I have many thoughts! So many thoughts! Before I get into them just a quick couple of things:
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I'm able-bodied, and I've been concious of that and done my best to stay in my lane, but please let me know if I've overstepped! Edit: I'm no longer able-bodied lol, but this is still something I feel I dont have much authority on
I'm just some guy, this is my personal interpretation of this, I'm not trying to say anyone else's opinion is wrong!! I just wanna share my thoughts
Okay alright let's get into it!
A lot of people interpret Donnie's soft shell to be a fatal weakness or an analogy for a disability, and I disagree! At least, in canon. I've seen a lot of content exploring his shell as a disability that I've absolutely loved!! I'm not talking about fanon or headcanons or AUs or whatever - this entire post is in the context of canon. I love it when people explore things that aren't touched on in canon (and I wish it WAS touched on more in the show) I just wish the series handled it better than what they did.
I'm also not saying that having a soft shell would not be a weakness or not make him vulnerable in certain situations! It's just I've seen people talking about it in a really black-and-white way; Donnie has a soft shell, therefore he's a lot more fragile and weaker than his brothers. I think it's a lot more nuanced than that.
For a start, Donnie's shell is MEANT to be soft- he's a spiny softshell turtle. This isn't a case of an injury or something else that's made his shell like that, it's just how it is. I don't think it's fair to say that his shell is inherently a weakness, in the same way that April, a human, isn't inherently weak because she doesn't have a shell. There are both pros and cons!! In the same way that there are both pros and cons to having a hard shell!
I've seen some posts that really rubbed me the wrong way, saying things like "Donnie's probably scared of beach balls because one hit his shell when he was younger and it bruised him" and similar, I can't recall anything more specific and I'm not going to go looking for them. It just. Really annoys me?? It's borderline infantilizing.
In the movie, Donnie's soft shell and how it could affect him in battle is addressed for the first time in the entire series - if I recall correctly, that is. Its been a while since I've done a full watch through, but I'm pretty certain.
I'm not a fan of how they handled it in the movie because of that. It seemed really out of the blue, and out of character, especially for Mikey and Donnie. All throughout the show, it's never been an issue or cause of concern, and now suddenly it IS. It's suddenly a HUGE problem for Donnie. If you're going to have a disabled-coded character, then COMMIT. Include it during the entire series, not just for shock value and to create tension.
In the first scene, Donnie saves Mikey from being crushed by crouching over him. His battle shell is crushed, he's left without protection, and him and Mikey panic about it.
THIS scene makes sense to me, this scene I really liked! Their reaction makes sense, because in this situation, Donnie IS vulnerable. The ceilings caving in, the Krang are absolutely viscous, and they're losing the fight with no way out. At all. Not a great time to have ANY fleshy parts unprotected.
Once again it was a little jarring, just because it was literally the first time it's been addressed on screen. But that's whatever, nothing's perfect etc etc. I'd prefer it to be included late than not at all.
It was THIS scene that really irked me. Donnie's asked Mikey to take off his battle shell for him, so that he can fully be submerged into the Technodrome.
Yes, taking off his battle shell in enemy territory is a cause of concern, but no where near to this extent. Donnie has fought many times without it with no issues. They're not even actively fighting here - Donnie's about to be absorbed into a cocoon of tentacles (which was so so gross shdjdm). Mikey being this worried makes no sense to me, and it's kinda insulting to Donnie to be honest! It's ignoring his past experiences, ignoring the strength and skill he has been shown to have.
I've gone through and watched all the scenes in the show where Donnie doesn't have his battle shell on (once again I might have missed some, but I'm pretty sure I got them all).
Mascot Melee
This was a pre-planned move! Donnie wasn't forced into a defensive position, he put himself there in order to use his battle shell to blast the enemy back, and exposing his shell. He's already got another battle shell on standby waiting for him, so while it was a risk, it was a calculated one, and a very small one at that. His soft shell taking a hit would hurt, yes, but not seriously injure him.
The Purple Jacket
His battle shells have all been stolen and he's PISSED, but he's not worried at all about having to go out and fight the Purple Dragons without the protection they provide.
Insane on the Mama Train
This is the big one!!!
Donnie purposefully destroys his battle shells and walks into a fight he KNOWS will be dangerous, against enemies he knows are strong. Not only does he hold his own against them, but he kicks absolute ass!!! He knows his limits, his strengths and weaknesses, and he knows how to fight in the way that's best for him, specifically. His soft shell is not holding him back, he's adapted, he just has to fight in a way that's a bit different than his brothers!!
