Nine years after the failed Ninja Turtles reboot, the quirky and popular group of heroes returns to the big screen, now in an animated version. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a computer-animated film that Jeff Rowe (co-director) and Kyler Spears directs. The voice cast includes Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr, Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon as the Turtles, along with well-known actors such as Hannibal Buress, Rose Byrne, John Cena, Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, and Seth Rogen. The plot follows the Ninja Turtles as they attempt to blend in as normal teenagers by performing heroic acts, while taking on an army of mutants.
Nickelodeon announced the film in June 2020, with Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver producing under Point Grey Pictures. The animation, made by Mikros Animation and Cinesite, takes inspiration from the sketches from Rowe's school notebooks and films about growing up as a teenager to explore the Turtles' adolescence. The cast, announced in March 2023, marked the first time the Turtles have been played by teen actors. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the soundtrack. According to critics, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, honors the franchise's incredible legacy, and for that reason has earned an 88% rating on the Rotten Tomattoes website.
However, all is not rosy with the movie, as fans were angry about April O'Neil's appearance. In the comics, April is a very thin white girl with red hair, however, in this version of the Ninja Turtles, her appearance has changed and fans are angry with the results, however, the co-director of the film does not care about the complaints and justifies his decision to change the character.
