It's time to venture down into the sewers below New York City for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.” Bringing the turtles back to the big screen are directors Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears.

 

The film follows the adventures of the four teenage turtles Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Raphael (Brady Noon), Michaelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), and Donatello (Micah Abbey). They live with their father Splinter (Jackie Chan) who is a rat. He taught the turtles to be ninjas to defend themselves from humans. The story deals with the turtles trying to be accepted by society. Along the way the turtles become friends with student news reporter April O'Neil (Ayo Edebiri) who helps them do just that. As luck would have it, a mutant named Superfly (Ice Cube) has teamed up with other mutants to build a device to turn every animal into a mutant and take over the world from the humans. All the turtles need to do is take down Superfly, get it on tape and then humans will love them. That should be easy right?

 

I just want to say right off the bat that the animation in this film is spectacular. It looks like someone decided to draw a picture with crayons and then put it in motion. It makes the movie different than any other animated feature I've ever seen. To add to that, the four actors that play the turtles were a pleasant surprise. I thought each actor gave a different performance that made the characters unique. They flowed well with each other, and they really made you feel like these turtles are brothers. The action was spectacular and the comedy that was written in was great. I would think Seth Rogen would take some credit on that because he helped write and produce the film. I did enjoy the story, but it is a story I have seen many times in other movies. .

 

Overall, this film is a funny, action packed, heartfelt ride that families with children from 4 and on should see. I found myself acting like I was a little kid again while watching, remembering the old cartoon series and live action films. It was a satisfying experience that left me wanting to see more.

 

Rating: 4.5 out 5