the Hello, Dolly! musical. A lot of the humor was a hit for me especially the milking gag which paid off big time.
The voice cast assembled is just wonderful. Jackie Chan as the overprotective Splinter was very funny and also given a meaningful character arc. They even incorporated Jackie’s awkward fighting style in the Splinter’s fight scenes. Ice Cube is great as the menacing Superfly, an original character made for the film. Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko was hilarious. Though their screen time was short, Giancarlo Esposito, John Cena, Seth Rogen, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne and the rest of the mutant voice actors contributed nuggets of goodness in their roles.
There was a lot outcry surrounding the new April O’Neil when the first trailer hit. At that time, I too was a tad disappointed with the racebending but it was the unattractive character design that really bothered me. Despite all that, the character won me over watching the film midway. This April is a great character and given more depth compared to the generic Lois Lane wannabe versions in the past. The unattractiveness aspect of her character also fits with her story arc. April is voiced adorably by Ayo Edebiri from Hulu’s The Bear which is one of the best show in television today (I strongly recommend you watch the first two seasons).
Speaking of recommendations... Movie-wise, Mutant Mayhem is the best among all of them in my opinion. Television-wise, the 2012 Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, which ran for 5 seasons, is the best among the TMNT cartoons. If you like Avatar: The Last Airbender, check out the 2012 TMNT series.
Mutant Mayhem shares a parallel journey to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Both films failed to impress people watching their trailers. Both had similar art and animation styles. Both did not do well at the box office but critics and moviegoers gave the movies high praise and many declared them as the best iterations of all their movies. And if the pattern continues, Mutant Mayhem will finally find the love and appreciation from viewers when it comes out in home video or streaming. I encourage others to watch Mutant Mayhem in theaters if you still can as this is a special animated film worth the price of admission.
PRELIMINARY RATING: 8/10 or 8.5/10
(Please leave a Like if you appreciate my reviews.)
