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Donatello (TMNT)
Encyclopedia
Donatello is a fictional character
and one of the four main characters in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
comics and all related media. He is co-creator Peter Laird's favorite Turtle.
In the Mirage/Image
comics all four turtles wear red bandanas but in other versions he sports a purple
bandana. His signature weapon is the bō
staff. In all media he is depicted as the most knowledgeable of the four turtles, often speaking in technobabble
with a natural aptitude for science and technology. He is named after the sculptor Donatello
.
as one of the two calmer turtles and while the originals have no official command structure, in the early stories he is depicted as the second in command. In the first issue he is the one that killed the Shredder
by knocking him and his grenade off the roof. The second issue elaborated more on each turtles personalities and opened with Donatello soldering a circuit. Later in the issue Donatello states that he is "familiar with some computer systems" and helps April O'Neil
deactivate the Mousers. During the turtles' exile to Northampton, Donatello becomes obsessed with fixing up and repairing the many broken things within the farmhouse they were living in. Most notably he spent days and nights fixing the boiler to give his family hot running water and builds a windmill and a water wheel to provide electricity. He also finds an old type writer and writes his own personal credo.
In the Donatello one shot, Donatello encounters an artist called Kirby (an homage to the comic artist Jack Kirby
) whose mysterious crystal brings his drawings to life before disappearing. The two newfound friends journey to a dimension inhabited by Kirby's creations and help the heroes defeat the invading monsters.
In "Shades of Grey" Casey Jones
encounters the turtle by a ravine as he was pondering "the fractal structure of natural patterns". Casey accuses the turtle of using big words and acting better than everyone else. Donatello suggests they should continue the conversation when Casey is sober. Grabbing a stick, an angry Jones continually pokes the turtle until he loses his temper and sends Casey careening into the water.
In "City at War" the turtles return to New York to put an end to the Foot Clan's civil war. During a battle with Shredder's Elite Guards in the ruins of the Second Time Around Shop Donatello falls through the floor and breaks his leg. Seeing their ally Karai
subdued and about to be killed, Donatello grabs one of the Foot's machine guns and repeatedly shoots the Foot Elite. Donatello is visibly shaken by the violence and throws the gun away. At the end of the story the turtles, April and Casey move back to New York save for Donatello who chooses to stay in Northampton with Master Splinter to heal from his injury as well as reflect on everything that had happened. While meditating with Splinter, Donatello receives a vision of the future where he is in the village of Chihaya in Japan
. When Donatello asks what he would be doing there, his master simply replies "To bury me". After encountering the turtle vigilante ally Nobody in civilian guise he returns with him to New York to help his brothers battle Baxter Stockman
.
In the current comics Donatello finds an armored truck in the sewers which apparently had been part of a bank robbery in the sixties. Along with Raphael
and Casey Jones undertakes the task of fixing up the vehicle. After the death of Splinter, Donatello secretly goes to his body and asks forgiveness before clipping something off him. Shortly after, Donatello decides to accompany the Utroms on a mission to Tepui
to search for two missing research teams. The group are attacked by strange wooden creatures who shrink them to miniature size. The creatures turn out to be a group of Utroms which had been stranded in the Jungle during their first stay on Earth and had been living in secret thanks to their Quantum Inversion Redimensioning device which could alter their size. The process could not be reversed on Donatello, possibly due to his mutation, leaving him the size of an action figure. While the Utroms work on returning him to normal, Donatello put his new size to use infiltrating a terrorist organizations warehouse. He's also made a robotic body for him made to resemble a turtle to help him move around.
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 half). The Image Comics were later treated as non-canon by the Mirage Publications.
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. In the 25th anniversary movie Turtles Forever
, Donatello was voiced by Tony Salerno
.
