When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I thought it looked great, mainly due to the “Spider-Versication” of it all. Just like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023, my review here), this movie looks unique; the animation isn’t “flawless”, but that is what makes it stand out, and I am happy that studios started to take chances and some animated movies look differently than what we’ve been used to for a while now. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a fun time with our beloved teenage turtles who just happen to be ninjas too, and I thought the movie did many things right.
The main thing is the voice casting and how all the main guys voicing the turtles recorded their lines in a group at the same time, which is something that’s not common at all in this industry because you can’t manipulate/edit the audio as well when you have other people in the room. But that risky choice paid off and created this feeling that our heroes have chemistry. They often talk over each other, just like teenagers; they talk about new stuff relevant to this generation… This might be the first feature film with turtles set in the current time, with all the smartphones, apps, lingo, and it feels different from any other TMNT movie I have seen. Combine that with that unique animation style, and those two facts make two big plusses in my book.
What I also liked was the main crux of the story and how these teenagers are forced to make a tough moral choice that feels contradictory to their experience. From the start of the movie, we can see our heroes hiding in the shadows because they were taught to be afraid of humans, so when other mutants show up and plan to make all the animals into mutants, they would become the dominant species, and that would result in no more hiding… I will tell you, I would be tempted by that offer, just as our heroes are. So, despite them acting and talking like teenagers, the movie has our heroes dealing with tough decisions and making them learn lessons along the way, without feeling forced or out of place.
The only thing that stopped me from being immersed fully in this film was that nothing surprises you. Yes, I was surprised by the main story and the themes a bit, but then everything goes precisely as you would expect, which is fair; it’s a “kids’ movie”. But then, we take a look at the action sequences, and although the animation style was unique, I didn’t think the action scenes were all that entertaining. That will be the main issue for many animated movies following the success of Spider-Verse movies; no matter where you stand on those, the action is immaculate, and the blend of different animation styles looks effortless. Here, the action was messy at times, and some scenes were a bit darker than I would have liked, making it harder to see what was happening.
But, I would like to say that I have enjoyed my time, and I would love to get a sequel. I liked everything else about this movie, and I think as far as world-building is concerned, the movie set up most, if not all, characters well where I can imagine the sequel being even better than the original since now we are over the introduction part and we could get “wild”. We could jump into the next adventure with a few more characters (no spoilers) that intrigued me, and I can see this becoming a trilogy even as long as all the creative people are back; I would have no issues with that.
Overall, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a fun time with the characters you might know, but updated for the modern-day audience of teenagers today. The animation style is quirky, the story is surprisingly rich, and I had fun with it despite it not presenting anything new and some action not being up to par. Nevertheless, I would still recommend this movie, and I hope a sequel or two is coming our way because I can easily imagine more good stuff coming out of this world.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke