Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

After weeks without really going to see movies and having to take a break to save on cash, I was able to recently view TMNT: Mutant Mayhem! This movie has a teenage charm coming from the stoner comedy of Seth Rogen combined with young angst of its actors. It feels aloof, charming, and not at all self-serious. It's funny, clever, and often manages to catch you off-guard with how visually stunning it is.

PLOT: Out of the shadows?

The plot is... actually fairly cool. What feels initially like a stereotypical kids want to explore the world plot ends up being... exactly that but with added twists and turns. By the end, much of the story works towards making the characters all have distinct moments. Leonardo finally gets to be a leader without being a total buzzkill. Splinter realizes that, by keeping his kids away from humans because he thinks they're evil, he's preventing them from blossoming. He doesn't just realize this on his own though, he sees how the villain perceives humans and what he's seen of other humans and realizes that there's two sides to every story. The story works around the characters and makes what could feel generic feel fresh. On top of that, the fact that the turtles manage to successfully convince the other mutants to keep humanity alive without much work feels... strangely real. Normally, a movie would have the turtles fight each one to make them realize the truth but here? Most of them realize what could be lost and decide against it, which feels genuinely refreshing.

CHARACTERS: FINALLY!

Endearing characters in a TMNT movie? Glad Michael Bay is no longer involved! The characters are all voiced by very funny and very clever people who know to play to the strengths of their own comedy. Paul Rudd as a space cadet? Funny. Jackie Chan as an endearing dad? Funny. The boys all finally played by actual teenagers who are likeable and endearing? Funny as hell. The characters feel like they were written by people who understand teenagers but also has incredibly adult moments. This feels like a character-focused movie more than anything!

SHOTS: An ugly work of art, yet beautiful.

The art style in this movie is often ugly, rough, and looks like they took it straight from concepts to paper, but that's also part of the charm. If everyone in this movie looked great, it would make how the humans perceive the mutants feel less earned. Here, seeing how ugly some of the mutants can be, I'd understand being afraid of them. But, in these ugly and flawed designs lies a beautiful work of art. The backgrounds and art style are beautiful in how rough they look. It makes everything feel alive and the movement and fluidity of the animation is downright gorgeous.

SOUND: Feels like a stoner comedy. Mostly.

In the best way of course! Some of these stoner comedies use a lot of time-specific music that can sometimes date a movie. This one, however, uses it to fit the vibe. As well as that, it has legit good music at times. The vibe is constantly chilled out by the music just feeling like something you'd listen to on a calm drive to somewhere pleasant. But, it also knows when to rock out, which isn't bizarre considering Nine Inch friggin Nails did the soundtrack. Yep, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails reunited with his coworker from several other films to do this music. It's phenomenal throughout, but the chill vibes provided by some of the licensed music is just so pleasing.

WRITING: Always phenomenal.

One of the things this film highlights is current teen culture and it feels like a perfect time capsule. Much of the writing was also done on the fly as the younger actors taught the older producers like Rogen and Goldberg new slang and dialogue to help their characters feel like kids from the 2020's. They are perfectly awkward and cringey. The dialogue for most characters is well-done and makes them all feel like genuine people trying to figure out what to do with people that are scared of how they look and think they're monsters.

CONS: To be honest...

It's one little itsy bitsy problem and it's the runtime. I wanted more time with these characters and I felt bummed to realize the movie was ending so soon. We're getting a show with these characters, so maybe I'll tune in occasionally to see what happens next!

LITTLE THINGS: The crunch of art and how to avoid it! Also, the kids.

Before I get into the meat and potatoes of this section, I'd like to say how much I enjoy the voice actors of the TMNT. They're all perfect for their roles, steal any scene they're in, and are perfectly awkward and charming as these insanely likeable protagonists. It felt genuinely satisfying to see recent teen culture shown. But, onto the big point, the avoidance of crunch and overtime on this film was genuinely wonderful to hear about. Hearing they gave people 3 day work-weeks in a business where people piss in jars for 19 hours a day at Disney made me feel so giddy. DO THIS MORE, BIG COMPANIES! PEOPLE LIKE WHEN YOU TREAT THEM GOOD!

VERDICT: A fun time for young and old, but with a deeper meaning.

Similar to the turtles and how monstrous they look to those around them, the movie itself doesn't look appealing or friendly at first but has a ton of heart and love put in to make sure the movie hits well for the majority of audiences. This movie feels like a love-letter to the turtles and showcases why they still have staying power even today.

SCORE: 10/10