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", having been sent to an alternate future where the team fell apart after he vanished. 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 seventh season, also called "Back to the Sewer", Donatello blamed himself for Master Splinter's decompiling and vowed to restore his bits from cyberspace. This obsession caused him to disregard anything else, such as the war between the Purple Dragons and the Foot clan, as unimportant. It wasn't until seeing his brothers in danger from the Cyber Shredder did he realize he was ignoring his responsibilities to help them and promised not to let his obsession with saving Master Splinter take control again. Donatello is voiced by Sam Riegel
in English and Yuji Ueda
in the Japanese series.
By the time of Turtles Forever
, the 2003 Donatello is in total disbelief over the scientific attitude of his 1987 counterpart, in which the alternate Donatello replied, "Science isn't all just facts and figures."
(a spear-like weapon) which appears to be retractable. As the blade is retractable, Donatello will still have his traditional bō staff. He will be voiced by Rob Paulsen
, who previously portrayed Raphael in the 1987 animated series.
' when playing against the other Turtles and later astutely labels Casey Jones a claustrophobic). He takes his time deciding on the most appropriate victory cheers, though his choices are sometimes quite perplexing ("Bossa Nova!"). 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
, feeling dejected when he learns that the ooze that created the Turtles only exists because of an accident, although Splinter consoles his dejection by pointing out that the circumstances of their origins cannot define their present worth.
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, except for the 1987 cartoon, in which Jones does not figure prominently. 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.
, 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. However, it should be noted that Raphael felt he was better suited to be in charge and openly asks Splinter why he was not considered for the role. Splinter explains that Raph has not yet mastered control over his rage and is therefore not eligible to be leader. (The 2007 movie never mentions age as a deciding factor). In the game tie-in
his IQ is "off the charts". Don is voiced by Mitchell Whitfield
.
, 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. In TMNT: Smash Up
he is voiced by Sam Riegel
.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and one of the four main characters in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
comics and all related media. He is co-creator Peter Laird's favorite Turtle.
In the Mirage/Image
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
comics all four turtles wear red bandanas but in other versions he sports a purple
Purple
Purple is a range of hues of color occurring between red and blue, and is classified as a secondary color as the colors are required to create the shade....
bandana. His signature weapon is the bō
Bo
-People:*Bo , name origin, plus people with the name*Bo , name origin, plus people with the surname**Bo , Chinese family names*Bo people , extinct minority population in Southern China famous for hanging coffins...
staff. In all media he is depicted as the most knowledgeable of the four turtles, often speaking in technobabble
Technobabble
Technobabble , also called technospeak, is a form of prose using jargon, buzzwords, esoteric language, specialized technical terms, or technical slang that is incomprehensible to the listener...
with a natural aptitude for science and technology. He is named after the sculptor Donatello
Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi , also known as Donatello, was an early Renaissance Italian artist and sculptor from Florence...
.
Mirage Comics
In the comics Donatello is originally presented along with LeonardoLeonardo (TMNT)
Leonardo is a fictional character that appears in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media.In the Mirage comics all four turtles wear red bandanas, but in other versions, he wears a blue bandana. His signature weapons are two ninjaken , which are universally referred to as...
as one of the two calmer turtles and while the originals have no official command structure, in the early stories he is depicted as the second in command. In the first issue he is the one that killed the Shredder
Shredder (TMNT)
The Shredder is a fictional character and primary antagonist from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. At one point or another in every incarnation of the TMNT stories, he has been the archenemy of Splinter and the Turtles...
by knocking him and his grenade off the roof. The second issue elaborated more on each turtles personalities and opened with Donatello soldering a circuit. Later in the issue Donatello states that he is "familiar with some computer systems" and helps April O'Neil
April O'Neil
April O'Neil is a fictional character in the Mirage Studios franchise Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In each of the many TMNT continuities, she is a good friend of the Turtles: Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo.-Comics:...
deactivate the Mousers. During the turtles' exile to Northampton, Donatello becomes obsessed with fixing up and repairing the many broken things within the farmhouse they were living in. Most notably he spent days and nights fixing the boiler to give his family hot running water and builds a windmill and a water wheel to provide electricity. He also finds an old type writer and writes his own personal credo.
In the Donatello one shot, Donatello encounters an artist called Kirby (an homage to the comic artist Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
) whose mysterious crystal brings his drawings to life before disappearing. The two newfound friends journey to a dimension inhabited by Kirby's creations and help the heroes defeat the invading monsters.
In "Shades of Grey" Casey Jones
Casey Jones (TMNT)
Arnold Bernid "Casey" Jones is a character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. Like the turtles, Casey Jones is a vigilante, and was created as a parody of vigilante characters that were in comics. Casey wears a hockey mask and cut-off biking gloves and carries his weapons in a golf bag...
encounters the turtle by a ravine as he was pondering "the fractal structure of natural patterns". Casey accuses the turtle of using big words and acting better than everyone else. Donatello suggests they should continue the conversation when Casey is sober. Grabbing a stick, an angry Jones continually pokes the turtle until he loses his temper and sends Casey careening into the water.
In "City at War" the turtles return to New York to put an end to the Foot Clan's civil war. During a battle with Shredder's Elite Guards in the ruins of the Second Time Around Shop Donatello falls through the floor and breaks his leg. Seeing their ally Karai
Karai
Karai is a fictional character in several incarnations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, where she is usually a high-ranking member of the Foot Clan. In some incarnations of the character she is also related to The Shredder.-Name:Karai is a Japanese word commonly used to describe...
subdued and about to be killed, Donatello grabs one of the Foot's machine guns and repeatedly shoots the Foot Elite. Donatello is visibly shaken by the violence and throws the gun away. At the end of the story the turtles, April and Casey move back to New York save for Donatello who chooses to stay in Northampton with Master Splinter to heal from his injury as well as reflect on everything that had happened. While meditating with Splinter, Donatello receives a vision of the future where he is in the village of Chihaya in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. When Donatello asks what he would be doing there, his master simply replies "To bury me". After encountering the turtle vigilante ally Nobody in civilian guise he returns with him to New York to help his brothers battle Baxter Stockman
Baxter Stockman
Dr. Baxter Stockman is a fictional scientist who has appeared in several versions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shows, videogames, and comics. In each version, he is depicted as the creator of the Mousers, machines meant to seek out and destroy sewer rats...
.
In the current comics Donatello finds an armored truck in the sewers which apparently had been part of a bank robbery in the sixties. Along with Raphael
Raphael (TMNT)
Raphael , a fictional character, is one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles .In the Mirage/Image comics all four turtles wear red bandanas over their eyes, but unlike his brothers in other versions, he is the only one who keeps a red bandana...
and Casey Jones undertakes the task of fixing up the vehicle. After the death of Splinter, Donatello secretly goes to his body and asks forgiveness before clipping something off him. Shortly after, Donatello decides to accompany the Utroms on a mission to Tepui
Tepui
A tepui , or tepuy, is a table-top mountain or mesa found in the Guiana Highlands of South America, especially in Venezuela. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana....
to search for two missing research teams. The group are attacked by strange wooden creatures who shrink them to miniature size. The creatures turn out to be a group of Utroms which had been stranded in the Jungle during their first stay on Earth and had been living in secret thanks to their Quantum Inversion Redimensioning device which could alter their size. The process could not be reversed on Donatello, possibly due to his mutation, leaving him the size of an action figure. While the Utroms work on returning him to normal, Donatello put his new size to use infiltrating a terrorist organizations warehouse. He's also made a robotic body for him made to resemble a turtle to help him move around.
Image Comics
In the Image ComicsImage Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
incarnation of the TMNT, he became a cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
after his body was partially destroyed from being shot and dropped out of a helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
(he maintained a positive attitude nonetheless, although he was constantly at risk of losing his mind to the cyborg half). The Image Comics were later treated as non-canon by the Mirage Publications.
