When fans heard Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was being rebooted, many wondered how far Paramount Pictures would shift it from the source material. Michael Bay’s TMNT veered off-course a bit, especially in terms of the violence. Luckily, Jeff Rowe’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem dials things back, focusing on adolescence, the innocence of youth, and the Heroes in a Half Shell being boys.
However, that’s not to say there aren’t deep cuts nodding to the past. A major one comes with Vanilla Ice’s “Ninja Rap” from 1991’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze. As cheesy as it was, it’s something that fans absolutely adore to this day, propping it up in pop culture as one of the best jams in movie history. Luckily, the song gets a cameo in Mutant Mayhem, but it actually would have worked a lot better if used in a different sequence.
Mutant Mayhem Makes the Ninja Rap Too Short
The charm of “Ninja Rap” comes due to humanity getting the message of these teenage turtles. The 1991 movie had them barging into a music show at a warehouse where they beat down Foot clan members and partied with the crowd as Vanilla Ice rapped on stage — something Splinter hated as it eventually got them publicized. In Mutant Mayhem, the song is used once more as the brothers make their presence known to humans. In this case, they find some thugs who stole April O’ Neil’s (Ayo Edibiri) scooter and smash them.
It’s part of Mutant Mayhem’s Leonardo trying to get April to like him. In the fracas, Donatello uses his bo staff to attack a man in a car, which leads to the radio popping on with “Ninja Rap” playing for a few seconds. Sadly, it’s way too short, as the film reverts to its original score and having April find the Turtles. It’s rushed to get her to work a deal with them to expose Ice Cube’s evil Superfly.
Mutant Mayhem Needed Ninja Rap in the Interrogation
What’s interesting to note is that “Ninja Rap” could have been used in the battle montage that came after the scene it originally appeared in. They all go about the mission, pummeling Superfly’s human goons to get information on what the fly’s planning for Mutant Mayhem’s ending. It’s a remarkably executed scene, speaking to technical excellence and creative prowess in the animation realm. It’s a longer montage as well, swapping in the Turtles as they go through various fight scenarios. Furthermore, they all get a spotlight to show how deft they are with their iconic weapons.
It’s a literal warrior portrait and character study that runs over a minute, showcasing their personalities and battle styles. This makes the sequence the best place to use “Ninja Rap,” giving it time and breadth to connect with nostalgics, and to hype up fans watching these ninjas go. It’s a missed opportunity to max out the potential of the hit rap song and really tie it into the movie’s objective: showing audiences and the thugs how these Turtles can be when they cut loose. Ultimately, fans are thankful the song made it into the film, but for something this good and so intrinsically tied with the fabric of the series, it did lack some oomph the way it was used.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is now playing in theaters.