The animation renaissance is upon us and I am here for it!

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” is the seventh feature film of the franchise, and first since 2016’s live-action adaptation. Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon voice the titular team, alongside a supporting cast including Hannibal Buress, Rose Byrne, John Cena, Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, and Maya Rudolph. Jeff Rowe directs.

I’ve never been a huge “Turtles” fan, I didn’t watch the cartoon growing up as a kid and hated both of the Michael Bay-produced live-action films from the 2010s. But I’m happy to report that “Mutant Mayhem” (while clearly wearing its “Spider-Verse” inspiration on its sleeve) has plenty of style, energy, and confidence to stand on its own, even to the unconverted like me.

After “Into the Spider-Verse” was released in 2018, studios began to copy the 3D/2D blended animation style, usually to good results. “The Bad Guys” and “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” both received praise for their creative animation and attention to detail, and they actually cost less to produce ($90 million) than the traditional computer animated films ($200 million). “Mutant Mayhem” does a great job at times almost feeling like stop-motion characters that are in a 3D world, and the world of New York City the filmmakers have created us very immersive. The fight scenes are similar to “The Last Wish” in style and honestly at points were more entertaining to me than “Across the Spider-Verse.”

It’s worth giving credit for the film looking so dark and grubby for a kid’s(?) film; the human animations here are sometimes out of “Robot Chicken.” There’s a very late-night feel to much of the film (not only because many scene take place after dark), and I appreciated the filmmakers trusting young audiences (and their parents) to experience that; even in a land of talking turtles, things aren’t always lollipops and rainbows.

The voice acting is all great too, with the central four teenagers all playing well off each other (I read they recorded their lines in the same room, and it shows with the beats and delivery). The rest of the cast is a fun game of “wait I know that voice,” from Jackie Chan voicing Splinter, the Turtles’ adoptive rat father to Ice Cube playing the bad guy.

The plot is fairly straight forward, but I almost appreciated that. We get a five minute exposition dump about the characters’ backstories but they assume we can connect dots as to how mutant turtles became crime fighters; they don’t spend the first 30 minutes showing us Uncle Ben dying for the 10th, so to speak. The ending draws out a touch (a big climatic battle that feels like it could’ve happened sooner, if not skipped altogether) before wrapping up fairly quick, but on the whole the film moves at a clip (100 minutes, a blessing after the last few 2.5-hour films aimed at kids released this summer).

And of course, because it’s Reznor and Ross, the musical score is great, too.

I was happily surprised at how much I enjoyed “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” and hope it finds success in theaters. The attention to detail and passion for the characters from the filmmakers is felt on-screen, and I can’t wait to jump back into the sewers with these slimy ninjas for another adventure.

Critics Rating: 8/10