I Watch Films: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

A rogue scientist makes a mutagenic ooze with which he intends to create a mutant animal family. An evil corporation comes to try and take it, killing him, the ooze falling into the sewers of New York city. A rat is transformed, as are four baby turtles. The rat, Splinter, adopts the turtles, naming them Donatello, Michaelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo, and teaches them the art of ninjitsu.

After fifteen years of hiding they want to join the world of humans, but because they’re weird turtle creatures they have to stay hidden. So far this is every version of the TMNT origin story. While out collecting supplies they see April O’Neill, High School Journalist, have her moped stolen. They go into action to retrieve it, defeating a gang of criminals in their stolen vehicle chop shop. Having accidentally revealed themselves to April she explains that she’s interested in notorious criminal “Superfly”; they decide to hunt down and defeat Superfly so everyone will realise they’re actually heroes* and they can go to high school.

Superfly is stealing technology from the evil corporation. He’s one of the original mutant animals, with a gang of them. The Turtles must choose, stick with the mutants, who accept them, or the humans, who reject them as weirdos.

This is a stylised cartoon, the characters and sets looking sketched, though complete. As ever the Turtles are fine as characters, each wanting to do their own thing, each with different things they don’t want to do. And if it’s yet another Turtle reset and reboot, well maybe I’m not the audience, it’s for kids who want weird animal ninjas, secrets and monster-fighting and haven’t seen the Turtles come and go four or five times already.

Watch This: Mutant animal superhero cartoon adventure
Don’t Watch This: Garish monsters fighting

* Teenage Mutant HERO Turtles as they were called here in the UK when I was young, as Ninjas were too violent for kids.