Why Splinter From TMNT: Mutant Mayhem Sounds So Familiar

In "TMNT: Mutant Mayhem," the latest adaptation of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's 1984 superhero satire comic, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are trained by their adoptive father to become martial artists. But that's not anything new; that always happens as part of the core lore. Except, in this version, co-written and co-produced by Seth Rogen, their adoptive father is no expert sensei. He's learning on the fly to ensure his children's safety. And this cranky, bumbling, passionate version of Splinter, the turtle's mutant rat daddy, is brought to life by Jackie Chan.

Chan is a cinematic legend whose storied career stretches back to the early 1960s. During his 60-plus years in the film industry, he's starred in countless projects, which are usually action-based, comedy-based, or some glorious combination of both. Chan's staying power is typically attributed to his professional stunt work — best described as gymnastic-tier slapstick. As his marketability is often inextricably linked to his physical presence, most of Chan's resume is live-action. But most isn't all, and Chan's voice appears in more animated work than just "TMNT: Mutant Mayhem." Here's why Chan might sound familiar to animation fans.

And to avoid any potential disappointment down the line: "Jackie Chan Adventures" doesn't count because Chan doesn't voice his cartoon counterpart. Which is really just a bummer.

In 1998, Disney released "Mulan," an animated musical that adapts the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan. The story follows a young woman who, under the guise of manhood, takes her father's place in the coming war against the invading Huns. Along the way, she falls in love with her captain, who arguably reciprocates her feelings long before he realizes she is a woman ... but Disney still isn't ready for that particular conversation, it seems. "Mulan" ends with the titular warrior accepted for who she is and the Hun leader brutally incinerated by a lethal dose of fireworks.

And, hang on, is Jackie Chan really in this movie? The title says he voices Li Shang but isn't that BD Wong and Donny Osmond? Well, yes and no. Chan's very much in "Mulan," just not in the English voice cast. Chan voices Li Shang in the Chinese, Taiwan Chinese, and Cantonese dubs. Unlike his English counterparts, Chan provides Li Shang's speaking and singing voice. The clip of Chan singing "I'll Make a Man Out of You" makes the rounds on every social media application at least three or four times a year because, honestly, Chan rocks the song.

In 2008, DreamWorks released the first "Kung Fu Panda" movie, following a goofy panda who somehow masters kung fu, much to the chagrin of the actual martial artists surrounding him. As of this writing, "Kung Fu Panda" boasts three films (with "Kung Fu Panda 4" on the horizon), three TV shows, one special, and four shorts. There are also five video games but, hey, who's counting, right? The point is that "Kung Fu Panda" is huge, and Jackie Chan portrays Monkey across the entire franchise — even in some video games.

Master Monkey is a ... monkey. Look, not everyone gets a cool name in this life, okay? Monkey, a member of the Furious Five, is a kung fu master whose fighting style is literally "monkey style" because apparently theming is key. He rarely speaks in the films, but the short "Secrets of the Furious Five" reveals he's a vindictive rapscallion who just needed someone to believe in him. And to teach him the mystical arts of "monkey style" kung fu. Yeah, that's never not going to feel weird.

Don't let the interesting name fool you; Jackie Chan absolutely plays a monkey in this one too. In 2015, United Entertainment Partners released "Monkey King: Hero is Back." The Chinese film adapts the story of the Monkey King from "Journey to the West," a 16th-century novel often attributed to Wu Cheng'en. Sun Wukong, the titular Monkey King, is a magical creature born from stone and imbibed with mighty power through Taoism. But that's not what the movie focuses on; instead, it's about Sun Wukong's rebellion, eternal imprisonment, premature and accidental release, and redemption.

Chan portrays Sun Wukong, the sentient animal demigod who flew too close to the sun and got smacked down hard by Buddha. Unlike "Mulan," where Chan's talents serve to dub an English script into Chinese and other languages, in "Monkey King: Hero is Back," Chan dubs a Chinese script into English. And, through Sun Wukong, he depicts a powerful being who discovers his own goodness. Even arrogant monkeys are against the merciless sacrifice of 50 innocent children. Who knew?

Before "The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature" can be properly explained, we should mention its predecessor. In 2014, Open Road Films released "The Nut Job," a rodent-centric heist film that follows a scheming squirrel desperately trying to make up for ruining his friends' winter food supply. Well, he succeeds! And, in the 2017 sequel, he helps defend his animal friends' home from destruction. Well ... he succeeds here, too! Sort of. The park they live in gets destroyed, but it also gets fixed, so maybe it's the thought that counts.

Jackie Chan voices Mr. Feng, a little white mouse with inversely proportionate anger issues. He's also a highly skilled martial artist, meaning he can back up his verbal spats with lethal efficiency. In his own words, he's a "weapon of mouse destruction." But Mr. Feng doesn't have to fight alone; he's got an entire army of deadly mice to back him up. Their only kryptonite is a collective fear of cats. This is probably Chan's smallest voice role to date because he gets less than five minutes of screen time.

Family problems are the worst, especially when your estranged father is an evil ninja warlord hellbent on ruling the world. In 2017, Warner Bros. released "The Lego Ninjago Movie," an animated follow-up project to "The Lego Movie." The story follows a young ninja in Ninjago City as he and his cohort of elementally-charged ninjas do combat against his villainous dad. Unlike most melodramas, the father and the son know of each other, even if the father doesn't know that his son is secretly the young ninja he continues to fight.

But for every bad family member, there's a good one too. Jackie Chan portrays Master Wu, the young ninja's uncle, and the evil warlord's brother. Master Wu splits his time between spouting sage wisdom and wretched one-liners. Somewhere in the middle, he also finds time to kick Yoda-levels of ninja booty. In "The Lego Ninjago Movie," Chan also portrays Mr. Liu, a live-action shopkeeper who narrates the story. In live-action and animation, Chan's purpose in the film is to inspire greatness and a few good smiles, just in case.