Ezan Charo 
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is an absolute blast!
I had the opportunity to watch it with a bunch of friends and it was just about what I was expecting – a gorgeously designed animated film that appeals to all fans of the TMNT franchise with a simple yet easily enjoyable story. And fun fact, MrBeast makes a cameo as a random dude in Times Square!
Without giving too much of its essence away, the movie features our main boys – the stuck-up Leonardo, the brutish Raphael, the witty Michaelango and the nerdy Donatello – who crave to live amongst the surface with the humans, despite what their adopted father figure Splinter says. They sneak out and encounter April O’Neil, who promises them glory and acceptance by utilizing their fighting skills against crime, but everything changes when they’re entangled in a government plot involving the criminal mastermind Superfly and his gang of mutant crooks.
The core four characters are such a fun dynamic, truly embodying the lightheartedness of being a teenager with all the fast-paced thrills of being ninjas. April has been redesigned and recontextualized and plays an interesting role in contrast to her previous interpretations (even in character relationships!). Special shoutout to the voice actors behind them. In fact, the goofball comic relief with a heart of gold, Michaelango, is voiced by none other than Shamon Brown Jr., a Chicagoan known for playing Stanley in the coming of age drama series The Chi. The rest of the four mutants are played by Nicholas Cantu (Leonardo), Brady Noon (Raphael), and Micah Abbey (Donatello).
The other characters are very well designed, with an exception for a few. The movie is stylistic with its designs, especially for the proportions of humans, which is fun to look at but quite jarring at first.
The story is relatively simple and balances humor and seriousness well with its nuance. Nothing too extraordinary though.
I would give the movie overall around a 7 out of 10. Nothing revolutionary or groundbreaking, but a visual treat with various fun interactions nonetheless. Have you seen it? Hit me up and let me know what parts you loved.
By Ezan Charo, Senior, ChiArts
Instagram: @ezancharo
X: @digitalwarlock8
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