Michaelangelo, Memes and Internet Madness Comprise the First ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ Trailer Reactions

Just a few hours ago, Paramount Pictures dropped the official trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, an upcoming computer-animated movie that will reinvent the turtles (again!) for a modern audience, whilst also showcasing a style of filmmaking that was made famous by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — the mixture of CGI-rendered images with traditional hand-drawn elements. Jeff Rowe will be taking the reigns on this one for his directorial debut, adapting a screenplay from Brendan O’Brien, best known for writing the 2014 film Neighbors.

Acting as a reboot for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series, Mutant Mayhem will be the franchise’s first animated entry since TMNT (2007). The brothers — Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael — will be voiced by Nicolas Cantu, Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., and Brady Noon, respectively. Some famous faces also found themselves snagging minor roles in an ensemble cast consisting of Jackie Chan, Ayo Edebiri, Seth Rogen, John Cena, Hannibal Buress, Rose Byrne, Ice Cube, Post Malone, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, Natasia Demetriou, and Giancarlo Esposito.

Needless to say, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans were losing their minds over the trailer, which seeks to explore the adolescence of the brothers more so than previous installments. Once the internet got wind of the trailer dropping, social media outlets were swarmed with fan reactions, specifically memes, mayhem (pardon the pun) and lots of ecstatic virtual screaming.

Although Mutant Mayhem was announced in June 2020, the main cast wasn’t announced to the public until a few hours ago. Courtesy of PeaTos, here’s the official synopsis:

“After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtles 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 notorious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.”

The trailer seems to incorporate a similar animation style to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, inspired by sketch drawings Rowe drew on his school notebooks as a teenager, according to SlashFilm. There’s an integrated aesthetic to the animation that makes the finished product more inventive, more vibrant, and subsequently more enjoyable as a viewing experience. Judging by that analogy, there’s no reason as to why Mutant Mayhem wouldn’t be just as successful and groundbreaking as Into the Spider-Verse.

Some fans have promised to be talking about Mutant Mayhem for many months to come.

Others appreciate the comedic timing at play, sharing that one scene in particular — where Donatello is impaled by one of Raphael’s sais — made them cackle uncontrollably. Who wouldn’t be surprised? With Seth Rogen producing, there was never any doubt.

Naturally, there’s a unanimous love for the animation style, which digitally inserts hand-drawn scribbles into scenes to exaggerate sound, movement and light against a darker background. There’s a definite contrast between cool and warm colors that adds another layer to the 3D animation.

And then, there’s the section of the internet that makes memes out of everything. We couldn’t be more grateful for their services. As if Mutant Mayhem wasn’t hilarious enough, the memes elevate that comedy to a whole new level.

Be sure to catch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem in theaters on August 4, 2023.

Image via Paramount Pictures

Just a few hours ago, Paramount Pictures dropped the official trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, an upcoming computer-animated movie that will reinvent the turtles (again!) for a modern audience, whilst also showcasing a style of filmmaking that was made famous by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — the mixture of CGI-rendered images with traditional hand-drawn elements. Jeff Rowe will be taking the reigns on this one for his directorial debut, adapting a screenplay from Brendan O’Brien, best known for writing the 2014 film Neighbors.

Acting as a reboot for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series, Mutant Mayhem will be the franchise’s first animated entry since TMNT (2007). The brothers — Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael — will be voiced by Nicolas Cantu, Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., and Brady Noon, respectively. Some famous faces also found themselves snagging minor roles in an ensemble cast consisting of Jackie Chan, Ayo Edebiri, Seth Rogen, John Cena, Hannibal Buress, Rose Byrne, Ice Cube, Post Malone, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, Natasia Demetriou, and Giancarlo Esposito.

Needless to say, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans were losing their minds over the trailer, which seeks to explore the adolescence of the brothers more so than previous installments. Once the internet got wind of the trailer dropping, social media outlets were swarmed with fan reactions, specifically memes, mayhem (pardon the pun) and lots of ecstatic virtual screaming.

Although Mutant Mayhem was announced in June 2020, the main cast wasn’t announced to the public until a few hours ago. Courtesy of PeaTos, here’s the official synopsis:

“After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtles 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 notorious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.”

The trailer seems to incorporate a similar animation style to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, inspired by sketch drawings Rowe drew on his school notebooks as a teenager, according to SlashFilm. There’s an integrated aesthetic to the animation that makes the finished product more inventive, more vibrant, and subsequently more enjoyable as a viewing experience. Judging by that analogy, there’s no reason as to why Mutant Mayhem wouldn’t be just as successful and groundbreaking as Into the Spider-Verse.

Some fans have promised to be talking about Mutant Mayhem for many months to come.

Others appreciate the comedic timing at play, sharing that one scene in particular — where Donatello is impaled by one of Raphael’s sais — made them cackle uncontrollably. Who wouldn’t be surprised? With Seth Rogen producing, there was never any doubt.

Naturally, there’s a unanimous love for the animation style, which digitally inserts hand-drawn scribbles into scenes to exaggerate sound, movement and light against a darker background. There’s a definite contrast between cool and warm colors that adds another layer to the 3D animation.

And then, there’s the section of the internet that makes memes out of everything. We couldn’t be more grateful for their services. As if Mutant Mayhem wasn’t hilarious enough, the memes elevate that comedy to a whole new level.

Be sure to catch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem in theaters on August 4, 2023.