Also his brothers and Splinter are not shown to be worried or concerned for him at all during this episode. They know he can handle himself.
End Game
This would've been a great opportunity to explore how having a soft shell would affect him in certain situations, but it's not addressed at all. They all get buried under rubble, Raph asks if everyone's okay, and they all get up and walk it off.
Many Unhappy Returns
Once again this would've been PERFECT to explore how having a soft shell would effect him!! You can SEE the damage Shredder did to his battle shell - and his battle shell is not weak!! It's made of some pretty strong stuff!!
That SHOULD'VE hurt him, in a way that it wouldn't have hurt his brothers, and they could've done so much with this and they didn't and I'm MAD.
Todd Scouts
There's not a lot to add here, the only thing to point out is that, again, Donnie isn't worried about his shell being unprotected, and neither are his brothers. I do find it funny how the second he's separated from his tech he goes completely feral I love him so much <3
the ONLY time his soft shell was EVER actually addressed was in Donnie's Gifts.
And it wasn't about his shell, not really. It was about him being sensitive emotionally, not physically, and it was just a play on words.
They could've handled it a lot better in the movie. Yeah, it's tough to do when you're trying to add something that didn't exist in the series before hand, but there were so many ways they could've done it.
This is a bit of a sidebar but I never see anyone talk about this and I think about it literally all the time SO:
Donnie having a soft shell can also give him some advantages that his brothers don't have!!
From Todd Scouts and The Purple Jacket. He's very flexible!! A great skill for a ninja!! He can sneak through smaller spaces, find more places to hide, and would be great in stealth missions!!
Because of his smaller, flatter shell, he can pass as human more easily! He was the first of his brothers to go in public alone, and without a full-body disguise. To a HIGHSCHOOL no less he is braver than me.
I also want to point out that having hard shells doesn't automatically make his brothers infallible. Yes, Donnie's shell can be hurt more easily, but he would be able to take a lot of damage before it's fatal. For his brothers, with their hard shells, if anything managed to hurt them, it would be very, very serious. A cracked or broken shell could very easily kill them.
There's a reason why, in the movie, Donnie protected Mikey from the falling rubble. That very likely would've crushed Mikey's shell, and that would've killed him. Donnie's battle shell and normal shell have some give to them, they allowed him to take the hit while getting away without being horrifically injured.
It's also very lucky Raph's shell got punctured through the lip, and not closer to the centre. That would've been very bad!!!
(If anyone wants to read about shell trauma, then the IDW comics are right there - Donnie's shell gets smashed, he almost dies, and has to wear a prosthetic, it's so fucked up omg)
But yes that concludes my essay on why I didn't like how the movie handled Donnie having a soft shell, and why I don't like how a lot of the fandom treats him. Thank you and goodnight it is 2am
so I read your post on the softshell donnie treatment in the movie- and tbh I really hadn't thought of that until you brought up the points you did! tho it did also make me wonder and think if maybe the possible reason Mikey could be so worried about Donnie possibly being vulnerable is because they still don't actively know what all the Krang and their weird fleshy technology can do even if they're not fighting, especially since the flesh-technology had to go INSIDE of Donnie's shell yk?
Yeah!! A few people bought that up, that Mikey could've been moreso stressed about the situation in general, the fact that they didn't know what the Krang ship would do to Donnie, that he was freshly traumatised by Everything and therefore more anxious and overprotective than usual, which I totally agree with! It'd make a lot more sense!
Just with that scene, I didn't get that, it still felt like it was just because Donnie has a soft shell, and he wouldn't be as worried about Leo or Raph in the same situation. However I am autistic so there's every chance I misinterpreted it ahdhdjd I just wish they did it a little differently!! Because YEAH that was a very dangerous and stressful situation, and I wish they'd explored more of the whole "Donnie physically and mentally melded with alien technology What The Fuck!" thing instead of just "oh no Donnie your fragile shell!" thing
ITS HIS SPECIESSSSS HES A SPINEY SOFTSHELL TURTLE. ITS AN ADAPTATION. THE SHELL EVOLVED TO BE SOFT. I dont see ANYONE talking about raph being a snapping turtle and therefore unable to retreat into his shell, and how that may effect him like cmon man. I get wanting the explore how they're all different species of turtle and how it makes them different from one another and the way it affects them, but I ONLY see it talked about with donnie and ONLY as a negative
got rabid again over rottmnt donnie being a spiny soft shell turtle and how the movie handled it and how the majority of the fandom thinks about it. made a tag for all the posts where I talk about it - #soft shell talk. I dont post here much but will most likely talk about it more because GOD do I have opinions
