Cowabunga and so forth! It’s been a while between drinks, but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back in their first big screen animated adventure since 2007! That’s right, amphibious action fans: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem has snuck onto Australian screens, ninja-style, and is now playing in cinemas.
This latest version comes to us courtesy of producer Seth Rogan (you know him) and director Jeff Rowe (The Mitchells vs. the Machines). The story should be familiar to anyone who is or has been a child. So without going over well-turned earth, this time out our turtle brothers, Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), Donatello (Micah Abbey), and Raphael (Brady Noon) are trying to fit in as normal teenagers, only to smack up against a mysterious crime boss, Superfly (Ice Cube), who is assembling an army of vicious mutants. Cue martial arts mayhem. And pizza, probably.
This is the first time in the franchise’s long history that the four turtles have been voiced by actual teens, and they’ve got some serious talent in support: martial arts legend Jackie Chan as mentor Splinter; Ayo Edebiri as human ally April O’Neill; Seth Rogen and John Cena as evil mutants Bebop and Rocksteady, respectively; plus Hannibal Buress, Rose Byrne, Post Malone, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, Natasia Demetriou, and Giancarlo Esposito are all lending their larynxes to various mutants, ninjas, and combinations thereof.
The whole enterprise feels like a real labour of love. The scratchy, sketchy animation style owes a little to both Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and the art featured in the OG black and white comics created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Plus, working in animation means that Rowe and his team can really go large…you’re gonna see some real mayhem in this mutant. For kids of all ages, this one’s a must watch.
