Your view on Rob Paulsen as Donatello
 

How do you guys feel about Rob Paulsen is doing as Donatello? Do you think he fits him as Don better than Raph? Do you think he's getting better as the series progresses? Do you believe he was better as Raphael? How did you first react when he was announced as Donnie?

This is all a matter of opinion.

I like him as Raph and Donnie about equally. He could pull of the snarky ness of Raph and now he can capture Don's personality well.

At first it weirded me out, but now I totally see why they cast him. He is incredibly talented and a great fit. Raph has evolved into a character not suited for such an animated voice like Paulsen's. Donnie being so animated though is a riot. He remains my favorite turtle even if he was once falsely and incorrectly voiced by Corey Feldman who SHOULD HAVE voiced Michelangelo.

I'm surprised at how little he sounds like Raph. Rob did such a great job that you can easily tell Donnie's voice is nothing like Raph's.

Raph and Donny are VERY distinct. Hell he even voiced them on the same episodes and if you didn't know any better you'd never know they were voiced by the came people.

It's funny, before the show aired I thought that Biggs and Astin would be the voices I found the most distracting, but...it's really Paulsen and Cipes that jar me the slightest bit at the beginning of each episode.

I love Paulsen's Donnie. I love that he frustrates as easily as he does, and is as expressive. It'd be far too easy to make Donnie aloof, and I'm glad they went with a more animated socially-inept take on him.

I love Rob voicing Donnie~ it's perfect ^__^ I like his attitude also~

I love all the voices!! *___*

I think that Rob Paulsen sounds awesome as Donatello. I was listening to one of his podcasts a while ago and all i could picture in my head was Donatello from the 2012 series. He is that good.

I'm great with him as Don. You can tell that Paulsen is glad to be doing the voice. You can tell from his podcasts and panels he's attended that he def respects TMNT and is still thrilled to be a part of it. It's amazing that he's still surprised when people tell him how the OT effected them growing up. He's got a great amount of humility for such a well-known va. I imagine he'll have kids from present day coming up and telling him the same thing when they've gotten older, if he doesn't already. He's the type of person that gives 110 percent, and it shows. Yet, he seems like the type of guy who couldn't care less about the attention and everything that comes with it. He's not Paulsencentric, he's peoplecentric much like the characters he portrays. And that's exactly the kind of actor you need in kids' shows like Turtles. He certainly imbues Don with the same generous spirit he possesses as a person. There's this podcast he did right after the nightmare at Sandy Hook. It featured the cast of the 2012 TMNT series. If you want a really clear pic of what this guyand his pals bring to the table both as actors and in the real world, that one's definitely worth a listen. Yeah it's old news, but it's refreshing to revisit when reading or seeing news stories that are a trifle unsettling. Anywho, seems like both OT and 2012 casts are great groups of people from what I've learned via the DVDs and Talkin' Toons, but I won't get into all that since this is a Don thread.

It says a lot about his talent that, even with as recognizable a voice as he has, he's been able to portray these two distinct characters in the same franchise, and so damn well. Seriously, he just nails it every time. I'd be curious to see him try playing Leo and Mikey at some point, even as a one-off experiment.

I enjoy him voicing both characters. I agree with others in that even tho it's the same guy voicing both, he does so in a way that differentiates each character. But there's still a bit of Rob's personality in Donny, esp. the way he quips with the others and freaks out the way he does. But I gotta still love OT Raph's sarcastic wit, and kind of sly attitude. I think Rob voiced Raph a bit lower than he does with Donny too.

I was a little put off when I heard the news, only because I thought we'd end up having a turtle who sounded exactly like a past turtle. But once I saw the first episode I knew we were in for something great. He kills it, Donnie is 100% his own character, & I couldn't see anyone but Rob pulling off that role at this point.

No I think you'd notice the similarity there. It's not like you're comparing Pinky with Raphael which are two VERY different voices. Rob said that Donnie and Raph are both very close to his natural voice, which if you listen to his podcast is true.

But I have noticed all the voice actors' voices progressing over the two seasons as they've all really grown into their respective characters. I don't think Donnie in episode 1 sounds exactly the same as he does in the Manhattan Project.

I also think Hoon's getting more and more sassy wiseman with Splinter. I have no complaints though. ;)

I love it. Rob has helped make this Donnie my favorite version of the character.

He's great as both, and Manhattan Project proved it could, mostly due to the fact that Nick Raph is more Mirage rooted with a more aggressive approach whereas Fred Wolf Raph (which does seen a bit goofy now upon rewatching) sounds corny but still has the down to earth attitude compared to the others. Sean Astin does a good job at Raph as a result and fits in well with Josh Pais, Nolan North, and Frank Frankson's. Donatello can get a bit of a temper if he can't figure something out, but never typically is associated with a hardcore stamina like most Raph's are. And Rob Paulsen is one of the best voice of actors of all time, so it works out fine!

I absolutely love Rob as Don, and when I heard the news, I was stoked. I knew he could pull it off because he's talented, and I definitely hear a distinct difference in Don's and OT Raph's voices when Rob does them. I love how Don's personality has changed and Rob has just done an amazing job. Then again, all of the VA's have done an awesome job with their characters and have definitely progressed and have a really good "feel" for their characters.

