#mm opinion

[turtlevariabilis]

Honest Opinion. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

[Español]

Warning 1. This review will contain some spoilers from the movie, so I recommend avoiding reading it if you haven't seen it yet.

Warning 2. Here I only present my opinion, which does not mean it is entirely correct or entirely wrong. Of course, I would also love to read yours, especially if you differ on something. Always remember that diversity of opinions is a wealth.

Well, it's finally time to express my opinion about the movie Mutant Mayhem (2023), the newest version of our beloved ninja turtles. Get ready because it will be somewhat extensive, and although I will of course mention positive aspects, I really want to focus on the drawbacks it has, especially on the significant and serious problem it faces.

First of all, I want to clarify that I love the ninja turtles and I accept and admire them in all their versions. I firmly believe that each one has something special to contribute to the beautiful franchise they are part of. Mutant Mayhem is no exception.

First, I want to mention several very positive aspects of this new version. Its style. Its art. Its animation. The design of all the characters, mutants and humans. The setting. The soundtrack. I love how it highlights the ugliness, the dirt, the filth, and the darkness. I remember that when I watched tmnt 2012, I loved that they showed the garbage, the graffiti, and the dirty streets. In rottmnt, this almost doesn't happen and I miss it. But in Mutant Mayhem, it's picked up again, and I really love it.

The story is quite simple, but it's very good, well-crafted, entertaining, fun, and highly enjoyable for anyone. Here I want to emphasize that, despite the negative aspects that I will highlight later on, I loved the movie and I have already watched it a total of four times, and I'm capable of watching it many more times.

So let's start talking a little about the characters.

Donnie has always been my favorite turtle, so seeing him change in this version bothered me a bit. Just a bit. How did he change? He's still the turtle who stands out for his intelligence and has a great interest in technology, but in a more realistic way, without being the one who knows everything and fixes everything. That's great. What bothered me was that they made him a big fan of various things, like anime and the Korean band BTS, which isn't bad, but this personality trait usually belongs to Leo. Leo, from the start, can be seen either reading the science fiction book Dune, or being the only fan of the series Space Heroes, or even being the biggest fan of the Jupiter Jim movies, depending on the version. He has always represented those who are fans of something specific. But in Mutant Mayhem, it's now something about Donnie. It took me a while to get used to it, but in the end, it's just a small change, nothing serious.

About Mikey and Raph, I won't say much because we already know them, and they didn't have a very significant change, and they also don't contribute much individually in the movie (like Donnie). Generally, we can't see the turtles develop individually, and on rare occasions, we can only distinguish them as Leo and his brothers. That is to say, as a group, they have excellent development, but individually, there was a lot missing, we can only see slight character development in Leo. For me, this is not entirely bad, because in reality, a movie limits a lot, and I believe they couldn't have done it differently. I imagine this will change with the new series that is coming, and we will be able to enjoy them more as individuals than as a group soon.

I love the dynamic between the four brothers. It's great to see them so youthful and their interests and conversations reflect that. However, sometimes conversations, jokes, and references overlap, and even after watching it four times, I still can't catch absolutely everything. They know a lot about current popular culture, and that's great for introducing a new generation of ninja turtles fans, as has always been done with new versions.

Now, I have a personal conflict with Leo. To address this, I ask that we take a moment to consider the version of rottmnt. Initially, this version was quite poorly received by ninja turtles fans (including myself), mainly because it made very radical changes, such as the character designs, where the turtles are of different species and ages, and, what caused more conflict: the change in Leo's personality compared to previous versions, as he is not even the leader. This is not an opinion about rottmnt, so I won't dwell on it too much, but I really believe it was a good decision to have Leo not be the leader at first and then later on, because it's perfect for developing his character, his identity, and his place and relevance in the team. What about the Leo in Mutant Mayhem? He returns to being the typical leader of the group, the one who seems like the older brother. Within this movie, he has his own development, as he is portrayed as the good and obedient son, the one who wants to do things right and meet his father's expectations. I love that because I identify with this, but if we think about it, this is a regression for his characterization and for the franchise in general, because his character will once again fall short and remain quite static. It's like I have the feeling that, in this movie, which supposedly was made for the new generations and certainly succeeds in many aspects, it actually seems to be made for ninja turtles fans who only stuck with the older versions. Which isn't entirely bad. Again, this is just my feeling and it was one of my big disappointments on a personal level.

Now let's briefly talk about April. Honestly, I didn't understand why she faced so much discrimination from the audience in general, as if it were the first time she was depicted as black and asocial. And yes, now they also designed her as overweight. So what? The truth is, she's perfect and fits really well into her role in the movie. And those who say she's not the same April anymore... well, let me tell you, only April O'Neil would think to go alone after the people who stole her motorcycle, without worrying if they're dangerous people. April is still exactly the same April from previous versions, just with an added layer of insecurity regarding how she feels about herself. And that's great for her own character development.

As for romantic relationships... personally, I prefer when they are nonexistent, but it makes sense that one of the turtles, who are teenagers and therefore have raging hormones, would fall in love with a girl, in this case, Leo with April. It won't contribute much to the plot, and it's obvious from a mile away that it will end up just as toxic as the "relationship" between Donnie and April in tmnt 2012. But this is not a problem because it adds a lot to the comedy, which is an essential trait in any version of ninja turtles.

