Donatello (TMNT)

Donatello (sometimes shortened to Don or Donnie), a fictional character, is one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). His bandanna is known to be purple, though in the Mirage comic books, his bandanna is red like the rest of his brothers. Donatello is the "brains" of the Turtles and is the most curious regarding the unknown, to an extent. He wields a bō (six foot staff) and is a practitioner of Ninja Juhakkei .

Weapon

Donatello's bō is the most historically accurate to the Ninja Juhakkei out of all four Turtles, as Bōjutsu is one of the eighteen disciplines of ninjutsu.

Comic books

He is universally portrayed as something of a geek, is good with technology, and invents many of the gadgets used by the other team members. Something of a pacifist (although he fights alongside his brothers), he is the most introspective and nonviolent of the Turtles, preferring to use his mind and intellect to find a solution to a problem.

In the Image Comics incarnation of the TMNT, he became a cyborg after his body was partially destroyed from being shot and dropped out of a helicopter (he maintained a positive attitude nonetheless, although he was constantly at risk of losing his mind to the cyborg). The Image Comics were later treated as non-canon by the Mirage Publications.

In the current comics after a trip to South America, Don was shrunk to the size of an action figure by a group of Utroms living there and the effect could not be reversed, possibly due to his mutation. To make himself a bit more mobile, Don converted a robot (similar to the Fugitoid that the Turtles got while on a yet unseen return trip to Dihoonib) to look like a turtle and so he could control it from the inside. Don was also disconcerted by both his and Raphael's current transformation (Raphael having become larger and more dinosaur-like). They said it was like being in a Godzilla or Gamera movie.

1987 animated series

The original animated television series depicts Donatello as a genius capable of inventing revolutionary technology (despite an obvious lack of funding), usually to combat enemies, and he is apparently solely responsible for the design and construction of the Turtles' assorted vehicles as well. He has little appreciation for humans and has a dim view of interpersonal relationships. Unlike in the 2003 series, his minor inventions often malfunction, but many eventually end up having some practical use. In the original English language voice version of the show, Donatello's voice actor is Barry Gordon, who also voices Bebop. Greg Berg was the 1989 alternate voice actor for Donatello as well as Bebop.

2003 animation

Like the Mirage comics, Donatello has a complex personality in the 2003 animation and is thus a popular character. Several episodes concentrate on him, as well as his emotional and intellectual struggles. As in his other incarnations, he is intelligent, good with his hands, and very introspective, frequently becoming pensive over things he doesn't understand. He typically has a very close, however platonic, relationship with April. He also displays closeness with Michelangelo akin to that seen in the original movie. Even more pacifistic than his other incarnations, Donatello shows a greater interest in technology than his ninjutsu training. Even so, Donatello will defend his brothers at any cost, and he frequently assists the team in many ways through the technology he develops, mostly vehicles and communication devices. In this animation, Donatello is generally well-liked by all of his brothers, never engaging in major confrontations with them. In fact, Donatello was the one to reunite his brothers against the Shredder in the episode "Same As It Never Was." His skin color is a light, brownish green color; this particular color is only used for him in the 2003 animation. In the fourth season, he was infected by a monster, and in the episode "Adventures in Turtlesitting", he mutates into a monster himself, which happened to Raphael in the comics. In the 2003 series, Donatello is voiced by Sam Riegel.

Movies

In the first three live action films, Donatello, like Leonardo, is arguably less mature than he was in the original comics and the 1987 animated series, as he is shown joking around more. The first film never officially identifies Donatello as the group's resident whiz kid, though he is occasionally shown tinkering with various devices. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, however, clearly established Donatello as the most scientifically-minded turtle as well as the most introspective. The first film plays up the relationship between him and Casey Jones, in all other versions of the TMNT, Raphael, not Donatello, is closest to Casey execpt for the 1987 cartoon where Casey Jones only appear in some episodes. This is apparently because the scene in which Donatello and Casey bond over the fixing of an old pickup truck was based on a similar scene involving Casey and Raphael in the Mirage comics. Corey Feldman famously provides Donatello's voice in the first and third live-action films, while Adam Carl filled in for the second movie during Feldman's stint in rehabilitation. In the third film, Donatello is the only Turtle who is not tempted to stay in the Feudal Japan of the past, saying that he can't live without technology. The films also portray Donatello as being close with Michelangelo, bantering with him during fight sequences, going off to the side when Leo and Raph are arguing and in general hanging out in their spare time.

In the 2007 movie, Donatello runs an IT tech support line to earn money for the family. He has a more confrontational relationship with Raphael, angry that the latter was not pulling his weight to support them, as a family and as a team member, when in actuality Raphael was secretly moonlighting as the Nightwatcher. This disagreement is further explained in the prequel comics by the fact that Donatello does not trust Nightwatcher, because no one knows what side he is really on and because he uses fear to accomplish his ends. Donatello states that Raphael uses many of the same tactics, and hints that he may suspect what his brother really does at night. Donatello also tries to guide Michelangelo away from the idea that vigilantes are heroes. Such action develops Donatello as an older brother while Leonardo is in Central America, forced to be the responsible one in Leonardo's absence and teach his brothers what Leo would in his place. Don is clearly yet still unofficially established as second in command here, much more than in the other three movies. Don is voiced by Mitchell Whitfield.

Coming Out of Their Shells Tour

In the "making of" video for the ninja turtles musical tour, producer Adrian Selby notes that Donatello had "some (pause) very unusual ideas about what musical instruments are and how they're constructed."

Video games

In the video games based on the 1987 animated series, Donatello has the longest range, although he cannot inflict as much damage as Leonardo, who has the second-longest range; one notable exception is the first NES game, where Donatello both did the most damage and had the longest range, though his attacks were slow. This has been carried over into the games inspired by the 2003 animated series.

See also

• Leonardo (TMNT)
• Raphael (TMNT)
• Michelangelo (TMNT)

External links

• Donatello profile on official TMNT web site