“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem” is the newest movie of the TMNT franchise. This year, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fans were excited to see this new version and the interesting animation style, somewhat similar to “Across the Spider-Verse” and “Into the Spider-Verse.”
“Mutant Mayhem” displays the turtles acting more like teenagers than they do in a majority of other versions, and it’s also the first version to utilize teenage voice actors for the turtles.
The main villain is a mutant named Superfly, shifting from the more common utilization of the notorious TMNT supervillain, Shredder. Many fans were surprised by this, but not against it, and look forward to hopefully seeing Shredder in the second movie.
Following “Mutant Mayhem” will be a TV show, called “Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” expected to come mid-2025, and a second movie, expected in 2026.
“Mutant Mayhem” is the second rendition to have April be a love interest with one of the turtles; the other rendition having done this being the 2012 version. In “Mutant Mayhem,” Leonardo is set up with April, though they don’t get together in the movie, and in 2012, Donatello was set up with April, sharing many romantic moments, but ultimately never getting together.
Fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were not excited for this relationship, but after seeing the movie many fans are hopeful for this pairing and willing to look past the franchise’s rocky past of pairing the turtles with April.
“Mutant Mayhem” shows a new backstory for Splinter, the turtles’ father. In a majority of renditions, Splinter’s background shows him being Hamato Yoshi, commonly known as Lou Jitsu in “Rise of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” or Hamato Yoshi’s pet. However, in “Mutant Mayhem,” he was a wild city rat with no connection to any human counterparts.
This backstory has upset some people, due to him not having any association with Asia. It’s well known that a majority of versions of Splinter are in some ways racist. When Splinter’s character was first made, the term rat was often used in a racist way against Asian people and appeared in anti-Asian propaganda.
Many fans have accepted the history of Splinter and accepted that him being a rat is a part of his character now, but in “Mutant Mayhem,” the creators chose to not associate Splinter with Asia at all, leaving many upset that he is simply a New York City rat with an Asian accent.
Despite some of the controversies, the film has been well-received for its animation and plot. Overall, it’s an enjoyable film for both new and longtime TMNT fans.