Its hard to listen to because he is the definitive Raphael for me so hearing his voice come out of a different turtle is disorienting no matter how long its been into the series. I doubt I am alone in this.

He does really good, but I still picture OT Raphael whenever 2012 Donnie starts to flip out "HE GRABBED ME BY THE FACE!". Not that it's a bad thing (Rob's hilarious take on Raph was probably why Raphael became my favorite to begin with)

Still, just for chuckles, I'd like to hear Donnie tell someone to go suck a lemon! Just once, for old times sake!:D

I didn't grow up with the 80's turtle's, so I didn't have the problem of instantly associating Rob with Raph when I first heard him, and rewatching the 80's series now I can certainly hear a difference between them. That being said, I'm not a huge fan of Rob's voice altogether, and even though he's a terrific actor and seems really down to earth and awesome, the actual sound of his voice (especially the more high pitched version he uses for characters like Don) is like nails on a chalkboard to me. So personally I'd have to take a pass and would have really preferred if someone else was chosen and Rob was given a different character, possibly a supporting character like Feldman was given.

I refuse to answer on the grounds of my colossal bias.

I love it, he's clearly the best Donatello.

I think Rob does a really good job as Donnie. It never really bugged me knowing he did Raph's voice in the OT.

I love his voice. It doesn't jar me at all (only Mikey's voice was slightly jarring to me a few times, but I got it over it). I think it's great and fits the characters well.

I think he's great. simple as that

I don't really like Rob Paulsen as Donnie. His voice is too high-pitched for me, and his tone(as Don) is immature. This is only my opinion though.

Really? I don't even think about Raphael at all when hearing Donnie talk in Nick. He sounds completely different.

I still wish they had gone with someone else, but I live with it.

He's perfect as Donnie.

I think Rob Paulsen great as Donnie! I don't even think of OT Raph when I hear him talking as Donnie, even though Paulsen has such a distinct voice. As other members here have mentioned before, he's made such a new and distinct character out of him, and I can't imagine anyone else doing a better job.

In short, Rob Paulsen rocks! :tgrin:

You do have to remember that both characters are different. This is the first time Paulsen as Donnie ever used Techno jargon. The one scene I like is when April is throwing cans of salt so Donnie can stop the worm.

Really, because I think Donatello in this version is just like OT Raph in personality. But, like I said, Raphael became my favorite in the OT, and probably for that reason, his sarcasm and wit, and the mood suits this Donnie just fine.

As others have said, originally I was thinking it would be off, but he absolutely KILLS it as Don.

I think he makes me enjoy the show 50% more, since he is such a great Don, more so than Raph tbh.

Here's one of my fave exchanges between Don and Raph:

Raph: Go for the head.

Don: I just did!

Raph: Do it better.

Don: Great. Two times in a row. He'll never see THAT coming!

And I also love it when Don's under pressure and starts yelling at the others. Rob does a great job with that.

I randomly watched a few clips of OT on Youtube and I can hear the resemblance between OT Raph and Nick's Donnie. Paulsen just does Donnie's voice in a higher pitch and with a more animated tone. Still, he does a great job as Donatello. Spazzy Donnie is the best ("It's a kraang sweet sixteen birthday party - how am I supposed to know?") and Paulsen's voice is part of the reason why everyone loves Donatello.

He does a great job! I like his Donnie voice, it fits Donnie's face and personality, and he does a great job voice acting. This is the best Donnie.

Everyone here's pretty much hit the nail on the head already, though all I can say is I'm really hoping at some point they show the 80s TMNT again just so we can see the interaction between Fred Wolf Raphael and Nickelodeon Donatello we were promised.

I think one of Raphael's most iconic line in the OT was the "Does go suck a lemon mean anything to you?" and it would be nice for Donnie to quip that out.

Rob Paulsen has been a phenomenal Donatello. It was a surprise to me just how different he makes Donatello and Raphael feel. In Wormquake his Raphael had a distinctly different tone than his Donatello and to me that shows just how amazing an actor he is.

This Donatello is a smart guy but he's also a smart-ass and a hopeless romantic and those are two levels of the character that he can bring to life. He's also quite apt at screaming which seems to be something this Donatello ends up doing a lot.

Rob Paulsen has said he considers himself a better actor today than he was 20 years ago and it shows. I'd argue he could probably voice the Fred Wolf Raphael even better now but I prefer Raphael to be closer to Mirage. Donatello falls into the smart-ass role very well when given the opportunity. The first movie is an excellent example and if there was one thing I would have changed about Donatello in the 2003 series, is he'd be a lot more sarcastic. With the 2012 series I get a sarcastic Donatello who is more than a little high strung and it works beautifully.

I never doubted Rob Paulsen could deliver as Donatello but I never could have expected just how amazing his performance turned out.

As for me, I think Rob Paulsen does a great job as Donatello, possibly because he's been in the TMNT business for a while now. His Donatello is one of the most relatable. His version of the turtle matches Rob's sensabilities to the point where I can see the two becoming one. I think the difference is that his Raph voice is bit deeper while his Don voice is a bit higher pitch. I loved him as Raphael but he fits Donatello more, especially these days. Even though my favorite voice actor for Don is Sam Regal, I still think Rob is a great fit for Donatello.