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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a 2023 American computer-animated superhero film directed by Jeff Rowe, who co-wrote the screenplay with Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Dan Hernandez, and Benji Samit. It is the seventh theatrical Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film and a reboot of the Turtles series. The film stars Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon in the lead voice roles. The ensemble voice cast also includes Ayo Edebiri, Maya Rudolph, John Cena, Rogen, Rose Byrne, Natasia Demetriou, Giancarlo Esposito, Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, Paul Rudd, Post Malone, and Hannibal Buress. In the film, the Turtles go on a hunt for a mysterious crime syndicate, but trouble arises when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.
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 Can I kick it? Yes you can
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Nickelodeon announced Mutant Mayhem in June 2020, with Rogen, Goldberg, and James Weaver producing under their Point Grey Pictures banner, and Rowe as director. Kyler Spears joined as co-director soon after. The animation was provided by Mikros Animation in Montreal and Paris and Cinesite in Vancouver and Montreal and was primarily influenced by school notebook sketches. Seeking to explore the teenage aspect of the Turtles, the filmmakers drew inspiration from teenage coming-of-age films. The majority of the cast was announced in March 2023. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the score.
Mutant Mayhem was screened as a work-in-progress at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 12, 2023, and was released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on August 2, 2023. It has grossed $138 million worldwide and received positive reviews for its performances, screenplay, and stylized animation; several critics named it the best Turtles film. A follow-up television series, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is set to premiere on Paramount+, and a sequel film is in development.
Plot
Techno Cosmic Research Institute (TCRI) executive Cynthia Utrom sends a squadron to hunt down rogue scientist Baxter Stockman, who has created a mutagen to form his own mutant animal family, starting with a housefly. Stockman is interrupted by Utrom's strike force and killed in the resulting explosion, while the mutagen falls into the sewers of New York City.
Fifteen years later, the turtle brothers Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello have been raised by their adoptive rat father, Splinter after the five of them were transformed into humanoid mutants by Stockman's mutagen, which they call "ooze". Being chased away by humans led Splinter to distrust humanity and train his sons in the art of ninjutsu, instructing them to only leave their sewer home to steal supplies. Now teenagers, the turtles long to live as normal high schoolers, much to Splinter's dismay.
During a supply run, the turtles defeat a gang of criminals to recover a stolen moped belonging to a teenager named April O'Neil, revealing themselves and their origins. April, an aspiring journalist struggling to move past an embarrassing viral incident of vomiting on camera, has been investigating a series of robberies of TCRI technology by a criminal known as "Superfly". The turtles plan to stop Superfly and, through April's reporting, win public acceptance as heroes. They intercept a piece of stolen technology and meet Superfly under the Brooklyn Bridge, discovering that he is not only a mutant himself, but leader of a mutant gang. Ecstatic to meet fellow mutants, the turtles bond with Superfly and the others and he explains that they were created by Stockman, evading TCRI and living on an abandoned ship in Staten Island.
The turtles try to intervene, but the gang escapes with the equipment while a tracker TCRI installed on the equipment falls back with the turtles, allowing them to get captured. At TCRI headquarters, Utrom painfully "milks" the turtles for their mutagen, but April arrives with Splinter to rescue them. At the gang's hideout, Splinter and the turtles convince them that their plan for domination will make them no better than the worst of humanity, and together they turn on Superfly, destroying his machine. However, the ooze falls into the water, combining marine wildlife with Superfly, who then transforms into a gigantic whale-like kaiju after grabbing animals from a nearby zoo. He attacks the city and the turtles and other mutants attempt to stop him but are assumed by the public to be fellow monsters.
April overcomes her anxiety and commandeers a news broadcast to explain the mutants' good intentions and the citizens of New York come to their aid. Leonardo finds his voice as a leader, and with the help of the citizens, other mutants, and fellow turtles, drops a canister of TCRI retro-mutagen into Superfly's blowhole, turning him back into a collection of normal animals. Reconciling with Splinter, the turtles, April, and the mutants are celebrated by the city. The mutants soon move into the sewers with them. Splinter and Scumbug fall in love and the Turtles enroll at April's high school, where they are all embraced as heroes.
In a mid-credits scene, the turtles enjoy high school life. While the turtles and April enjoy themselves at prom, they are under surveillance from Utrom (holding the now unmutated Superfly captive), who plans to recapture the turtles by enlisting the aid of the mysterious Shredder.
