When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were first introduced in 1984, comic book creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird set out to skewer the superhero stories then dominating the space (sound familiar?), piling on the parody (teenage…mutant…ninja…turtles?) and (oopsie!) crafting their own unexpected hit heroes in the process. Over the course of nearly four decades, those wily heroes have cycled through countless iterations, eventually becoming a favorite for kids (of all ages) and spawning their very own entertainment complex. So, has this all been done before? Thankfully, no.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” the latest entry into the half-shell canon, is another fresh, funny animated outing that breathes serious new life into a classic franchise, proving that even old IP has its legs (claws?). Directed by Jeff Rowe and scripted by Rowe, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Dan Hernandez, and Benji Samit (Rogen and Goldberg also produced through their Point Grey banner, while Rogen voices the iconic mutant warthog Bebop in the feature), “Mutant Mayhem” will inevitably draw comparisons to the “Spider-Verse” franchise. But it ably stands on its own as a genuinely entertaining film for the whole family.
The film’s dynamic animation style — both painterly and scribbly, heavy on the neon, vibrant and punchy, meant to look like the product of a free-wheeling sketchbook — will likely remind audiences of “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” which Rowe previously wrote and has indicated is a major reference point for the look and feel of this film. That animation style also allows the film, rated PG “for sequences of violence and action, language and impolite material,” to get away with moments of surprising violence and genuine grotesquerie that would have likely landed a live-action version a pretty solid R. (No spoilers, but as the film’s big final battle started to unspool, the persistent thought of “this is kinda…gross?” kept running through my head.)
Rowe’s film marks the first time in the Turtles’ long and storied history that the young heroes have been voiced by actual teenagers, including Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon (as Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael, respectively), a clever touch that adds real dimensions and emotion to a story, again, about mutant teenage crime-fighters. Meant to serve as an origin story (for a franchise that has had many, many iterations of this same initial story), there is a wealth of exposition to wade through, and some early scenes feel a bit bloated by all that backstory.
But Rowe and company soon smartly lean on story beats that feed the overall theme of the film, including the importance of acceptance and love in a seemingly cruel world, that help move it along to the present-day action. (And flashbacks that show off how loving mutant rat Splinter, voiced by Jackie Chan, came to find the charming baby turtles, forming an instant family, are absolutely adorable in a way this series has scarcely attempted.)
While Splinter has — understandably — spent much of his life in fear of humans, attempting to pass on his disgust and disdain to his sons, the message hasn’t quite stuck with them. Why? Well, it’s right there in their names: They’re teenagers, and these kids want nothing more than to be part of the human world, even its most basic and benign experiences. For Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo, there is nothing more appealing than their biggest wish: They just want to go to high school. But how can a foursome of mutant kiddos ever make their way among the human population?
Enter said “Mutant Mayhem.” The turtles are, of course, not the only mutants out there, a story the film’s opening sequence tries to fill in, with mixed results (it’s best not to think too deeply about the constraints and rules of this world, and when it comes to the evil corporation ostensibly behind their creation, just accept it as “evil corporation” and move on). Just as the turtle brothers are really jonesing to break free, they meet perhaps the world’s most charming human, budding high school reporter April O’Neil (voiced by rising star Ayo Edebiri). She’s hot on the trail of a wild crime syndicate that has plunged Manhattan (and that “evil corporation”!) into a state of mass hysteria, care of the many insane heists they are pulling off on the regular, stealing top-secret tools and machines with (clearly?) nefarious ends in mind.
When the brothers save April as she becomes the victim of a (relatively) small-scale crime, they not only pick up a new friend, they hit upon a great idea: April isn’t afraid of them because they are heroes to her, so why not get super-heroic and thus charm everyone else? It’s certainly lucky for them that April (and the city) are in need of some help, and it only gets wackier when they realize the very criminals they want to capture are (gasp) there own mutant cousins, led by the charismatic Super-Fly (he is, of course, a very large fly, and he is perfectly voiced by Ice Cube). The other mutants, gamely voiced by everyone from Paul Rudd to Rose Byrne, John Cena to Post Malone, are all too happy to welcome their “tortoise” cousins into the fold, a cute beat that’s far more complicated once Super-Fly doubles down on his intentions.
Eventually, the film settles into predictable plotting, but that doesn’t detract much from its otherwise giddy, witty vibe, which has enough humor to keep everyone tittering. Some of the film’s many jokes seem primed for an older audience (a gag involving Natasha Bedingfield’s uplifting jam “Unwritten” will amuse kiddos for its gross-out elements, but the Millennials in the audience will really flip for its clever nod to the Emma Stone joint “Easy A”), and its occasional forays into self-reflexive bits (there’s a sequence centered on cardboard cutouts of three of Hollywood’s Big Four Chrises, which appear in “live-action” form, that’s delightful and weird) will likely go over little heads. But the heart of “Mutant Mayhem” is pure, and the look of it is sprightly and unique, making it a worthy new addition to a franchise that clearly still has new stories to tell.
Grade: B
Paramount Pictures will release “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” in theaters on Wednesday, August 2.
