Let’s be honest here, having a crush on an animated character as a kid is not at all uncommon. Scarlett Johansson recently revealed one of her childhood desires came from watching one of the best animated TV shows, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but I wasn’t expecting her explanation to get so deep and be so relatable.
When Johansson was promoting her voice role in the Transformers One movie, she divulged which one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles she had a thing for. It came up when she was asked if there was animated character or figurine she was “obsessed with” as a kid, and here’s what she said:
Ninja Turtles were huge when I was a kid, and I really, I know this sounds crazy, but I had a crush on Raphael, which is insane because he’s a mutant turtle… I liked that he was problematic and it actually informed all of my dating choices, like later on in life. I always went with the jerk. Why? Because of Raphael. Yes, it messed me up, you guys. Did I go for Leonardo? No. Should I have gone for Donatello? 100%.
When Johansson was growing up in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, the first animated series for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was on TV, and she remembers exactly which one of the mutant turtles she latched on to. She was super into Raphael, who is the rebel of the group who wears the red mask and is known for lacking impulse control. While it was all fun and games while she was a kid watching the series, later in life she noticed a major red flag in her dating life that stemmed from her attraction to the character.
I don’t know about you, but I find this way too on point. Children’s TV and pop culture always tends to make the toxic character of the group more handsome and brooding than the others, and it messes with one’s little brain into looking for those archetypes in reality… and spoiler alert, a Raphael in the wild doesn’t necessarily make the best partner long term.
While Johansson admittedly had her phase with rebel types as a young woman, it all turned out alright for her. She ended up marrying Colin Jost of SNL’s "Weekend Update" (who waited to ask her out years after they initially met) and they are totally couples goals. As Johansson cracked after her Raphael admission:
I married Michaelangelo.
That’s absolutely right. Michelangelo is known to be “the funny one” as he’s always cracking jokes and bringing goofy energy to the squad of turtles, and that certainly feels true to the SNL cast member. Check out Scarlett Johannson’s full response on MTV’s Instagram:
Now this has me thinking that one can classify one’s partner into four categories, Leonardo (“the leader”) , Donatello (“the genius”) , Michelangelo (“the funny one” and Raphael (“the rebel”). If you’re in a relationship, time to figure out which way you’ve chosen.
Fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise have a lot to get excited about in the future as a followup to 2023’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is officially happening along with an R-rated live-action TMNT movie. Ah yes, a new generation of viewers are surely about to relive Johansson’s experience!
