REVIEW #308 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)

After years of being sheltered from the human world, these teenage mutant ninja turtles set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and finally be accepted as normal teenagers.

Wow, first of all I just want to say Mutant Mayhem’s animation deserves to be in the same conversation as the Spiderverse artistry! This movie felt so unique and its designs blew me away, it’s rare I enjoy a movie in 3D but this worked beautifully with it. Finally we get a rendition in the cinema where the gang are genuinely teenagers and it worked incredibly well. It helped the humour land, the brotherly bond shine and the enjoyment run, so it was a job well done by the talented actors who voiced our favourite Turtles. 

The storyline had no mention of the iconic villain Shredder and the movie was all the better for it, helping to establish a new antagonist which felt fresh compared to the previous movies. But really Superfly was only a real presence towards the end of the film, most of it was just fleshing out the story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and highlighting their desire for a normal life. I loved those parts of the movie, in fact, my favourite action sequence came against normal street thugs, it was the first time we saw them in action and it was the perfect blend of action and humour. I kind of wish the whole film was filled with those sort of adversaries because the super-mutant ending just didn’t hit the same as those initial combat sequences.

Mutant Mayhem is the sort of animated movie that studios should be aiming for, it’s clearly inspired by the successes of the Spiderverse films and even the latest Puss in Boots movie! This sort of animation style just keeps blowing audiences away and they’re combining it with perfectly matched soundtracks to not only make the movie visually pleasing but audibly pleasing too. When I heard Seth Rogan was producing the project I just knew we had a hit in store and it absolutley was! The man just knows how to combine comedy and heart and let there be no doubt, the centre of this story isn’t the villain, or even the impressive fight sequences, it’s the family bond between Splinter and the brothers. 

Please get out to see this movie, adults, children, teenagers, whatever age demographic you fall into there is something you’ll love about this film. Plus if you get the chance to see it in 3D, even better!

Overall (9/10)

Thanks for reading!

Callan