The iconic team of mutant crime-fighting turtles is back on the big screen: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem (trailer) was released in theaters on August 2nd, 2023. The movie is the newest addition to the TMNT series. However, it is a completely stand-alone film so it can be enjoyed by new and old viewers alike. But, it should be noted that if you go into the film expecting it to be similar to the old movies you will be disappointed, as it’s almost a completely new story.
TMNT: Mutant Mayhem follows the four turtles and their newfound friend April O’Neil, a teenage journalist and social outcast who hopes that writing an article about the mutant brothers will make her classmates take her seriously, as they attempt to save the world from a giant mutant fly. The brothers hesitantly agreed to take on this task in hopes that the human world would finally accept them if they were seen as heroes.
The main issue I had with this movie was the sheer amount of pop culture references they put into it. While well-timed and thought-out references can be well done and funny, when your entire script is made up of them, some so obscure that only a few members of your audience even understand the joke, they just become annoying. Also, it must be noted the movie tended to overuse jokes that were arguably not that funny, but, since it’s a kids movie that is expected and therefore it’s not as big of an annoyance. I will say that the movie is still funny and worth the watch, it just could have been funnier.
Something I think the movie did very well was its ability to keep viewers’ attention. There was truly not a point in the movie where I got bored and wondered when the movie was going to be over. This is due to the amount of action and unpredictability, especially for a children’s movie, and also due to the movie’s colorful and captivating animation style that is similar to that of a comic.
The movie’s ability to hold onto the iconic elements that the TMNT series has strived to keep from the beginning was okay at best. While the movie presented an entirely new storyline, there are some things that just shouldn’t be messed with. One of these was the roles that the turtles had: Leo as the leader, Donnie as the smart one, Mikey as the funny one, and Raph as the troublemaker. This movie seemed to try to keep these roles in the beginning (albeit poorly) and then gave up by the end, leaving them all to have the exact same personality. The movie was, however, able to keep many of the same lessons as the original movies such as the importance of family, loyalty, teamwork, and leadership. The movie could have been better at sticking to the original elements but it also could have been worse.
All in all, the movie definitely isn’t for everyone. Many old fans will probably find the movie too different from the original to live up to their expectations. But, for those who can accept the changes, along with new fans, this movie is a pretty good introduction to what is seemingly going to become the next generation of TMNTs.
