After so many years of mediocre live-action film adaptations of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that struggled to capture the characters, chemistry, and world of the iconic comics, TMNT fans can finally rejoice with Mutant Mayhem – a film that takes the turtles back to their animated roots and charts an incredible path forward for the franchise.

The film brings fans back to the early days of the turtles – before they became superheroes and when they were just a couple mutated turtle teenagers doing odd jobs for their father-figure/mentor Splinter (voiced by Jackie Chan). Due to Splinter’s fear and slight hatred for humans, he forbids Leo (voiced by Nicholas Cantu), Mikey (voiced by Shamon Brown Jr.), Donny (voiced by Micah Abbey), and Raphie (voiced by Brady Noon) from living amongst the humans – even though they yearn to have the lives of other human teenagers. However, the turtles get their chance to change people’s perspective on them when they discover an underlying plot led by the nefarious mutant Superfly (voiced by Ice Cube) and decide to use their skills to become heroes.

Where TMNT: Mutant Mayhem instantly makes a distinct mark is through its stunning animation and art style. While the film could be simply labeled as “Into the Spider-Verse-inspired,” its aesthetics serve a greater and more meaningful purpose. With the film showcasing the turtles in their teen years, the character designs and action having this hand-drawn look that’s elevated by small details makes it not only a living comic book, but also incredibly inspired by its teen core. All the characters, settings, and action feel ripped right from someone’s sketch book – which gives it a more personal and grounded feel that longtime TMNT fans can easily connect with. Plus, it’s great to see the turtles and the world of TMNT get a fresh re-design as it further symbolizes the franchise heading in a much-needed new direction.

Not to mention, the color palette seen in this film is remarkably gorgeous. The neon glow of the NYC cityscapes radiates beautifully against the shadowy atmosphere. Every character has strong, distinct colors that set them apart. Even despite some of the weird retro hairstyles of some of the mutants, there’s such a strong visual flair to the characters that adds to their unique personalities. There’s nothing better for fans in Mutant Mayhem than picking up on little details of the characters and world – and luckily for them, the film is chock full of awesome visual nods and references that fans will adore. Mutant Mayhem goes all out on its visuals and it helps give the film a distinct identity and the necessary feelings of a refreshing new era for the turtles.

All the visual strengths of the film combine and come together excellently in the film’s action. With it containing so many different mutants and each of the four turtles going into battle with their own distinct weapons, there’s a strong variety of action that’s incredibly fun to watch. It never stops being a joy to watch these turtles collide and collaborate in the battle and the arc of their chemistry in the action is very satisfying. The film even takes inspiration and displays some great nods to martial arts action films – even something as mature as Oldboy. So, it’s really a great showing of how fun the turtles can be in big cinematic fights and with it carrying this youthful energy, great nods to similar films, and strong visuals – it finally feels like the action of the comics is effectively translated to the big screen.

What really makes Mutant Mayhem feels like a refreshing turn for TMNT though is how it depicts its characters and delivers its own coming of age tale full of rich heart. Finally, we have a TMNT story that actually depicts the turtles as teenagers. Often, the live-action films have shown them more as adults acting like teens. But here, fans see the turtles in their titular teen form, and it works wonders in making them an incredibly loveable squad – especially with the help of its talented young voice cast. Their brotherly chemistry adds so much incredible humor and heart to their dynamic and the voice performances for all the turtles are fantastic. The banter between them is very real and has this youthful spirit that doesn’t go unnoticed. There’s no weak link and everyone provides their own connective emotions to their respective character’s arc and lines. Plus, the improv approach that’s taken for the turtles’ voice work pays off greatly in having these organic and incredibly humorous moments of the turtles ragging on and supporting each other like real brothers and friends would.

Cantu, Brown Jr., Abbey, and Noon all deliver breakout performances that’ll easily excite fans and entice newcomers into the story and chemistry of the turtles. The arc the turtles go through as heroes here is perfectly relatable and emotional as well. As much as the film pays homage to the martial arts action genre, it also gives nods to classic coming of age storytelling through the turtles’ arc of becoming heroes and coming into their own. Their story deals with them trying to fit in and ultimately come to realize the bigger role they can play in the world. There are aspects to their story that showcase the dangers of people’s reactionary nature – especially given the current state of cancel culture – and touch on the importance of doing what’s right. It’s genuinely a universal tale of personal growth and the loveable chemistry of the turtles makes their story a coming-of-age story that features some immensely satisfying and warm conclusions.

The turtles’ story of becoming heroes and finding their own place in the world is probably one of the better stories they’ve had recently – since it adds newfound heart, meaning, and even nostalgia to them that audiences will love. It helps too that there are some amazing supporting performances and characters who elevate the turtles’ journey in the film. Ayo Edebiri continues her incredible breakout year with her voice performance for April O’Neil. It’s great how April acts as sort of another guiding force for the turtles in this film while still being someone they can relate to and that adds her own humorous moments to the film. Chan is literally perfect casting for Splinter as he brings some great dad humor to the character that’s adorable and a good heart that makes big moments between him and his sons have a deep impact.

Ice Cube is also great as Superfly and it’s kind of nice how he’s characterized in the film. It’s interesting how the turtles initially relate to Superfly and his plight being a mutant. The scenes of them briefly hanging out with Superfly and his band of mutants are honestly great and eventually come to a strong head. Superfly’s dedication to his evil plan is one of the best elements of his story as it solidifies him as a real-deal villain, and leads to an epic finale fight. Sadly, the rest of the villains aren’t all that memorable nor as well utilized.

It’s kind of a shame that even though Mutant Mayhem features enough mutants to warrant its title, most of them end up taking a more heroic turn by the end. It’s something that makes sense for the story and film as a whole but is a choice that’s disappointing since it’s rare to see some of these TMNT villains on the big screen. Not to mention, a majority of them are just there for easy laughs that can be hit or miss and despite the voice cast being filled with notable talent, most of the characters struggle to stay memorable. However, there’s at least some great villains on the horizon and it’s a big reason that Mutant Mayhem provides a great amount of franchise potential that TMNT fans will love.

Also, despite the film being consistently funny – largely thanks to the turtles and their comedic chemistry – the film is overstuffed with pop culture references that feel forced. While some of the more modern pop culture nods to anime and even other comic heroes are cool, there’s too many of them and they often feel forced into the plot rather than be something organic to the world. Frankly, even the nods to actual celebrities feel weird to be in this film and create a connection to reality that doesn’t feel right.

Mutant Mayhem isn’t without its flaws that largely stem from its overuse of pop culture nods and its struggles to completely nail its villains, but it’s the exact kind of refreshing restart TMNT has needed. Its stunning animation, incredible voice performances, gut-busting humor, and genuine heart all blend together excellently to deliver a TMNT story with coming of age vibes that everyone can connect with.

Watch the Trailer Here: