The sole motion picture studio to brave an actor-less Comic-Con this year was Paramount which opted to show off fresh footage from its upcoming Aug. 2 Point Grey produced Nickelodeon animated feature, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem before fanboys and fangirls in a very packed Hall H. The Melrose lot is one of the dominant streamers as well, splashing outdoor wraparound building ads in the Gaslamp quarter.
The session kicked off with a hysterical animated piece of the turtles spying on Barbie, Ken and friends.
“What do these people do all day? How can they afford this?” said one of the turtles. This was followed up by poignant sizzle reel featuring TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman talking about how he sparked to the zany conceit which sparked a global franchise. He’s been approached by fans over the years, “who said they had a tough childhood and the turtles helped get them through, or they wore the same Halloween costume for three years in a row.”
“I’m 61 years old and still drawing turtles every day,” said Eastman in the footage. Co-writer and producer Seth Rogen mentioned he was five years old when he first discovered TMNT and that it’s the reason he “started taking karate” and why his dad “bought him nun chucks”. In
At the aorta of the session was a 20 clip of the movie, you can watch some of it above.
Turtles initially set out on a quest to ‘stealthily’ shop for groceries for Master Splinter (Jackie Chan). On their way back home, they see breaking news of heist being conducted by the villain Superfly, voiced by Ice Cube, and decide to stop off in Brooklyn to watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. After returning home to an irate father, Splinter tells the story of how he met the turtles in a puddle of glowing ooze.
Master Splinter (Jackie Chan) advises them to avoid contact with the human world. Why’s that? There’s a flashback when the big rat Splinter with his baby turtles in tow, are attacked by a Times Square crowd. After being attacked by humans for being different, he decides to teach the boys self-defense through kung fu movies.
Later on, the turtles are fooling around on a rooftop with ninja stars and accidentally hit April O’Neil’s helmet. As she is distracted by the yelling at the turtles, her scooter is stolen. The turtles rush to get the scooter back and defeat a group of thugs. April catches up to find her scooter safe, and the entire gang defeated. She sees the turtles hiding in a huddle and agrees to hear them out over pizza.
Showing up today were Mutant Mayhem filmmakers Jeff Rowe and TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman who said the original 1987 animated series just had its rights snapped up by NICK and Paramount.
