- Starring
- Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, Paul Rudd, John Cena, Rose Byrne
- Directors
- Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears
- Rating
- PG
- Genre
- Animation, Action, Adventure, Children, Comedy, Family, Science Fiction
- Release date
- August 2, 2023
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Rating Summary
Long before there was Mutant Mayhem, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was an independent and gritty comic book series launched in 1984. Since then, the franchise has become a $15 billion pop culture phenomenon.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem introduces a whole new generation of children to everyone’s favorite team of pubescent reptiles. An origin story, Mutant Mayhem’s plot is relatively basic, ticking off all of the requisite narrative elements: the origin flashback(s), the heroes’ first fight, the introduction of primary supporting characters, and a disposable supervillain with a dastardly world-ending plan that can only be stopped by the titular Testudines, but only after they’ve learned to work together as a team. It’s world-building/cinematic universe-establishment 101.
The crux of the plot is that the Turtles are untested outsiders who end up having to defeat a host of fellow mutant creatures created by the same mutagenic ooze that transformed them before the main baddy (another mutant) kills all of humanity.
None of the copious TMNT franchises have been known for taking extreme narrative risks. Instead, the universal love of charismatic outsider heroes and even more colorful villains has kept audiences returning to the half-shelled well again and again over the last four decades. For the most part, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem delivers exactly this… except when it doesn’t.
Superficially, Rogen and crew don’t deviate much from the source material. Splinter is a mutant rat that adopted four mutant baby turtles, raising them as a father and training them in martial arts. The locales are the same: sewers and New York City. The familiar and beloved supporting characters are still around: April O’Neil, Bebop, and Rocksteady, etc. Even so, die-hard fans will likely be disappointed by a number of creative choices, some rightly so.
One of the key components of the franchise’s long-lasting success has always been the heroes’ unique personalities: Leonardo is the confident and competent leader, Donatello is the super-genius/nerd, Michelangelo is fun-loving and carefree, and Raphael is fierce and aggressive. Despite that, in Mutant Mayhem, the foursome is far more homogeneous, especially Michelangelo and Donatello, who get very little time to shine as individuals. While Raphael is still the aggressive and less affable one, it’s a matter of degrees rather than an expression of a truly distinct personality.
Probably one of the most divisive changes is that, in this film, Leo isn’t as sure of himself, nor are his brothers as sure of him as a leader. That being said, it’s one of the changes that works best in this reboot. After all, until the events of this film, the group had never been in a fight and was completely untested. While his brothers occasionally give him a hard time, Leo isn’t a bumbling goon, and the ribbing is never done out of malice but manages to feel encouraging in the way of siblings. So, when he finally becomes the leader, it feels earned, and the payoff is a nice moment for the audience.
Another change that works contextually, if not through the lens of nostalgia, is April O’Neil. Instead of being the intrepid, experienced reporter from past iterations, O’Neil is equally untested and of an age with the boys, creating a more playful dynamic. However, it only works in this version because the teen team’s primary motivation for much of the film is to gain acceptance, enroll in high school, and “live normal lives.”
Of course, their motivation is a rather significant divergence from the source material. In most of the past versions of TMNT, the team accepts early on that they will always be outsiders, but choose to be heroes because they can and because it is the right thing to do. Even though, in this version, the boys eventually realize their motivation (the desire to fit in) is wrong, the epiphany comes very late and is somewhat unearned. This is a key factor in what keeps the movie from being more than a moderately pleasant diversion.
Arguably the most significant and easily the worst change made in this rendition, Splinter is no longer a revered and wise mentor who passes along the secrets of ninjutsu out of a sense of tradition and rightness. In Mutant Mayhem, he is a neurotic, xenophobic, over-protective, racist shut-in who wears a bathrobe all day and is referred to as “dad” instead of “Master.” He teaches his children to be ninjas, not out of a sense of tradition or duty but due to his fear. He never once dispenses any wisdom and isn’t much more than a joke for most of the movie.
One of the early points of contention during the lead-up to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was its artwork. Though the design is moderately interesting, it feels like a muted and derivative knockoff of the Spider-Verse franchise. The reason for this is that that’s precisely what it is. Co-director Jeff Rowe reportedly liked the Spiderverses look and went for something similar because it looks cool rather than for any thematic relevance.
Additionally, while the action is fairly consistent and offers some decent hero poses, etc., the cinematography lacks style and is somewhat generic. Whereas family classics like the first Kung Fu Panda lean hard on the highly stylized visuals of the kung-fu genre, TMNT:MM is an action film that is only tangentially a martial arts movie.
