The Turtles are back on the big screen! Now in their fourth decade of existence, how does this version stack up against everything that’s come before?

The origin

Introduced in 1984 as a satire of the grim and gritty American comics being produced at the time, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ first comic appearance was a smash hit for co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Published independently in stark black and white, the comic was dark, violent, and filled with engaging concepts and characters. When the series was re-engineered for a mass audience via a family-friendly animated series with an accompanying toy line in 1987, a billion-dollar empire was born.

The (latest) reboot

Three and a half decades, four animated series, five live-action films, one animated movie, and countless toys, video games, comics, and assorted merch later, the pizza-loving heroes in a half-shell have lost none of their appeal, leading to the latest reboot from Seth Rogen. Primarily known for acting in films like Pineapple Express, The Disaster Artist and Sausage Party, Rogen has built up an impressive producing portfolio of critically-acclaimed takes on comics-inspired properties, including The Boys, Invincible, and Preacher.

The story

15 years after scientist Baxter Stockman’s (Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul) experiments with mutants are brought to a violent end, a crime wave orchestrated by the villainous Superfly (Ice Cube, 22 Jump Street) has hit Manhattan. Unbeknownst to all, a batch of Stockman’s mutagenic compound (ooze) found its way into the sewers, where it mutated four baby turtles into bipedal New Yorkers with a penchant for pizza. Under the tutelage of their Master Splinter (Jackie Chan, Rush Hour), half-shelled heroes Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Donatello (Micah Abbey), Rapahel (Brady Noon, Good Boys), and Michaelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.) grew up into the titular terrapins, honing their martial arts skills in secret. But when the turtles and their new human friend April O’ Neil (Ayo Edebiri, Across the Spider-Verse) discover Superfly’s plot to unleash mutant mayhem, the half-shelled heroes will need to save the day by showing the world what they’re made of.

The green machine

For the first time in franchise history, the Ninja Turtles are being played by actual teenagers, and it immediately gives this version an altogether unique tone and feel from what’s come before. The young cast has an infectious chemistry that permeates every scene, lending authenticity to the franchise’s signature craziness while delivering an energy and playfulness one didn’t know we were missing previously. The characters’ personalities are still instantly recognizable, albeit filtered through a contemporary lens that should be appealing to Gen-Z audiences.

The new mutants

Ice Cube’s Superfly is a delight, his every line delivered with a street-smart jocularity that makes up for the absence of the Turtles’ traditional nemesis, Shredder. Determined to get revenge on the human race for separating him from his father, Superfly leads a gang of mutants voiced by an insanely all-star roster of performers.

In no particular order, the villain roster includes Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids), John Cena (Fast X, Suicide Squad), Hannibal Buress (Tag, Spider-Man: No Way Home) Rose Byrne (Insidious, Spy), Post Malone, Natasia Demetriou (What We Do in the Shadows), and Paul Rudd (Ant-Man, Clueless) as a variety of mutant animals that somehow complement all of their established screen personalities.

The message behind the mayhem

The teenage desire to be seen and heard is a concept that the film handles exceptionally well; it was one thing to have these heroes hiding underground in the 80s and 90s, but the script shows how difficult that set up would be in the age of social media media. They may be ninjas, but Mutant Mayhem is noteworthy for portraying them as adolescents beyond the low-hanging fruit of (now-) dated surfer lingo.

When the staunchly anti-human Splinter decides to put his sons’ happiness before his own, the gesture injects the material with a surprising level of pathos. He may not like humans, but if being accepted by humanity is what will make his sons happy, then this single dad will gladly fight for their dream. In a movie chock full of frenetic action and irreverence, Splinter’s unconditional love for his children is a beautiful sentiment, and a moment well-earned.

A blend of classic and contemporary

The CGI-powered animation is defined by a decidedly hand-crafted aesthetic, with nary a straight line in sight, and it’s a treat to see. Paired with a reduced frame rate, the animated characters take on an almost tactile quality, moving about in a believably lived-in (albeit stylized) world. From a design standpoint, each turtle possesses qualities from past incarnations, including the personalized bandana colors from the ’87 cartoon, Donatello’s various gadgets from the 2014 live action film, and even the different shades of green introduced by the original action figures. Regardless of the new looks, each is immediately recognizable, showing Rogen and his team’s reverence for the source material, without being beholden to it.

The bottom line

Mutant Mayhem takes all of the things that fans have loved about these characters and handily updates them for a Gen Z audience, without losing sight of what made them popular in the first place. These may not be the exact Turtles many of us grew up with, but they don’t have to be – this is a new take for a new audience, and Rogen isn’t afraid to shake things up, ending on a genuinely surprising status quo shakeup, while also teasing the arrival of a classic villain. With a greenlit sequel and two seasons of an animated spinoff starring the same cast already announced, Turtle Power shows no signs of stopping, and this writer wouldn’t have it any other way.

Cowabunga!

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