Quick hit: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem trailer

The mutated teen turtles return to movie screens in August

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back this summer, in a new animated film from producer Seth Rogen. I tend to like the Turtles in most outings — they are a good mix of action and silliness most of the time — so I was optimistic going in. The new trailer hasn’t dimmed that view.

The TMNT were created by cartoonists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in the pages of a black-and-white comic magazine way back in 1984. The subsequent toys, cartoons, and movies have made the four turtle brothers — Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael and Donatello — among the biggest stars ever birthed in comic books.

I like the sort of grungy, lived-in art style in the trailer; to me it hearkens back in places to the original Eastman/Laird comics, even though the style of the Turtles has changed to make them more personally identifiable.

Description from Paramount Pictures: In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, 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.

While I’ve been following the TMNT since I was a teenager myself, I thought I should check on the target audience for this piece — both the teenagers in my house said this trailer made them more excited about the upcoming film.

Check out the trailer below and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!