As far back as I can remember, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have always been in a state of reboot. As an adult, I can understand the early adaptations.

Creators Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman’s original, self-published comic from 1984, was black-and-white incarnate — and not because it was made without colour, but because it was dark, brutal and utterly unlike the 1987 pre-teen, kid-friendly cartoon the world saw.

The series was followed by a live-action theatrical motion picture in 1990, followed by a sequel in 1991, followed by a threequel in 1993, followed by an another animated series in 1997 that rebooted the franchise and eschewed the words teenage from the title.

This was followed by another rebooted animated series which re-added teenage to the title in 2003, followed by an unconnected (but very cool) standalone animated movie in 2007, followed by another very cool standalone animated film in 2009, a rebooted animated series in 2012, two Hollywood live-action film adaptations in 2014 and 2016, followed by another series in 2018. Oh, and lest I forget, the Turtles did a crossover animated film with Batman somewhere in between.

Mutant Mayhem aces the long list of entries as the best Turtles film since 2007’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

So, yes, this is a very profitable franchise, which rebooted itself ad-nauseum. One would think that tinkering with the story to find a unique angle to tell for a reboot would be difficult. Well, to quote Ryan George, the popular YouTube host of the show Pitch Meetings: “It’s barely an inconvenience.”

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (TMNT:MM), produced and written by Seth Rogen and his longtime partner Evan Goldberg (there are other producers and writers in the mix as well), accomplish the unthinkable. TMNT:MM is a slick, cartoony, fun, animated film, which dramatically changes the original story with the sincerest of intentions.

The Turtles remain teenagers though, this time, there is an innocence to their conduct. Their origins are updated from the usual — perhaps for the better. Splinter (the voice of Jackie Chan) is not Japanese, and he learns Kung-Fu from study-at-home martial arts videotapes and Asian movies (some of them are Jackie Chan classics).

Though I am slightly averse to seeing ethnicities changed for the sake of inclusivity, the film’s April O’ Neil (Ayo Edebiri), a slightly overweight African-American high school student who is adamant about a career in journalism but pukes in front of the camera, somehow vibes with this fresh take.

This fun family film also stars the voices of John Cena, Rose Bryne, Paul Rudd, Ice Cube, Rogen and Maya Rudolph amongst many more, though you’d be hard-pressed to single out anyone.

Co-writer and director Jeff Rowe (Mitchells vs the Machines), ejects the old and incorporates the new with seamless flair. The film’s main villain is not the go-to baddie Shredder, but a fly who mutates into Superfly (Ice Cube); some of us would think this is Baxter Stockman, but no.

The shuffling keeps the production as lively as the film’s slick camerawork and the spunky animation style — a cool variant of the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse style, with scribbly pencil lines.

Despite Rowe’s inclination to light scenes with off-putting bright neon colours, TMNT:MM still aces the long list of entries as the best Turtles film since 2007’s TMNT. It’s a blast from the past, that’s set very much in the present.

Released by Paramount, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is playing worldwide with a PG-13 rating

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 13th, 2023