TMNT fan project rambling
Jul. 8th, 2013 09:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainwatersparkWelp, I was planning on working on the comic script today, but I didn't get to because I had to finish two drawings and then work on a Tumblr project.
So I'm just going to ramble instead.
One of the reasons why I'm really into this fan project is that I get to explore characters/relationships that aren't really focused on in official TMNT incarnations. I've always felt that Raph/Leo's relationship takes up too much screentime, and while that's partly understandable (the two of them together can be the most explosive combination, and conflict = exciting), it can still seem unbalanced. I want to focus on the relationships that aren't elaborated on very often: Leo/Donnie, Donnie/Raph, and Leo/Mikey.
I also really want to focus on Donnie's character. I've seen the claim that he's often the most inconsistently written character in TMNT, which I think has merit. I'm also dissatisfied with his portrayal in a lot of fanfic that I've read: he's undoubtedly an important character, but he always feels like a background character: the one who does everything, fixes everything, works night and day and is really nice about it...but he never gets a spotlight shined on him. Don't get me wrong, I love his portrayal in the 2003 series and am not a fan of his 2012 (high strung, socially awkward, butt monkey) & IDW (more aggressive, cold, calculating) portrayals. But I want to take a more nuanced approach, and explore some more facets of his character.
For example, I sometimes wonder whether he ever feels lonely as the only one who understands science among his brothers. You know the feeling you get when you're really excited about something, and you try to explain it to someone, but they just don't get it? I can't help but think that Donnie feels that way a lot of the time. I also think that Donnie must be extremely independent, because he single-handedly installs/creates/fixes all of the tech and mechanical stuff that the turtles own, and he's the only one who understands the underlying science.
I do think he was a pretty three-dimensional character in the 2003 series. He was kind, level-headed, and very sociable, but he could also be quirky and playful. In spite of his generally patient demeanor, he could get annoyed sometimes when his brothers always asked him to fix things or explain science, and in those rare moments when he got angry, he really got angry (SAINW, anyone?). SAINW proved that he is the "rock" of his family, but sadly that seems like sometimes he's overlooked because he rarely has any internal or external conflicts.
So I'm just going to ramble instead.
One of the reasons why I'm really into this fan project is that I get to explore characters/relationships that aren't really focused on in official TMNT incarnations. I've always felt that Raph/Leo's relationship takes up too much screentime, and while that's partly understandable (the two of them together can be the most explosive combination, and conflict = exciting), it can still seem unbalanced. I want to focus on the relationships that aren't elaborated on very often: Leo/Donnie, Donnie/Raph, and Leo/Mikey.
I also really want to focus on Donnie's character. I've seen the claim that he's often the most inconsistently written character in TMNT, which I think has merit. I'm also dissatisfied with his portrayal in a lot of fanfic that I've read: he's undoubtedly an important character, but he always feels like a background character: the one who does everything, fixes everything, works night and day and is really nice about it...but he never gets a spotlight shined on him. Don't get me wrong, I love his portrayal in the 2003 series and am not a fan of his 2012 (high strung, socially awkward, butt monkey) & IDW (more aggressive, cold, calculating) portrayals. But I want to take a more nuanced approach, and explore some more facets of his character.
For example, I sometimes wonder whether he ever feels lonely as the only one who understands science among his brothers. You know the feeling you get when you're really excited about something, and you try to explain it to someone, but they just don't get it? I can't help but think that Donnie feels that way a lot of the time. I also think that Donnie must be extremely independent, because he single-handedly installs/creates/fixes all of the tech and mechanical stuff that the turtles own, and he's the only one who understands the underlying science.
I do think he was a pretty three-dimensional character in the 2003 series. He was kind, level-headed, and very sociable, but he could also be quirky and playful. In spite of his generally patient demeanor, he could get annoyed sometimes when his brothers always asked him to fix things or explain science, and in those rare moments when he got angry, he really got angry (SAINW, anyone?). SAINW proved that he is the "rock" of his family, but sadly that seems like sometimes he's overlooked because he rarely has any internal or external conflicts.
