I had something I was going to talk about in the blog, but as I was making the page it completely left my mind. After nearly 20 years you’d think I’d lear to make a note of such things, yet here we are.
Oh, I remember now. I watched TMNT Mutant Mayhem. A lot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans really hated it. It was a big talking point for a while when it came out. I don’t know how it did, but I thought it was fun. It’s certainly not my preferred TMNT universe, but it had a lot going for it. The art style is ugly as sin, and in some ways it kind of works, but in some ways it super doesn’t. Paranorman had a similar kind of look and the same kind of problem. On some characters it was tolerable but with others it tended to break kayfabe. Of the two I think Paranorman stuck the landing better. The actual voice acting was pretty solid though. Even though I didn’t love this version of Splinter Jackie Chan really sold me on him as the film progressed. The turts worked as actual teens as did April. I’m not a huge fan of race swapping legacy characters, but if you set that aside she worked in the story, and gave a really sincere performance. TMNT has been a lot of things over the years and being an action comedy isn’t new. It’s odd what the producers thought was worth keeping and what wasn’t though. Like, if you’re going to toss out huge chunks of established franchise lore then why not just make a new human teen? I guess it speaks to how little April is valued. Her function can be assumed by any kind of person because she’s just a selection of story functions to some people. Obviously the turts and Splinter are the bedrock of the concept. Since the Foot Clan weren’t present in the film it kind of speaks to how they aren’t really all that important as a concept either. In Mutant Mayhem the real villain was prejudice. Which, is also basically the same as Paranorman. Even Bebop and Rocksteady weren’t really villains. They were just misguided in this version of things. I guess it comes down to what actually matters in a franchise. What is the core that can’t be changed in order for it to remain Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? It seems like the title is the only thing you can’t mess with. There has to be at least 2 teenage mutant turtles who are also ninjas. Everything else is something you can pick and choose.

Anyway, I sat here typing too long and now the page isn’t up on time. I hope you have a nice weekend. Stay safe out there on the mean streets. Please peruse the support links if you are in a place where you can help me keep the ship sailing. I will return on Monday with more low stakes romantic adventures for you to argue about in the comments. Until then, cowabunga dudes.

2937 Agent Of Mild Chaos.

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