Released on Aug. 2 2023, the newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle: Mutant Mayhem (TMNT) movie has been the new hot topic amongst the fans of these turtle heroes. As of Sept. 28, 2023, it is rated 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and 90% from the audience, making it one of the highest rated TMNT movies since their debut in the 1980’s.
The reason this new movie has been so widely recognized is because of Seth Rogan’s new approach to the creation of the movie, along with the voice actor list, including celebrities like Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, John Cena, and many others.
Seth Rogen stated during an interview with Paramount Movies that by allowing the teenagers to be themselves, “[the voice acting] feels real, and it feels like alive, like actual teenagers.”
Since the beginning of the movie, I found it very easy to watch, filled with lots of action and funny scenes. It opened with the mutagen incident, TCRI breaking into Baxter Stockman’s lab and accidentally dropping a tube of the glowing green ooze down into the sewers, showing how the heroes came to be.
I believe that by casting teenagers and allowing them to improv, this movie more accurately depicted what teenagers are really like. Although the movie is more likely to age because of the slang used in the script, I believe it helped to make it feel more relatable to the current generation. I thought it was funny how some of the jokes slipped over the adults’ heads but landed with the teenagers, like when Donatello jabbed at Leonardo for his “rizz.”
Something I really loved about the movie was Seth Rogan’s interpretation of all the characters, even adding his own, like Superfly voiced by Ice Cube. I believe that the introduction of Superfly and his family/crew was perfect, debuting the rival mutants with eye-capturing visuals and “Wake Up in the Sky” by Gucci Mane, Bruno Mars, and Kodak Black playing in the background.
I am most excited to see how this version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will play out as they all adjust to their new life as heroes and high-school students.
According to an article from Variety, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies are working on a second movie, along with a two-season long spinoff series, called, “Tales of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” This series is set to air on Paramount+ to fill the gap between the two movies.