Let's talk about the villains. Cynthia remains as a background villain, but she sets off a chain reaction that will surely explode in relevance in the likely sequel. Actually, the true villain of Mutant Mayhem is Superfly, who is awesome and I love him, very charismatic as well. The fact that he has his gang of mutants, most of whom we know from previous versions, is perfect. It's true that none of these, except for Superfly, gain individual relevance, but they act as a group (like the turtles). I didn't mind that the movie handled so many characters as a group rather than individually; I think the opposite would have been too much. And I also know that some may have been bothered by Superfly's origin, but let's be honest, every version of ninja turtles is different, and that's great. In this case, it fits well with the plot, it works well. And, furthermore, it follows a parallel trajectory to that of Splinter, who is like his counterpart.

Well, let's talk about Splinter now, and this is where the real problems begin because his character is quite flawed no matter how you analyze it. But first, I must admit that I like his role as a father: he is overprotective, it's clear he loves his sons, he wants the best for them, and wants them to feel their best. We also see his frustration at not finding a partner (another romantic relationship that I didn't like, but which fits well to complete one of his personal subplots). The problem with Splinter is his origin. I really hated that he's originally just an ordinary rat from New York. It seems ridiculous to me because Splinter is supposed to represent the connection the turtles have with humans. And I know it's not the first time in his origin story that he's a rat because it also happens in the tmnt 2003 version... and I hate it (although at least in this tmnt 2003 version, it makes a little more sense because of his connection with Hamato Yoshi and Oroku Saki, but I still see it as a problem). And in Mutant Mayhem, he decides to learn Ninjutsu out of nowhere through movies and that's how he teaches his sons. It's just absurd. To me, it's a regression for the franchise. And yet, I'm able to overlook this issue because, if you pay close attention, in this new version, the only ones who can turn into mutants are animals that are not human (if you hadn't noticed this, I advise you to pay close attention to Superfly's plan).

And here is where the real serious problem that I wanted to bring to the discussion table begins: that the ooze only affects animals that are not humans despite the fact that... humans are animals! There is nothing biologically that distinguishes us from the rest of the animal kingdom, so there is no logical reason why humans cannot become mutants. I understand that this is why they decided that Splinter is originally a rat because otherwise he wouldn't have been able to become a mutant rat. But I just can't accept, ignore, or forgive that they start from the premise that humans are not animals and that's why they don't react to the substance the same way other animals do! And the worst part is that I doubt they can fix this in the plot, which I think is a very serious mistake. Some of you may believe that humans are different from other animals, either for anthropocentric or religious reasons; that's fine. But purely biologically, which is how the ooze affects, we are not different from other animals. Therefore, it makes no sense that humans cannot become mutants. And I don't understand why no one is talking about this, since it's the only major flaw the movie has. This makes the new version built on a very weak argument, and I believe it could lead to its self-destruction over time. Which is very sad.

We could try to fix this by considering that humans are not entirely human and that this is the reason why the ooze doesn't affect them, for example, they could be half extraterrestrial like April was in tmnt 2012 (and that's why the mutagen didn't affect her). Because, I don't know about you, but I have no doubt that Cynthia and her henchmen, who control the strange company TCRI, have something to do with the Krang. Still, this solution that absolutely all humans are not one hundred percent human seems impractical to me and even unrealistic.

In short, I love these new turtles; I love their youth, their dynamics, their relationships; I love the animation and the setting; I love the comedy; I love all the references both within the franchise and from the popular and current external world; I love the moral reflection the characters had to face and the final message; I even love the plot and most of the subplots that I consider well-developed, and I also love that they leave us with some big loose ends that enhance the likely great sequel, which seems to be very promising. I loved this movie, and yet, personally, I feel like it's already ruined and there's not much that can be done to fix it. A real shame, because it had plenty of potential. It could have even become the best version so far... but it didn't.

To conclude, I want to add something else about the ending, a separate topic.

We're used to the turtles being ninjas, meaning they work in the shadows of the night, hidden, as invisible heroes of New York. All this even though we, as viewers, only wish for them to have a normal life, to enjoy their youth pleasantly, and to be accepted by society just as they are. In Mutant Mayhem, this goal is achieved... is this good?

To answer this question, I want to go back a bit to previous versions. Even in tmnt 2012, they do everything possible to be invisible to normal people. But in rottmnt, the situation changes slightly. Although disguised (obviously), they are not afraid to go out during the day, and it seems like they care less about being seen. And the people of New York rarely seem to be scared of them. This may seem silly, but to me, it seems like another success of rottmnt, since the goal of delivering a new version to the audience is to reach new generations, and these new generations are increasingly open-minded in many ways. So, it makes sense to me that the turtles go out more and hide less, and that they are more easily accepted. The fact that in Mutant Mayhem they have been completely accepted, to the point that in the end they even attend school, not only makes it the cutest version of the ninja turtles but also, I'm sure, reaching that ending was necessary to adapt to these younger generations. This is a huge change in the franchise, and I am very curious to discover how the story will unfold now and what new challenges the turtles will have to face as a result of this.

I think I've gone on too long with this opinion, and I could actually go on even more, analyzing every detail under a powerful microscope... but the truth is, despite it all, I loved this movie. It excited me a lot. It made me feel a lot. It will always be a pleasure to reunite with these characters in different circumstances and versions.

