Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a 2023 computer-animated action adventure film directed by Jeff Rowe in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Brendan O'Brien. Based on the comic book characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, it reboots the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series and is the first animated entry since 2022's Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie.

The film is produced by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and James Weaver through their company, Point Grey Pictures. Rogen describes himself as a lifelong fan of the franchise, and it was his decision to have actual teenagers voice the turtles for the first time to make it feel more authentic.

After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

The voice cast includes Jackie Chan, Ayo Edebiri, Seth Rogen, John Cena, Hannibal Buress, Rose Byrne, Ice Cube, Post Malone, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, Natasia Demetriou, Giancarlo Esposito, Nicolas Cantu, Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr, and Brady Noon.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem made its debut in theaters on August 2nd, courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

THE GOOD

As a 90’s kid I grew up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and consider them to be a huge part of my childhood. I actually have vivid memories of one of my favorite toys as a kid which was a really sweet Ninja Turtles van. Bottom line, those crime-fighting teenage turtles were awesome in my eyes and made for some great years. Granted adulthood eventually came calling and took a bit bite out of my ass, but that is a story for another day. The fact that the turtles are still so popular seriously warms my heart. So, needless to say I was super pumped for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and made sure to see it on opening day. Was it everything I hoped for or did it leave this lifelong fan wanting more? Keep reading to find out!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was absolute fire!! I seriously loved this movie so much, and I am still beaming with excitement and nostalgia. From the jump the animation had me floored, it was just so unique and honestly breathtaking. The opening sequence really set the tone, and I don’t think I stopped smiling for the entire hour and 40-minutes. The cast of voice actors was pure perfection, and I thought the turtles all seemed like what I remember from my childhood.

Not for nothing but Michelangelo is still my favorite, I just need a new pair of nunchucks, you know, just because. The New York City they created was so immersive and detailed, benefiting from a great score and soundtrack to really put it over the top. I was really impressed with the depth of the coming-of-age story for the turtles, which had just enough of an emotional element even though the tone was pretty light throughout. Plus, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is hilarious of course.

I have no choice but to start with the visuals for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem because holy eff (this is a family film so I am trying to keep it PG) were they amazing! Right from the start I was just blown away, and I found myself just trying to soak it all up. I was trying to avoid comparisons for obvious reasons, but the only other movie that made me feel like this was this years Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (our full review here). The best way for me to explain it is the feeling that you are so immersed in the visuals that you almost feel like you are going to miss something as far as the actual story. Similar to Spider-Verse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem felt incredibly unique and creative to the point where it feels like you are turning the pages of a comic book throughout the film. The opening sequence with the turtles jumping from rooftop to rooftop with the moon in the backdrop was seriously poetic, just amazing. I honestly feel like I am ill-equipped to adequately describe how next-level these visuals are, you really just need to see them for yourself.

I’m having a hard time narrowing down my favorite performance because everyone was just so good, especially the young cast that voiced the turtles, including Micah Abbey as Donatello, Shamon Brown Jr. as Michelangelo, Nicolas Cantu as Leonardo, and Brady Noon as Raphael. All four of these young actors absolutely crushed it and deserve a ton of recognition for what they were able to bring to these characters. Everything about them just felt so authentic and really brought these iconic characters to life. But if I had to choose my favorite, I think I am going with the films primary antagonist voiced by Mr. NWA himself, Ice Cube. I can’t even quite explain why it is so perfect, but his voice just embodied the character of Superfly, and just added so much flare and personality. It also helped that you could relate to his story in that anti-hero Thanos type I get what you’re doing but it is still a bad idea sort of way. Plus I don’t think he is too scary for the younger kids either which is important thanks to that damn wolf from Puss in Boots that terrified my 4-year-old.

I can’t talk about everyone in detail because this review would end up being a damn manuscript and nobody wants that, but everyone was seriously amazing. Paul Rudd was hilarious as Mondo Gecko, Jackie Chan was a treat as Splinter, John Cena and Seth Rogen were the perfect duo as Rocksteady and Bebop, Ayo Edebiri was amazing as a young April O’Neil, although it was a bit weird at first considering I just finished The Bear on Hulu recently which she stars in, my guy Hannibal Buress was great as as Genghis Frog, Rose Byrne as Leatherhead, Natasia Demetriou as Wingnut, Giancarlo Esposito as Baxter Stockman, Maya Rudolph as Cynthia Utrom, and last but certainly not least music superstar Post Malone doing his thing as Ray Fillet.

TMNT is engrained in my childhood, so the importance of doing right by such an iconic origin story was super important to me. You don’t want to piss off a fanbase in their late to mid-to-late-30’s, because they will be bringing their kids to see this movie, and probably more than once as long as they are impressed with the final product. With that being said, it was abundantly clear that everyone behind the making of this film shared a mutual love and respect for this franchise because they did it right. I really liked how they stayed true to the roots of the story behind the turtles, while making it a bit more kid friendly in the process. As much as I personally really liked the original film from 1990, it was honestly a bit dark and probably not something my toddlers could watch. Plus let’s be honest, what we let kids watch was a bit different back in the day. The pop culture references in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem were so damn good, the majority aimed at the adult audience of course (Bueller!!). So yeah, the team of writers were able to offer up something that feels fresh and reinvigorated, which who knows could lead to a franchise resurgence. I would personally love that.

Am I going to sit here and gush over the cinematography for an animated “kids movie”?! You bet your sweet behind I am! This movie is far from anything I would consider to be gritty or dark, yet somehow they managed to deliver some of the most powerful shots I have seen in an animated film. It is actually pretty wild because even though Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem definitely keeps a pretty light tone throughout and never really feels gritty, they still managed to make the turtles look pretty badass with some really creative slow-mo shots, especially during the films final act. I talked about how blown away I was by the visuals in general, but the great cinematography played a big part for sure.

I loved, loved, loved the soundtrack and the score for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which had a fantastic balance and included a ton of nostalgic music from my youth. I mean it seriously has it all; Vanilla Ice, A Tribe Called Quest, Dr. Dre, Gucci Mane, Big Pun, DMX, Ms. Lauryn Hill, and Naughty by Nature, just to name a few. Artist Post Malone voices one of the characters in the film and although none of his original music is played, his character does an acoustic version of “What’s Up” by 4 Non Blondes. Plus the randomness of Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” was awesome, and I am not ashamed to admit I have always loved that song. I mean come on just sing it with me, “Release your inhibitions, feel the the rain on your skin!!” I can’t even count how many times I have been caught singing that song out loud, and I refuse to be embarrassed about it.

THE BAD

Listen, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was amazing. I may be a bit biased because they were such a big part of my childhood, but I also think that makes me a bit harder to please because I went in expecting the world. Bottom line, this movie delivered and I have zero negatives to report.

THE VERDICT

Believe the hype because Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is one of the best movies of the year! Absolutely oozing with nostalgia, it has a ridiculous soundtrack, a stacked cast of voice actors, and some of the most breathtaking visuals I have ever seen in an animated film. I already had high expectations, but they were met and exceeded. You NEED to see this movie in theaters, like right now. This is such a great coming-of-age origin story for all ages, and I cannot wait to take my toddlers to see it. I already promised them a TMNT van complete with a devastating pizza shooter on board, and to say they are pumped would be an understatement. Be sure to stick around for the mid-credits scene because odds are we haven’t seen the last of our turtle friends.