Forum: scifi.stackexchange.com
Tags: <teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles>
Title: Can the turtles go inside their shells?
Question: It's been a while since I read the comics or watched the animated show, or the original movies, but have the turtles ever been able to retreat into their shells like normal turtles do?

Answers:
sents: text: They certainly can in the films; In the original 1990 Ninja Turtles film, Michaelangelo shows this ability, before quipping about how much he loves being a turtle.
text: Leonardo also does this in the 1993 sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III:
text: Turtles in Time And in the latest 2014 Ninja Turtles reboot , Michaelangelo and Raphael withdraw all of their extremities in order to disguise themselves as a gigantic product placement Behati Prinsloo's breasts.
text: And no, I'm not kidding.
text: I wish I was.
text: We also see them do it in the original cartoon TV series .
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/20774/Valorum
score: 68
sents: text: in the original movies there is a scene where at least one of them pulls their head into his shell and I believe the final scene of turtles 2 they float back to the surface of the water completely pulled into their shells although I could be wrong
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/38738/revenant
score: 21
sents: text: Comics :
text: I think they all do it at least once, but I could be wrong.
text: In Image Comics Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Vol.
text: III; #1 , Donatello retracts his head into his shell during a long fall: 2012
text: Nickelodeon Cartoon :
text: Raphael does this at least once, when one of Leatherhead's booby traps flies at his head.
text: Michelangelo also retracts completely into his shell at least once.
text: And pulls only his head into his shell at least twice:
text: Leonardo does it unintentionally:
text: They've even released a line of toys based on the 2012 cartoon series called " Head Droppin' Turtles " 1990 Movie Series :
text: In the first movie, Michelangelo does it once .
text: In the second movie, they all do it at least once: 2014
text: Movie :
text: As Richard notes, they also do it in the recent reboot .
text: For example, Leonardo: Real life: I'll just leave this here:
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/44025/Wad Cheber stands with Monica
score: 14
sents: text: In the older Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, all 4 of the turtles withdrew their entire bodies into their shells, but only for comedic reasons (such as being afraid of a roach), rather than defensive ones (such as avoiding being crushed).
text: The turtles, despite their ability to speedily use this ability, usually don't withdraw into their shells for any reason.
text: In the first Ninja Turtles movie, when Michelangelo put his head in his shell, they achieved the illusion of withdrawal by raising the shell itself -- the actor in the green body suit didn't move.
text: This may or may not have been the method used in the third movie.
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/63116/Curtis
score: 3
sents: text: Raphael does this in the 2012 series when Mikey shows him a cockroach.
text: But that time, he actually hides his whole body in its shell.
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/66004/Temperamental Octopod
score: 2

Summary of the answers:
They do retreat into their shells in the 1990 and 2014 films and in the original cartoon TV series.
The Turtles can retreat into their shells, though usually only for a good reason.