Donnie Is Much More Than Just The "Smart One": A Rottmnt Character Analysis  

I love how they never had a "donnie is the weakest brother" episode since he was the only one to land a hit on Draxum in their first encounter. I also love what they did to his stick, changing it to his tech-bo staff which gives him an unique fighting style. I also thinks it's interesting that they made him to a softshell turtle giving him an good reason why he has his battle shell. I also love how it allows him to fly which again makes his fighting style so different from his brothers

My son is autistic, and tends to be rather 'meh' about most things. It has made me so happy to see how his face just lights up over this show. We look at Donnie and there are so many similarities. They like the same 'ear-bleedy' music, my son isn't a hugger but will accept hugs from family, he loves his computer time and has been interested in coding lately. He keeps saying that "Donnie is just like me, but smarter! And a Turtle." I'm so glad that this character exists, because it has made my son so happy to see himself reflected on the screen in a positive way. Donnie is best Turtle, and we wish there had been more of the show to enjoy. Love the video, I look forward to seeing more :)

I've seen Rise, 2012, and 2003 TMNT and I can safely say Rise has the best version of Donnie. He's more than just the smart one; he's complex and very entertaining. His relationship with Mikey is one of my favorites in the show. Love your videos btw, looking forward to more!

I will never forgive Nickelodeon for canceling ROTTMNT

Absolutely! Donnie’s personality has usually been just “smart” so Rise has been phenomenal to his character that yes he’s the smartest but he has so many quirks and things about him that you can’t not love (and some things that are scarily relatable) Loved these videos!

I really love Donnies Gifts upon several rewatches. At first glance you kinda side with his brothers, 'how dare he try to "fix" us', but in actuality it was all about him trying to protect his brothers. Raph charges forward without thinking creating more silverfish to deal with and getting swarmed by them ,so he gives him a helmet to remind him to take a second to stop and think. Mikey slams face first into a fire escape cause he wasn't watching where he was going and falls into a dumpster, Donnies solution is a crash suit to protect him. At first it seems he just doesn't like Leo making jokes, but really it was about him getting distracted and turning his back to the enemy in the middle of a fight. While a shock collar is a funny extreme length to go to(at least in a comedy setting) it's main goal was to get Leo to focus on the fight at hand to not get hurt by being distracted telling silly jokes. Gifts are absolutely his love language. Instead of talking to his brothers about his concerns(ew emotional vulnerability) he analyzes their actions and forms 'solutions' to prevent more harm in the future.

I also noticed a lot of things about myself through Donnie, and have also started connecting some dots between different things I've experienced in the past, which has led me to start questioning if it's possible I'm somewhere on the autism spectrum as well. I know that when I was little, I used to exhibit a lot more symptoms than I do now, but there are still some things that have stuck with me, that I didn't even realize were symptoms until learning a lot more about autism through Donnie and the way he's represented it. I'm not diagnosed, probably won't try to get diagnosed anytime soon if ever, and don't even want to call it a self-diagnosis since I really don't have enough information to do so. But in short, Donnie's character has really impacted me, and I'm very glad they took his character in the direction they did. Donnie really is an amazing character, and I loved some of the points you brought up in this video!! I'm very excited for the future of your channel, and I hope you have a good day :)

When I started the series Donnie was definitely one I really liked. (I can’t say favorites I love them all) I would’ve never realized he was on the spectrum if my friend hadn’t told me. This was the first time I’d ever seen someone with asd represented in a way that didn’t affect their role in the show (ie the good doctor and stuff like that). The best thing is, I know I’m not the only one. There are so many people who are just recently being exposed to this kind of representation, and are learning so much more about it through research. And for what you said about thinking you might be on the spectrum and being worried about what your family thinks, I can relate to that too. I always thought there was something off with me, but within the last few weeks I’ve had 2 completely different people / situations make “autistic jokes” about me, and it had me thinking. The point is, you’re not alone. We’re all just out here trying to figure ourselves out 😊 Sorry for the mega long comment! 😂 loved the vid!

your analysis made me realise why i relate to donnie so much actually not just donnie, leo too like both of them, im a middle child like donnie, im autistic, i hyperfixate on stuff i know can be unhealthy for me but i just cant help it like leo, i dont want the responsibility or pressure that comes with alot of stuff, but i want to be important wanting to be needed, but not wanting to be a bother to others loving hugs from my mom, but otherwise really disliking to be touched i honestly wish i could get my family to watch these videos and just tell them “hey that’s exactly how i feel” without having the feeling that i’ll be judged for being.. me i really, REALLY want to improve my life style and just better myself in general, maybe get people to understand me but recently also being diagnosed with social anxiety? doesn’t really help does it but the thing that honestly makes me relate to them the most is not wanting to be useless, im not just a waste of space who cant accomplish anything, but i just get so unmotivated when i dont get any validation for any of my actions wanting to share how i feel and hinting how i do need help, only to be brushed off and be told “i’ll deal with it later” ever since my autism diagnosis i almost feel like im being treated differently for it even tho im not it can be really hard sometimes videos like this really help me understand myself better too, and i am so glad that you made this! so thank you, i usually never write comments this long but.. these videos just hit so close that i feel like i had to say something

