TMNT Gum by Bubble Toons

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back, and now they have made the jump to gum. That is right, not just on the wrapper or the box, but right on the gum itself. Bubble Toons promises “Picture Gum in a Whole New Way,” which sounds impressive until you actually stop and think about what that means.

I picked up a pack of this stuff yesterday at the supermarket on clearance for 33 cents, which probably tells you most of what you need to know right away. This does not exactly look like the kind of candy that is going to be flying off the shelves. Still, with the Turtles on the front and a gimmick strange enough to get my attention, I figured it was worth the investment.

The package really does its best to sell the idea. Bright colors, big lettering, and all four Turtles standing there like they are endorsing some major breakthrough in chewing gum technology. Then you get to the slogan, “The Wacky Bubble Gum with Images You Eat!” That line alone should have been a warning sign. Images you eat. Not images you chew. Not images on gum. Images you eat. Maybe I am overthinking it, but that sounds less like candy copy and more like a translation mishap.

The gimmick here is that the Turtles are printed on little sheets of edible paper that are attached to the gum. I guess the idea is that kids get a kick out of seeing Raphael or Michelangelo staring back at them before they pop the piece in their mouth. And to be fair, it does look kind of interesting at first. It is definitely different, and different is usually enough to earn something a place in the candy aisle.

Unfortunately, being different is about all this gum has going for it.

The edible image layer gives the whole thing a weird texture that never feels quite right. It looks a little like plastic, feels a little like paper, and does not improve the chewing experience in any way I could detect. Instead of making the gum seem more fun, it mostly makes it seem unfinished, like somebody forgot to remove part of the packaging.

The taste does not do it any favors either. This pack is supposed to be strawberry flavored, but whatever flavor is there does not exactly come across as fresh or pleasant. It is one of those candy tastes that seems designed more in a lab than in a kitchen. Combined with the odd texture, it makes the whole experience feel less like chewing gum and more like participating in some kind of low level candy experiment.

Which is a shame, because the idea is just goofy enough that I wanted it to work. Licensed candy is usually more about the character than the quality, and I can forgive a lot if the gimmick is fun enough. But this one never gets there. Seeing the Turtles printed on the gum is mildly amusing for about three seconds, and after that you are just left chewing bad gum with a piece of edible paper stuck to it.

So I am giving TMNT Bubble Toons a hard pass. It is a strange novelty, and maybe that is enough for some people, but I would not recommend spending your money on it. Even at 33 cents a pack, it feels like too much. The box is more entertaining than the gum, and that is never a great sign.