REVIEW: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)

Movie Reviews

Since I first heard about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, I’ve had mixed feelings. The trailers showcased a vibrant and unique animation style, and I liked the repartee between the brothers. However, April’s re-design seemed an obvious and unnecessary departure. I’m a big fan of the 2012 animated series, which starred Sean Astin and Seth Green, and saw Rob Paulsen return to the franchise as Donatello (after playing Raphael in the 1987 series). I also like some of the movies, but I’m not an expert on the many iterations of TMNT. As such, I was mostly just hoping Mutant Mayhem would be a fun time. Grab your nunchakus, and we’ll venture into the ooze.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is an origin story. The Turtles, and especially April (Ayo Edebiri), are all portrayed as younger than usual here, and the Shredder isn’t even on the scene yet. When Superfly (Ice Cube) begins constructing the ultimate weapon with his horde of mutants, the boys team up with April to save the world.

I really enjoyed the backstories in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Splinter (Jackie Chan), the Turtles, Superfly, and several other major players get brief but effective flashbacks in this movie, and they’re handled very well. Baxter Stockman (Giancarlo Esposito) and Splinter’s backstories vary greatly from those they had in the 2012 series, but I guess these things are bound to morph over the course of several adaptations. It didn’t bother me too much and made for a surprising experience. I imagine the more variations you’ve read/watched, the less surprised you’ll be. The relationships and dialogue between the characters were also very good. This is one of the main things that caught my eye in the trailers.

The other was the striking art style. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem doesn’t quite look like other renditions of the mutated reptiles or anything else I’ve seen. I can already sense the comparisons to Arcane, Into the Spider-Verse, and The Last Wish, but honestly, aside from utilizing both hand-drawn and CG styles, Mutant Mayhem doesn’t have much in common with them. The computer-generated streets ooze with 2D elements and lighting, and the result is electrifying. With Into the Spider-Verse, Sony essentially forced American animation into a paradigm shift, and I love seeing the works that result. The score by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor is awesome. It has a badass edge to it and always keeps pace with the action on the screen, which is saying something. The songs are used very well and create several moments that I can imagine becoming iconic. The technical aspects of this film are finely tuned and always keep the experience fresh and exciting.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem has an insane vocal cast. Ice Cube, Seth Rogen, John Cena, Jackie Chan, Giancarlo Esposito, Paul Rudd, Rose Byrne, Maya Rudolph, Post Malone, and more fill out the supporting cast. Leo, Raph, Mikey, and Donatello are voiced by Nicholas Cantu, Brady Noon, Shamon Brown Jr., and Micah Abbey, respectively. I wasn’t initially thrilled to see the Turtles played by people I don’t know, but it’s good to let younger, lesser-known actors have a shot. The acting is solid all around, but I wish some of the performers were given more time to shine. Outside the Turtles, Ice Cube and Jackie Chan get some good, memorable moments. I don’t care for Ayo Edebiri’s April, and I never really got over her unappealing re-design.

In fact, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem has too many characters, leading to much of the supporting cast feeling under-utilized. Superfly has so many sidekicks that most of them leave no impact. He has Bebop (Seth Rogen) and Rocksteady (John Cena), Leatherhead (Rose Byrne), Wingnut (Natasha Demetriou), Mondo Gecko (Paul Rudd), Ray Fillet (Post Malone, credited as Austin Post), and more. That’s right; I said more. How many sidekicks does the villain need? There are more villains, too, like Cynthia Ultrom (Maya Rudolph) and several goons who trail the Turtles throughout the film. This doesn’t ruin the movie for me, but I would have enjoyed it more if the characters were better balanced. I was left wanting more from guys like Ray Fillet and Mondo Gecko while being unsure why Maya Rudolph needed to be in this at all. It seems like she’s in everything nowadays, but I don’t know why. She isn’t that funny to me, although she is harmless enough, I suppose. They clearly tease a sequel in the mid-credits sequence, meaning several of these baddies could have been saved for that or even more potential sequels. It seems like a waste to introduce so many characters in a relatively short film, leaving little breathing room for any of them.

Another small issue with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is giving me major deja vu: the dialogue. As I said, the flow of speech and rapport between characters are great. However, sometimes the dialogue is extremely modern and meme-like. This wasn’t a big problem for me, although I did have to ask my sister what “ris” means. This style of speech is very funny, but much like Haunted Mansion, I’m not sure it will age the film well over a period of years and decades. This also may throw older audiences more than kids and young adults, but I could be wrong. I think there’s enough to enjoy anyway, but it’s only fair to praise the good and condemn the bad (or at least flawed).

Overall, Mutant Mayhem is a fun rendition of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There are respectful homages to the 1987 cartoon and creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, so I imagine longtime fans can appreciate that. This is a great movie to take kids to, which is sadly more than I can say about other recent films that appeal to them. It’s hard to say if this movie is for you, but I had a great time, and so did the kids I saw it with.