Find out how Teenage Mutant Mayhem’s unique look was shaped by the hip-hop movement.

Find out how Teenage Mutant Mayhem’s unique look was shaped by the hip-hop movement.

On the 50th anniversary of hip-hop culture, Chaos Mutante becomes a real love letter.

Back to cinemas Ninja Turtles the premiere of his latest animated film, Mutant Chaos. The performance returns to the charismatic world of animation, but with a new face. Leaving aside the traditional look, the film shows a completely different art style, fully formed Street art movements hip-hop. This choice has a much deeper connection than it first appears to the essence of the young mutant ninja. But Why Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Chaos goes so well with hip-hop?

To answer this question, we need to analyze the origins of these super-charismatic characters in the 80s, as well as the history of the hip-hop movement that celebrates 50 years in 2023. So take it easy buy a ticket soonorder a warm pizza and get ready to go on a nostalgic journey with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

From comics to graffiti

From an artistic point of view, Mutant Chaos it’s a deliberately big mess that fearlessly mixes together the many influences that have crossed the franchise over the years. graffiti, graffiti This old comics clash to create a style that perfectly resonates with the characters’ roots.

The animation is done in three dimensions, like, in fact, any modern film, but stylized using unorthodox techniques to further convey the urban atmosphere of the story, present in all incarnations of the characters. It’s a look imperfect, bold and overflowing with emotionas the first works that presented to the world this disordered family in 1984.

What started as a simple joke between friends soon turned into the pages of an independent comic in the hands of Kevin Eastman This Peter Laird. The first hero comics have that man-made footprint that is so impressive in the new movie and spawned an empire of toys, cartoons and feature films at the time.

Over time, the turtle warrior quartet became a craze among children and starred in several projects of very different profiles, but they all retained the same essence. From the funniest to the most violent, these have always been stories of the friendship of four brothers who overcame their differences to defend the city that rejected them.

The situation is not much different Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. In a new animated film Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello This Michelangeloin their own words, are “monsters excluded from society” who live in the sewers NY. But when they discover that there are other mutants spreading a wave of crime through the streets, they see an opportunity to save the day and win recognition in a city that never appreciated them.

Renegade Art

This love-hate relationship with the city is very similar to what the hip-hop movement has experienced since its inception in New York City in the 1970s. civil rights law To end racial segregation between blacks and whites in the United States, the black population continued to be treated as “monsters excluded from society” and fought for a space where they could freely express their opinions. And in the struggle for recognition, Hood turned to street art.

Trains and walls throughout the city began to be covered in crude canned graffiti that became known as graffiti. The trend quickly evolved with more colorful and rounded bubble-like letters, a visual style closely associated with hip-hop. Finally, decorations and cartoon characters were added to the walls to give shape. graffiti modern.

But just as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have to hide in the sewers to avoid social prejudice, graffiti artists also have to flee from persecution by politicians and local police. In 1972, the then mayor of New York John Lindseydeclared war on graffiti and began spending millions of dollars to keep the city treasury from marginalizing this peripheral population.

Everything according to the law “Black, Hispanic or Other, in that order” they were potential criminals treated like monsters, sociopaths, and drug addicts. Teenagers began to be harassed at subway stations, parties led by DJs and hosts began to be attacked by the police, who needed prior permission from the mayor’s office. It was a fierce battle against culture. metrounderground, targeting the core elements of what became known as hip hop movement.

A term coined by a Jamaican DJ. africa bambataa in 1973 he identified the intersection of breakdancing, DJs, MCs and graffiti. It was the essence of the black culture of that time, which was seething on the outskirts Bronx. Even in the face of persecution, this population managed to find refuge in art that denounced their pain and at the same time extolled their victories. It didn’t take long for this style to spread around the world, invading all kinds of spaces and appearing in plays, television series and films such as Mutant Chaos.

The power of hip hop

Fifty years later, rap has become the musical genre that best captures the essence of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Explosive, treacherous and combative, it naturally conveys the quartet’s complex relationship with the city of New York, which continues to be the scene of their adventures. That’s why not only a rapper ice Cube was chosen as the original voice of the villain super flysince the new film also includes a solid set list of songs by famous rappers such as De La Soul, Busta Rhimes, Ms. Lauryn Hill This Dr Dre – studying decades of black music.

The messages in these songs perfectly complement the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ own story. Different teenagers, marginalized in their city by something beyond their control, but still striving to make their neighborhood better – this is how many young black people saw themselves in the 80s and see themselves today. The connection of these heroes with the black community was simply inevitable.

And this identification has been increasingly acknowledged by its creators in new productions of the franchise. In Eastman’s comics, co-creator of the characters, the brothers appear as black boys when they take on human form in collaboration with Power Rangers. Mutant Chaosco-produced by Eastman is just the latest.

The new film was an opportunity for the franchise creator to return to the culture that inspired his original comics. The producer not only uses the history of hip-hop to build his work, but also pays attention to a black girl. April, voiced in Brazil by Annie Gabriel, a reimagining of the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles companion. There is still another prominent black personality in the national version. Leo Santanahow charismatic genghis khan frog.

And the project manages to convey this message without losing focus on the most important thing – to tell a good story. That’s why, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem it can be considered the most inclusive production in the franchise. Its art style proudly reflects its long history and identity, and its script explores the dilemmas of four teenagers, like anyone else, trying to find their place in the world. A light and fun story that has something to offer to every type of audience and is made even richer by the power of hip-hop.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem arrived in theaters! Secure your ticket!

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