'Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Reviews: "If you loved Mutant Mayhem, you’ll also enjoy Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"

         On August 9, 2024, the 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' franchise continues with 'Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' on Paramount+, which has earned predominantly positive reviews from critics. In the animated series, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo not only work to protect the city but survive high school. The ensemble cast includes James Sie, Micah Abbey, Ayo Edebri, Brady Noon, Nicolas Cantu, Shamon Brown Jr., Post Malone, Rose Byrne, and Pete Davidson. But what did the critics say?

        Tyler Robertson of IGN Movies says, "The first half of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles never reaches the heights of Mutant Mayhem. But it still plants a unique flag in the ground by beautifully reimagining the film’s animation style." Adding, "The more detrimental downgrade is in the music. So much of Mutant Mayhem is defined by its amazing soundtrack full of 1980s and ’90s hip-hop – tracks by De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard, to name a few. Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is totally devoid of any hip-hop, in both soundtrack and score, and the distinctly New York sense of personality the music provides gets lost as a result. Thankfully, most of the personality of the Turtles comes from the voice acting, and with Abbey, Brown, Cantu, and Noon, returning to their roles from the movie (along with Ayo Edebiri as their April O’Neil), they pick up right where they left off. The casting of the Turtles remains nigh-perfect, bringing so much life and reality to the brothers. The only thing missing is the improv that made their dialogue feel so natural in Mutant Mayhem. Due to the way the first six episodes split the Turtles up, it obviously didn’t make sense for the four actors to record their lines together. Not too much is lost, however, thanks to the wonderful talent of the young actors, but it inherently makes things feel a little different."

        Tessa Smith of Mama's Geeky praises the series, stating, "Continues right where Mutant Mayhem left off, following the brothers as they end up separated in the big apple. Stunning animation, intriguing story, and great humor." Concluding, "Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is packed with incredible action sequences, while also delivering some truly grounded moments. This series explores the boys as teenagers, and we can all remember how difficult that is. Put having to fight crime on top of that, and there they certainly struggle at times. The humor hits, the animation is beautiful, and the story is captivating. We hope that we get to see this version of the turtles for a long to come. Thankfully there is already a second movie in the works."    

        Michael Thomas of Collider notes, "If you loved Mutant Mayhem, you’ll also enjoy Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which makes for a terrific follow-up that expands the world and sees the four boys grow as individuals." Continuing, "The Turtles' main antagonist for the first half of the season is Bishop, a character who is bent on revenge. Bishop is a special agent who, in most iterations, is tasked with handling mutant and extraterrestrial affairs, a cross between both Agent Smith and Neo from The Matrix as well as the definition of cool. However, in Tales of the TMNT, he's reimagined in an entirely new way. Now, played by Alanna Ubach (Ted), Bishop is a woman bent on ridding the world of mutants, and she takes aim at the four teenagers. To win, Bishop splits the boys up, leading to each getting their own storyline where they're forced to fight for themselves."

Photo by Sarah Pflug from Burst