Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is playing in theaters at the time of writing. Rated PG. Common Sense says 8.
STORY: B+
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back. These four green brothers dream of being accepted by humans. They figure they finally might earn New York City’s favor if they can take down an evil mutant bent on destroying humanity. It’s worth a shot.
The story (and the film as a whole) feels unique and fresh. Many will accurately credit the film’s animation style. But its eclectic mix of tones contributes big time to its smart vibe. At times, it’s a gritty crime drama. Others, a loving homage to the Big Apple. At its heart, it's a tender quest for teenage acceptance.
Chucking random ingredients into a wok will sometimes result in a fabulous meal. Most of the time, it won’t. But if the cook picks the ingredients with purpose and care, then they’re likely to create something delicious and memorable. Something like this story of a few misfit turtles.
PEOPLE: A-
Of all the film’s first rate achievements, the voice work stands out above all others. The Turtles’ mega-charm emanates mostly from the stellar line delivery of Micah Abbey, Shannon Brown Jr, Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon. All of them glide through the film on the same goofy, harmonious wavelength. You can’t help but cheer for them.
Jackie Chan and Ice Cube also deliver ace performances as Splinter and Superfly, respectively. These two are shadow characters: the same person/mutant in nearly every way except for the fact that one of them has chosen the path of good and one has most definitely not. Shadow characters always look good on paper. Chan and Cube seal the deal with their funny, bombastic deliveries.
There is a slew of talented people voicing the many other mutants. The only issue is that the large number of them makes it hard for most of them to stand out.
FILM NERD STUFF: A
The moment the trailer dropped, it was clear the animation was going to be something special. Much of it feels like a rough draft. The coloring is often uneven or outside the lines. It’s choppy; nothing moves smoothly across the screen.
At a quick glance it may look haphazard, like the artists grabbed whatever they could find nearby and lazily threw it all together. Further inspection reveals that there's a method behind the madness. Like the tones described above, the pieces all work together to create something bold and transformative.
It reminds me of hip hop. Hip hop blends a mixture of samples from a wide variety of genres into something fresh and amazing. The rap-heavy soundtrack reinforces this ethos. The songs also keep the film’s energy moving and hustling.
TURTLES ARE PEOPLE TOO! (Elective Class): A
Teenaging ain’t easy. You’re asked to be more independent, but you’re rarely given a chance to make your own decisions. You want to fit in, but you don’t know how. And the only people you can turn to for advice are Ferris Bueller and Bruce Banner.
Well, hopefully you can find a few other mentors. But the Turtles do in fact seek spiritual guidance from John Hughes comedies and Marvel movies. It’s a shame they can’t watch the movie they’re living in. Mutant Mayhem tackles big questions that torture teenagers on the daily. Questions like: Why can’t I have just a little bit of freedom? How can I get people not to think I’m a weirdo? Is life going to be like this forever?
I love that the human characters in Mutant Mayhem quickly find - no matter how different they are - that they’ve got the same problems as the Turtles. I hope that the humans in the audience will discover this too, and listen to some of the pretty dang valuable insights this film has to offer.
That last sentence? I definitely didn’t imagine writing it before I saw the movie. But it’s true.
FINAL COMMENTS:
This is, believe it or not, the most hip hop film of the summer. Mutant Mayhem carefully combines pieces of themes, animation, and tones to create an entertaining, and dare I say, fairly meaningful piece of work. The bonus? It’s an absolute blast.