So we'll leave it here. Thank you for reading, I hope you found my perspective interesting, and hopefully, I can hear yours as well. Have a great day!

P.S. If I feel like it and see that this opinion has been interesting and entertaining to you, and also sparks a pleasant discussion, perhaps I'll be encouraged to write my opinion about other versions.

•💜•

Click here if you want to see content about Mutant Mayhem

[lucabyte]

Not all who wander are lost. Some who wander, however, are extremely, extremely lost.

[kaelidascope]

Beauty and the Beest Remastered is LIVE

**SHAKES RETURN OF THE BEEST DOGGY BAG OF TREATS**

Beauty and the Beest remastered is LIVE and she is HERE! SHE IS BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER

And that's not all. By popular demand, the original Beestfic - along with the deleted act 9 scene - Have been re-released back out into the wild from the vault for reading! Please mind both author's notes on these fics, and also note the severe quality drop from the classic version. I wrote this a year ago and it is not a reflection of my current skills

A final note chapter has been sent out for those who subscribed to it that also contains an art archive similar to Midnight Menagerie. Any art coming out of this fic from this point onward will be documented on the new fic :)

[dustbon]

Fizzing diaries: Now we are able to make herbal kombuchas. I'm not sure if Prav approves, tho.

[triptychofvoids]

the way you draw facial expressions is just perfect, you know that? ( ﾟ∀ﾟ)

danke schön! my gratitude as always! i like studying anatomy so im always working towards getting better at drawing faces aheh (oh and, yes, im quite fond of how i draw engie too, thank you! im very glad you like him)

[tae-rhymeswithslay]

TMNT Hottake: TOTTMNT was disappointing (in my opinion)

i know i know!! i shouldn’t be putting down the new gen of turtles bc thats what every past gen fandom does to every single new iteration BUT this is my blog and i do what i want. Also, thisnis my OPINION feel free to disagree or debate.

SO MUCH wasted potential

GUYS the amount of openings the MM movie left for the series to branch off of was crazy. The Shredder and Cynthia Utrom and her extremely likely connection to the Kraang the were obviously plot points the writers were saving for the second movie and the turtles also couldn’t have drastic character development because of that, but still. The first movie left off on the turtle’s going to high school and regular kids, which was a concept that hadn’t been explored before in the franchise. And the show just. Didn’t. They didn’t go into their school life beyond passing comments about homework and wrestling. We could have gotten a silly shenanigan filled episode of the turtles trying to find after school jobs or clubs or even how they dealt with their newfound fame. That would have been epic.

2. Lack of story content

Really, we only got two complete stories from the series. part one with bishop and then part two with goldfin and even then neither villain really stuck out to me. Bishop had that inciting moment that tied her into the first movie with her mechazoid getting crushed by the superfly mutant. But then her ‘revenge plan’ still felt shoehorned in like they were trying to make a morally complex villain and failed. Her side backstory with her sister just fell flat. i’m sorry, I love sweet sibling bonds, but we just weren’t given enough information or time about Elena for me to personally care about her. Then at the end when bishop turned herself in and then immediately relapsed into villainous territory, I was like “wow, i can’t wait to see her descent into madness as the second half of the series progresses!” but then she was just pushed to the side COMPLETELY in order to start the goldfin plot line. Where Bishop was a fresh take on a classic character, Goldfin and the East River Three were completely new characters created for TOTTMNT. i can kinda see what they were going for by starting off with whats familiar to fans and then branching out into more creative territory, but the shift between stories was so jarring, it felt loke i had just started a whole new series entirely- though, now that i’m typing this out, that also could have been the feeling the writers were going for since part one was told through Leo’s point of view and part two was told through Raph’s. The writers might’ve purposefully made the transition choppy.

3. Personal gripes, aka my fave characters were not there

CASEY!! CASEY MY PRECIOUS LITTLE BOY WHERE WERE YOU?!! Casey was never named as a character in the show, but i will bet my bottom dollar that they were one of the unnamed purple dragons. I have theories that either the boomerang dragon was casey (really really hoping he was. he was my favorite dragon outside of Hun and Angel) or the knife-stick hockey girl was Casey (girl casey truther fr) and i really hope the bucket hat dragon is Keno bc that man NEEEDS to make a comeback. Theres really not much to say about this reason. MONA ALSO WASNT THERE. ik it would’ve been hard to do a space arc in the very limited number of episodes, but it would’ve made my 2012 and 1987 loving heart to see her just make some kind of appearance.

THINGS THE SHOW DID RIGHT!!

guys, i’m not a complete hater believe it or not

no uncomfy crushes/relationships/love triangles

after the Apritello disaster of 2012, i was waiting with bated breath to see how they would handle the Leopril romance introduced in MM and i was pleasantly surprised. It felt so much more genuine and like a realt teen crush. Hes so much more chill about it than Donnie ever was, but he is still clearly very in love and its all so sweet to watch.

2. The ANIMATION

HOLY SHIT WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN?? it was nothing short of STELLAR- the subtle style changes as the turtles perspectives shifted?? UGHHH!!! i wanted to consume my phone. THE FIGHT WITH GOLDFIN???!! JAW!! ON THE FLOOR!!!

[fennelrabbit]

Maybe I'll find time to make a longer AT post, maybe even a detailed presentation, but for now I have to say:

The arc they put Simon on for the miniseries is just so, so wrong. It's incompatible and not what his character needs to grow at all.

