Opinions on Apriltello

[Turtlette]

Since there’s been a bunch of videos on YouTube popping up with YouTubers complaining about April X Donnie in the 2012 series, I’m curious to know the forum’s current opinion is on it ?

[Sumac]

Conceptually it could be interesting, but it is too easy to make it icky or stupid.

[Cowabung-Gal]

One word:

Ew.

[neatoman]

I never liked it. It never went anywhere and remained in the same awkward state it started in. Also, attempting to pair up any of the mutant characters with a human, even if it's just for a gag, will always seem a bit creepy to me.

[ZariusTwo]

April ought to be paired with a Turtle someday, but never Donny

[IndigoErth]

Not a fan, because they overdid it and drove it into the ground. If it had been only a vague thing that came up very, very rarely and maybe ended after the 1st season, then fine, I wouldn't care.

Overall, 2012 was a great show, but they really missed the mark on that part and I feel pushed some bad massages. The whole "Turtle crushing on a human" part doesn't even bother me at this point, it's how they went about it. Not only does some of Donnie's behavior make me uncomfortable, but I feel like April as a female character was very badly portrayed over this and they could have benefited from more (any?) women involved in that writing to be able to say "Yeah, this part? NO."

Most of the time they have her act as if she's completely oblivious. I haven't known any girls/women in my life that wouldn't have become uncomfortable with someone being that persistent when the feelings are clearly not mutual and then would have started to avoid going to their house/lair/whatever and avoided hanging with them to avoid that situation. Yet April just acts like nothing bothers her at all. Which, worse, means it pushes a stereotypical message of girls just having to smile and put up with things in order to not cause conflict or avoid hurting feelings, else she becomes the bad guy.

Then there's the message on the other side of "keep pursuing until she gives in."

THEN that very toxic BS of them deciding to make her a "tease" (WTF was that) at the end of the Bigfoot ep, pushing that "pursue until she gives in" message, another of putting on a pity act, AND a message that "girls are just mean teases and don't know what they want."

A couple times they did attempt to have Donnie learn, but they generally came far later than they should have and they never actually stuck.


As I said, at this point a human/Turtle thing doesn't really bother me, to be honest, if it's light and mostly just off screen. Like, say, if they ever brought Lotus back and she and Leo have a little bit of a light flirt happening that they never really otherwise make any moves on. Fine, whatever. But 2012 full on committed to it far too much and in ways that weren't great.

Plus, I don't care for putting a Turtle with April. Just leave her alone and let her be the big sister type, please. If they want to give Donnie someone to flirt with, I vote for bringing Jhanna back and doing more with her (but for more than just that).

Imagine an adult Turtle and April pairing, and then they eventually break up. If there's any logic in the writing at all, then sure, like that won't make the situation and friendship awkward... >.>

[Spacey_vibez]

Yeah it’s a no go for me. I really dont like any of the turtles shipped with April.

[Stu_Padasso]

I’m fine with it, although I would agree that that went overboard with it, especially in the first season. The way I saw it, they tried to play it up for comedy but Donnie’s one side fixation came across as creepy in some viewers eyes. If if they had built up to it where Donnie realized that he had feelings for April and struggled with the fact that he was a mutant turtle who couldn’t give her the life that he thought she deserved, it would have made a much more interesting story.

And hell, Captain Kirk was slaying poon and altering the genetic makeup of half the Alpha Quadrant with women who weren’t even part of the same terrestrial animal kingdom back in the 60’s. Donnie and April getting together seems downright wholesome compared to a lot of the crap that they try to shove down our throats these days.

[Andrew NDB]

I think the people that are OK with it or advocate for it don't understand the TMNT or don't want to.

[Coola Yagami]

I always find it weird everyone immediately started thinking about sex, when it's a kid's cartoon and they weren't obviously gonna bang even if they got together. By that logic, we can say Raph was plowing Venus since those two were obviously hot for each other.

Like if this happened in comics, which can usually deal with such issues where a Saturday Morning Cartoon obviously will not, then sure. We can have that discussion and voice our concerns there. But on a cartoon on Nickelodeon??? Might as well get into how sex between Spongebob and that squirrel would work.

[IndigoErth]

Thanks, now I realize SpongeBob would basically just be a talking body pillow for her and that's how I start a Tuesday.


Edit: That 2012 ep of that Dimension X sea monster and by the looks on their faces..? They knew what was up and was far from the only cartoon to ever have jokes made to purposly go over the heads of the kiddies. Lol I remember finally getting jokes like those years later in other stuff of our own childhood. Too funny really. lol

Though I'd have to disagree with an assumption that "everyone immediately started thinking about sex." It might be nature's intent of attraction, but young first crushes aren't typically going there that soon. We can let young characters have innocent crushes without twisting it into something more adult than it is.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Thanks, now I realize SpongeBob would basically just be a talking body pillow for her and that's how I start a Tuesday.


