Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem's bizarre viral ninja reference has been explained. A scene from the newly released animated movie features a training montage that ends with the turtles showing off their moves while the phrase "I'm a ninja" blares on the soundtrack. The phrase is taken from a viral music video from David Seeger and Holly Whitstock Seeger titled "The Karate Rap," which was originally filmed in 1986 but didn't see the light of day until 2012. The humorously cheesy song features the line "I train in my car, I'm a ninja," which was sampled for the movie.

Ahead of the movie's release, /Film sat down with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem director Jeff Rowe to discuss the animated reboot. In looking at the movie's various Easter eggs, Rowe explained the inclusion of the "Karate Rap" reference, revealing that it was nearly cut from the movie following a test screening in which some audiences loved it, while others called it "the dumbest thing," though that he stuck to his guns. Read the full quote below:

At some point, people would be like, "That is the dumbest thing. Why is that in there? You have to get rid of that," and then at some point, we got rid of it, and other people were like, "What happened to 'I'm a ninja?' You got to bring I'm a ninja back, that was the best part." And then we ultimately settled on "I'm a ninja," I think because it got a laugh at a screening in Burbank.

Editor's Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and the movie covered here would not exist without the labor of the writers and actors in both unions.

It Was Right For TMNT: Mutant Mayhem To Keep The Karate Rap Reference

It makes sense for the line from "The Karate Rap" to have made its way into the final cut of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. For one thing, its inclusion is in keeping with the movie's goofy sense of humor and teenage sensibility. It also blends well with the movie's overall aesthetic, which is an energetic mixed-media presentation that draws from stylistic inspirations like 2018's Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

The reference also pays homage to the larger history of the franchise. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has never been averse to including rap songs, as proven by the 1991 sequel, which featured a track titled "Ninja Rap" from Vanilla Ice that would also appear in Mutant Mayhem. Vanilla Ice even made an appearance as himself performing the song during a scene in the movie itself.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem may be a new reboot, but it shares close connections with the properties of the past. While the movie likely would have survived without the "I'm a ninja" reference, especially because the Mutant Mayhem soundtrack contains a more direct reference to the "Ninja Rap" itself, the joke is nevertheless a charming throwback to the Turtles of yore. At the same time, it's carving out its own identity as a TMNT movie for the Internet age.

Source: /Film