Hold up: someone let the creators of Sausage Party reboot the Ninja Turtles?!

After attempting to take rogue scientist Baxter Stockman (Giancarlo Esposito) into custody over stolen technology, his mutagenic ooze accidentally spills into the New York City sewer system, infecting a rat and four baby turtles. Fifteen years later, Donatello (Micah Abbey), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), and Raphael (Brady Noon) run errands for their father Splinter (Jackie Chan)… having taught his four sons Ninja fighting techniques to protect them against humans, whom he refers to as “the demon scum of the Earth.” Dreaming of the day they can come out of the shadows and be accepted as themselves, they meet wannabe junior reporter April O’Neil (Ayo Edebiri) as she tries to uncover the identity and master plan of villain Superfly (Ice Cube) terrorizing the city. Joining forces, everyone hopes their success can get them what they want, but being heroic sometimes means doing the right thing because it needs doing.

Originally a parody of superhero comic elements, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird launched their independent black-and-white ultra-violent “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” comic in 1984. By 1987, Playmates Toys licensed the property to produce a toned-down parent-approved color animated television series in addition to toy lines, video games, and of course feature films, both live-action and animated. One of the best of these was the computer-animated TMNT, a decent amalgamation of original turtle tropes and newer storytelling, but it never got a sequel. Forty years after the original seed of an idea, a complete reboot co-written and produced by Seth Rogen takes the four brothers back to earlier than their original incarnation. Directed by Kyler Spears and Jeff Rowe and written by Evan Goldberg, Rogen, and Rowe, expectations are high — no pressure — but where does this joint Paramount/Nickelodeon feature fall among the many Turtle successes and also-rans in a year with only one other standout animated film?

It’s good… like surprisingly good. The imagery is best described as sketched watercolor graffiti adapted into a three-dimensional stop-motion computer-animated world, which fits the Turtles aesthetic to a capital T. Nothing looking like this should move like this — possibly inspired by the uniqueness of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — with colorful street-level grunge fueled by a hiphop soundtrack and Ice Cube wallowing in vocals as villain Superfly. It’s clear that Rogen and the filmmakers are fans, loading their story and backgrounds with Easter eggs and fun fan bits, but the story is solid with an ending that delivers. With an early August release and stiff competition from successful holdovers still raking in cash, this reboot has the chop to pull in a distinct third audience and fill multiplexes to the brim… if it can just squeeze a two-toed foot in the door.

Reportedly for the first time ever, the Turtles are voiced by age-appropriate actors, an element that didn’t seem important until now. There’s a innocence about them, explained by being sheltered by Splinter, and an instilled need to do the right thing; it sounds genuine to an infectious degree. Whether the Turtles are failing or succeeding, it’s as if their entire world is on the line in a way world-weary adults fail to convey. With additional voice roles with Maya Rudolph, John Cena, Rose Byrne, Paul Rudd, Post Malone, and Natasia Demetriou, everything sounds as good as it looks. Still, it’s “Superfly” Ice Cube ears will perk up for, waiting for the impending foul language that never comes; there’s gotta be footage of him dressed up like his character behind a microphone somewhere!

It’s a hundred satisfying animated minutes with an ending that’s not only surprising but well-earned, with few missteps and a good balance of action and heart. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was expected to be good — and it was — but how many viewers were expecting the same from a Turtles reboot? It was also an interesting choice to make all the humans look decidedly “ugly” (compared to typical animated fare), but that consistency comes off like a choice. They are, after all, demon scum of the Earth, and in a story where monsters are shunned or attacked for looking how they do, the ugliness of both humanity and mutants makes sense… until the nature of the soul within is revealed.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is rated PG for sequences of violence and action, language, impolite material, and yes, there’s a mid-credit scene fans *might* be interested in.

Four skull recommendation out of four

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