There’s no way that artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird could possibly have known of the cultural impact the characters they created for their comic in 1984 would have long term. But Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael and Leonardo and have become household names in much the same way as Superman and Batman.

And since their first screen outing in 1990, they have made their way onto the big screen a number of times, with a fair few re-boots, including this latest, which marks the seventh theatrical entry for the franchise.

It all begins with the ooze; it’s green and it glows and has extremely powerful mutating properties, which four baby turtles and a rat soon discover when they find themselves covered in it in the New York City sewers.

They grow up there, with the rat – Splinter (Jackie Chan) – doing his best to raise the four of them – Mikey (Shamon Brown Jr.), Donatello (Micah Abbey), Raphael (Brady Noon) and Leo (Nicolas Cantu), like his own sons. Because they are different, he trains them in martial arts as a way of protecting themselves from the cruel world above.

But it transpires that they weren’t the only creatures to come into contact with the ooze, unbeknownst to them, as a creature known as Superfly (Ice Cube) and a gang of mutant creatures, are putting a plan together that will finally put mutants on the map. But the question remains, will the turtles join them, or fight them?

No doubt inspired by the excellent, recent animated Spider-Man films, the producers of this film, that include Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who also wrote it with director Jeff Rowe, made the decision to go down the animated path with this effort, which it turns out, was a good one.

Visually speaking the film is, to borrow a Turtle phrase, awesome. It has a stylised, light and loose hand-drawn feel to it, which could easily have been lifted from the pages of a high school note pad. It’s stylishly messy, giving the impression that it’s filmed immediately as it’s drawn, making it feel incredibly fresh.

Of course how it looks is important, but the film also nails two other very important areas: the vocals and the music. Not only do they get some real teenagers in to play the turtles, but they are ably supported by some seasoned pros, including Seth Rogen, John Cena, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne and Natasia Demetriou. A stand out however is the casting of April O’Neil, played by The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri; her version of a teenage April is spot on, with a great blend of authority and vulnerability.

And the final topping on the pizza is a terrific soundtrack supplied by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who continue to excel by providing just the right music to fit the situation.

There are a few omissions that may not please everyone; the ‘C’ word is not uttered once, for instance, and their general mode of transport is by foot, with not a skateboard in sight. And if you want to hum their traditional theme tune, well, you’ll be waiting a long time, because it’s also a no show.

But even purists should be OK with it, because the result is a film that is clearly produced by those who adore the franchise, as it is beautifully crafted and lovingly put together, to produce what might be the most authentic TMNT film yet. Now that’s turtle power for you.