Mutant Mayhem Lets This Character Shine

The Big Picture

• Splinter becomes a loving adoptive father to the Turtles, departing from his usual wise master role.
• Splinter goes to great lengths to keep his children happy and safe, evolving his teachings along the way.
• In a rare change, Splinter fights on the front lines to save his sons from captivity, showcasing his skills.

Apart from the vibrant animation and stellar writing, one of the main reasons why Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem works as well as it does is because of how it adapts and updates its cast of iconic characters. The most obvious example of this is the titular turtles themselves, who have never been more likable. The welcome change of having teenagers voice them and deal with teenage problems was a stroke of genius and made for the funniest quartet of heroes we've gotten in the franchise yet. April O'Neil (Ayo Edebiri) is also given some welcome updates, with the young female lead getting the clever internal conflict of overcoming self-confidence issues to become a real reporter. As great as those character updates are, one character in particular completely steals the show. A fan-favorite icon is given a fresh and fascinating update that will now reign supreme as the best interpretation of the much-adapted character.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

The film follows the Turtle brothers as they work to earn the love of New York City while facing down an army of mutants.

Splinter Knows What It Feels Like To Be an Outsider

In almost every single adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Master Splinter is depicted as a wise, borderline omniscient ninjutsu master who commands the respect of his students. That seemed to be the case Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, especially following the announcement that Splinter would be voiced by martial arts legend Jackie Chan. Splinter has consistently been presented as a master first and a father figure to the Turtles second, but that order changes with the latest animated adaptation.

Splinter first appears in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem when the Turtles get home late one night after they snuck into an outdoor screening of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. While he is still wearing a variation of a martial arts gi as per usual, this Splinter doesn't immediately come off as a massively respected martial arts master. Rather than give the teens a wise, thought-provoking anecdote expressing his disappointment with his children, he seems legitimately horrified that the Turtles came so close to being discovered by the human world.

Splinter further explains to his children why they need to be more careful by relaying the story of how they first united. Long ago, Splinter was an ordinary sewer rat, who had a difficult time with both the fellow rats and the humans who shunned and hated him. Splinter's life changed forever when he and a quartet of baby turtles interacted with the Ooze, turning them into humanoid mutants. Thus, Splinter became a loving adoptive father to four absolutely adorable mutant turtle babies.

Splinter Really Loves Being a Turtle Dad

What makes Splinter such a compelling father character in the movie isn't just the fact that he loves raising the Turtles. He also takes several bold leaps just so he can make his four children happy, even when he is deathly afraid. When the Turtles wish to go see the world above, Splinter reluctantly abides. He takes them up to Times Square and they are enchanted by the bright lights and vibrant visuals. It doesn't take long for the worst of humanity to manifest before their eyes, with an angry mob surrounding them ready to pounce on what they think are freakish monsters. After they almost get run over by a runaway car, Splinter vows to protect his kids from the human world.

‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ Review: The Best of the Franchise

With a bodacious new approach to these characters, 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem' is totally tubular.

Having a supernatural parent figure be suspicious of the human world is really nothing new. In fact, it isn't even new for animated rats in movies, as Ratatouille also features an overprotective rodent father who tries to keep his son away from humans. What makes Splinter's journey here unique is that, despite being overprotective, he is consistently looking for ways to evolve his teachings and worldview if it means keeping his beloved sons happy.

'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem' Lets Splinter Fight

Splinter's fear of the human world is what motivates him to find a way for him and the kids to defend themselves. A couple of old karate movies and YouTube videos later, Splinter teaches himself and the Turtles to be adept in martial arts. Again, another fascinating change for the character that paints Splinter as more of an equal to the Turtles rather than a superior.

Once the Turtles meet April and decide they want to defeat Superfly (Ice Cube), they don't tell their dad, which raises suspicions in the concerned father. He tries to employ a more nurturing strategy of getting them to trust him by throwing them a party, even gifting them with cardboard cutouts of Chris Pine, Chris Pratt, and Chris Evans. This doesn't work, and Splinter can't stop his sons from being imprisoned and subsequently "milked" of their DNA by Cynthia Utrom (Maya Rudolph).

After April tells Splinter that his boys have been captured, the protective father does not hesitate to spring into action to save them. He finds the Turtles protected by Utrom's goons, who think that this elderly rat will be quick work. One disrespectful reference to Ratatouille later, and Splinter begins wiping the floor with these futuristic soldiers. Furthermore, Splinter also proves himself to be a tried and true master of martial arts, even using every one of the Turtles' signature weaponry to defeat the goons. It's a rare occurrence when Master Splinter is able to battle on the front lines, and this entire fight sequence is one of the best we've ever seen from the character.

Splinter Still Has a Lot To Learn

At its core, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is all about growing up. We see that directly with the Turtles as they learn about what it means to be a hero and how they want to be a part of the real world. We hardly ever get to see Splinter ever learning anything, as he's often depicted as the mentor who, well, already knows everything. Once Splinter realizes how much the human world means to them, he also starts to love that world. In another case of Splinter stepping away from his standard position of master, we see that his students and children have a lot to teach him as well.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is now available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.

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