1987 animated series
The first animated television series depicts Donatello as a genius who invents many of the turtles vehicles and equipment including the Turtle Van, the Turtle Blimp and the Turtle Com. Unlike the 2003 series his other minor inventions often malfunction, but many of them end up serving a practical purpose. Despite an obvious lack of funding in subsequent seasons he made many revolutionary inventions, the most notable being the portable portal capable of opening gateways to other dimensions as well as an early warning system which warns of impending attacks from other dimensions or from Krang and Shredder. Despite Leonardo being the official leader of the team given the sci fi nature of the series it is Donatello who comes up with most of the plans and solutions to the turtles predicaments. At times he displays little appreciation for human culture beyond the scientific community and he even earned a degree via mail.In the original English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
voice version of the show, Donatello's voice actor is Barry Gordon
Barry Gordon
Barry Gordon is an American film, television and voice actor and political talk show host and producer. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995.-Biography:...
, who also voices Bebop. Greg Berg
Greg Berg
Greg Berg is an American voice actor.He has done voice-overs for various cartoons and video games. He has also been used in films as a voice match for certain male Hollywood actors...
was the 1989 alternate voice actor for Donatello as well as Bebop. In the 25th anniversary movie Turtles Forever
Turtles Forever
Turtles Forever, also known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles Forever or TMNT: Turtles Forever is a 2009 made-for-tv animated movie that was produced by 4Kids Entertainment...
, Donatello was voiced by Tony Salerno
Tony Salerno
Tony Salerno is an American voice actor, ADR director and scriptwriter who has worked with 4Kids Entertainment, Central Park Media and TAJ Productions. He often works as actor or staff crew on anime dubs. He is also credited as Agent Zero, Anthony Salerno and Anthony Haden Salerno...
.
2003 animated series
Like the Mirage comics, Donatello has a complex personality in the 2003 animation and thus is 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 MichelangeloMichelangelo (TMNT)
Michelangelo is a fictional character, one of the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . His mask is typically portrayed as orange outside of the Mirage/Image comic series and his weapons are dual nunchaku, though he has also been portrayed using other weapons, such as a grappling hook, tonfa, and a...
akin to that seen in the original movie
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American live-action film adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise directed by Steve Barron. The film was followed by three sequels: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993, and...
. 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
Shredder (TMNT)
The Shredder is a fictional character and primary antagonist from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. At one point or another in every incarnation of the TMNT stories, he has been the archenemy of Splinter and the Turtles...
in the episode "Same As It Never Was", having been sent to an alternate future where the team fell apart after he vanished. 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 seventh season, also called "Back to the Sewer", Donatello blamed himself for Master Splinter's decompiling and vowed to restore his bits from cyberspace. This obsession caused him to disregard anything else, such as the war between the Purple Dragons and the Foot clan, as unimportant. It wasn't until seeing his brothers in danger from the Cyber Shredder did he realize he was ignoring his responsibilities to help them and promised not to let his obsession with saving Master Splinter take control again. Donatello is voiced by Sam Riegel
Sam Riegel
Samuel Brent Oscar "Sam" Riegel is a voice actor, writer and director who appears in many television cartoons, anime, and video games. He began as a child actor in theater in Virginia, and moved to New York City to perform in Broadway and off-Broadway shows...
in English and Yuji Ueda
Yuji Ueda
is a popular Japanese seiyū.He is most known for the roles of Sagara Sanosuke , Akito Tenkawa , Takeshi , Horohoro , Johannes Krauser II and Keitaro Urashima ....
in the Japanese series.
By the time of Turtles Forever
Turtles Forever
Turtles Forever, also known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles Forever or TMNT: Turtles Forever is a 2009 made-for-tv animated movie that was produced by 4Kids Entertainment...
, the 2003 Donatello is in total disbelief over the scientific attitude of his 1987 counterpart, in which the alternate Donatello replied, "Science isn't all just facts and figures."
2012 animated series
Donatello returns in Nickelodeon's upcoming animated series, now wielding a naginataNaginata
The naginata is one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades in the form of a pole weapon. Naginata were originally used by the samurai class in feudal Japan, and naginata were also used by ashigaru and sōhei .-Description:A naginata consists of a wooden shaft with a curved...
