The Clothes Don't Make the Turtle

**"The Clothes Don't Make the Turtle"** is the nineteenth episode of the second season (Episode 10B) of *Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* and is the sixty-fifth episode overall in the series. It first aired on July 17th, 2020.

## Characters

* Donatello (Josh Brener)
* Hypno-Potamus (Rhys Darby)
* Leonardo (Ben Schwartz)
* Michelangelo (Brandon Mychal Smith)
* Raphael (Omar Benson Miller)
* Sir John (Oliver Vaquer)

## Outfits

On the tickets to the Magic Show, there is fashion advice for the event. Appropriately the turtles turn down styles that are prohibited, such as Athlesiure, Denim and Casual. Flip-flops, also prohibited, are also used to smack each other, until the final Montage in which they dress in whatever they like best.

## Plot

The episode opens with the Mad Dogs in a clothing store, the other Mad Dogs eager to see the new outfit Raphael is trying on. As an 80s jam called "You Got the Goods" plays from a boombox on a nearby table, Raph opens the changing room curtain to reveal him wearing a stylish red suit and tie ensemble, equally eager to be judged by his brothers. Leonardo loved the outfit, but Donatello admitted he was not "in love" with it. Raph went from feeling fierce only moments ago to now feeling like a disaster. Michelangelo tried to reassure Raph that he looked fine, but Raph wasn't satisfied with just looking "fine" for the event they were going to. Leo and Donnie then began to help Raph pick other outfits.

Raph's next outfit went for the "bad boy" look with a ragged tank top and frayed jeans. The others shook their heads in disapproval. Next, Raph was wearing a bowtie and fedora. The others not only shook their heads but appeared rather disgusted. Next, Raph emerged from the curtain wearing a very loud track suit and then immediately struck a pose. The others shook their heads again. Finally, Raph emerged wearing a mostly white leisure suit ensemble. Donnie, Leo and Mikey immediately approved. Raph suggested they leave for the event, but Leo told him to wait, pulling out a pink "Brand" T-shirt he was eager to try on for himself.

In the next scene, Leo finished putting on that shirt as part of an Jogger-dad-inspired outfit. The other three, now including Raph in his new outfit, all shook their heads in disapproval. Next, Leo slid on his feet to the side into view, his back to the camera, wearing only a shirt and socks and holding a candlestick in a routine parodying a famous scene from the film Risky Business. The others immediately laughed. Next, Leo emerged from the curtains dressed like an Old Western desperado and branding two bananas like pistols. Raph was unimpressed with the outfit, but Donnie and Mikey's reactions were decidedly more positive. Finally, Leo emerged wearing a flight-inspired outfit. The others immediately approved. Donnie then wasted no time telling Mikey it was his turn.

Mikey declined but in a jump-cut, started changing clothes, starting wtih Michel Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" outfit. The others, with Leo in his new outfit, shook their heads in disapproval. Next, Mikey emerged from the curtain dressed like a tennis player with a racket. The others shook their heads. Next, Mikey emerged wearing a colorful hip-hop-inspired outfit.

But Mikey stopped, realizing he didn't know why he changed clothes or what they were dressing up for. The others quickly realized they were struggling to remember the reason, too. Raph had the vague recollection that they were going to see a show.

In a flashback in the lair, Raph and Donnie were playing Hot Soup: The Game while Mikey watched, when Leo ran into the common area, kicked aside the game console and revealed that he had obtained four tickets to the Magic Town House's annual Night of a Million Secrets where Harry Houdini's secret journals were to be unveiled to the public for the first time ever.

Back in the present in the clothing store, the Mad Dogs look at their event tickets, confused. But Mikey gets distracted again, and decides that if they're going to a magic show, it means... Black Tie Event! The Mad Dogs start trying on formal black tie outfits and striking fashion poses.

Impressed with how they were looking, Donnie took out his smartphone to snap photos of themselves, but he realised that his phone was already full of photos and videos of the very event they were scheduled to attend — they had already been there, but they couldn't remember it. Donnie, who is in the habit of archiving everything, plays back a phone video from the event where the Mad Dogs are dressed in suits and ties and wearing feathered color-coordinated masquerade ball masks. As they snap photos of the exhibits, they spot Hypno-Potamus, also suited and masked, trying to sneak his way out a door.

Leo wonders if Hypno was trying to steal Houdini's journals, speculating that Hypno might learn from them even more powerful magic, even how to warp the fabric of existence. The Mad Dogs resolve to follow Hypno and stop him from whatever he was planning.

The Mad Dogs try to figure out why they are trying on clothes now if they'd already been to the event and were on their way to fight Hypno. Donnie remarks that their current black tie suits are too dressy for a fight, suggesting they switch to business casual attire instead. Donnie is removing his suit in preparation for new clothes when Raph hastily slaps him in the face with a flip-flop and declares there would be no more outfits.

The flashback continued with the Mad Dogs examining the hallways of the Magic Town House in search of their adversary, but Hypno was already aware he was being hunted by them. He caused a secret door to open in the wall, which was promptly noticed and investigated by the Mad Dogs. Hypno snuck behind them and forced them through the door.

Back in the present in the clothing store, Raph theorized they must actually currently be inside one of Hypno's magic traps, pinching Mikey to make sure they weren't dreaming instead. Needing to find a way out of their predicament, Raph became angry when he noticed Donnie grooving out to the 1980s boombox music in *another* new outfit: A yellow dress shirt with fuchsia scarf, black slacks and loafers. Mikey then realized that they must be trapped inside an 80s movie makeover montage. Leo asked what happens in those movies. Donnie explains the movie makeover tropes while striking various poses from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. But Mikey points out that, at the end of the movies, the protagonists realized that the clothes didn't matter and that they were already perfect just the way they were — and that so were the Mad Dogs here in this clothing store. The Mad Dogs took off their outfits and prepared to break the spell.

Unfortunately what follows is just another montage of scenes as the Mad Dogs keep trying on various different outfits and striking different poses — they are still stuck in the montage.

As they struggle to break the montage, Raph scolds Donnie for dancing rather than helping, but thanks to that the Mad Dogs have an epiphany and look to the boombox, which has been playing in the background the entire time. They see brief disturbing flashes of Hypno's face. Realizing that the music is the spell, they all hastily smash it. It not only brought a halt to the music, but the clothing stores and all their various outfits vanished as well — none of it had been real, and they are still inside the empty room at the Magic Town House.

The spell broken, the Mad Dogs promptly set about looking for Hypno, with Leo searching for secret doors. Donnie at first mocks him, but there are indeed various secret doors - Leo finds one, and then Donnie finds another. The statue opened up to reveal a passage and they found some of the people blind folded and tied in ropes. Leo recognize the man is John McCaiser. The man said that the hippo had escaped to a secret vault next to the room. They found Hypno and started to give chase, being attacked by his magic. But at the end of the chase, Hypno became hypnotized by the music recorded by Donnie's speakers and started his own fashion montage. The Mad Dogs started to leave the room to return the journals. After they are gone, a black shadow arrives to take Hypno away.

## Trivia

* The episode title is a nod to the song, "The Clothes Don't Make The Man" by Keith Anderson.
* The song "You Got the Goods" apes the beat and the overall feel of the Chaka Khan song "I Feel for You", which was written by Prince. Likewise the montage of the Mad Dogs swinging and dancing to the song comes from Prince's video for "Holly Rock".
* Occasionally a panther roar sound effect is heard when a particularly fetching outfit is revealed. This is an auditory nod to "fierce," a fashion slang term originating from ballroom culture.
* The scene where Leonardo slides to the side wearing a white shirt and socks and holding a candlestick, is a parody of a famous scene from the 1983 film *Risky Business* originally featuring Tom Cruise.
	+ The same easter egg would be reused later in "Battle Nexus: New York", but involving Sloppy Joseph instead of Leo.

* Some of the clips in the black tie montage are parodies of similar scenes in the music video for Madonna's 1990 song "Vogue", which itself also heavily references the aforementioned ballroom culture.

* Donatello is wearing a yellow shirt, fuchsia scarf and black trousers, with some of his poses extremely similar to memetic poses of protagonists from *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*, a *Shōnen* full of manly men who are actually real softies*.*
	+ The pose where Donnie points his finger mimics a similar pose by Jōtarō Kūjō, the third "JoJo."
	+ The pose where Donnie clutches part of his shirt open mimics a similar pose by Giorno Giovanna, the fifth "JoJo."
	+ In the Black Tie Montage, Donnie doesn't put on a tie with his formal suit.

* There is a brief scene where Leonardo rolls into a ball and rapidly spins around the edges of a doorway in a manner similar to Sonic the Hedgehog. Leo's voice actor, Ben Schwartz, has voiced the title character in the 2020 film *Sonic the Hedgehog.*
* One of the looks Hypno-Potamus sports in his own clothing montage is of him with a red lightning across his face and bright orange hair, aping the iconic look of David Bowie's "Ziggie Stardust" character.
* A dwarf version of Andy Suriano sticks his head out one of the boxes for the "saw someone in half" trick.
* The early Mirage continuity designs of of the Turtles appear in a mirror reflection in the hall of mirrors.
* The Magic Town House is based off of a real magicians' clubhouse in Los Angeles called the Magic Castle.
* Despite taking part, Donnie does not get his own dedicated clothing montage, only joining the Black Tie and Spell Breaker group montages.

## Transcript

* The Clothes Don't Make the Turtle Transcript

## Gallery

The Clothes Don't Make the Turtle Gallery