Growing up the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were my main toy store go-to, alongside He-Man. I had pretty much every figure back in the day, woke up on Saturday mornings to catch the cartoon, and remember seeing all three live action films on the big screen. Yes, even the third one. If that’s not commitment to fandom, I don’t know what is! One memory that’s seared into my head is at the start of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, when the turtles leap into the air and the title card appears. I was cheering, other kids were as well…it was just a great moment.
In the decades since (I’d be considered a Middle-Aged Mutant Ninja Turtle at this point, but that doesn’t have the same ring to it) the TMNT have had multiple animated TV shows, another pair of live-action films, as well as an animated feature. Each iteration aimed to bring something new to the table, but the mainstay was that these were mutant turtles who loved pizza, kicked butt on the streets, and were teenagers. And while “teenage” is the first descriptive word for the characters, it’s also the rarest area of focus when it comes to any of the above releases.
That’s changed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which is the latest rebranding of our favourite heroes in a half shell, which actually puts the age and mindset of the turtles front and center. Before we dive into the film, let’s take a look at the Limited Edition Steelbook, which is totally radical dudes and dudettes!
Okay, so the lingo has definitely changed since the ‘80s cartoon and 1990 original movie, but this is still one bodacious Steelbook! The cover is a solid matte black, and right down the middle we’ve got Michaelangelo’s hand holding up a skateboard, with the film’s title found on the board’s deck. All around if we’ve got drawings, and sketches, as well as stickers that all screen teenager, as well as showcase the film’s fresh artistic animation style. There are sketch marks coming off the side of the board, as well as Michaelangel’s hand and wristband, the wheels have a hastily-coloured look, and everything just looks vibrant! I love the simplicity of the cover art, while it’s also so full of life. It also screams Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (even if it wasn’t written on the board) which is exactly what you want to see.
Flip it over and we’ve got the opposite, with the entire backside covered almost entirely by the turtles from the shoulders up. I believe Mikey is swinging his nunchaku around, as it’s over to the left top corner, and his arm is out in the right top, but it also looks as if he’s taking a selfie of the crew, which is a good way to describe how they’re posed. They’ve all got looks on their faces that help show off their personal identities, with Leo looking determined and aware, Mikey looking happy, Donny looking like he’s processing something, and Raph looking like he wants to start a fight. The backdrop here has gone from solid black to the wall of a sewer, and once again the art-style is on display, with scribbles being found on the turtles’ skin and bandanas.
This is exactly what you want on the back coming off the minimalist front. It’s a perfectly balanced shot of the four brothers, and they pop beautifully off the background.
The slipcase on the inside is always a fun moment for me, as there are so many possibilities with what can be done with it, and how you can balance it out. Will it be one-sided with its imagery? Will it focus on a scene from the movie, or a different artistic take? You never really know, and I’m almost never disappointed; but this one does leave a bit to be desired. I will say that while fun, the slipcase isn’t really make or break at any point, as it’s often covered by the discs, and it’s not out for display, so I wouldn’t not pick up a Steelbook because it lacked on the interior, but it’s still nice when it’s a winner on all sides.
The interior here sees the four turtles on the left, each segmented out in their own fourth of the slipcover, and on the right side we’ve got Superfly, Mondo Gecko, Bebop and Rocksteady, again, all segmented out into fourths. It just feels generic, and a giant group shot would’ve been preferred. Heck, even an empty interior of the turtle’s home in the sewer would’ve fit nicer. There’s a lot of great art and shots in the film, so to have it feel so cut and paste is just unfortunate. On the positive side, the characters all look awesome, so that’s a win.
As a whole, I’d highly recommend this Limited Edition Steelbook to TMNT fans, as the front and back truly do capture the vibe of the film and look awesome. While the interior is lacking a bit, it’s the one time when what’s inside doesn’t count as much, so don’t let that be the reason to not add this one to your collection before it’s gone.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is the first time that the turtles are played by teenagers, which gives everything a different feel. While there’s nothing wrong with someone older voicing a younger character, the idea here was to make the turtles feel like they’re actually teens, and not just because it makes for a catchy title. In previous versions there’s a definite immaturity that’s given to the characters, but hey, I’m equally immature almost all the time and nobody is mistaking me for a high-school student (maybe third-year college, but I digress!) This time out, however, co-writer/producer Seth Rogen (who also voices Bebop) wanted to focus on this pivotal moment in their lives, which is such a smart move that really does set this film apart from its predecessors.
Mutant Mayhem is really the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coming-of-age story. The foursome has always wanted to be accepted, or at least somewhat fit into society – even if they had to wear a trench coat and Bogie to do it. Here though, the turtles have dreams of becoming an actual part of society, going to high school, getting a girlfriend, and just not being seen as different. The decision to have them all voiced by actual teenagers is perfect for this, as there’s just so many little things that someone in the current generation can add to the dialogue and delivery that an older actor just wouldn’t know to do.
That was another great decision made by directors Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears, as they’d let Nicolas Cantu (Leonardo), Shamon Brown Jr. (Michaelangelo), Micah Abbey (Donatello), and Brady Noon (Raphael) just go wild at times during recording sessions. There are moments shown in the film where all the turtles are talking over one another, and in the special features we learn that sometimes this was recorded that way on purpose so that the audience would get this true-to-life feel of how these brothers would interact with one another, instead of simply having scripted lines being used at every moment. While Rowe admits it was a nightmare for the audio team (as the actors all recorded together in the same room, so when they were talking over one another, we’re not talking about it happening in separate recording sessions); but adds a huge amount of life to the scenes, and gives the brothers a sense of depth and personality that is often missed out on.
