OK, first things first? If you have never heard of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, don’t worry – many of your parents will have … and not only that, but they are also likely to have been glued to their TV sets for every episode aired throughout the 80s and 90s.
As the name suggests, the four turtles (brothers) are teenagers, mutants and – yes, this is pretty straightforward – ninjas! They are named after four of the most famous artists of the Renaissance period of the 15th and 16th century – Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi and Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino. Thankfully, the TMNT prefer the shortened versions of Leo, Mikey, Donnie and Raf.
OK, enough of the background info. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, after years of being sheltered from the human world, the four Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as ‘normal’ teenagers through heroic acts and ninja-fuelled good deeds.
However (and there’s always a ‘However’), when their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, they soon get in over their heads and face an army of fellow mutants (with nefarious plans).
Starring (the voices of) Jackie Chan, Rose Byrne, John Cena and Ice Cube, this has star quality … dudes!
One movie critic writes, ‘TMNT is a movie that crushes for every age’ and I tend to agree. So will the over-40s in your life if you can convince them to go!