(a spear-like weapon) which appears to be retractable. As the blade is retractable, Donatello will still have his traditional bō staff. He will be voiced by Rob Paulsen
Rob Paulsen
Robert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...
, who previously portrayed Raphael in the 1987 animated series.
Live-action
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 and is seen to have a vast knowledge of obscure topics (he is shown to be a master at 'Trivial PursuitTrivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit is a board game in which progress is determined by a player's ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions. The game was created in 1979 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Canadian Chris Haney, a photo editor for Montreal's The Gazette and Scott Abbott, a sports...
' when playing against the other Turtles and later astutely labels Casey Jones a claustrophobic). He takes his time deciding on the most appropriate victory cheers, though his choices are sometimes quite perplexing ("Bossa Nova!"). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze is a 1991 American live-action film, It is the second Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, being the direct sequel to the 1990 film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Secret of the Ooze was then followed by a third film in 1993, and a fourth...
, however, clearly established Donatello as the most scientifically-minded turtle as well as the most introspective
Introspection
Introspection is the self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations. It is a conscious and purposive process relying on thinking, reasoning, and examining one's own thoughts, feelings, and, in more spiritual cases, one's soul...
, feeling dejected when he learns that the ooze that created the Turtles only exists because of an accident, although Splinter consoles his dejection by pointing out that the circumstances of their origins cannot define their present worth.
The first film plays up the relationship between him and Casey Jones
Casey Jones (TMNT)
Arnold Bernid "Casey" Jones is a character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. Like the turtles, Casey Jones is a vigilante, and was created as a parody of vigilante characters that were in comics. Casey wears a hockey mask and cut-off biking gloves and carries his weapons in a golf bag...
; in all other versions of the TMNT, Raphael, not Donatello, is closest to Casey, except for the 1987 cartoon, in which Jones does not figure prominently. 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
Corey Feldman
Corey Scott Feldman is an American film and television actor. He became known during the 1980s, with roles in the Hollywood films Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, The Goonies, Stand by Me, The Lost Boys, License to Drive, Dream a Little Dream, Gremlins and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...
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
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
. 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.
Animated
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 fighting 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 AmericaCentral America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, 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. However, it should be noted that Raphael felt he was better suited to be in charge and openly asks Splinter why he was not considered for the role. Splinter explains that Raph has not yet mastered control over his rage and is therefore not eligible to be leader. (The 2007 movie never mentions age as a deciding factor). In the game tie-in
TMNT (video game)
Critical reception of the games has been average at best, with IGN giving a score of 6.0 out of 10 for the GameCube, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and PC versions...
his IQ is "off the charts". Don is voiced by Mitchell Whitfield
Mitchell Whitfield
Mitchell Whitfield is an American actor.He guest-starred in several episodes of Friends as Dr. Barry Farber, Rachel's orthodontist ex-fiancé whom Rachel left at the altar on their wedding day. He also appeared in Dharma & Greg; Murder, She Wrote; Diagnosis Murder and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...
.
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 LeonardoLeonardo (TMNT)
Leonardo is a fictional character that appears in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media.In the Mirage comics all four turtles wear red bandanas, but in other versions, he wears a blue bandana. His signature weapons are two ninjaken , which are universally referred to as...
, who has the second-longest range; one notable exception is the first NES game
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES game)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, released as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in Europe, and in Japan, is a 1989 platform game for the Nintendo Entertainment System...
, 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. In TMNT: Smash Up
TMNT: Smash Up
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up is a 2009 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fighting game for the Wii and PlayStation 2 video game consoles. The game was developed by a Japanese game developer, Game Arts, who had previously worked on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and several former members of Team...
he is voiced by Sam Riegel
Sam Riegel
Samuel Brent Oscar "Sam" Riegel is a voice actor, writer and director who appears in many television cartoons, anime, and video games. He began as a child actor in theater in Virginia, and moved to New York City to perform in Broadway and off-Broadway shows...
.