Why So Blu?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

In a world of constant IP dumps, one brand has remained strong since it launched in the 1980s – the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This past summer they relaunched with a new movie, Mutant Mayhem. Not their first fully animated movie outing, but this one decided to be Spider-Verse and buck a traditional animation style for something a little more punk rock and innovative. And it succeeded in having outstanding reviews and strong box office despite stiff competition from the Barbenheimer moment. You’ll be able to bring it home on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray with an Atmos track and some featurettes when it arrives on December 12th. You can order yourself a copy using the paid Amazon Associate link following the review.

Film

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 is the prime example of learning the right lessons from another film. Spider-Verse broke the norm and showed in the realm of CG animated films you can do so much more an carry your own identity. And here we are, with a Ninja Turtles film crafting a film that finds its own voice true to itself. Not only does it “look like teenagers would have drawn it” as the company log line states, but its absolutely true to the property itself and its origins as a comic book, Saturday morning cartoon program and action figure line in the late 80s/early 90s. It also embraces the kind of sleazy aesthetic all those things had as well.

This take on the Turtles is a refreshing one as it envisions a new way of things while feeling true to who and what the series is. Its not afraid to go in new directions and it opts to utilize familiar under-utilized villains rather than just do Shredder again or come up with some new big bad. With all the characters also come fun all new takes on them as well.

And with those characters come some fantastic voice acting performances all around. Everyone in Mutant Mayhem came to play. Headlined by a superb turn by Ice Cube, this isn’t just known actors showing up and speaking their part. Each person has come up with a distinct voice and energy to bring to the film. It ramps up the fun factor in the film tremendously. You also have Jackie Chan giving a unique, hilarious and endearing turn as Splinter as well. As much as the animation gives this film its identity, so too do the voice performers.

Of any intellectual property that has arisen in my lifetime, few have been able to reinvent themselves and stay relevant as long as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Whenever they’ve returned with a new iteration be it in TV or film, it has never felt desperate or a cash grab nor has it felt like it was pandering to slobby old dudes in the 40s and 50s. They have always made it a point to cater to the younger crowd and introduce them to this wild, wacky world and do best to speak to them which is the correct approach. And Mutant Mayhem is the shining example of the ultimate success in that realm.

Video

Disclaimer: Screen captures used in the review are studio promotional images, not the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc.

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem comes with a gorgeous transfer that really showcases how special and well crafted this animation is. The image is sharp and crisp and you can see every little sloppy detail in the hand drawn looking lines and such. Colors are quite strong and the image is quite open and spacious.

Depth: Being computer generated animation, it lends itself to a more 3 dimensional look and feel with plenty of spacing and pushback. Movements are Spider-Verse-like and smooth. No issues occur with blur or jitter distortions.

Black Levels: Blacks are deep and rich. This is a dark movie and the image works well with shadows, nighttime and great contrast to bring out the boldness in colors. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Colors are very strong with a full, bold look to them. HDR really helps give it flare with the contrast to the darkness and much of the glowing stuff in the film really stings very neatly.

Flesh Tones: N/A

Noise/Artifacts: Clean

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, English Audio Description, German 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish (España) 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish (Latin American) 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, French (Canadian) 5.1 Dolby Digital, Italian 5.1 Dolby Digital, Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital, Dutch 5.1 Dolby Digital, Flemish 5.1 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English, English SDH, German, Spanish (España), Spanish (Latin American), French, French (Canadian), Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Flemish

Dynamics: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem has itself a BUMPIN’ Dolby Atmos track. The music hits like a loud dance club and it extends to the action in the film as well. Its a loud, well balanced mix with great layering and depth that makes a big impact in engagement for a huge experience.

Height: From above you get additional music, but also echoes, debris, Super Fly speaking from up high, characters/objects flying over camera and more. They have plenty of fun with this channel.

Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer is almost on overload from the pressing of play. As mentioned, the music in the film really hits, but so does a lot of the action and the nice accents on natural foley stuff as well.

Surround Sound Presentation: The room is swimming in detail and stretching around to the rear and side channels which build ambiance and carry off screen activity and track angle changes. Sound rolls around with a good force that is felt in any intended direction on  the screen.

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and crisp.

Extras

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a 2-Disc set that comes with the standard Blu-ray edition and a redeemable digital code.

TEENage Mutant Ninja Turtles (HD, 6:14) – Seth Rogen (Who grew up on the show and 1990 movie) and the cast discuss focusing on the “Teen” in the title, casting and working with actual teenagers. They also talk about the characters, auditions and showcase the recording process. “It’s been a nightmare for the audio engineers working on the film.”

The Mutant Uprising (HD, 8:34) – This goes over the adult cast in the film, recording with them as well as a little low down on the characters. Basically, the previous featurette but about the remaining characters.

New York, New York: The Visual World of Mutant Mayhem (HD, 5:57) – A featurette dedicated to director Jeff Rowe and the look of the world, style, vibe and set design of the film. Includes plenty of concept art designs.

Learn to Draw Leo (HD, 21:12) – Learn how to draw the katana wielding leader of the turtles.

Extras

Mutant Mayhem may very well be the best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie ever made. And you can now own it with a 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray that has a boffo presentation in both video and audio. The extras are pretty fun, short, but very fluffy. Though, altogether, it makes for a pretty solid package for a modern movie releasing on home video for the first time.

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