Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem [4K Ultra HD]

Directors: Jeff Rowe, Kyler Spears

Cast: Nicolas Cantu, Shamon Brown Jr., Brady Noon (VOICES)

Release Date: December 12, 2023

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 8.5/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

Please Note: Paramount Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

The Movie:

‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ joins everyone’s favorite Turtle foursome of Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo who after years of being secluded underground and trained under the guidance of their father/master Splinter decide to take to the public streets and quickly end up over their heads as they become mixed up with a dangerous group of ragtag mutants led by the smooth-talking Superfly that have plans to take over the world. Initially thrilled to discover that there are others like them in the world, the Turtles soon realize that if they hope to save the world and protect their new human friend April O’Neil they’ll need to take on Superfly and fight for a city who they believe will never accept them.

Directed by Jeff Rowe (The Mitchells vs the Machines) and co-directed by Kyler Spears (TV’s Amphibia) from a screenplay written by Seth Rogen (Sausage Party) & Evan Goldberg (The Night Before) & Jeff Rowe (TV’s Disenchantment) and Dan Hernandez (Pokémon: Detective Pikachu) & Benji Samit (The Addams Family 2), from a story by Brendan O’Brien and Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg & Jeff Rowe. Rowe and Spears do a great job at the helm of ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ guiding along the animated fun and excitement with heart and style. The film’s star-studded voice cast includes Nicolas Cantu (TV’s Skull Island), Shamon Brown Jr. (TV’s The Chi), Brady Noon (Good Boys), Micah Abbey (TV’s Cousins For Life), Ayo Edebiri (TV’s The Bear), Jackie Chan (Hidden Strike), Seth Rogen (The Super Mario Bros. Movie), John Cena (Fast X), Rose Byrne (Jexi), Giancarlo Esposito (TV’s Harley Quinn), Maya Rudolph (TV’s Big Mouth), Hannibal Buress (The Secret Life of Pets 2), Paul Rudd (TV’s Only Murders in the Building), Post Malone (Wrath of Man), Natasia Demetriou (TV’s What We Do in the Shadows), and Ice Cube (The High Note) who each offer solid and fitting voice performances for the most part in their respective roles.

‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ is a fun, fast-paced and action-packed good time for the entire family that offers a splendid mix of humor, action and excitement, paired with some wonderful (and fitting) animation and a whole lot of heart on top of it all. It focuses far more than is typically the case on the actual teenage aspect of our heroes this time around, while providing a new twist on many of the characters and the formula in the process. It may not perfectly hit every mark but as a whole it does a marvelous job of crafting a new take on the TMNT property that’s refreshingly fun and different, not to mention sprinkled with a whole lot of laughs and nods to the comic and cartoon origins of the heroes throughout.

The capable guidance of director Jeff Rowe and co-director by Kyler Spears paired with a stellar, star-studded voice cast that works magnificently featuring Nicolas Cantu, Shamon Brown Jr., Brady Noon, Micah Abbey, Ayo Edebiri, Jackie Chan, Ice Cube and many more all comes nicely together in order to make this a rather tremendous new TMNT movie that hits most of the right marks and seems to be even more rewarding on repeat viewings. This one is definitely well worth taking the time to give a chance if you’re a fan of the property or even just somewhat intrigued by this new movie itself and it should also make a great selection for a family movie night that will have the young and old viewers alike glued to the screen thanks to its ability to capably contribute plenty of elements for fans of all ages to appreciate.

Overall:

‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ delivers a fun, funny and thrilling new take on the Ninja Turtles characters that we all know and love and it simultaneously stays faithful to many aspects of the characters and the world they occupy, while switching up a few elements and characters in the process to make for a solid new animated feature that should have very little trouble pleasing both old fans and new for the most part. It tends to keep things on a level that shouldn’t disappoint the older fans while still keeping certain elements such as the violence light enough to not deter parents from letting their little ones enjoy it with them. ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ is definitely recommended for TMNT fans new and old and should prove well worth your time and the cost of a rental for those who haven’t yet had the pleasure of this massively enjoyable new film.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks fantastic as a whole and provides a sharp, clean and vibrantly detailed presentation from start to finish with no troubles or issues to be uncovered along the way. It shows impressive detail and clarity down to each animated line (or squiggle) and everything onscreen from character designs to city streets and other backgrounds look sharp and nearly flawless across the board. The Dolby Vision HDR also ups the ante and contributes a stellar color palette that provides sharper and more accurate coloring to match the detail, along with clean, crush-free black levels that hold up beautifully throughout. Overall, this is a wonderful Ultra High Definition video presentation that delivers splendidly every step of the way and it should thrill fans and newcomers alike.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack delivers a clean, crisp and hard hitting audio presentation throughout that consistently contributes to the fun of the overall viewing experience. It repeatedly utilizes all seven available channels in order to send music and action effects, city noise and crowd chatter, plus a whole lot more zipping throughout the various speakers at every fitting opportunity, while never causing any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or negatively affected in the process; while the hip hop music throughout provides ample chances for the bass to really boom. Overall, this is a great Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that sounds stellar from start to finish and shouldn’t disappoint in the slightest.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ features a handful of fun extras for fans of the film. Included on the release are a few Behind the Scenes Featurettes that feature interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more. The included Featurettes are ‘TEENage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ (running approximately 6 minutes in length), ‘The Mutant Uprising’ (running approximately 8 minutes), and ‘New York, New York: The Visual World of Mutant Mayhem’ (approximately 6 minutes). A detailed guide of ‘How to Draw Leo’ (approximately 21 minutes) is also included.

*Please note: The above images were provided by Paramount and are not reflective of the actual 4K Ultra HD release or its quality. A standard Blu-ray copy of the film was not included in the release that could be used for screenshots therefore the above publicity stills were utilized. They are all the property of Paramount, Nickelodeon and any other respective owners.

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Film Rating: 8.5/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ Arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD December 12, 2023 & is Now Available on Digital from Nickelodeon & Paramount Home Entertainment