When you live in a sewer, random bits of pop culture picked up here and there might be the only things you really have to define yourself by. And when it comes to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, those references might be the thing that helps them save the world. The question is – are they the right ones?
From director Jeff Rowe with a script he co-wrote with Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Dan Hernandez, and Benji Samit, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” is a fun, uniquely-styled reboot of the beloved franchise, complete with four charming lead performances that beautifully bring the turtles to life. But as the film flew by in a rush of references, I couldn’t help but wonder if they were the right references. Were the children in my screening laughing at mentions of “Hey Arnold,” or jokey uses of Ice-T songs, or other 90s and early 2000s pop culture references? Or did the fact that the loudest laughs in the theater seemed to be coming from the adults mean the kids were a little bit lost?
We meet the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Donatello (Micah Abbey), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), and Rafael (Brady Noon) – on the cusp of living their very own version of “The Little Mermaid.” The turtles, who were transformed into mutants by mysterious green ooze when they were little, were raised by a mutant rat named Splinter (Jackie Chan) who warns them that humans are evil and to never leave the sewer where they call home for longer than necessary. But the turtles long to do the things that normal teeangers can do, and when they meet a human named April (Ayo Edebiri), they’ve found their chance. With April’s help, they decide they’ll get humans to accept them by taking down a mysterious villain named Superfly who has been wreaking havoc on the city.
When you consider the ages of the minds behind “Mutant Mayhem,” there’s no question as to why most of the film’s reference points come from a very specific time period. To the writers’ credits, they do mix in some teenage slang (there’s a lot of talk of rizz, and whether or not Leonardo specifically has any). But for the most part, the cultural touch points in the film sound like they’re coming from somebody a little bit older. In a way, this makes sense narratively – when they’re out of the sewer, the turtles spend their time sneaking around New York City, catching bits and pieces of Adele concerts, or outdoor “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ retrospectives in Brooklyn. Their cultural understanding of the world isn’t linear, but rather a hodgepodge of whatever they happen to come across at any given moment. Still, the old references outweigh the new, and whenever the adults in the theater burst into laughter (myself included), I couldn’t help but wonder if the kids were laughing quite as hard.
One thing the kids at the screening were laughing at was the turtles themselves. The film’s at its best when it leans into the exuberant energy between its four leads. For as much as what they’re talking about might not fit their age, the turtles feel like teenagers in spirit. The four main actors, all relative unknowns, do wonderful voicework, bouncing off of each other – figuratively and literally – like brothers in a way that’s recognizable to anyone, regardless of age.
The turtles’ jubilant, off the walls chemistry is matched by the film’s unique animation style. In a world of movies like “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” it’s hard to stand out from the crowd, but the world of “Mutant Mayhem” feels as delightfully messy as its protagonists. Characters feel a little haphazardly drawn together, like a rough sketch come to life or a bit of a happy accident – a lot like the turtles themselves. The way the characters and the film move, however, is purposeful. “Mutant Mayhem” has more than a few action sequences where editing and animation come together to create something visually magical. In one montage, the turtles take on various New York City big bads, the film seamlessly cutting between various lairs as they fight their way across the screen.
Those early action sequences are better than the film’s third act, which loses steam. It’s your typical, city destroying blow-out with a few emotionally resonant moments thrown in for good measure. But everything up to that point is so striking that it feels just a bit disappointing, and the conventionality of the final fight only serves to make you more aware of the film’s runtime. But overall, if you’re looking for a way to beat the summer heat, “Mutant Mayhem” is a good pick for you and for the kids – you just might have to explain a few references.