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California Institute of the Arts

Jeff Rowe Brings Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Out of Their Shells in Solo Directorial Debut

August 2, 2023
via: 24700

Written by Taya Zoormandan

Everybody’s favorite anthropomorphic crime-fighting reptiles rise from the New York City sewers to the silver screen in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, the animated feature directed by Jeff Rowe (Film/Video 11) and co-directed by fellow CalArtian Kyler Spears (Film/Video 13). The film opened in wide release on Wednesday, Aug. 2.

From Paramount Pictures:

After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

Rowe noted that just as the characters had to feel like authentic teenagers, the film’s visual identity was inspired by adolescent scrawlings in the corners of notebooks. ”You would reach this point where you’re like, ‘A little bit more askew and misshapen,’” Rowe said of the animation in a “Behind the Design” clip with Paramount Pictures. 

Rowe is an Annie Award-winning film director and writer known for his work on Gravity Falls, Disenchantment, and the Oscar-nominated adventure comedy The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021). He was a co-guest of honor at the 2022 Producers’ Show with fellow CalArtian and Mitchells co-creator Mike Rianda (Film/Video 11). 

Catch a first look at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem below.

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