With all of that said, even though the dialogue is a bit inconsistent, the pacing is a bit erratic, Jackie Chan should never do voicework, and the style is uninspired, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem boasts some well-done voice work from its titular heroes, a couple of good Easter eggs, and some decent action. While it may not be a classic, quotable, or even that memorable, it might make for a nice diversion for those of the appropriate age.
PARENTAL NOTES in Ninja Turtles
PG my ####### ###
- There’s a lot of cursing, with numerous uses of the word “hell” (ex, awe hell no, where the hell you goin’, etc.), as well as “piss,” and I thought I caught a damn or two (not sure about this one).
- The Lord’s name is taken in vain on multiple occasions (oh God, my God).
- Murder, both the word and the concept, makes up virtually the entire third act. The villain wants to “murder” all of humanity, and he does his vocal best.
- It’s far too intense and violent for the very young. In one scene, Leonardo slashes a bad guy in the face, and there’s a blink-and-miss-it splash of blood.
- There’s a pun played on the word “roused,” using it as a euphemism for a man’s full arousal.
- Bebop has prominent nipple rings atop prodigious man-tits that get an uncomfortably long close-up. Even Joel Schumaker thought it was over the top.
- There’s a 10-second scene in front of a high school bulletin board in which only two things are in focus: an improv sign-up sheet (a setup for a gag) and multiple narratively irrelevant gay pride materials.
WOKE REPORT
What is and What isn’t
- The importance of having a loving and stable father in the home is key in the film.
- Splinter is not gay. Based on some reports, it appears the filmmakers intended to make him so. However, at some point before its official release, some overdubbing was done, and the grotesque monster with whom Splinter falls in love is clearly and repeatedly referred to as female/she. So, while everything behind the scenes was woke, this aspect of the finished product was not.
- For 85% of the film, we are repeatedly reminded by all of the main characters that humans are racist and cruel, so I was going to ding it for such heavy-handedness. However, the film shows this narrative to be completely false by its end.
- There’s a 10-second scene in front of a high school bulletin board in which only two things are in focus: an improv sign-up sheet (a setup for a gag) and multiple narratively irrelevant gay pride materials.
- Splinter is not called “master.” Since these are the same folks who say that master bedrooms are racist, we’re left to assume that it was omitted from this film for the sake of virtue signaling.
- Except for one scene, Splinter has been completely emasculated. His sons regularly disrespect and lie to him, and the movie’s tone suggests they are justified in doing so.
- The heroes are shown vandalizing and destroying private property and stealing from businesses, as a matter of course, when they go out for groceries. While it makes logical sense that they wouldn’t have any money and would have to resort to this, the modern preference for dragging our heroes into the dirt for the sake of a couple of cheap laughs is very woke.
- April O’Neil’s character as a high school student worked. Furthermore, she wasn’t a girl boss or overly snarky. However, by now, we all know that her race has been annoyingly changed (cause Whitey’s bad). You might not know she is borderline morbidly obese (cause fat = healthy now – just don’t ask Lizzo for a banana). Moreover, Leo thinks she’s stunningly beautiful despite her very unhealthy weight (cause nothing says “hot” like front butts). It’s the Body Positivity Movement on full display.
James Carrick
James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.
This looks like it will be woke. A man turtle is a woman turtle now WOKE WOKE WOKE
All 4 ninja turtles are actually teen boys…voiced by teenage boys. One of them has a high-pitched voice, I thought was a girl, too. But I was wrong.
I hope it isn’t woke and it is good because my 20 something son can’t wait to see it for the sentimental value because he grew up with Ninja Turtles. I have a feeling it will be Hollywood’s usual woke BS. I hate when they kill off the memories of youth. I will have to report what my son thinks after he sees it.
It’s woke! There’s a LGBTQ history month flyer in a school scene.
Is it a background element or prominently shown and talked about?
It’s in the background…my kids didn’t notice it.
A race swapped April O’Neil and just a woke-ish rating?
Took my kids yesterday to see it and my biggest pet peeve is throughout the whole movie “humans” are so evil and murder mutants. Is there a hidden message? The storyline of “outcasts” not being “accepted” is getting very old. Same thing with Elemental….stop with the segregation already.
“Stop with the segregation” says the person upset that one of the characters in a children’s movie is black
Shut up with this stupid narrative that we are mad because the movie has black characters! If the writers had just simply introduced her as a new character, a new human ally to the turtles, (not change an existing character’s race), nobody would say anything nor care!
april was black in the comics first tho …
Thank you for running this site! It’s so sad I can’t let my children watch movies (targeted FOR children) without doing online research to see if it’s truly suitable for them to watch. Really appreciate your work as myself, and I’m sure so many other parents, rely on it. Keep up the great work!
