‘Mutant Mayhem’ is the Best TMNT Reimagining Yet

 

If you ever want to send me into an existential spiral, simply ask me this question:

“James, who is your favorite Ninja Turtle?”

When asked this question prior to a screening of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, I froze up. How can I choose just one?! I relate to the hot-headed Raphael more often than I’d like to, but I typically aspire to be a carefree party dude like Michelangelo. Professionally, however, I aim to channel the leadership of Leonardo and the problem-solving skills of Donatello. So, I guess that speaks to one of the reasons why Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has thrived as a now-multigenerational franchise for nearly 40 years. For everyone who grew up with them, the Turtles continue showing us who we are and who we want to be.

Nickelodeon has refreshed the brand a few times since acquiring the franchise in 2009, including two animated series and a bizarre duet of Michael Bay-produced films that made our heroes gigantic and Hulk-like (downplaying the “Ninja” part of their moniker) and visually unappealing (doubling down on “Mutant,” I suppose). The third film under the Nick umbrella turns up the volume on the “Teenage” aspect of the property and breaks off the knob. And the result is an irresistibly charming new take on the Turtles that oozes (ha) authenticity and reinvents the characters for an entirely new audience.  

Directed by Jeff Rowe (The Mitchells vs. the Machines), who collaborated on the screenplay with Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Dan Hernandez, and Benji Samit, Mutant Mayhem uses a beautiful animation style reminiscent of the Spider-Verse series – a CGI hand-drawn aesthetic with a dash of stop-motion charm. Add in top-tier voice work from actual teenagers paired up with an all-star cast filling out the mutant menagerie and what you get is something that looks, feels, and sounds intricately, lovingly and effectively crafted.

The story takes place several years after Master Splinter (Jackie Chan) finds our ooze-covered protagonists in a sewer and trains them in the ways of the ninja to help them protect themselves from the dangers of the human world. Named after Renaissance artists, Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), Donatello (Micah Abbey) and Raphael (Brady Noon) grow into restless pizza-loving teenagers curious about the world outside their sewer den. While stopping a robbery during a grocery run, they meet fellow teenager and reporter April O’Neil (Ayo Edebiri) who, like the Turtles, yearns for acceptance and validation. With April documenting their every move, the Turtles aim to track down and defeat a criminal known as Superfly (Ice Cube) to earn the city’s respect. While confronting him, however, they find that they’re not the only mutants in town and, as the title suggests, mayhem ensues.

Fans of the classic cartoon, toys, video games and Archie Comics will find many familiar faces and names in Mutant Mayhem, including Bebop (Rogen), Rocksteady (John Cena), Baxter Stockman (Giancarlo Esposito), Leatherhead (Rose Byrne), Wingnut (Natasia Demitriou), Ray Fillet (Post Malone), Genghis Frog (Hannibal Burress), Mondo Gecko (Paul Rudd), and Scumbug (who only speaks in “vermin”). One of my few complaints about the film is that there are so many side characters they don’t really have much of a chance to shine individually, but I suppose with the announced sequel and two-season animated Paramount+ series already in development, we’ll get to know each of them individually in due time.

As mentioned earlier, the most endearing aspect of Mutant Mayhem is the fact that the Turtles talk and act like actual teenagers – perhaps for the first time in the franchise’s history. The way they goof on each other, support each other and crack jokes with each other makes it seem like these are actual 15-year-olds who spend a lot of time together. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if many of the funnier moments between the Turtles were improvised in the recording booth. It’s special, and I can’t wait to see and hear more from this cast in future installments.

At 99 minutes – short for a superhero epic in 2023 – Mutant Mayhem does leave you wanting more in the best way possible. And judging by THAT mid-credit scene, massive things are on the way. But even as a self-contained story, I absolutely loved Mutant Mayhem, and it’s my favorite TMNT movie since the 1990 original. And to paraphrase Mikey from that film, man, I love being a Turtles fan.

 

Tyler Perry to Play Baxter Stockman in 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2'

Wow, this movie is going to be insane.

Since the first Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was an entertaining mess at best,  I strongly support the inherent wackiness of casting Madea herself/himself, Tyler Perry, as  Mouser-creating scientist Baxter Stockman. Hopefully, Perry's participation leads to a spin-off film, Diary of a Mad, Mutant Fly.

Variety's got the full story. Click here for more on this casting news.

'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Gets an Honest Trailer for Christmas

Based on how amazing Nickelodeon's updated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series has been about sticking to the material and not treating the pre-adolescent target audience like simpletons, it's pretty mind-blowing that such a bizarre, disjointed and often inappropriate live-action TMNT film was allowed to hit movie screens this summer. Fortunately, the Honest Trailers folks have rightfully skewered the Michael Bay-produced Turtles flick just in time for the holidays. Unwrap and enjoy!

T-U-R-T-L-E Power!

I finally snagged the final two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics 1990 Movie figures I needed, allowing me to take the group shot that's been two months in the making. Cowabunga and such! Kudos to Playmates Toys for an amazing job on these guys.