Simon's problem was never that he couldn't see how important he was to the world or other people. In fact, that was one of the flaws Simon always had - valuing himself based on what he could do for other people, and not for what he values in himself.

Simon lived for Marceline because he needed to care for her and keep her alive. It was the right thing to do, and this sense of purpose slowed his descent into madness a lot more, but it wasn't enough.

When Simon is freed from the crown in the future, he doesn't worry himself about Marceline anymore because she's grown up and outgrown him. She's not a weak little girl anymore so Simon decides in his short time that she can live without him, now that she doesn't need him. Of course he knows that his death would be sad, but Marceline has friends and family now. In his mind, Marceline will be ok because she's not alone.

What else does Simon do with what little time he's given? He apologises to Betty.

Again, it's the right thing to do. Their "breakup" was very scary and confusing. So he makes it his duty to explain himself to her and he tries to set Betty free. "I went crazy. You don't have to feel bad about leaving me. I forgive you". Again, Simon is thinking about his life in relation to other people. He was a bad boyfriend to Betty in that moment, so he must rectify that.

And after that, what does Simon do? Does he fight to stay alive? Does he ask for help, does he try one last time to crack the crown and free himself before he dies?

No. Simon seeks and accepts death because he's tired, and he thinks he is empty. That there is no point to him staying alive.

Nobody needs Simon anymore.

Simon does not value or care about himself.

🐰🐈 So, how does this relate to the Fionna and Cake series?

Well, the issue is that putting Simon on this "Ghost of Christmas everything" style journey through the multiverse does not address Simon's problems at all. Simon isn't a selfish and arrogant character like Scrooge who needed to learn to care about and value other people. In fact, Simon was always very aware of how much people needed him. Simon liked feeling needed.

So this whole "Look Simon, Marceline is evil in the universe where you're dead!" and "in this universe, the crown ruined Finn Merten's life" isn't helpful for pushing or developing Simon's character. If anything, it's just enabling his tendency to value himself as a tool for other people.

And I know people are going to say "yeah, that's the point. In the end Simon learns to live for himself because Betty has moved on from him and wants him to be happy".

But it's like...no??? That's not really a cohesive story at all.

Man wants to die, metaphorically or literally. He can't admit it, because it's shameful to himself. Then someone needs his help, so he uses "helping people" as an excuse to sacrifice himself again, so that he can feel good about himself.

But this multiverse journey doesn't teach Simon to start doing things for himself again. The only new "friends" he makes are Fionna and Cake, and that was really forced. Simon isn't pushed to change anything in his life in the series, because he's not even inside his life anymore, he's hopping around in a multiverse adventure that is basically just a longer, more distracting version of the adventure Finn sent Simon on in episode 2.

Simon isn't shown the benefits of living for yourself. He's only told to keep on living "because he has to". Because the multiverse needs him. This is just Simon and Marcy 2 all over again, but worse, because we're supposed to believe that this experience showed Simon how to care about himself. This is the same reason he was living for Marceline. "Because he had to".

And what's the conclusion of this mismatched character arc? Does Simon finally find something new and exciting that sparks his will to live again? Does Simon make a new friend on his own volition, without the obligation of "saving them"?

No!!! XD We go on another tangent where Golbetty shows Simon he was being selfish because he wasn't paying enough attention to Betty's needs, puts him back in exactly the same shitty situation that pushed him to death to begin with -

Except now, for some reason, he feels happy, and doesn't want to die.

This is all completely wrong!!!!

You can't show a couple's entire relationship with 1 bus scene and then tell the audience it was unbalanced. It looks like Simon is being punished for one mistake (not getting on the bus) even though Betty is an adult woman who makes her own choices, and needs to communicate with Simon as well. It's lazy, it's rushed, and it's so half baked that the sentient dough is raw and asking not to be baked into bread 💀

Simon and Betty's problems are not given enough time to fit into the 'Simon your life impacts others arc' and it doesn't properly address Simon's inability to live for himself at all. We're shown he worships Betty and that his love makes him live for others, but we're never shown why he's like that. There's no new context about Simon, no new information.

We get a little hint that before meeting Betty, he actually was living for himself and doing his own things, but that's it.

And this whole miniseries, as well as reducing Betty to a sexist girlfriend prop again, does nothing to address or even validate Simon's misery.

All it does it tell a depressed, suicidal man that he's not allowed to die because it would make other people sad, and that he plays some stupid cosmic role in the multiverse.

Simon is being treated like a tool, again.

Betty doesn't have her own voice outside of Simon, again.

Anyway, yeah. I didn't like this miniseries obviously, hahaha 😅 and this isn't the only problem I have with it, not by a long shot.

This story was tone deaf and insensitive. Justice for Simon and Betty! They both deserve better writing.

[summersofsalt]

(i wanted more post-curse bff hangouts)

[2laffy2]

Laffy's opinion and relationship with the other members?? :>

●How they see Laffy

Trickster: Best friend [ @boiling-potato ]

"Oh? My bestie?,yeah she's very interesting. i love brushing her wings they are soooo soft and when ever she has time she gives me a lot of sweets from her universe, they are amazing XP"

Casimir: Hate/Neutral

"Laffy? I'm sorry but i don't think i have heard of this name before. Tho for some reason I'm having this sense of dejavu in this period everytime a new guest enters"

Rosemary: Neutral

"I'm sorry but I never heard some named like that entering the mansion"

Heaven: Scared/Neutral

"She is really scary when she's angry, if you ever encounter her NEVER touch the- wait- why am i even warning you? Eheh"

Nevaeh: Scared/Romance (crush like Romance)

"She is very cute when she's angry that face that she make, omg"

Hayden: Neutral

"... Who?"

