Saturday Matinee: A Turtle Remembered

On March 18, 2015, in the pages on IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #44, Donatello was killed in a battle with Bebop and Rocksteady. He was survived by his three brothers and Master Splinter.

My father had died in a tragic accident the previous day (hence my brief absence from the pages of gofigurenews.com), and upon hearing the news of Donnie's death, my twin brother hid it from me, fearing that I was not going to take it well (this is not a joke. I have a history of getting very upset by these things, which is well documented in my family by what is known as "the Dobby incident.").

But I come to praise Donatello, not to bury him. To shell with those guys if they want kill my turtle. My brothers and I were avid RPG players, who stayed up late into the night playing Dungeons & Dragons and it's redheaded step sibling, Pirates & Plunder. My older brother was always the game master. But on my 13th birthday, my twin and I were ready to try running things, and when my brother got the Star Wars role playing game, I was given a copy of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles RPG, because I thought it was the coolest title ever. I became enthralled by this mix of cute cartoon animals and violent martial arts and sci-fi action. I started reading the comics. Then came the cartoon. Donatello was always my favorite, I believe, but that was certainly solidified in the early '90's by the arcade game, because the Bo staff had the longest reach, and thus I was always Donnie. But alas, as it always does with me, the subject now turns to movies.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE MOVIE (1990) and TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES II: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE (1991) Jim Henson's creature shop and the Turtles? Bossa nova! Chevy Nova? This movie has a special place in history because it was the first time my brother and I got to take our beloved baby sister to a movie, just the three of us. For days afterwards we are high fiving each other and shouting "Cowabunga!" (my Dad died three weeks ago. I can self indulgent and sappy if I want to, and you are not the boss of me.).

Not a perfect film by any means, it was a fun one. The Turtles and Splinter were amazing, the action was well done, and Elias Koteas portrayal of Casey Jones was delightful. Judith Hoag was cute as April On'Neil (at times a little too cute), Corey Feldman, who has since solidified his place as my least favorite person on the planet, played Donnie, and his voice was memorably goofy. In the second film he was replaced by Adam Carl, and I am partial to his Donnie.

NICKELODEON TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 1990 MOVIE DONATELLO (Playmates)

Standing 6 inches tall, this Donatello figure is one of the reasons God created the earth. The detail is great, right down to the teeth, and he moves very well. He can even do a Karate Kid imitation. This guy was made to fight. He was made to dance. He was made to eat pizza (okay, fine, he can't pizza. Can any of your figures?).

ARTICULATION: The arms swivel all the way around, with articulation joints at the shoulder, bicep, elbow and wrist. My one complaint, and it's a pretty big one: his hands can't clutch his Bo staff. But his legs do bend and swivel at the upper thigh, bend at the knee,and his ankle rotate and his foot can go in standing position or on point. ACCESSORIES: The Bo staff, of course, as well as an awesome manhole cover base for him to stand on.

TMNT (2007)

This CGI movie directed by Kevin Monroe, was highly under appreciated, featuring the best martial arts action of any of the films, a rousing score by Klaus Badelt, and fun performances from the likes of Chris Evans, Patrick Stewart and Sarah Michelle Gellar (easily my favorite April.).

One of the most memorable scenes for me was Donnie (voiced by Mitchell Whitfield) working IT tech support.

TMNT DONATELLO (Playmates)

This 5.75 inch figure is really cool. It looks exactly like the one in the film, and is ready for action. A must own for a fan like me.

ARTICULATION: Shoulder, elbow and wrist joints, as well as knees . My one complaint, and it's a pretty big one: his hands can't clutch his Bo staff.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (2014) It could have been worse. Seriously. NICKELODEON TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 2014 MOVIE DONATELLO (Playmates)

At 5.5 inches tall, this is good figure for play. I like the movement ability and the detail work, while not on the level of the 1990 Donnie, isn't half bad (the eyes are just solid white, but that actually makes him look more like the original comic book version.). He comes with the Ghostbusters style night vision goggles and half-assed proton pack you see him wearing in the movie, but not the broken glasses, which is okay with me.

ARTICULATION: Virtually the same as 1990 Donnie, except that he can actually hold his Bo staff, and his ankle movement is non existent (I guess it's a trade off.). He also has a ball joint head that is nice for movement, but be careful, because it can pop off.

ACCESSORIES: Bo staff.

There are rumors that in #45, we will learn that Donatello is only in a coma. Only time will tell. But meanwhile, to paraphrase Gladiator: "He was a soldier of the sewer. Honor him." To Be Cont.....

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