Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

 It's been a while since the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles headlined their own movie. It's been a bit longer since they headlined an animated movie. They get to do both in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which was spearheaded by Seth Rogen but directed by Jeff Rowe. Let's see how it is.

Scientist Baxter Stockman (Giancarlo Esposito) always wanted a family. So, he made a family of mutants with green ooze. His employers, TCRI, hunt him down and kill him. But Stockman's ooze got into the sewers and mutated four turtles into Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Donatello (Micah Abbey), Raphael (Brady Noon) and Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.) and a rat into their Master Splinter (Jackie Chan).

Years later, the Turtles hide in the New York sewers and only surface to steal supplies. One supply run leads them to encounter their first human friend, April O'Neil (Ayo Edeberi). April is an aspiring reporter who wants to unmask the criminal mastermind "Superfly." The Turtles decide to help her, hoping to be accepted as heroes by the general public. Things get complicated when they discover that Superfly (Ice Cube) and his gang are Stockman's mutant family. Superfly is out to help mutants take over the world. The Turtles can't let him do that, no matter how cool Superfly and his family are.

The film proudly emphasizes the teenage part of the title. They goof around, make mistakes and yearn to connect with humans their age. They’re rowdy & rebellious with their sheltered lives and we believe it. That the turtles are voiced by teenagers this time greatly amplifies this fact. They have such entertaining chemistry and buoyant personalities. It makes it all the more moving when April rallies NYC to help them defeat Superfly after they're initially slandered on the news. Even earlier, Splinter's flashback to how he and the Turtles meet is an endearing moment.

A good hero needs a good villain and Superfly is on the case. He initially appears to be a cool fly when he welcomes the turtles to his family with open arms. But he turns frighteningly vindictive once the turtles show some hesitation. That's all before he turns into a giant chimaera in the climax. The film's literally sketchy art style perfectly sells us on that form's unnerving nature (the component animals still move around!). Giant Superfly gives the Turtles a perfectly suitable final battle. 

Now for a few other characters. The mutant family is made of familiar names such as Bebop (Rogen), Rocksteady (John Cena), Mondo Gecko (Paul Rudd), Wingnut (Natasia Demetriou) and Leatherhead (Rose Byrne). Their personalities are eclectic as their character designs. They get their best moments when they rebel against Superfly. Splinter gets some great character development as he loosens up. April is quite compelling as we see her overcome stage fright to help the Turtles. Meanwhile, co-villain Cynthia Utrom (Maya Rudolph) is just there to be important in the sequel. The mid-credits promise that and another familiar face.

Overall, Mutant Mayhem is an entertaining reboot for the heroes in the half-shell. Its crassest jokes aren't a detriment to its compelling family story and radical fight scenes. It also has a great Reznor & Ross score to punctuate its many moods. Its art style is as unique as its teen comedy angle. See it as soon as you can. It'll make not just a great family matinee, but a great distraction from the heat.