Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Year: 2023
Rating: PG
Length: 99 minutes / 1.65 hours
I don’t have a lot of nostalgia for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Sure, I played the arcade game quite a few times and saw some episodes of the original TV show—it just wasn’t one of those franchises that stuck with me through the years. With this in mind, what made me watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)? Honestly, I’m intrigued by the new wave of stylized animated films, and this movie fits the bill. I’m glad I gave it a chance.
Of the four words that make up this franchise, the one I felt was never accurately represented was the first one: Teenage. Most of the iterations of these four mutated reptiles I’ve seen focus on the “Ninja” part of their background. Here, these characters truly feel like teenagers, and the choice to make them closer to 13 than 19 was a refreshing take on the franchise. Even with each turtle keeping their foundational characteristics (i.e., Leonardo is the leader, Donatello is the tech guru, etc.), they still found room to grow into those roles in this semi-origin story.
Visually, the style takes a little getting used to. It works well in some fantastic action sequences but gets almost too “sketchy” in a few spots that had my eyes straining to figure out what I was looking at. At the very least, I’m glad that they took a risk to give it a different style so it would stand out. I think there’s a winning combination here with its distinctive visuals coupled with fresh stories that resonate with people who are deeply affected by the nostalgia of the franchise. It feels new but grounded in what made it popular.
A fresh visual and narrative take on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that emphasizes the teenager-ness of the characters, I give Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 4.5 stars out of 5.
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