Mutant Mayhem
August 30, 2023 2023-09-01 9:03Mutant Mayhem
New TMNT movie takes the world by storm
Everyone is familiar with the classic story of the four ninja turtles living in New York who fight off crime as they advance in their martial arts skills. Whether it is a TV series or a movie, it always starts with the turtles being born and radioactive goo being poured all over them, transforming them into the teenage mutant turtles we see today. The four brothers, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo, are then raised and trained by Master Splinter, a mutant rat.
The first episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was broadcast on December 14th, 1987. From here on out, the world fell in love with this lean, mean, green, incredible team. This series lasted seven seasons concluding on November 2nd, 1996. It ran for a whopping nine years.
Since then, there have been four more series after that. Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation (1997), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012), and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2018). There have been quite a few movies as well. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I, II, and III (1990, 1991, 1993), TMNT (2007), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (2022), and now the newly debuted movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
In this movie, the teenage brothers find out that they aren’t the only mutants in New York. These other mutants are wreaking havoc on the city as they steal more radioactive goo. The Turtles meet April O’Neil, a high school student who has terrible stage fright, and team up with her to stop these villainous mutants.
One thing about the movie is that it is incredibly up-to-date and modern. It uses many phrases that this generation uses frequently. It mentions the term “rizz” many times and has quite a bit of pop culture and anime references.
“It is a good Nickelodeon movie; it is easier to understand more references now that I am older. It was clever and witty. It felt very modern specifically since the characters felt like real teenagers in this day and age,” said DBHS junior Janay Civil.
Many celebrity actors are involved in this movie. There is Jackie Chan as Splinter, John Cena as Rocksteady, Ice Cube as Superfly, and Post Malone as Ray Fillet. The cast was very inclusive as the character April O’Neil was portrayed as an African American teenage journalist. One of the voice artists for April O’Neil is Ayo Edebiri. This was a little bit of a controversy because all previous April O’Neils were biracial, but in this movie, she is not.
This classic media franchise has been getting plenty of reboots for 36 years now and there may still be more to come. This series seems to never fail to put a smile on children and teenager’s faces everywhere. Everyone can enjoy this family friendly movie on a casual lazy sunday coupled with a box of pizza, the signature choice of food for these mutant turtles.
