Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Meh. Formulaic story, shallow characters, uninteresting script. The animation is cute and so were some of the characters, though.

I love almost everything about this. This isn't really the vision of Splinter that I want, but I also didn't really mind. I would like a darker TMNT, but I understand this is what the mainstream wants. So with that said, absolutely beautiful animation with thrilling action. Comedy that absolutely works. The turtles are done really well. The plot is interesting enough. Soundtrack--both original music and choice of songs--is fantastic. This succeeds in everything it sets out to be.

I didn't love everything about this, but: it really does approach it from the idea, what if 'teenage' was the focus of TMNT and they behaved like actual teens. The animation style is all its own, the plot deals with one of the major issues facing the turtles and all other mutants. It's funny enough, laughed out loud a handful of times. Not entirely a fan of how they did Splinter in terms of a little gross-out here and there, but I did like how he was done in a lot of other ways. Chars are solid.

Makes some interesting choices. For anyone off-put by the way the Turtles acted... try talking to 14 year olds. Their demeanor is a feature and felt authentic. Didn't love what they did with Splinter, and April O'Neill was hit-and-miss. Stakes felt about on-par with the intended audience. The animation is mostly great and only occasionally awkward, but the biggest plus, is that this is just so damn fun and funny. The jokes start early, and there's lots of room for more of this in the future.

While the Spider-Verse revolution is in full swing, this stands brilliantly on its own with a unique visual flair. TMNT was never a prominent staple of my childhood, but if I’d grown up with this it certainly would’ve been. It is bursting with creative energy, supported by an endearing main cast and a palpable love of the source material. Just a joy of a watch. Ready for more.