Classic cartoon gets animated upgrade
This past summer, we saw a lot of great movies that made it big at the box office. One movie was “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.”
First let’s talk about the main aspect. The animation is stunning, it has a mix of 2-D and 3-D animation, like the Miles Morales Spiderman movies mixed with some live action clips. The cast of the movie were all good picks with the turtles being played by actual teenagers and not by adults doing a “radical dude.” This gave the turtles actual teenager personalities. They also did a good job in choosing Jackie Chan to voice Master Splinter, Giancarlo Esposito made a surprise role as the small but important Baxter Stockman, and for the mutants you have a good amount of cast members like Seth Rogan (who was also the producer), Ice Cube, Paul Rudd, Post Malone and John Cena. Maya Rudolph makes an appearance as well as Cynthia Utrom, the executive of TCRI.
When it comes to the plot of the film, they did a really good job and kept it true to TMNT fashion. The beginning of the movie shows the turtles at night with them staying late and coming home with a backstory on Master Splinter and how he taught the turtles ninjutsu.
One difference that sets this film apart is that the main theme is acceptance and family. Splinter’s backstory being that he moved him and the turtles to the sewer is because they were not accepted by society. I thought that was very good, the theme was later reiterated in the end when April O’Neil announces on the news that the turtles and the mutants were not bad people and they were trying to save the city.
Overall, I would give this movie a big “COWABUNGA”. The plot was good, the animation was outstanding and the voice acting was a pitch perfect choice. I would say this movie is an awesome way to introduce the newer generation to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