Why It Can Kick It
- It's amazing seeing another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film on the big screen after 7 years.
- Great performances, particularly from Jackie Chan and Ice Cube. But with all that in mind, the best performances in the movie come from the voices of the turtles, which helps that the four of them continually record their lines in the same room and are encouraged to improvise.
- Incredible use of stylized animation, which is inspired by the Spider-Verse films and, considering this is a Jeff Rowe film, The Mitchells vs. the Machines.
- Great pacing.
- The comedy is also good.
- The film stays faithful to the Source Material.
- The new characters are amazing.
- Despite some fans criticizing Donatellos Voice, Micah Abbey's Performance is decent.
- Good direction By Jeff Rowe.
- The redemption of the other mutants was very well handled and gave the film a touch of authenticity.
- There are numerous references to well-known anime and cartoons such as Family Guy, SpongeBob Squarepants, Batman, Akira, Attack on Titans, etc.
- The Shredder tease in the post-credit scene is amazing.
Not-So Shellshocking Qualities
- Some fans didn't like Donatello's voice, Micah Abbey, as he sounded a bit too young compared to the others, Despite being a decent performance.
- Although it's rated PG, Superfly curses too much for a kid's movie; he says "Damn" 3 times and "Hell" 8 times. It doesn't help that he's played by rapper Ice Cube. Also, this film was co-produced by Point Grey Pictures, which made some raunchy adult media like, This Is The End, Sausage Party, The Boys (and it's spin-off Gen V), Invincible, Blockers, Good Boys, Joy Ride, etc.
- Much like PAW Patrol: The Movie, Paramount Animation wasn't involved with the film, outside of the film being findable on the Paramount Animation website.
The only Neutral Quality
- Some find the scenes with the Turtles as baby mutant creatures as unsettling, while others find it adorable.
Reception
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem received positive reviews from critics. The film's performances, screenplay, and stylized animation were widely praised, and several critics considered it the best Turtles film. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of 251 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "With its unique visual style and a story that captures the essence of the franchise's appeal, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is an animated treat for the whole family." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 74 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it an 88% overall positive score, with 70% saying they would recommend the film.
Lauding the film, Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times called it "an unexpectedly delightful challenge to the critic’s reflexive antifranchise mentality". Tom Jorgensen of IGN who gave the film an 8 out of 10 rating, spoke positively of it, though criticized the plot for being predictable. He wrote that the film "oozes confidence, energy, and heart" and represents "a new high for the Turtles on the big screen". Charlotte O'Sullivan of the Evening Standard, who awarded the feature 4 out of 5 stars, praised the portrayal of April O'Neil as well as Edeberi's performance of the character. She said that the film was "peppy, anarchic, doesn’t talk down to teens, looks scrumdiddlyumptious, boasts an impeccably laconic soundtrack, and gives us April O’Neil as we’ve never seen her before". Empire's John Nugent summarized in his 4 out 5-star rating review: "Inventively animated, giddily funny, and a surprisingly authentic take on the outsider experience: it is virtually impossible not to be charmed by these reptilian bros".
/Film's Rafael Motamayor gave the film a 9 out of 10 ratings, saying that it "is not only a great introduction to the iconic franchise, but a fantastic film in its own right, and one of the best-looking movies of the year". Liz Miller of Consequence, who gave the film an A− grade, commended the use of licensed tracks, writing that the montage set to Blackstreet’s "No Diggity" "might be one of the most beautifully animated sequences of the year so far". Deadline Hollywood's Pete Hammond applauded the screenplay, humor, and performances of Abbey, Brown, Cantu, and Noon. He concluded, "Rogen has made his mark on a franchise that still finds new ways to smartly entertain amid all that mayhem".
Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com, who gave the feature a 2.5 out of 5-star rating, considered the animation a highlight but criticized the story and characterization for lacking depth. Writing for Variety, Peter Debruge commended the direction but called the screenplay "wildly original in places" but a "recycled glob of tired clichés in others". The Daily Beast's Nick Schager praised the direction and animation but largely disliked the film for its humor, use of references, and story. He wrote, "Considering Rogen's participation as both a writer and actor, it's surprising that Mutant Mayhem plays it so safe, not merely in terms of plot but with regards to its comedy."
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