Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: How Mutant Mayhem Humanizes the Turtles

Growing up, I wasn’t into anything I thought was for boys. I remember when I first encountered the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles without knowing what it was. I was flipping through the channels on TV and landed on a cartoon with talking turtles in a sewer with a rat and pizza. “This is for boys,” I immediately thought and changed the channel. I don’t have any brothers, so I didn’t know how huge the show was until Albert told me how much of a fan he was when we were dating–he would even draw the characters as a kid. He eventually showed me the 90’s live-action movies; I found them fun and full of heart. We saw the 2014 remake, where the Turtles were re-imagined as these monstrous-sized figures instead of the stealth ninjas they are. That’s why I really loved that the new movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem opened with the Turtles moving through the city of New York like ninjas as they swiped items they needed underground; they were in and out of the scene like a deadbeat dad. When it was announced Seth Rogen was behind a new Turtles, my husband was ecstatic. We love Seth Rogen’s comedies, so we knew this new iteration would be in good hands. 

When I saw the trailer for Turtles and saw that it was animation, it inevitably reminded me of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse because that film paved the way for the look of animation. I was worried they would try to copy the originality of Spider-Verse, but I was wrong. Mutant Mayhem took their own spin and made their animation look more hand-drawn and what my husband described as “scribbly.” I read this article in The Hollywood Reporter, where the writer described the new Turtles movie as “a more rough-around-the-edges look.” This really helps capture the teen spirit of the titular characters. In that same article, the director, Jeff Rowe, explained: “‘The first Spider-Verse really opened a lot of doors. It really made it okay for studios to take chances on a film looking unique and maybe having a little bit more sophistication and emotional maturity in its storytelling. And it was such a seismic shift that it became expected. Suddenly, making movies that look like the style of CG animation over the past 30 years felt dated.’” It’s fascinating to be in this era of cinema, where we’re watching how the art form of one film impacts and influences the ones that come after. I was shocked to learn that, for the first time, the Turtles would be voiced by teenage actors. Hiring teens helped bring out the fun of the four brothers who’ve only had each other as friends. Depicting April O’Neil as a teenager, too, was such a great choice. In this version, April is an aspiring journalist who writes for her high school paper, so it makes all the more sense that she’d hang out with the Turtles, who are her age. I thought this new origin story was so relatable as we follow these mutant teenagers who just want to be accepted and loved. They dream of being normal, going to high school and prom, and having a girlfriend. One of the most emotional moments of the film is when the Turtles sneak into the park for a screening of John Hughes’ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Other teens are goofing off, and they yearn to be a part of it. It’s heart-wrenching to watch them have to hide in the dark from peers who would most likely fear them. 

This new origin movie does a great job of humanizing the Turtles. They’re cultured and spit out 90’s references like rap bars. One of my favorite references is when they’re playing a live-action version of Fruit Ninja on the rooftop, and Donnie teases Mikey about the shape of his head: “Your head looks like Stewie had a baby with Hey Arnold!” This new movie doesn’t lose the heart of the Turtles franchise. They really want to be accepted and loved by humans and, for the first time, dream of attending high school. It’s such a funny thing to see these extraordinary beings want something so ordinary. They’re not even aware of their own strength and power as mutants until they meet April, defending her from thieves. They learned how to fight from their father, Splinter, but had never been confronted to do so before. It’s cool to be a part of their young journey. It’s nostalgic as an adult to watch Mutant Mayhem because you remember being a teen and wanting to fit in. Nostalgia plays a vital role in the making of these iconic brands. Like the Barbie movie, I saw boys and men alike dressed in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirts, my husband and nephew included. Even one little boy was carrying a stuffed turtle. It makes sense there’s such a devoted fan base when there’s so much heart and adventure in these stories. One of the lessons the movie offers—advice that can be appreciated by all ages—is that you can’t be liked for the wrong reasons. While April and the Turtles want so badly to be seen as heroes by their peers, it’s not until they stop chasing that moment that they’re naturally shed in a good light.   

Jackie Chan voices Splinter, a rat who encountered the turtles as babies in a sewer. Mutant Mayhem makes it clear where the ooze that mutates them comes from and how it came to be. I found this version of Splinter to be sweet because of his paranoia and anxiety. Just like the Turtles are like any teenager wanting to be liked, Splinter could be any father afraid to let go. He’s overprotective of his sons, with the running joke being Splinter’s fear of them getting milked if they’re discovered. Splinter is traumatized by his experience in the city and, like any parent, projects that fear onto his children. I could relate to having parents who just want to protect you and keep you safe from the streets. But like any teenager, the Turtles do what they must and lie to their dad when they sneak out to go above ground; the lies are for Splinter’s own good. I say that the Turtles are like any teenager sneaking out of the house, but that was never really my experience. I wasn’t a rebel like that, so I’m always interested in young adults making bold decisions for themselves. It’s why I love hearing my mom’s stories of sneaking out of her house with her cousin when she was a teenager in Puerto Rico to go dancing or my friends who snuck out to go to house parties. I had always thought it was so comical for a rat to be the father to turtles; it was even funnier hearing the Turtles call him dad. I just couldn’t take it seriously, but Mutant Mayhem does a great job of showing a real parent-child relationship. There’s always that tug-of-war between the kid wanting to grow up and the parent wanting to hold on tighter. As a parent now, it’s not hard to understand Splinter’s point of view.

What hasn’t changed with this new entry in the Turtles franchise is the humor. We still have the same playful Turtles, and with its 90’s hip-hop soundtrack, the franchise only gets cooler. With a cast that includes Seth Rogen, Ice Cube, Maya Rudolph, Paul Rudd, and Rose Byrne, it’s impossible not to be funny. In their first fight defending April, Mikey cries out, “He’s Tokyo drifting around us!” I could really see Seth Rogen delivering a funny line like that. The villains in the film are other mutants the Turtles see as family members since they didn’t know there were others like them. While it’s soft that Bebop and Rocksteady become allies with the Turtles instead of remaining the goons they are, I think it just serves to humanize the teenage Turtles who would be eager to befriend anyone who’s like them. Most likely, we’ll see them turn into bad guys in the upcoming sequel when they introduce Shredder. I can’t wait for that because I really enjoyed Mutant Mayhem. I loved April’s arc, too, as she overcomes an embarrassing moment. Being the same age as the Turtles allows her to serve as a bridge into the adolescent world they’re going to enter as well. With their dream of enrolling at the high school becoming a reality, for the first time, I was endeared to Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello as people.