If one thing is clear about the turtles after seeing “Mutant Mayhem,” it’s that they’re huge pop culture nerds. Throughout the film they’re seen dishing out different little winks and nods to popular cartoons, movies, anime, and even music that audiences will surely recognize. In the scene of the turtles testing their weapons on some watermelons, Donny mentions that Mikey’s head looks like a mix of Stewie Griffin from “Family Guy” and Arnold from “Hey! Arnold” –- who both have wide, football-shaped heads like Mikey.
When the turtles arrive at April’s school, Donny can’t help but love seeing the drawing of a soldier from “Attack on Titan.” He’s such a fan apparently that Leo brings it up to help Donny realize that they can defeat Superfly –- in his giant form -– by attacking an exposed weakness on the back of his neck. Lastly, when the four of them are captured by Cynthia, Donny expresses that he regrets not being able to see BTS in concert before everything went wrong. The group tries to sing “Butter” to make him feel better -– which doesn’t exactly work. The group even mentions liking music by Adele, Drake, and Beyoncé. Despite them not growing up in the human world, the turtles sure do show a wide range of pop culture knowledge that’s honestly kind of impressive.
