A scene from 'Teenage Mutang Ninja Turtles - Mutant Mayhem'
 

One may be forgiven for presuming that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) franchise has outlived its shelf life and is languishing in some corner, dreaming of its glory days. The original comic book Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created debuted in 1984, and action figure toys followed in 1987, the same year a TV series was spun off. The first TMNT movie came out in 1990; we all know how video games soon followed. So, that’s 39 years now of Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael, but there’s still no stopping the quartet!

The latest incarnation of TMNT hits the cinema screens this Wednesday, Aug. 23, and it’s an animated superhero film that’s being publicized on the strength of how Seth Rogen is a co-producer; and, along with Evan Goldberg and Jeff Rowe, co-wrote the screenplay and story. Rowe, a co-Director of the wonderful The Mitchells vs. the Machines, handles the directing chores of Mutant Mayhem.

The ensemble voice cast is another coup for the film. They smartly used real kids to voice the four; Nicholas Cantù, Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., and Brady Noon. And then they brought in a heavyweight stellar cast to fill in the other voices.

Inspired casting has Jackie Chan voicing Splinter, a father figure to the four and a first-generation immigrant rat! Ice Cube voices Superfly, the leader of a gang of mutants and the main villain of the film adventure. Scene stealing is the likes of Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko, a Superfly henchman. Other voices for Superfly’s gang include Seth himself, Rose Byrne, Natasia Demetriou (from What We Do in the Shadows), rapper Post Malone, and John Cena.

Narrative-wise, the film tackles the experiences of the outsiders, the ones who are shunned or thought to be too different. The fact that Chan voices Splinter as a first Gen immigrant helps support this and how he sees his four wards as better equipped to interact with the society he doesn’t feel he belongs in. What’s nice is how this is peppered with jokes and humor to qualify as family entertainment.

It is genuinely funny, and we know only too well what Rogen can do in writing. We’ve seen Rowe effectively blend situational humor with throwaway lines in The Mitchells vs. the Machines. This all comes together in Mutant Mayhem, and it’s one of the reasons the film works.

Then there’s the inventive animation style employed for this film. It’s like a high school student’s sketchbook comes to life, and this fits the world of our four kid turtles. It’s scratchy, lines are blurred or indefinite, and there’s a scrambling of colors and even styles, but they all work in consonance for world-building and offer a new visual entry into the TMNT universe.

No spoilers here, but I can say this film is a shot in the arm for the franchise, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’ll last a new 40 years.