Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – The BRWC Review

9th August 2023

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – The BRWC Review

While Netflix released the animated movie for ‘Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’, the turtles’ big screen appearance hasn’t been seen since 2007 with the live action sequel ‘Out of the Shadows’. So, it’s refreshing to see a new animated film based on the Turtles with attitude and have it be on the big screen.

‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ tells the origins of Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo as they crawl of the sewers and into New York City, on a mission to battle other mutant characters who want to see humanity crumble.

While I am a fan, I am not an expert in the adventures of the turtles. But, this was a film I was looking forward to and I’m happy to see that my expectations have been more than met because this was a delight.

‘Mutant Mayhem’ is yet another film that utilizes a unique art style, and this animation is just as beautiful as the previous films that have used a different art form. This time, ‘Mutant Mayhem’s animation resembles Claymation, similar to that of early Aardman shorts like ‘Wallace & Gromit’ and ‘Morph’. Just like those shorts, the animation here is just as gorgeous. Not only is the animation style unique but it further helps emphasize the characters’ facial expressions and movements. Throughout the film, the framerate of a shot will occasionally change, a technique that ‘Puss In Boots: The Last Wish’ used during its fight scenes and one that ‘Mutant Mayhem’ implements during its fight and car chases. However, it doesn’t always work here: mixed with the vibrant colours and fast-moving characters, a few scenes were difficult to follow visually. But the overall experience was extremely entertaining and enjoyable.

Of course, the film can’t be discussed without talking about the main cast. In other iterations, they’ve always been friendly and fun characters to watch, and this is no exception. But what stands out is that the voice cast are actually young. While that may sound like a strange point to bring up, it’s rare for a teenage/young cast to voice the Turtles, so it’s wonderful to hear that the voices match the characters’ ages. And the voicework is brilliant. Raphael (Brady Noon – Good Boys), Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu – Skull Island), Donatello (Micah Abbey – Grey’s Anatomy) and Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr. – The Chi) all have fantastic onscreen chemistry and are all convincing as brothers who long to be accepted. But they’re also teenagers, so get up to trouble and into ridiculous situations even before the main plot has started. It’s a fantastic portrayal of the mutant brothers. But they’re not the only mutants in this film.

The film’s villain is a human sized mutant fly called Superfly (Ice Cube – Ride Along, 21 Jump Street) and, while that sounds ridiculous, he is fantastically written as a threatening character. It’s clear that he’s inspired by the horror genre because there’s a few scenes that borrow horror elements either through his personality or his dialogue. And while, at first, he appears friendly towards the Turtles, he quickly becomes a threat to them, and he feels intimidating. Ice Cube is brilliant at voicing him; he gives the character a careless manner which further shows how evil he is; he only has one goal and is willing to see it through till the end.

Along with Superfly, there are a group of other mutants who are happy to help him which include Mondo the Gecko (Paul Rudd – Ant Man, Ghostbusters: Afterlife), Wingnut the Bat (Natasia Demetriou – What We Do In The Shadows), Ray Fillet (singer Post Malone) as well as Bebop (Seth Rogen – Invincible, The Super Mario Bros. Movie) and Rocksteady (John Cena – Fast X, Barbie). Just like Superfly, each mutant is very well written and has a distinct personality even if they all have the same goal. But, throughout the film, the focus shifts from giving each of Superfly’s henchmen an equal amount of screentime, to just focusing on Mondo, Bebop and Rocksteady. While the latter characters are well known, I would’ve liked it if the rest of the mutants had more focus placed on them. But, with the story the film is telling as well as its 1hr 40-minute runtime, it’s understandable as to why this couldn’t be done.

Overall, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ is a delightful film that feels like a love letter to the whole franchise. The Claymation-esque animation looks gorgeous on the big screen, even if it is a little hard to follow at times, and the four lead Turtles are wonderful. Plus, the villain felt like a non-sympathetic threat, something that is now rare in the superhero genre. Whether you’re a new fan or have loved the Turtles for years, ‘Mutant Mayhem’ is a fun and delightful film for both.

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