By Chris Snellgrove | Published 1 hour ago
The original live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remains the best comic movie ever made, but it’s all been downhill from there. Future sequels and reboots could never match the perfection of the original, but that all changed with a 2023 film inspired heavily by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. That movie is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and you can now stream this shell of a good time on Netflix.
The premise of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is that four mutated turtles are taught mad kung-fu skills by their overgrown rat daddy. This quartet of pizza-craving ninjas must fight a buzzy baddie named Supafly while investigating the mysterious company behind their transformation. And unless they can unravel the (ahem) secrets of the ooze, Earth will be plunged into chaos by an endless army of mutated animals.
The Cast Is Cool But Crude
The cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is vast and includes Seth Rogen (best known for This Is the End and Pineapple Express) as Bebop and John Cena (best known outside wrestling for The Suicide Squad and the Peacemaker TV show). These characters report to Supafly, a charismatic new villain played by Ice Cube (best known for Last Friday and, more recently, the infamous War of the Worlds). Other mutants are played by powerhouse talents like Paul Rudd (he voices Mondo Gecko), Hannibal Burress (he voices Genghis Frog), Post Malone (he voices Ray Fillet), and Jackie Chan (he voices Splinter).
The best voicework comes from our cowabunga quarter of TMNT actors: Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon. This casting made Turtles history, as this is the first time in the franchise that all four of these nutty ninjas have been voiced by actual teenagers. That may sound like stunt casting, but these youthful actors (who all have perfect chemistry with each other) really help sell the Ninja Turtles as siblings who constantly bicker but never stop loving each other.
One of the Best Films In the TMNT Franchise
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem quickly established itself as one of the most successful movies in this franchise. Against a budget of $70 million, this movie earned $180.5 million, which was enough greenbacks for the studio to greenlight a sequel. We’ll be getting that sequel on September 17, 2027, but there’s no time like the present to catch up on the best Ninja Turtles movie since the first live-action film.
When Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem came out of the sewer, it left the critics downright shell-shocked. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a totally tubular rating of 95 percent, with critics praising the movie’s slick style and its deft adaptation of a classic comics franchise. They also noted that the film is perfect for children and adults alike, making this a film that TMNT fans of different generations can sit down and enjoy together.
The ’80s Are Back (Again)
Personally, I’m a lifelong fan of the Ninja Turtles since the ‘80s, and I originally feared that Mutant Mayhem was going to be nothing but a Spider-Verse knockoff trying to milk my nostalgia for all it’s worth. But I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this movie is the perfect melding of mythologies, bringing together Turtles lore from every era. Further, its art style ended up being very distinct from the Spider-Verse, creating a brand-new look as this franchise reinvents itself for yet another generation.
So far, the reinvention is a smash success: the franchise has a show (Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Mutant Mayhem has an upcoming sequel, and the Turtles have one new toy after another hitting shelves. It’s a great time to be a TMNT fan, but the truth is that the franchise wouldn’t be having such a renaissance right now without the success of Mutant Mayhem. As such, it’s worth it for any Turtles fan to stream the film that instantly established itself as the best comic movie of the modern age.
Will you agree that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is the best modern comic movie, or would you rather throw this back into the sewers where it belongs? You won’t know until you stream it on Netflix, preferably while scarfing down your favorite pizza. If you have any trouble streaming, be sure to call the right ninja on your Turtle Phone…remember, it’s Donatello does machines!