With so many renditions of the loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, what makes this one so special? This generation’s teens and kids have been given a Ninja Turtle movie that not only has slang and references they can understand, but characters they can relate to on a scale that the other versions can’t, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael and April O’Neil show a glimpse of what it’s like to be a teen nowadays with their slang usage and Gen-z humor, even if some of it doesn’t make sense to others.
The turtles have been a part of generations of childhoods, from the first ever appearance on TV in 1987 to the 2012 TV show. Since their debut, they have been brought into new light for the next generation of kids and teens to enjoy. The reason the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchize has been able to be a part of millions of kids lives is that they adapt to their audience, like in Mutant Mayhem, they talk about topics, conversations and content that are prominent and/or well known in Gen Z culture. “It’s always a different concept, always have either some sort of different animation style, or the paint the characters in some different way,” sophomore Jayden Arce said. The art style they chose for the movie was also so different and more out there than any of the other renditions of the turtles, which made it more interesting and exciting to watch.
One reason people connected to Mutant Mayhem is because the turtles were voiced by teens. The voice actors were as mature as their counterparts, which makes the turtles more realistic because the voice actors were being their authentic selves in some scenes.
“The characters are just kids trying to fit into the world, and everybody can relate to that in some kind of way,” sophomore Casper Jenkins said. One aspect hasn’t changed – the turtles’ personalities. “There’s four different personalities, it’s like the Harry Potter houses,” sophomore Oliver Wheeler said. Since the four express their feelings and emotions differently, it makes it fun for the audience to figure out which one of the brothers is most relatable.