Penelope: Best friend

"Big sis? She very cool she let me cut her in many pieces. But for some reason when I'm talking about her to some members of the family they don't seem know who I'm talking about even tho she's been here a lot of times. Its like they just del- uh? What was i talking about?"

Chaoxiang: Dislike

"Her? Ugh i don't know how someone like her managed to beat me in her first time playing *inserit game* even tho she's have no idea what videogames are"

Willow: Best friend

"She is one of the few guests that i manager to help, but i don't understand why she keep coming back in the mansion and no one remembers her. She's very kind but a lil strange"

Elijah: Hate [ @gachaclubideas ]

"Uh? That name, for some reason it get on my nerves"

Talissa: Neutral

"For some reason after hearing that name i want to laugh at my brother"

Juliet: Like

"She protect me from Elijah when he is being a little to much and I'm very thankful to her. Her appearance keep changing but i can tell who she's everytime"

Tsutsuji: Best friend [ @n0vatsu ]

"She very gentle and help me with my nightmare when i can't sleep. I just don't like when she talk to that monster"

Yoake: Neutral/Scared

"... she doesn't hate me even after i killed her, she just waved to me the next day as it never happened, she's too kind"

Sylas: Like/Romance [ @justafriendlystranger ]

"Oh Laffy? She's a very interesting specie man er woman, how much I would love to experiment on her, the faces of pains that she would make~ *sigh*. With that little power of hers i would be like the rest, thx me that i write down everything."

Caleb: Dislike/Hate

"That name... its infected"

Trevor: Best friend [ @edgywithaheart ]

"She Funny, i like her personality. As any other vampire i can sense her"

●How Laffy see them

Trickster: Best friend

"She amazing, she the one that helped me when i was teleported in this realm after being burned on a stick. I Love when she brush my wings <3"

Casimir: Like/Neutral

"Its really funny seeing him confused and annoyed every time i enter or stay in the mansion ihihi"

Rosemary: Like

"She a really gentle mother figure, when she doesn't try to kill you. Very pretty"

Heaven: Like/Neutral

"Uh, she's fine i suppose"

Nevaeh: Hate

" i don't want to talk about her after what she did"

Hayden: Like/Neutral

"He is very quiet, so I stay away from him so i don't disturb him with my presence"

Penelope: Best friend

"She such a cutie even when she try to kill you <3. I love having tea party's with her and Trickster"

Chaoxiang: Like

"I like listening to him explain how stupid i am for not knowing what videogames are. he is really funny seeing getting worked up for losing"

Willow: Best friend

"Cutie potato <3 nothing to say more, i just wanna pat her head"

Elijah: Dislike

"consent is the key my friend >:/"

Talissa: Like

"Her soul is so tormented, so I always try to calm her when she is having nightmares, i also do that to her brother even to i don't like him much"

Juliet: Like

" I like spending time with her. She is very elegant. I sometimes give her my blood since i can live even without it"

Tsutsuji: Best friend

"I spend a lot of time with her. I help her with my powers when she cant sleep"

Yoake: Like

"Her face when she saw me the next day after she killed me was hilarious. I feel bad for her tho, so i try to spend time with her if she let me"

Sylas: Like/Hate

"I swear I will kill this man if he keep bothering me with questions. Its so annoying that he is cute. One time i found him snoping around in Penelope room trying to get one of my arms that she kept after cutting me for the first time ugh"

Caleb: Neutral

"He kinda hate me for some reason but i don't mind"

Trevor: Best friend

"He is a cool vampire, i like him :3"

[opheliasprings]

eyeliner set 03

anotha one. it ain’t much, but it’s free!

8 swatches (4 black, 4 colored)

teen - elder

female frame

may look different on certain eye shapes

change the hue on the red swatch to have different colors!! and if you encounter any issues please let me know :)

download: curseforge | sfs

i forgot to add a custom thumbnail when i first uploaded on curseforge, but the file is now updated! so if anyone downloaded before, perhaps should consider redownloading.

[turtlevariabilis]

Opinión Honesta. Tortugas Ninja: Caos Mutante

[English]

Advertencia 1. Esta opinión contendrá algunos spoilers de la película, por lo que recomiendo evitar leerla si todavía no la has visto.

Advertencia 2. Aquí solo presento mi opinión, que no significa que sea del todo correcta ni que sea del todo errónea. Por supuesto que también me encantaría leer la tuya, especialmente si difieres en algo. Recuerden siempre que la diversidad de opiniones es una riqueza.

Bien, ha llegado al fin el momento de expresar mi opinión sobre la película Caos Mutante (2023), la versión más nueva de nuestras queridas tortugas ninja. Prepárense porque será algo extensa y, aunque por supuesto que mencionaré aspectos positivos, en realidad me quiero enfocar en los inconvenientes que tiene, especialmente sobre el gran y serio problema que tiene.

