We were able to get through some of the logistics of this line with Leonardo, so for this second review we can just get right to it. One of the best decisions the 2012 iteration of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made was bringing back veteran voice actor Rob Paulsen. He’s voiced countless characters over the years, but many know him as Raphael from the original TMNT cartoon. For the 2012 show, the decision was made to have Paulsen play a different turtle: Donatello. It made sense to move him off Raph who is almost never portrayed in the same manner as he was in that cartoon. He’s more aggressive, frequently angry, and not the wise-cracking fellow from the old show. Not that Paulsen couldn’t adapt to a different style, but hearing his take on another turtle was an opportunity for something different.
Donatello in the 2012 show is similar to past versions of the character. He’s the brains, able to come up with clever gadgets and such, but he’s also pretty introspective, insecure, and about as confused about his place in the world as most teenagers. It was fun seeing an episode where Donatello questions the worth of his bo staff. As a kid, I always saw that weapon as decidedly lame compared with what the other turtles had. Combine that with the more feminine purple of his bandana and it made Donatello the lamest turtle to my six-year-old brain. This Donatello is one I can appreciate and he has more nuance than perhaps any of his brothers. His affection for April is a long-running story and a bit tragic in some ways.
NECA’s interpretation of Donatello comes courtesy of sculptor May Thamtarana with paint by Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo. Ciro Nieli did the illustrations on the box just as they did for Leonardo. Donatello stands a tick under 5.875″ giving him considerable height over his brothers, but leaving him shorter than Shredder. As the tallest turtle in the show, this strikes me as appropriate. His sculpt is almost entirely different from Leonardo’s and that’s going to be true of his brothers as well. From what I can tell, the only parts shared between the turtles are the hands. Everything else is unique which is pretty impressive and can also be a sign of variants to come.
Donatello is very well built for not only is he taller his proportions are pretty on-model. His limbs are longer and compared to some of his brothers thicker, or thinner, depending on the turtle. His belt and plastron have the same weathered approach as Leonardo and by default he’s sporting his battle portrait. NECA and Thamtarana really nailed the shape of Donnie’s head which is smaller and rounder than the others and sits pretty high. Like Leo, he’s the most on-model interpretation of this character we have seen yet cast in plastic. He also comes with some minor assembly required. The holster for his bo is a separate piece which plugs into his shell. There’s a hole in the shoulder strap to accommodate this. The actual part is a softer plastic than basically everything else in the box and I saw some people express frustration with getting it in place. Mine went in without issue, but I also got to it shortly after it was delivered in a fairly cool climate which may have helped. If it were warm and more pliable it might have been a different story.
Donatello comes with gripping hands by default as well as a set of open hands and a set of pointing hands. The right open hand is more of a C-grip hand and I assume it’s for his other accessories. He does have an alternate portrait with his pupils visible and a big, open-mouthed, smile which exposes the gap between his front teeth, a hallmark of the character. It’s a great likeness and it’s exactly the kind of portrait we want to see with these figures. He also has his trusty bo staff which can separate at the tape. This makes it a little easier to slot into his holster, but also allows for it to be switched with the included bladed end creating a naginata. Donnie’s lame weapon got a little upgrade in the show. He also has more unique accessories in the form of his microscope goggles and a homemade tracking device that appears to be made out of a Game Boy and egg beater. The goggles don’t get a snug fit on either head, but will probably stay if placed on a shelf. Donnie also has the same T-phone, smoke bomb, and pizza slice as the rest. His last accessory is Dr. Cluckenstein, the big-brained chicken. She looks good, though is just a slug figure with no articulation. Mine also came with one of the toes broken off which is a bummer. It’s the only real quality control issue I had with the wave.
Donatello has the same articulation as Leonardo with the only difference being his shape provides for more range in places. He can look up much better than Leo and his shoulders are easier to engage with. He’s also the figure I had the least amount of issues with out of the box as far as stuck joints are concerned. Knees and elbows all worked fine as well as the ankles. He has the same horizontal wrist hinges as Leonardo, though it’s less of an issue with his chosen melee weapon. His gripping hands are just as rigid though so you’ll want to heat them up before trying to get him to hold his staff. Even the C-grip hand isn’t particularly good for anything without some heat if you want him to actually grip something with any authority. I did have issues swapping heads again, though in this case the default portrait came off fine, it’s just the alternate didn’t want to go on. I just heated it up and that was that.
Donatello is an overall better release than Leonardo and might be the best in the line. I’ll reserve judgement for that until I’ve spent more time with the rest of wave one, but I think he just comes together in a nicer package. His articulation is slightly more forgiving, his accessories more purposeful, and best of all he has two worthy portraits for your display. He’s still not as articulated as he could be, but if you just want an on-model Donatello from the 2012 series you’ll be hard pressed to do better than this.
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