By Ben Wright (@iamzavagno | www.xgeeks.co.uk)
This review is spoiler-free.
Having grown up with these radical green pizza-loving heroes, I had high expectations for this movie – but with Jeff Rowe (Gravity Falls, The Mitchells vs. the Machines) involved, I always felt that it would deliver, and I’m happy to say that it didn’t disappoint!
The first thing that struck me about Mutant Mayhem was its vibrant and visually stunning animation! The character designs are faithful to the classic style, while also incorporating modern touches that make the Turtles and the other characters look even more impressive! The visual character changes worked incredibly well and I feel that some of these are now what I’d consider the “definitive version”. The cityscape environments are richly detailed, and it’s evident that the animators from Mikros Animation and Cinesite put a lot of heart, soul and effort into bringing the Turtles’ world to life!
The story was highly engaging and will keep the audience invested throughout the movie. The narrative framework was also well-written from start to finish, and the little flourishes in between elevated the movie to even greater heights! There were plenty of subverted narrative and character moments helping to give the movie a fresh and unique feel. The dialogue and interactions between the Turtles are as fun and lighthearted as ever, capturing the camaraderie that makes them so endearing. I feel the humour worked beautifully, and when the jokes landed, they landed hard! What I was most impressed with, was how improvised the scenes felt – it was very organic and suited these younger characters.
As for the voice cast performances, all four of the Turtles – Micah Abbey (Donatello), Shamon Brown Jr. (Michelangelo), Nicolas Cantu (Leonardo) and Brady Noon (Raphael), were perfectly cast and had incredible on-screen chemistry. As Donatello is my favourite Turtle, I was extra critical of Abbey throughout the movie and could not find a fault – he was perfect! Despite my love of Donatello, Ayo Edebiri (April O’Neil) was easily my favourite character in Mutant Mayhem! Edebiri was sensational in her performance and portrayal of April, so much so that this might be my favourite version of the character! As for the other Mutants? Ice Cube (Superfly) was a great antagonist, with the likes of Seth Rogen (Bebop), John Cena (Rocksteady), Natasia Demetriou (Wingnut) and Paul Rudd (Mondo Gecko) all bringing their personalities to the table. Finally, we have Jackie Chan (Splinter) and just like April O’Neil, this was another character portrayal that surprised me! I loved the direction they went with the character, showing a more vulnerable side that we rarely see.
Negatives? Well, I’m struggling to find any, I will be honest! I loved this movie so much that I left the cinema with the largest smile on my face that you could imagine! The animation, the performances, the soundtrack – everything just clicks into place perfectly. It was simply faultless!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem delivers breathtaking animation and action-packed family fun in what could be the best-animated movie of 2023!
X-Geeks 