Antes que nada, quiero aclarar que amo a las tortugas ninja y que las acepto y admiro en todas sus versiones. Soy firme creyente de que cada una tiene algo especial que aportar a la hermosa franquicia que es. Caos Mutante no es la excepción.

Primero quiero mencionar varios aspectos muy positivos de esta nueva versión. Su estilo. Su arte. Su animación. El diseño de todos los personajes, mutantes y humanos. La ambientación. La banda sonora. Me encanta cómo se resalta la fealdad, la suciedad, la asquerosidad y la oscuridad. Recuerdo que cuando vi tmnt 2012 me encantaba que mostraran la basura, los grafitis y las calles sucias. En rottmnt esto casi no pasa y lo echo en falta. Pero en Caos Mutante se retoma y de verdad que me encanta.

La historia es bastante simple, pero es muy buena, está bien hecha, es entretenida, divertida y muy disfrutable para cualquiera. Aquí quiero resaltar que, a pesar de las cosas negativas que resaltaré más adelante, a mí me encantó la película y ya la he visto un total de cuatro veces, y soy capaz de verla muchas más.

Entonces empecemos a hablar un poco de los personajes.

Donnie siempre ha sido mi tortuga favorita, entonces ver que cambió en esta versión me molestó un poco. Solo un poco. ¿En qué cambió? Sigue siendo la tortuga que resalta por su inteligencia y que tiene un gran interés por la tecnología, pero de forma más realista, sin ser el que todo lo sabe y el que todo arregla. Eso está genial. Lo que me incomodó fue que lo hicieron muy fan de varias cosas, como el anime y la banda coreana BTS, que no es malo, pero este rasgo de personalidad normalmente le corresponde a Leo. Leo, desde siempre, se le puede o ver leyendo el libro de ciencia ficción Dune, o siendo el único fan de la serie Héroes Espaciales, o incluso siendo el más fan de las películas de Júpiter Jim, dependiendo la versión. Él siempre ha representado a los que somos fans de algo en concreto. Pero en Caos Mutante ahora es algo de Donnie. Me costó acostumbrarme, pero al final es solo un pequeño cambio, nada grave.

Sobre Mikey y Rafa no diré mucho, porque ya los conocemos y no tuvieron un cambio muy significativo, y tampoco es que aporten algo a nivel individual en la película (al igual que Donnie). Por lo general no podemos ver a las tortugas desarrollarse individualmente, y en contadas ocasiones solo podemos distinguirlos como Leo y sus hermanos. Es decir, que como grupo tienen un excelente desarrollo, pero individualmente faltó mucho, solo podemos ver un ligero desarrollo de personaje en Leo. Para mí esto no es del todo malo, pues en realidad una película limita bastante y creo que no pudieron haberlo hecho de otra manera. Me imagino que esto cambiará con la nueva serie que se avecina y que podremos disfrutarlos más como individuos que como grupo pronto.

La dinámica que tienen los cuatro hermanos me encanta. Es genial verlos tan juveniles y que sus intereses y conversaciones concuerden con ello. Eso sí, a veces se traslapan conversaciones, chistes y referencias que, incluso después de haberlo visto cuatro veces, aún no logro captar absolutamente todo. Ellos conocen un montón de la cultura popular actual y eso es genial para introducir a una nueva generación de amantes de las tortugas ninja, como siempre se ha hecho con las nuevas versiones.

Ahora bien, tengo un conflicto personal con Leo. Para ello pido que nos detengamos un rato en la versión de rottmnt. Esta al principio fue bastante mal recibida por los fans de las tortugas ninja (incluyéndome), esto porque hizo cambios muy radicales, como el diseño de los personajes, que son tortugas de diferentes especies y edades, y, lo que causó más conflicto: el cambio de personalidad de Leo con respecto a anteriores versiones, pues ni siquiera es el líder. Esta no es una opinión de rottmnt, así que no me extenderé mucho, pero realmente creo que fue un acierto hacer que al principio Leo no sea el líder y que más adelante sí, porque queda perfecto para desarrollar su personaje, su identidad y su lugar y relevancia en el equipo. ¿Qué pasa con el Leo de Caos Mutante? Que regresa a ser el típico líder del grupo, el que parece el hermano mayor. Dentro de esta película tiene su propio desarrollo, ya que se trata del hijo bueno y obediente, el que quiere hacer las cosas bien y cumplir con las expectativas de su papá. Me encanta eso porque me identifico con esto, pero si lo pensamos bien, esto es un retroceso para su caracterización y para la franquicia en general, porque su personaje se volverá a quedar corto y bastante estático. Como que tengo el sentimiento de que, en esta película, que según fue hecha para las nuevas generaciones y claro que acierta en esto en muchos aspectos, en realidad parece estar hecha para los fans de tortugas ninja que se quedaron solo con las versiones más antiguas. Que no está del todo mal. Repito, esto es solo mi sentimiento y fue una de mis grandes decepciones a nivel personal.

Ahora hablemos brevemente de Abril. Sinceramente, no entendí por qué sufrió tanta discriminación por parte de la audiencia en general, ni que fuera la primera vez que es negra y asocial. Y sí, que ahora además la diseñaron con sobrepeso. ¿Y qué? La verdad es que es perfecta y queda súper bien para cumplir con su rol en la película. Y los que dicen que ya no es la misma Abril… pues déjenme decirles que solo a Abril O´Neil se le ocurriría ir sola detrás de la gente que le robó su moto, sin que le preocupe si es gente peligrosa. Abril sigue siendo exactamente la misma Abril de las versiones anteriores, solo que con una capa de inseguridad agregada con respecto a cómo se siente respecto a ella misma. Y eso está genial para su propio desarrollo de personaje.

