Meant to serve as an origin story (for a franchise that has had many, many iterations of this same initial story), there is a wealth of exposition to wade through, and some early scenes feel a bit bloated by all that backstory.īut Rowe and company soon smartly lean on story beats that feed the overall theme of the film, including the importance of acceptance and love in a seemingly cruel world, that help move it along to the present-day action. Rowe’s film marks the first time in the Turtles’ long and storied history that the young heroes have been voiced by actual teenagers, including Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon (as Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael, respectively), a clever touch that adds real dimensions and emotion to a story, again, about mutant teenage crime-fighters. (No spoilers, but as the film’s big final battle started to unspool, the persistent thought of “this is kinda…gross?” kept running through my head.) That animation style also allows the film, rated PG “for sequences of violence and action, language and impolite material,” to get away with moments of surprising violence and genuine grotesquerie that would have likely landed a live-action version a pretty solid R. the Machines,” which Rowe previously wrote and has indicated is a major reference point for the look and feel of this film. The film’s dynamic animation style - both painterly and scribbly, heavy on the neon, vibrant and punchy, meant to look like the product of a free-wheeling sketchbook - will likely remind audiences of “The Mitchells vs. ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ Trailer: Sandra Hüller Stars in Twisted Palme d’Or-Winning Murder Mystery But it ably stands on its own as a genuinely entertaining film for the whole family. Directed by Jeff Rowe and scripted by Rowe, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Dan Hernandez, and Benji Samit (Rogen and Goldberg also produced through their Point Grey banner, while Rogen voices the iconic mutant warthog Bebop in the feature), “Mutant Mayhem” will inevitably draw comparisons to the “Spider-Verse” franchise. “ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” the latest entry into the half-shell canon, is another fresh, funny animated outing that breathes serious new life into a classic franchise, proving that even old IP has its legs (claws?). So, has this all been done before? Thankfully, no. Over the course of nearly four decades, those wily heroes have cycled through countless iterations, eventually becoming a favorite for kids (of all ages) and spawning their very own entertainment complex. When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were first introduced in 1984, comic book creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird set out to skewer the superhero stories then dominating the space ( sound familiar?), piling on the parody (teenage…mutant…ninja…turtles?) and (oopsie!) crafting their own unexpected hit heroes in the process.
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