Edit: That 2012 ep of that Dimension X sea monster and by the looks on their faces..? They knew what was up and was far from the only cartoon to ever have jokes made to purposly go over the heads of the kiddies. Lol I remember finally getting jokes like those years later in other stuff of our own childhood. Too funny really. lol

Though I'd have to disagree with an assumption that "everyone immediately started thinking about sex." It might be nature's intent of attraction, but young first crushes aren't typically going there that soon. We can let young characters have innocent crushes without twisting it into something more adult than it is.

No, I mean the overall reaction to Donnie crushing on April was already going into 'ewww a turtle banging a human' territory. I was referring to the fanbase reaction.

That's why the crush never bothered me at the start, because it was characters having innocent crushes. But everyont went straight to Turtle/Human sex, even though Casey also had a crush on April and no one was quick to jump to that conclusion.

[IndigoErth]

Ohhh, yes, gottcha. The questionable fan art probably didn't take long at all.

Back before I was acquainted with DeviantArt and wasn't yet scarred for life from that particular angle.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Ohhh, yes, gottcha. The questionable fan art probably didn't take long at all.

Back before I was acquainted with DeviantArt and wasn't yet scarred for life from that particular angle.

No I mean, on this very forum. Back when the show was new. Everyone's first reaction was a variation of 'ewww turtle and human' and 'ewww turtle banging human'. As if a kid's show is gonna show Donnie and April waking up in the morning in the same bed. Gimme a break.

[Sumac]

Some people were surprised that fanbase immediately moved on to sex between characters? Guess, some people never were around Internet.

If characters look at each other funny, someone somewhere will make a porn about it. Basically Rule 34 as it is. And in this case romance was specifically written by writers, so it gave fans even more ammunition.

Not to mention, you are dealing with a Turtles fanbase, which has furries, who are noticeable degenerates and freaks. Naturally these "people" will jump on opportunity to pair a human with an animal. Turtles fanbase also has quite a lot of fangirls, who are mostly into Gay-incest sex, but some might be interested in exploring bestiality, as well.

All in all, this romance dropped on a very fertile grounds, sadly.

But in itself, idea has some potential, but I don't think kids cartoon is a good place to study it.

[Cowabung-Gal]

Originally Posted by Sumac

Turtles fanbase also has quite a lot of fangirls, who are mostly into Gay-incest sex, but some might be interested in exploring bestiality, as well.

Yeah there’s a huge difference between us regular female fans and fangirls.

As for the opposite sex, the equivalent would probably be single dudes who are just in it for the erotic pictures of April, mostly those of the Fred Wolf version. I’m on DeviantArt and I see those nasty pictures every time I search for TMNT fan art

[Sumac]

Originally Posted by Cowabung-Gal

As for the opposite sex, the equivalent would probably be single dudes who are just in it for the erotic pictures of April, mostly those of the Fred Wolf version. I’m on DeviantArt and I see those nasty pictures every time I search for TMNT fan art

Questionable their motives are, but it is still more normal than bestiality or "Turtlecest".

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

No I mean, on this very forum. Back when the show was new. Everyone's first reaction was a variation of 'ewww turtle and human' and 'ewww turtle banging human'. As if a kid's show is gonna show Donnie and April waking up in the morning in the same bed. Gimme a break.

Ah, okay. I missed that then, and prob for the best.

Originally Posted by Cowabung-Gal

I’m on DeviantArt and I see those nasty pictures every time I search for TMNT fan art

Every. Damn. Day. I do wish people would just use freaking tags properly so we can simply skip what we don't on our screen. The imbalance of there rarely being sexy stuff of male characters (adult or depicted as adults) gets tiring. I'm disappointed that so many good female artists do lean largely into that incest crap (which I do avoid however much as possible). Why... There's a few whose art style I did love a lot, but had wished they'd have done more single character or non-tcesty pieces as well.



Yeah yeah... men are so fast to wave around "bestiality" flags there and suddenly drop them when it's female characters in various franchises. (I mean it was quite the upset that Lola didn't have big boobs in that last Space Jam movie, am I right?) Lets not be hypocrites. If a guy isn't accepting humanoid female characters either, then fair enough in his case, but lets be real... when we put attractive human traits on humanoid characters, humans can't help but notice what we're wired to notice, no matter if it's a rabbit girl or alien cheetah lady with big boobs or a Turtle man with good looking muscle... girls/boys will be girls/boys. Unless someone is entirely devoid of those feelings, you're going to notice those traits, even if it's brushed off fast.

[Sumac]

One need to consider that female humanoid characters usually designed to be cuter / more human-like, then their male counterparts. Look at Callie Briggs from SWAT Kats or Gadget from Chip & Dale RR, for example.

So, certain level of hypocrisy is warranted.

[IndigoErth]

Fur and tails and sir...that is literally a small mouse.