We’ve also got April O’Neil (voiced by Ayo Edebiri), who is a high school student going through her own growing pains. She has dreams of becoming a journalist and befriends the turtles after your run-of-the-mill ninja star to helmet meet-cute moments. Different shows and movies have had different turtles garner feelings for April, and this time out it’s Leo who falls smitten for her. Again, it’s all handled perfectly, with it being a driving force for his character, while the others all have their own reasons for wanting to step out of the shadows.
Their overbearing father, Splinter (voiced by Jackie Chan), is persistent in his belief that all humans are bad, and that they’ll do terrible things to his boys if they get caught, such as being milked and then killed – and yes, the turtles do point out that they don’t have nipples, but the warning persists. Splinter isn’t without his reasons, as he did try to take the boys out once, and people reacted in horrible ways, so he wants to protect his sons from being on the receiving end of such fear and hatred. But these are teenage boys, and once they learn from April that there’s a crime boss named Superfly (voiced by Ice Cube) stealing specific technology for an unknown endgame, they view stopping him as their chance to prove themselves to be heroes and not monsters.
What I love about Mutant Mayhem so much is that Rogen and company are looking to leave their own mark in TMNT lore, branching off, creating their own mythos, and doing their own thing. The same basic foundation is there, but where they build up from here is up to them. They’ll hit some of the same notes along the way, but they’re putting their own spin on characters and that’s a good thing. One example is the beloved duo of Bebop (Rogen) and Rocksteady (voiced by John Cena), who were Shredder’s thugs in the original cartoon, and any time they’ve appeared since they’ve also fallen into that thug-like position. That isn’t exactly the case this time out, which is a breath of fresh air, and a positive direction for the future.
And the future for this budding franchise looks brighter than a broken canister of ooze in a dark sewer, with a sequel already greenlit and a two-season Paramount+ show that’ll fill in the time between the two movies in the works. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is an absolute blast for children of all ages, with a great message, loads of action, a fantastic and unique animation style, and more laughs to be had than a mutant turtle can eat pizza. Cowabunga!
Overall Movie Score: 4/5
4K Blu-ray Video and Audio Review:
It’s great when animated films look to step out of the box a bit and change it up from the styles we’re used to seeing time and time again. The Spider-Verse films have done that to great success in recent years, and now the Turtles have done the same, with a gorgeous animation style that perfectly suits the age and attitude of the main characters, and exudes that exact energetic, youthful visual that the filmmakers were looking for.
The 4K transfer is top tier, with Dolby Vision being a perfect distributor for this dynamic artistic style, really bringing to life all the small, subtle details in the film. The differences between the turtles from the colours of their masks to the colours of their skin tones are all crystal clear, and the textures of the backgrounds and locations are easy on the eyes. There’s just a lot to love about this film, and the animation style is one of the biggest ones. It’s wonderful to see it get the love it deserves for home theaters.
Speaking of love, let’s jump over to the Dolby Atmos soundtrack, which is just as rad, dude. There are so many sounds and musical elements that just surround the listener and fill the room. This is a movie with a soundtrack that’s full of bass, so prepare for that depending on your living situation. The fight scenes are phenomenal, absolutely covering the room with combat sounds as the turtles fight their foes in various locations. The dialogue is crystal clear, front and center, so there’s no struggling there, and as a whole this is just a winning combo that fans will love.
Special Features:
TEENage Mutant Ninja Turtles – This first featurette comes in at just over 6-minutes in length and is one I would’ve liked to have seen last a bit longer. All of these, in fact, could’ve benefited from another five minutes or so with more time spent with the voice actors at work! Always fun to watch when they’re having a good time, and everyone here is definitely having that. Here we get to see why they cast actual teenagers in the roles, and why it was so beneficial to the filmmaking process and story being told.
The Mutant Uprising – Here we’ve got an eight-and-a-half-minute featurette which talks about the mutants in the film aside from the Turtles, and the star-studded cast that voices them. There are loads of top Hollywood talent involved, and we get a brief glimpse of most of them at work here. Again, would’ve loved a minute or two with each, but alas, it was nice to get something.
New York, New York: The Visual World of Mutant Mayhem – This is a 6-minute featurette that focuses on the art style, why the decision was made to go with it, how it was sold to Rogen and the rest of the team, and how impressed they were by it when they saw 3D renders. Again, it’s quick and you get the basic info out of it, but these all leave you wanting more! Both a good and a bad thing.
Learn to Draw Leo – This one is 21-minutes long and sees the Art For Kids Hub YouTube team show viewers how to draw the leader of the turtles pretty close to in real time. It’s a wonderfully welcoming pairing, with the host truly making you feel as though even if what you’re drawing isn’t perfect, you’re still doing a great job. This is the type of motivation that likely would’ve kept me drawing at an earlier age, but a bad art teacher throughout high school who belittles her students work tends to kill your spirit over the years at that age. So it’s wonderful to see such an inspiring and motivational host really trying to get kids involved in drawing and art!
Paramount Pictures Presents Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Directed by: Jeff Rowe, Kyler Spears. Written by: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Jeff Rowe. Starring:
. Running time: 99 Minutes. Rating: PG. Released on 4K Blu-ray: Dec. 12, 2023.
About Brendan Campbell
