At the risk of sounding like one of those pretentious “I was into them before they were cool” people, I was into the Ninja Turtles before they were cool. Well, sort of. My fifth grade haul of new school clothes included a weird green sweatshirt emblazoned with the words “Shell Shock Crew,” accompanied by four pizza and weapon-wielding turtles and what appeared to be an oversized pet rat. The logo at the bottom assured me that these were the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” but I had no idea what that meant other than I’d seen them on the covers of comic books at Comic Junction, my local shop.
(In 1988, 10-year-olds were allowed to get on their bikes, cross several sets of railroad tracks, crawl under fences if need be, and enjoy their local comic book shop completely free of any adult supervision whatsoever. No one batted an eye.)
That fall, while waiting for the bus after school, I was often asked by other kids what the hell was on my shirt, and I didn’t have an answer other than “It’s a comic book.” By the time the snow fell, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon and toy line had debuted, and everyone in the world, myself included, was completely turtle-crazy. Suddenly, my cool sweatshirt was anything but, as it was not officially licensed from Playmates Toys and featured artwork from the original comics rather than the overly cartoonish toyline. Whatever, that shirt was cool as shit.
Since then, my love affair with the Turtles has ebbed and flowed many times. I was there in a packed theater when the original live-action movie debuted in 1990, but not when the sequel came out a year later. By then, I’d long given up on the rather silly cartoon series, but I was still interested in the comic book (which was much more gruesome and adult than its animated counterpart) and the tabletop role-playing game based on its original concepts.
Needless to say, I also skipped the Michael Bay-produced reboots in 2014 and 2016, as by then I had all but given up on the franchise. That is, until Seth Rogen and his gang of stoners got ahold of my once-beloved property.
Mutant Mayhem is far and away the best TMNT adaptation to date, and I couldn’t be happier saying that, especially considering Rogen’s involvement and his general inability to make me laugh or care about anything he does. But, despite our clashing senses of humor, Rogen, along with director Jeff Rowe and an outstanding voice cast, has put together a film that successfully captures the best moments of every turtle iteration and combines them into one hell of a rowdy tribute.
Similar to his Freaks and Geeks co-star Jason Segel’s loving adaptation of The Muppets, Rogen has tapped into his own genuine love and appreciation for a treasured franchise and shared that love with the rest of us in the best way possible.
And this love and appreciation really shines. Contrary to other attempts at capturing the turtles on film, the “teenage” in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles finally applies in a meaningful way. This seemingly simple distinction makes all the difference, as the heroes of Mutant Mayhem (voiced by Nicolas Cantu, Micah Abbey, Brady Noon, and Shamon Brown Jr. as Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo, respectively) are just as concerned with fitting in and hanging out with friends as they are with defeating the villain.
It also gives their father figure, a mutated rat named Splinter (my all-time favorite character from Turtledom, voiced hilariously by Jackie Chan), a chance to play the overprotective parent on top of just their martial arts sensei. This family dynamic works wonders for the story, not to mention adding a heavy dose of relatability for all of us who remember what it was like to be a kid living under their parents’ oppressive rule.
Total these positives up and then throw in fantastic artwork and animation, and Mutant Mayhem easily becomes not only the best animated film of the year, but the best one to come along in some time. I rarely leave a theater with a big, dumb grin on my face, and it’s even rarer for the rest of the family to have the same grin on theirs, but Mutant Mayhem sparked a generational joy that doesn’t happen very often. The sequel can’t come fast enough.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.