I also found out I was autistic through donnie. Looking back on my certain behaviors and such, in retrospect it should’ve been obvious, but because I was uneducated and had no idea what autism really was it didn’t even cross my mind. But it explains so much about my own history. So I’m glad i connect to donnie this way. And same. I was super hyperfixated on TMNT 2012 when I was a kid (specifically on donnie) and having a childhood hyperfixation come back in the same way is like a pleasant smack to the face. Liked the video btw!

I think it’s really cool how many people Rise Donnie has helped realize they’re autistic too (me included) It’s so nice to have representation good enough that it helps you understand yourself and your own needs better Like I for real thought I was the only one that experienced those autistic traits that go masked/overlooked/horribly unnoticed (I have such a long list of them that now I know are traits that I am, in fact, not alone in experiencing and the thought is very comforting to know that I’m not broken, just autistic) Sorry, that format was very much all over the place 😅

I love your analysis, especially since it shows a similar amount of emotional involvement in this show I've always loved the turtles and its because of the family dynamic.

my autistic ass absolutely adores rise donnie, he is just awesome and relatable and silly and just a cool character

2:23 I feel like Mikey is the only one who's allowed to touch Donnie which I think is very cute 😭 I love these two dearly

2:34 make sense, he really lives by his name. Since _'Donatello'_ is a name that means _'to Give', 'Given' or 'Gift from God.'_ Also, with that in mind, I noticed something: if you remove the last 3 letters from that name, what word do you have?

First I want to start by saying this is a wonderful analysis and I'm glad you see parts of yourself reflected in this show. I did too. I myself found this show after being diagnosed with autism in my mid 20s. I spent years before that analyzing everything I could, wondering if it would make people treat me differently, and if I would be put into the autism "box" never to be taken seriously again. There have been learning curves and not everyone has made the effort to understand me, which isn't ideal. However, I would never want to give up knowing that my experiences, strengths, and weaknesses are all connected to how my brain works, which is something I cannot change. I am now able to give myself grace and approach interactions with compassion knowing there are just some things I won't understand. It's okay that I need to wear sunglasses inside and earplugs and don't want people to touch me because I am more at peace than I have been in my entire life. (And these are just the visible changes I have made that people easily pick up on) I hope that everyone seeing this that relates to the autistic experience, but is unsure or scared of what that means for them, knows that they are not broken and your needs are worth paying attention.

I can relate to the hyper fixation bit, because I actually hyper fixated of rottmnt to the point where I was neglecting personal hygiene bc I was watching the show much. I actually watched it 8 times in 3 months. there have also been other hyperfixations that.have torn me and my parents apart because of how bad they got.

11:24 Oh I'm so glad you kept that in because literally the same thing happened, I took an online test and it did say I am though I don't wanna tell my family because, I'm not a massive fan of change but I'm just happy that I got someone to relate to.

That's my man, that's what i'll stand by 💜

he was my number one favorite ninja turtle! rise donnie is so cool!

Thank you for sharing your personal experience with this! I'm sure it took a lot of courage.

I'm excited for the next analisis, I love Donnie and he made me realize some things about myself too

I love your videos so much! And Donnie is indeed my favorite character!

Thank you for explaining it was complicated and great drawing and happy new years eve

This was such a sincere and heartwarming video, loved every second of it (BTW OMG YOUR SPEEDPAİNT İS SO GOOD I rewinded it countless times to see how you use color straight away instead of lineart GENİOUS)

I watched the entire show and the movie so no need for spoilers. Also the show is over but nice video. (Btw I think I like this one too)

Donnie is just like me fr fr

Honestly I have never been interested in tmnt but as soon as I seen rottmnt I was like :0 I love their character designs and their "problems" XD

