Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem director Jeff Rowe and voice cast discuss what makes this film, and version of the turtles, so unique.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem offers a unique look. It also features real teenage voice for the turtles for the first time ever. This helps to set it apart from previous iterations of the well loved franchise.
Note: This interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Mama’s Geeky caught up with the director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem as well as the voice cast to talk about the new film. They revealed their feelings on the unique animation style that is used to bring Mutant Mayhem to life.
Participating Talent:
- Ayo Edebiri (April O’Neil)
- Nicolas Cantu (Leonardo)
- Brady Noon (Raphael)
- Micah Abbey (Donatello)
- Shamon Brown Jr. (Michelangelo)
- Director Jeff Rowe
The Unique Animation Style Of Mutant Mayhem
Ayo Edebiri: I think the art and the animation in this movie is just so beautiful, and specific, and evocative. I felt like, as the person who gets to voice April, I got so much from just looking at her. I felt a lot of tenderness also, because I feel like she looks like a real human being. I feel like that is really important and cool. And it’s also important, cool, because it’s like, it’s not a big deal, you know?
Shamon Brown Jr.: I think the first time I saw the look, the head was a bit more squished than it is. So to see it a bit more poof, that was definitely a relief. But just the animation art style of it just being so unique, and the first time for the turtles being this way. The way we’re doing it, the way it looks with our voices and the team behind it; it’s just an amazing thing to see. Seeing the finished product is beautiful, honestly.
Micah Abbey: Yeah, it’s just really cool. I think it’s so unique. I think that’s what people are gonna love the most about it, is just how different it looks. And it adds new energy and a new feel to the whole movie.
Nicolas Cantu: Yeah, it feels great to be a part of this new wave of stylized 3d animation. To join that and do something that’s different. It looks great. I mean, you’re gonna love seeing it on a big screen. It’s incredible. The animation is fluid, the action scenes are boarded really well. It’s a fun movie.
Brady Noon: I think the color, too, speaks well. It’s so vibrant and lively. It’s hard not to stay attentive, you know what I mean? So, I mean, it’s just a lot of fun. There’s a lot of mutants and a lot of mayhem.
Director Jeff Rowe: I think the tendency in the past decade or so, when you reinvent characters, is to cover them in gear, like black tactical equipment and we’re like, that’s not what I love about the Ninja Turtles. When I was a kid, they had same color armbands and headbands. So we took these elements from the classic designs, and then put them on these characters that the biggest mission was to make them look authentically teenage. They’re kind of lanky, they’re awkward in their bodies. They don’t know how to carry themselves. They’re still growing, and just grounding it in that realism.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Interviews
Be sure to watch my full interview with the director and voice cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem for more behind the scenes information!
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About Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, after years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers 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 mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem hits theaters on August 2nd.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.