Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Paramount Pictures/Everett/Getty
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are one of the most enduring icons of American pop culture. Since their first appearance in the 1984 comic book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, there have been multiple comic series (the original lasting 30 years), five different television series, seven films, and over 40 video games, including arcade games and pinball machines. That’s to say nothing of merchandising—at the peak of their popularity (the late ’80s/early ’90s), TMNT action figures earned nearly $1.1 billion in just four years. And the first six films have grossed over $1 billion combined.
The seventh film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, now in theaters, is the latest piece of turtle-related media hoping to keep that love alive and kicking. Directed by Jeff Rowe (The Mitchells vs. the Machines) and written by Rowe, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Dan Hernandez, and Benji Samit, Mutant Mayhem isn’t just great. It might just be the best exploration of what makes these turtles such a cultural phenomenon to date. It’s so charming, in fact, that I’m willing to excuse the fact that the title has the word Mutant twice.
The reason so many people across generations adore these mutated reptiles is simple: They’re so much fun to hang out with. They’re superheroes without an air of seriousness or pretension. At their core, TMNT is a group of four teens who just want to skateboard, crack jokes, and eat pizza. That’s delightful in and of itself. (I never skateboarded, but like all living people, I love pizza.) But it ascends to a staggering level of cool when you factor in their martial arts skills. Each turtle is gifted with a different weapon—a staff (Donatello), dual katana (Leonardo), sai (Raphael), and nunchucks (Michelangelo).