Is this imposter part of a bigger conspiracy to sully the good name of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or the result of Republicans once again not actually understanding the political messaging of media, like how the alt-right has co-opted the visuals of Marvel’s Punisher? Or perhaps this is just the continued sour grapes of Vanilla Ice himself, who has very obviously felt some kind of way about how the music in TMNT films has only gotten better with every installment following “The Secret of the Ooze.” In 2014, Van Winkle ran his mouth about “Shell Shocked,” the track from Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J, and Ty Dolla $ign for Jonathan Liebesman’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie despite the fact he couldn’t come up with a bar like “All my brothers tryna get some cheddar / We all want our cut like the shredder / Me and my bros come together for the dough / Bought the orange Lamborghini, call it Michelangelo” in his wildest dreams.
As for “TMNT: Mutant Mayhem?” Why, that film has, for my money, the best music of 2023. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score absolutely RIPS and the needle drops of Blackstreet, A Tribe Called Quest, Naughty By Nature, MF Doom, Busta Rhymes, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Gravediggaz, DMX, and 4 Non Blondes kicks ass. Vanilla Ice should be thankful his track got a three-second cameo in the film.
This is all to say, if there are any Academy voters out there reading this: when casting your ballot for Best Animated Feature, you’d be wise to consider “TMNT: Mutant Mayhem.” Someone out there is clearly threatened by their power, a surefire sign that they’re doing something right.
“TMNT: Mutant Mayhem” is available to stream on Paramount+ and on physical release.