Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TMNT Donatello Review



In September 2018 Nickelodeon debuted the fourth animated TMNT cartoon called Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. To say I was underwhelmed would be an understatement. I love the Turtles and I've liked all of the previous cartoons, the comics, the older movies, the toys, pretty much everything that has the TMNT logo on it. Unfortunately for me when I got a good look at this new cartoon I found very little that I liked. A year later and I still feel this way. Despite the way, I feel about this new series I had to buy the new Donatello action figure for the toyline and today I'm going to give my review on him.




Where do I start? sigh... I hate his figure. It's not just that I don't like the new look. He's not a good toy either. I've had them all, I've bought at least Donatello, the first release, from every new toy series. I have more Donatello's than any other single action figure. I'm not just some old man on the internet complaining about a toy line made for kids aged 4+. I'm a first-generation TMNT fan. I remember when there were only ten figures to play with and trust me I played with them a lot. So with all my "experience", I have to say that this figure is a disappointment to me.



Donatello, like all TMNT turtle releases, comes with some accessories. He comes with two Tech Bo-Staffs, one regular gray one and one blue action staff that is sculpted to look like it is in motion. Donatello always comes with two staffs and I really like the choice between the regular one and the cool action pose staff. He also comes with two three-bladed ninja star type throwing weapons, and a battle shell (a drone-like weapon).



When it comes to being a toy this Donatello is ok. At a price of around nine dollars, he isn't too bad. Two staffs, a couple throwing weapons, and a battle shell is a lot of accessories at this price point. The paint on my figure is ok, it's not super precise but doesn't look too bad. I've had better for less and worse for more. Donatello and his accessories aren't very detailed and his accessories are all a single color with no highlights. 


In the picture above you can see the first problem with this figure. Donatello has no way to attach his bo staff to himself. He has to hold it or put it down. Bush league. 



This action figure has a decent amount of articulation, especially for a toy at this price. He has a ball joint for his head, swivel-hinged at his shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles. He can be put into lots of poses. Unfortunately for him, it can't really be utilized because the figure is very light and I had nothing but trouble keeping Donatello on his feet. I couldn't get him to keep one pose without him falling over. I could barely keep him standing when straight-legged.  Without question, the worst I've dealt with recently, worse than Karg, worse than The Dark Knight Returns Armored Batman.




I'm posting this review at the end of 2019 even though I purchased this figure in April, I've been putting off this review for a while. Putting aside my dislike of the new style, this action figure had a lot going for it. A couple of accessories, a great representation of this cartoon counterpart, great articulation all for an affordable price. In the end, it's all for naught, at least for me. Maybe the other figures in this line don't have the problems that I've had with Donatello. The problem for me is that I'm so uninterested with the overall design of this new series that I've really had no interest buying another figure in the line even though I'm a sucker for TMNT. Maybe Raph or Mike? I hate Splinter and April, the bad guys are terrible. Meat Sweats??



By this point, if I haven't dissuaded you from a new TMNT purchase then this may interest you. These new action figures come with Pizza Points. Each action figure has Pizza Points, Donatello comes with 4, and when you have enough points you can trade them in for stuff. I went to the website to find out what you can get and for how much but I needed to make an account so I passed.

2012 Donatello, 2018 Donatello, 1990 Movie Donatello 7"

If you've made it to this point than either you don't like these figures either or you wanted to listen to the rest of my stupid rant. If you like the new series than I'm happy for you and I hope it continues for years. While it's not for me, I'd rather have a popular TMNT cartoon and toy line going, even if I don't like it, than to have nothing at all. But, I was very disappointed with this wave one Donatello and I have to give it a 3 out of 10. Rant over.

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