En cuanto a las relaciones amorosas… personalmente prefiero cuando son inexistentes, pero tiene sentido que alguna de las tortugas, que son adolescentes y por ende tienen las hormonas descontroladas, caiga enamorado de alguna chica, en este caso, Leo de Abril. No aportará mucho a la trama y se ve a leguas que terminará igual de tóxica que la “relación” de Donnie y Abril en tmnt 2012. Pero esto no es un problema, pues aporta mucho a la comedia, que es un rasgo imprescindible en cualquier versión de tortugas ninja.

Vayamos con los villanos. Cynthia se queda como villana de fondo, pero crea un efecto en cadena que seguro que explotará en relevancia en la probable secuela. En realidad, el verdadero villano de Caos Mutante es Superfly, que es genial y me encanta, muy carismático, además. Que tenga su pandilla de mutantes, la mayoría que conocemos de versiones anteriores, es perfecto. Es cierto que ninguno de estos, a excepción de Superfly, toma relevancia a nivel individual, pero actúan en grupo (como las tortugas). A mí no me importó que la película manejara tantos personajes en grupo en vez de individualmente, creo que hubiera sido demasiado lo contrario. Y también sé que para algunos les habrá molestado el origen de Superfly, pero seamos honestos, cada versión de tortugas ninja es diferente y eso es genial. En este caso queda bien para la trama, funciona bien. Y, además, sigue una trayectoria paralela a la de Splinter, quien es como su contraparte.

Bien, hablemos ahora de Splinter, y es aquí donde comienzan los verdaderos problemas, pues su personaje está bastante mal lo analicen donde lo analicen. Pero antes, debo admitir que su rol como papá me gusta: es sobreprotector, se nota que ama a sus hijos, que desea lo mejor para ellos y que se sientan lo mejor posible. También conocemos su frustración por no encontrar pareja (otra relación amorosa que no me gustó, pero que sí queda bien para completar una de sus subtramas personales). El problema con Splinter es su origen. Realmente odié que originalmente sea una rata común y corriente de Nueva York. A mí me parece ridículo, porque se supone que Splinter representa la conexión que tienen las tortugas con los humanos. Y ya sé que no es la primera vez que en su origen es una rata, porque eso pasa también en la versión de tmnt 2003… y lo odio (aunque por lo menos en esta versión tmnt 2003 tiene una pizca más de sentido por su conexión con Hamato Yoshi y Oroku Saki, pero me sigue pareciendo un problema). Y en Caos Mutante decide aprender Ninjutsu de la nada por medio de películas y así es como les enseña a sus hijos. Es simplemente absurdo. Para mí, es un retroceso de la franquicia. Y, aún así, soy capaz de ignorar este problema puesto que, si se fijan bien, en esta nueva versión los únicos que se pueden convertir en mutantes son animales que no son humanos (si no se habían percatado de esto, aconsejo que presten mucha atención al plan de Superfly).

Y aquí es donde comienza el verdadero serio problema que deseaba tanto traer a la mesa de discusión: que el ooze solo afecta a los animales que no son humanos a pesar de que… ¡los humanos somos animales! No hay nada biológico que nos distinga del resto del reino animalia, por lo que no hay ninguna razón lógica por la cual los humanos no puedan convertirse en mutantes. Entiendo que por esto es por lo que decidieron que Splinter sea originalmente una rata, porque sino no hubiera podido convertirse en una rata mutante. ¡Pero es que no puedo aceptar ni ignorar ni perdonar que partan de la premisa de que los humanos no somos animales y que por eso no reaccionen a la sustancia igual que los otros animales! Y lo peor es que dudo que puedan arreglar esto en la trama, que me parece un error muy grave. Algunos de ustedes tal vez sí creen que los humanos somos distintos a otros animales, ya sea por cuestiones antropocentristas o religiosas; está bien. Pero por cuestión meramente biológica, que es la manera en la que afecta el ooze, no somos distintos a los otros animales. Por ende, no tiene sentido que los humanos no puedan convertirse en mutantes. Y no entiendo por qué nadie habla de esto, puesto que es la única gran falla que tiene la película. Esto hace que la nueva versión se construya bajo un argumento muy flojo y que yo creo que podría repercutir en que se autodestruya con el tiempo sola. Lo cual es muy triste.

Podríamos tratar de arreglar esto pensando en que los humanos en realidad no son completamente humanos y que esa sea la razón por la cual no les afecta el ooze, que por ejemplo sean mitad extraterrestres como lo fue Abril en tmnt 2012 (y que por eso el mutágeno no le afectaba). Porque, no sé ustedes, pero yo no tengo dudas de que Cynthia y sus secuaces, que controlan la extraña compañía TCRI, tienen algo que ver con el Krang, Aún así, esta solución de que absolutamente todos los humanos no son cien por ciento humanos, la veo poco viable e incluso me parece irrealista.

