Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) Movie Review
Writer and director Jeff Rowe follows up the 2021 surprise success of The Mitchells vs. The Machines with another animated gem. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem takes the beloved ninja turtles and gives us a fresh perspective on the old story. The much-loved band of brothers, Donatello (Micah Abbey), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), and Raphael (Brady Noon) reside in the sewers beneath NYC. Their rat father Splinter (Jackie Chan) has been scarred from his previous experiences with humans and won’t allow his adopted sons to interact with them.
A chance encounter with a teenager, April (Ayo Edebiri), who longs to be a hard-hitting journalist puts the brothers hot on the trail of mutants trying to destroy the city. The brothers take matters into their own hands and confront the bad guys to try and save the day. It’s an origin story that isn’t particularly memorable. But while the story isn’t anything novel, the animation style is. It has a comic book feel and moves at a rapid clip–similar to this year’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. A booming soundtrack featuring the likes of DMX, Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, and Vanilla Ice helps spice up more ordinary scenes.
Plus, the voice actors truly shine. The four brothers are voiced by actual teenagers which is refreshing and provides a certain level of authenticity. The rest of the cast is stacked with Maya Rudolph, John Cena, Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, and Post Malone making the rounds. Their strong performances somewhat make up for the lackluster storyline. As Pixar relentlessly churns out movies seemingly desperate to replicate the greatness of Inside Out (2015), movies like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem feel like a breath of fresh air. It’s not the best animated movie of the year. But it’s entertaining and the animation style makes the movie more exciting and engaging, even as the story sags.
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You love the ninja turtles
2. You like origin stories
3. You like fast-paced, comic book style animation