On 'TMNT,' Shark Week and Dancing Trees

Free time's been a rare commodity for me this week, but since I found a few moments to lock myself in my nerd cave and babble on the blogosphere, here's what's been rattling around in my noggin:

• It's Shark Week on Discovery Channel, which used to be a big deal to me. However, the constant mixed messaging of the programming (sharks are characterized in equal measure as misunderstood creatures and bloodthirsty sea monsters), the abundance of faux-documentaries in lieu of factual content and the sheer number of shows that have to throw the word "jaws" into the title have turned me off. If you're going to throw science out the window, just give me a week of Street Sharks marathons, Discovery. 
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was better than I thought it might be, and I actually plan on seeing the already-announced sequel. There is definite room for improvement from a villain standpoint — Shredder was basically just Megatron with a knife fetish — but the characterization of the turtles themselves was surprisingly pretty good overall. Now, if we could only do something about those nostrils ... 
• SPOILERS AHOY! We're two weeks removed from the release of Guardians of the Galaxy, and people are still raving about the dancing abilities of a post-resurrection Groot grooving to the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back." Hell, I almost bought a life-sized replica off Etsy. In response to the fervor over everyone's favorite wooden warrior, Disney has released the talked-about sequence online, and it's just as amazing as it was the first time I saw it. Check it out below!

Here's My SDCC Rental Car

I didn't sleep much last night, so my excitement over this video might be attributed to extreme fatigue. That being said, I'm absolutely giddy right now at the thought of a Pizza Hut-branded, life-sized and fully operational version of the Playmates Toys Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizza Thrower being at San Diego's Comic-Con International this week.

Follow the hashtag #PizzaHutTMNT for updates. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hits theaters August 8.

Bustin' Makes Me Love Being a Turtle

Although the huge comic book news that broke today was that Marvel would be debuting a female Thor in October (if you think this is permanent, you haven't been paying attention), I was definitely more pumped to learn that IDW would be teaming up the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Ghostbusters in a four-issue comic book that same month. Regardless of how the final product turns out, this announcement entices me based on the fact that this is exactly the type of action figure scenario that I would create on my bedroom floor two years ago back in 1989.

To learn more about IDW's fall lineup, visit ComicBookResources.com.

Five Observations About the New 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Trailer

As was probably the case with many of you today, my social media feeds were inundated with commentary on the newly released trailer for the Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film ... most of which has skewed toward the "Michael Bay ruins everything" side of things. To be fair, a lot of those gripes are justified, as just about everything about the trailer — including Megan Fox as the film's resident pouty-lipped and flabbergasted female — leads me to believe that this will be closer to Transformers than The Avengers in terms of faithful cinematic adaptations.

That being said, it's not all bad, necessarily. Here are five things I took away from my first few viewings of the trailer.

1. The turtles themselves are huge, which complicates the whole "ninja" part of the franchise. There's no way these massive, muscled reptiles are sneaking anywhere covertly when they're making loud thud noises whenever they jump around. In WWE parlance, they should probably be more Daniel Bryan than Brock Lesnar.
2. There's nothing necessarily wrong with the actual animation of the turtles themselves, but I think giving the guys lips and noses injects the film with a whole lot of unnecessary nightmare fuel. I'd rather the special effects team created digital versions of the Jim Henson-designed suits worn for the 1990 film, or at least used those as a template.
3. Although it's popular to bash Megan Fox on the internet these days, there's nothing overwhelmingly egregious about her performance as April O'Neil in this trailer. That hasn't stopped people from tweeting their outrage about her, but I guess haters gonna hate.
4. Shredder should technically be played by a Japanese actor if we're going to adhere to the original comics and cartoon series, but I'm genuinely curious to see what William Fichtner does with the role. Also, based on what we've seen in the trailer, filmmakers nailed the Shredder suit. 
5. Chemically-altered turtle shells apparently make pretty good snowboards. Cowabunga and such.

Check out the trailer below. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hits screens August 8.

TMNT + Super Mario = This

There are plenty of pop culture mash-ups on YouTube these days, but James Farr has hit the nostalgia sweet spot with his loving homage to both the Super Mario Bros. series and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Check out “Teenage Mutant Koopa Troopas” below, and enjoy the rest of your weekend, for cryin’ out loud!

Nickelodeon Nabs the Ninja Turtles for $60 Million

On October 21, Nickelodeon announced it has purchased the intellectual property rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Mirage Studios and 4Kids Entertainment for $60 million. That can buy a lot of pizza.

As part of the deal, Nickelodeon—part of Viacom’s MTV Networks—will revitalize the property by developing a computer-animated TMNT television series, which is slated to debut in 2012.

Also in 2012, Viacom’s Paramount Pictures—which has turned fellow 1980s children’s properties G.I. Joe and Transformers into movie franchises—will release a new TMNT feature film. Nickelodeon has also acquired merchandising rights to the Turtles, and will continue working with Playmates Toys,  producer of Ninja Turtles action figures and accessories since 1988. If you’re reading this blog, chances are you accumulated quite a few of those growing up.

While Nickelodeon will likely play up the kiddie appeal of these heroes in a half shell (as they should), part of me hopes this 2012 relaunch of the Turtles will retain some of the edginess of creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s black-and-white comic books, which debuted in 1984. But, then again, the kid-friendly, cartoonish version of the Turtles brought us the timeless Vanilla Ice classic, “Ninja Rap.” So that’s...something.