The first trailer for the upcoming “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” is here! It’s been 7 years since the TMNT have been on the big screen, and (I think everyone) was a bit cautious about where the franchise would be headed. But now that the first trailer dropped, we have a much better idea of where it’s going!
Let’s dive a bit more in to some of the details and Easter eggs that we noticed in the new trailer for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”
“Can I Kick It” by A Tribe Called Quest kicks of the trailer. In addition to being on of the best musical artists and songs of all time, it instantly set the tone for our new version of the TMNT. Tribe being from NY does not help my bias.
In the title cards we get the return of the Nickelodeon SPLAT logo – now in green of course. Nickelodeon stopped using the Splat logo in 2009, so this is an interesting comeback.
The first shot of the city is played over a familiar sound. The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme plays slowly over our first shots of the city. Here, we also get a small glimpse of the art style they seem to be going for.
This particular shot actually looks like it’s in Queens (or Brooklyn, but I think Queens based on the position of the buildings), so I wonder if this is the first time the crew will live in the sewers of one of the boroughs.
There’s a glimpse of daily life here as we see a woman walking her dog, a laundry mat, a cab all done in a vibrant “scribbled” art style. this is even shown in small details like the trees, the windows of the laundry mat, and the sewer cover.
The turtles burst through the sewers and start building hopping. It’s a small detail but we can get an idea of how fast the brothers really are and how they move. They use fire escapes, and the urban setting to their advantage. They remind me of an urban Gummi Bears…bouncing here and there and everywhere.
We get our first glimpse of the Turtles- through a cell phone!
We’re seeing the brothers interact and have some down time! Honestly, it’s a little refreshing. They have always been called the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and this feels like the first time they’re putting an emphasis on the first word- Teenage. Here, we see that Raphael has Leo’s sword. Yes, obviously they would mess around with each others weapons!
Even the voice actors are teenagers! It feels like a true first for the franchise. Michelangelo was always the one who seemed the most “teen” but now it feels genuine. We don’t need Jason Biggs playing a teen.
Now it’s time to bust out the ninja stars! Here’s a solid close up of the facial features of the turtles.
The art style of the movie is very “painterly.” It’s loose and energetic. The character designer is Woodrow White! A fantastic painter and illustrator. You can see more of his work on his Instagram page here!
Here’s our best view of the four brothers, and a bit more of a glimpse of their personality.
Each turtle is shaped very similarly, but is still different enough to highlight the differences. Michelangelo has a more round head and wears braces, Leonardo is the character you get when you select “Normal” difficulty on the character elect screen, Donatello is the tech guy so of course he’s wearing headphones, and Raph has his total head covering and is a bit on the bulky side. This fits perfectly with the personality of the characters we already know.
Next up, we have a quick montage of each brother showing off their weapon skills. After each quick shot of the brothers, we get our first look at Master Splinter!
It’s Master Splinter with a Jheri Curl. I love it.
The next shot establishes that this will be an origin story of sorts. Three villains, clearly up to no good, have no idea who the turtles are. Calling them little Shreks! The audacity…
Here we go! Bebop and Rocksteady are in the movie!
This really showcases the character designs of the duo. This is the classic team, almost painted as a caricature. Rocksteady still has his camo pants and yellow tank top, but his neck is non existent. Bebop is wearing his classic purple shades and turtle shell shoulder pads. He looks like he’s straight out of the New York punk scene in 1987.
Then, BAM! A quick shot of the new April O’Neil!
More about her in a second.
We get a fun clip of the turtles as babies!
We’ve also gotten a few shots of the what looks like the Turtle Lair! It looks dimly lit and assembled with scraps from the city. The shot of Splinter showed an old phone booth. The lights are Christmas lights. The baby turtles look like they’re jumping around a sign post.
This shot looks similar to how the turtles threw bad guys in the arcade games.
This could be a shot of the turtles coming out of their lair. I only mention this because the lights are so similar so, it could be. The thing I notice the most here is that each turtle has their first name’s initial on their belt.
The next scene got me.
Before we move on to the weapon in the leg, I think this could be a shot of the TurtleCom!
Ok, TMNT history- at one point the TMNT were called the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles because the term “Ninja” was deemed a threat and people were worried it was too dangerous for kids. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2- they couldn’t even use their weapons! It’s interesting to see how far the series has come in terms of censorship and that level of fear with the franchise.
But yeah, the scene is really funny. That shriek from Donnie- oof.
A gas tank explodes and we get the full logo.
We get a great shot of “The Laird,” and homage to TMNT co-creator Peter Laird.
We close out the trailer with a conversation between April and the turtles. It looks like this will be early in their meetup. And, of course, the turtles are eating pizza.
We get our first full shot of April here. She has red hair, a yellow coat, and she’s reporting the news. She’s in the same age bracket as the turtles! I can’t make out what her shirt says from here, but this absolutely feels like April.
The turtles make a quick correction to April, it’s not a mystery “goo.” It’s Ooze.
It really does roll off the tongue.
We get a title card of the fantastic cast list to close out the trailer.
Followed by a release date.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem comes to theatres this August! Stay tuned here for more breakdowns and movie news!
