Coming from this 90s Turtle-loving adult, Mutant Mayhem is the best the teenage ninjas have been in a long time.

Score: 3.5/5

As a 90’s kid, one of the many songs forever stuck in my head is the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme. I loved the show, the live-action movies, the action figures, the video games, if it had the Turtles, it was part of my childhood. So, to say I have a bit of bias going into this new movie would be a bit of an understatement. Were Seth Rogen and the team able to deliver on bringing back that classic TMNT feel that the Michael Bay movies tarnished? Yeah, most definitely. With a unique animation style, a fun cast, and a story with a lot of heart Mutant Mayhem is leagues better than any Turtle movie since the early 90s.

Upfront, this movie is gorgeous. Like the Spider-Verse movies before it, this movie owns its visual stamp. It has a grungy New York feel blended with a darker-toned comic look. It feels very Turtles. The team also took great care to include homages to what has made the franchise what it is. Including what is easily my favorite scene, involving a fight montage that looks like they pulled it straight from the 2D brawlers back in the day (or the very recent sequel in 2022). After a decade-plus of the same Pixar-style visuals dominating movie screens it’s been super refreshing to see animation that is trying to do its own thing.

The story is pretty simple all things considered, the Turtles just want to be accepted in human society, so when an opportunity comes their way to stop a criminal called Superfly, they figure they will be the heroes and that will change things for them. It obviously doesn’t go to plan but what helps lift this movie up so that all ages can enjoy is the heart of the movie, and plenty of modern references to bring this version of the Turtles to modern times. These are teens, of course they are going to reference things like Family Guy or Attack on Titan. The heart I keep speaking to comes down to that vulnerability from everyone just wanting to be loved one way or the other and how each of them comes to a positive or negative conclusion of how to get that. Now, this isn’t Pixar level depth but it’s enough that it works.

All of this wouldn’t work without a cast that felt right for the characters, and casting nailed it. The Turtles are voiced by Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr, Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon. They are perfect, and the chemistry is noticeable. There is not a doubt in my mind that they had a blast in the recording booths. There were so many great guest stars, but the ones that stuck out most to me were Ayo Edebiri as April O’Neil, Jackie Chan as Splinter, and Ice Cube as Superfly.

In the fallout of Barbenheimer, it would be easy to write-off anything that comes out in the next month or two but don’t sleep on this one. It doesn’t hit the same highs as Across the Spider-Verse but coming from this 90s Turtle-loving adult, Mutant Mayhem is the best the teenage ninjas have been in a long time.