En fin, me encantan estas nuevas tortugas; me encanta su juventud, su dinámica, sus relaciones; me encanta la animación y la ambientación; me encanta la comedia; me encantan todas las referencias que tiene tanto dentro de la franquicia como del mundo exterior popular y actual; me encanta la reflexión moral a la que se tuvieron que enfrentar los personajes y el mensaje final; incluso me encanta la trama y la mayoría de las subtramas que considero que están bien desarrolladas, y además me encanta que nos dejen algunos cabos sueltos grandes que potencian la probable gran secuela, que todo indica que será muy buena. Me encantó esta película y, sin embargo, siento, personalmente, que ya está arruinada y que ya no hay mucho que hacer para arreglarla. Una verdadera lástima, porque potencial tenía de sobra. Hasta podría haberse convertido en la mejor versión hasta ahora… pero no.

Para finalizar, quiero agregar algo más sobre el final, un tema aparte.

Estamos acostumbrados a que las tortugas sean ninjas, es decir, que trabajen en las sombras de la noche, escondidos, como héroes invisibles de Nueva York. Todo a pesar de que nosotros, como espectadores, lo único que deseamos para ellos es que tengan una vida normal, que vivan su juventud de forma agradable y que sean aceptados por la sociedad tal cual son. En Caos Mutante se logra este objetivo… ¿es esto bueno?

Para responder esta pregunta, quiero regresarme un poco a versiones anteriores. Incluso en tmnt 2012 hacen todo lo posible por ser invisibles ante la gente normal. Pero en rottmnt la situación cambia, levemente. Aunque disfrazados (de forma evidente), no temen salir de día y parece que les da más igual el ser vistos. Y la misma gente de Nueva York pocas veces se espantan de ellos. Parece esto estúpido, pero a mí me parece otro acierto de rottmnt, puesto que el objetivo de entregar una nueva versión al público es llegar a nuevas generaciones, y estas nuevas generaciones son cada vez de mente más abierta en muchos sentidos, por lo que para mí tiene sentido que las tortugas salgan más y se escondan menos, y que además sean más fácilmente aceptados. Que en Caos Mutante hayan llegado a ser  aceptados por completo, al punto de que al final hasta asisten a la escuela, no solo hace que se convierta en la versión más tierna de las tortugas ninja, sino que, estoy segura, llegar a ese final era algo necesario para adaptarse a estas nuevas generaciones más jóvenes. Esto es un cambio enorme en la franquicia, y me produce mucha curiosidad descubrir cómo se desenvolverá ahora la historia y qué nuevos desafíos se tendrán que enfrentar las tortugas a raíz de esto.

Creo que me he extendido demasiado en esta opinión, y en realidad podría extenderme todavía mucho más, analizando cada detalle bajo un microscopio potente… pero lo cierto es que, a pesar de todo, amé esta película. Me emocioné mucho. Me hizo sentir mucho. Siempre será un placer reencontrarme con estos personajes en diferentes circunstancias y versiones.  

Así que lo dejaremos hasta aquí. Gracias por leerme, espero que les haya parecido interesante mi perspectiva y ojalá yo pueda conocer las suyas. ¡Que tengan un excelente día!

P.D. Si me apetece y veo que esta opinión les ha parecido interesante y entretenida, y que además genera una agradable discusión, tal vez me anime a escribir mi opinión sobre otras versiones.

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Haz clic aquí si quieres ver contenido sobre Caos Mutante

[eyestumblin]

By a surprise twist of fate, for the first time in my life, I own Majora's Mask, which was an old dream I had for over a decade that just got quieter and more shelved until I forgot about it. For a long time 35$ for the cartridge and another 35$ for the expansion pack felt too expensive. There were times I didn't have the means to play games, or buying luxuries at all felt irresponsible. Over the years, getting a hold of old hardware became a more difficult task. I played the entire game once, maybe to 100%, but I don't remember when or who i borrowed it from- sometime around 20 years ago.

It hits a lot different now. I remembered that there's a lot of deep and hard moments in the game, but even the things I remembered are surprising me anew. There are some things I remember to do- go here at this time, but then I don't remember why, so when I see the result it's a mix of recognition (ahh it was for this) and moving blind through what feels like new territory. It's delightful, it's truly a pleasure to get to experience a favorite thing "for the first time" again. It hits closer to home in some ways, too. The postman who has written himself a letter on the third night in an attempt to give himself permission to run from the trap of his schedule and his office- "I want myself to escape". The cuccoo keeper, having seen his chicks become roosters, peacefully satisfied without regrets. The familiar faces who don't know you at all, who are different people than you remember.

I've made it to the goron village and it's actually emotionally difficult to be in that space- freezing, starving, the baby crying and his father so old he's forgetting even the lullaby he sings his child.

I would like to learn more about the design, writing and directing of this game someday. It's stuck with me a long time and it's going to stick with me in new ways for a long time after this.

[turbo-gum]

My favorite Casey archetypes are murder hobo and dumbass with good intentions, I'm only praying that the tottmnt/mm Casey is like that because I CANNOT take another Jr.

[marnerlue]

Mikey: if we weren't monsters that were shunned by society and we could do what we wanted. What would you guys do?

Raph: go to highschool

Leo: maybe... get a girlfriend?

So we've seen in the storyboards that was leaked or released (idk) like weeks to months ago now, how Leo might have a crush on April.

AND NOW when Mikey asks them what they would do if they'd have a normal life he immediately says getting a girlfriend.

My boy be lonely😭