This might get long. I was relating to all of the turtles in some aspects. But I was relating to him most even before this video. But this video held a mirror in front of me and got me in the gutts. Knew some of it already, but holding Back tears on the metró is always fun before u arrive home. I have the same fear as you do. Not diagnosed but afraid how family would react if I went and got Back with something. My family likes to pretend everything is normal and I am just wierd and needs to be like them when I am not. Running into hyperfixations which I love to do but it hurts my relationships which I care about. Can't do just a little. Either don't do sh*t or lost in it for hours with no inbetween. Even tried to stop myself to jump into animating or video games& editing them before I did everything more important life stuff I needed to do. Housework, dishes etc. Because I loose myself in whatewer I do. I crave approval from the people I know would never get them(fam). Or at least I feel they still think my skills are useless because I wasn't able to monetise them. (always get the question when i Tell something I accomplished or proud of: And when will you start earning money with it?) I am still working on myself and sad about stuff like Donnie in witch town. I love gifting art to people I care about or look up to even if some are not appriciating it. Still if I don't do hyperfixations for long I become apathetic and freaking sad. Or just start owerthinking my life and worry about everything I have no control over. I just don't know how to fix it. But at least I try. Try to figure how to balance hyperfixations and life even if I am not the best át it yet. I am just lazerfocused on one thing át a time and it is bad. Or i get this feedback from loved ones. But I am just wired wrong. I am like this. But I slowly become better.

I personally have 2 favorites and rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles Donny and Leo Mikey's the second favorite because he's so cute

i remember seeing a comment saying the brothers had no personality. i was very upset.

As an Autistic myself, I don't think Donnie has Hypersensitivity (and it IS optional for Autistics) He finds things 'gross', true, but ultimately the things he finds gross are no more significant than those his brothers, or indeed something that your average person would find gross. To find a squishy and slimy alien tentacle 'gross' is not on the level where a hypersensitive person would find lying on carpet deeply unpleasant. His 'mild palate' is irregular - while his favourite flavour is cheese, you'll see him eating pizzas with varied toppings just the same as his bros. I personally will pick the mushrooms right out of a meal individually. It's possible that Donnie, who always wears goggles and headphones, can read lips and speaks ASL, has only audio-sensitivity, but it's never addressed.

Nice analysis, it helps me understand this character better, he's really funny and cool :) Would you mind to tell me what kind of test you took online to check you? I'd like to try. I don't think I'm on the spectrum, but, who knows... I always thought I was out of the place, the tipical black sheet in my family, or even in the school, so... I have nothing to lose.

When I first heard about this thought it was another series where there was barely any character development But then I saw all the brothers change and grow And because of rise I started to self reflect and thought notice somethings I do are different and I never really noticed it till donnie bought up autism, so I tried seeing other disorders and I seem to have some connections to ADHD or autism but I haven't checked

Could you please do an analysis on the 2012 versions of the brothers???

Actually he looks down on splinter due to the fact that splinter is short (this is a joke)

Which other iteration did you watch of TMNT

I’m also very autistic and I prefer to do sign language just like Donatello in The Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’s and I don’t have any one in my family show me that they care to respect me because I’m different and I love science just like the Donatello in The Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’s and I think my family doesn’t care about me as much as my brothers is because I’m very autistic and I can’t stand any one touching me because I don’t care hugs I will give someone else some kind of encouraging but I some kind of words but that’s all I think my family hates me because I’m very autistic and I love the rise Donatello the best because I’m just like him in every way possible

*Me, whos hyperfixated on tmnt for like the 30 millionth time this year alone, watching this at 6am rn with no sleep, hearing the hyperfixation part: 😶🧍*

I know I mentioned it in the Leo video that my brother despite him being a straight A student he could never beat me in chess. (The D, F student) My mom would say it was because school “didn’t challenge me” because I would just not do my homework but Ace every test. My mom also has called me an emotionless robot at times that I thought I was being “helpful” trying to explain my way in “emotional situations” I don’t like being touched. (The only exception is partners and theres still many lines). Otherwise it’s common knowledge in my family that I don’t hug and I don’t like when you put your hand on my shoulder or something. They are small and my brother does make fun of it (while being respectful to it) but it’s something I’ve always felt. I see how Donny struggles with “why would they need me” as I feel the same way. I mean hell I’m spending New Years alone tonight because “why would anyone want me to be there. What do I contribute?” There’s a part of me that understands all the nuisances of emotions but it’s very difficult for me to feel them in a way that’s perceived “normal” Like of course I still feel emotions. But not like everyone else. My family wants me to get tested but I’m scared that if I do and it comes out I am on the spectrum that to myself that’s what I’ll always be. Would it be freeing to know or would I then put myself in a box and know that all of my flaws and quirks are because I’m not “normal” and what does that make me? There’s of course a lot of thoughts on it all in general but I don’t want this to get much longer lol. Thanks for another amazing Video and I’m looking forward to more in the future. Again if you do Pink Diamond it’d be awesome to see a follow up of Spinel.