The Film’s Success  

Despite the initial reception towards the trailers, the film blew critics away. Mutant Mayhem achieved critical acclaim for its stellar writing and presentation. Many people consider the film the best for featuring the turtles thus far. First and foremost, it was an action film. The film combines stark animation, martial arts, and the titular mutant power to create some of the most bombastic fight scenes from an animated superhero film viewers will find. 

As described in Dead Talk’s previous film review, the phenomenal Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse heavily influences the animation style. The film spawned the art style of “painted CGI” used in other films such as Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Turning Red. However, this film still adds its unique spin on the style by adding a layer of grunge and wear-and-tear over everything, giving an impeccably tactile feeling to the art style. If this is the future of animation, this film has adapted.

Yet another commonly praised aspect of the film was how the turtles, as characters, felt like teenagers. In most incarnations, especially the 2012 cartoon and 2014 film, the team does not act like young adults but instead is portrayed as more stoic or mature. Here, however, the turtles are realistically, authentically teens. They constantly reference pop culture and anime; they’re rebellious and naive and… just want to fit in and be seen as adults. While coming-of-age stories are hardly new in animation, this was an exceptionally well-done example.

The Future of ‘TMNT’

While this film was successful on its own, this won’t be the last time we see this incarnation of the turtles. Almost immediately after the film’s successful release, Paramount wasted no time turning it into a franchise. The stinger for the film revealed that The Shredder would arrive in the next film as its primary antagonist, a movie scheduled for release in 2026. There’s even more in store. An animated series titled Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was also announced, as well as a video game, Mutants Unleashed. Overall, this might be a new golden age for the TMNT franchise. 

A continuation of the story can fix several of the mistakes made by the first film, such as the lack of individual development given to each of the four, as they were primarily a cohesive unit throughout the first film. Introducing the Shredder of all characters could pave the way for upping the stakes.

As with any famous incarnation of a recurring franchise, this film’s success will likely shape any future takes on the turtles, especially turning the crime fighters into lovable, goofy characters that the audience wants to root for. This contrasts with the original Mirage Comics, which were not only black and white but had a much darker and more serious tone compared with the rest of the franchise. Interestingly, darker versions of the characters still exist. There were rumors that an R-rated adaptation of The Last Ronin‘s dramatic storyline was in the works at Paramount. However, as shown by Marvel and DC, it is possible to have both severe and goofy incarnations of these characters. Mutant Mayhem is one of the better examples at the latter end of the spectrum. 

Cowabunga?

One year later, the passion for the film persists among its fans. Even when it had a star-studded team bringing it to life, it still had many critics. Despite this, its humor, heart, and action dissolved skepticism surrounding the film. The film became just one of many incarnations of the turtles to win critics over. To this day, the picture maintains a devoted fanbase from across the web, eager for the series’ continuation. Hopefully, it can retain its reputation while leaving room for other team incarnations for future generations of fans. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem will be found on Paramount Plus.