*minor spoilers* My teens enjoyed it, especially the anime references. My only annoyance was the race swapped April O’Neil…..was otherwise very entertaining. I didn’t feel like the splinter was all that ineffective as a father figure. The teen turtles had a fairly healthy fear of his judgement, and his grounding them for a month showed some teeth. I’d rate it woke-ish as well.
Thank you for the review. Sounds like it might be too much for my 6 year old, and the blasphemy would bother the 8 year old, so we probably won’t go see it, but I really appreciate knowing these things ahead of time! Seriously, you are doing our family a huge favor.
Talking turtles are an affront to God’s creation.
I wanted to only show my children non woke and non blasphemous programmes, but even veggie tales is questionable these days. My 5yo will watch Ben Shapiro sometimes but thinks Jordan Petersen is boring; is there any other suggestions?
Beautiful satire. Stunning. Brave. Should apply to work at The Babylon Bee or for J.P. Sears. 10/10 highly recommend.
Sounds like the same poster in the Meg 2 review that tried to mock Christians. Once again, the people who preach tolerance prove to be the most bigoted and intolerant.
That last line is ironic
If you don’t like talking turtles, then you probably won’t be interested in other cartoons, but, just in case, I do recommend the “Curious George” cartoon for young kids (gentle messages, usually with a science-y lesson), and “Word World” (which are animals made up of the letters in their name teaching phonetic skills).
Thanks for the suggestion but teaching children words that aren’t in the bible is the first step to making them Liberal woke indoctrinated collage students. I decided to entertain my children with my own handmade bible puppets. I intend to homeschool all my children and future grandchildren this way.
Quit pretending to be a Christian, you Liberal Hack
James is doing God’s work! Keep it up! I am going to watch movies only after you certify them as “non-woke.”
@James, “ None of the copious TMNT franchises have been known for taking extreme narrative risks.”
There actually is one series that does to some degree. The TMNT 2003 cartoon series. The below video shows the dark elements in the 2003 series:
https://youtu.be/ZB7pog8PxS4
It starts out slow, but the fourth season turns out to be the darkest. Someone dies offscreen in the first episode though. Ignore the last two seasons.
If you haven’t watched it, you should. It’s the closest to the original comic books, and overall still the best turtle media, with a blend of action, grit, and humor.
FYI “Same as it never was” is probably the darkest episode. “Nightmares recycled” was completed but so dark and twisted it was never released. It would have been dark even for adults.
Thanks. I’ll check it out.
Nightmares Recycled was never finished.
What a sad, sorry state of affairs we find ourselves in. Sad old people censoring material from their kids because mainstream media dares to acknowledge the existence of anything outside straight white land.
Wow looks like we have a woke commie libtard here. Don’t you have a gay blm protest to go to and drink soy milk latter’s with some woke bud light?
He has a valid point, majority saw that one of the characters’ races were swapped (even though they were changed that way for over 5 years prior) and that they added an LGBT flyer in about 5 seconds of screen time and everyone on this site is losing their minds.
I’m glad that some young people like myself know better than to expose children to perversion simply because perversion exists. 🙂
Also, your ilk needs to stop recycling content made by white people with white characters and twisting it to suit your woke worldview. Make your own stories. Then again, you know they won’t be good, so you have to take from other creators’ work and slip in some trash.
I have a feeling you like to think you’re not racist
It’s my job as a parent to protect my child from the mentally ill fringe of society who happen to dominate media and entertainment since they are incapable of offering anything of intrinsic value to the world.
Personally, I enjoyed it. I wish Splinter was his usual strong, wise character, but apart from the LGBT flyers in that one scene, this movie was really good.
Just an FYI to those in the comment section that are surprised that April is a black character in this film, April has been portrayed as black since 2018 in the various incarnations of the turtles that have been released since. While definitely a woke decision, it is not a new one to the Turtles franchise.
Logic and reasoning isn’t their strong point man, no point in trying to explain to them. They will forever hold their hateful beliefs.
The amount of racists on this website is absolutely astounding. It being a website dedicated to how “woke” a movie is, I don’t know why I’m acting surprised.
I did not grow up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I don’t know anything about it and I’ve never been interested in it, but I was really excited to go see it after I saw the trailer and I saw white people angry that April was black. Like I don’t understand why people are so mad about that… just say you’re racist and let that be end of it, like nobody is making you watch the movie. Everybody up in a tizzy over this movie it’s just embarrassing. Also the ninja turtles are black coded like idk… I’m happy about the casting and I like April’s character design specifically. She’s super cute and like James said “Whitey’s bad” so this is perfect honestly. Like even though I’ve never seen any other ninja turtles content this is the best depiction of them ever. The art style is so pretty. The writing is good. It was genuinely funny, I didn’t get irritated with the story and I was entertaining the whole time. Honestly, I love this movie 10 out of 10 would most definitely watch again. They gotta keep making movies like this.
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