'Justice League vs Teen Titans' (Blu-ray + DVD)
(Rosario Dawson, Christopher Gorham, Shemar Moore, Jerry O'Connell, Jason O'Mara, et al / Blu ray + DVD / PG-13 / 2015 / Warner Bros.)
Overview: Soon after Damian joins the Teen Titans as Robin, a rift develops between the Justice League and the Titans over Raven, whom the JL sees as being in league with her father, the demon Trigon, while the Titans see her as his victim. Soon the rift turns into an all-out war, as the Titans take it upon themselves to protect Raven from the League, while thwarting Trigon's plans to create a hell on Earth.
Blu ray Verdict: Simply put, after the Justice League defeats the Legion of Doom in the first five minutes, Robin acts unilaterally to defeat the Dark Lord. Batman decides Robin must learn team work and forces him to superhero teamwork building reform school. Here is meets an interesting bunch of characters, chicks in short skirts, and oh yeah, that Dark Lord thing is not over.
There is no introduction of characters so Warner Bros. fully expects you to have been there with them from the very start. Honestly, they assume you have been following the Batman vs Robin series from moment number one, so if you haven't, well, here are a quick few cliff notes: The current Robin is named Damian and is the illegitimate son of Batman. The original Robin had moved on to be known as Nightwing (who for some reason, I confuse with a duck!). Wonder Woman dates Superman and not Batman! And finally, I must have personally missed the episode which bumped Lois out of the picture, or else they never bothered to explain or show it!
I've said it before that DC and WB Animation's latest line of movies feel like Justice League in the tone of Marvel's Avengers. 'Teen Titans' continues that, but starts to carve out its own identity. The forced humor is toned down a lot but the show still keeps its upbeat sense of superhero fun. The chemistry among the cast is impeccable, I give it that, if not a tad bit overcrowded screen-time-wise at some points.
Some of the more questionable voices from the previous movie (Alan Tudyk as Superman, Justin Kirk as Green Lantern) are replaced with better sounding actors. Nathan Fillon is definitely a welcome choice to reprise his Green Lantern role and Jerry "Sliders" O'Connell takes over as Superman. On the antagonist side is Prince Orm, voiced by Sam "Starkiller" Witwer, who may be the most deliciously over-the-top villain in animation since the 90s Street Fighter cartoon's M. Bison played by Richard Newman.
What's nice about the DC universe is the concept of the multiverse. The "imaginary" stories and Elseworlds have the possibility of coming together, as seen with the Arrowverse, and the recent Supergirl/Flash crossover. If you watch the special features in 'Justice League: Gods and Monsters', you'll definitely see that the multiverse is expanding and it's not just limited to the live action or comics or animated features exclusively. It's not so much that they keep rebooting franchises, they're including more and more material to satisfy the needs of all kinds of different fans. Here in 'Justice League vs. Teen Titans', Ra's al Ghul gets tied into the Trigon story line; which is very nice to see.
Take away the opening and closing credits and this movie has just over an hour worth of content; Underdeveloped content, but beautifully drawn and animated content. Both artwork and animation takes a step up from the last installment. The art is decently detailed even in the tightest action scenes. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs, housed inside an incredible Limited Edition Gift Set (that comes with a "Damian" action figure), and has the following Blu-ray Special Feature:
Growing Up - Featurette
Heroes And Villains: Raven - Featurette
Heroes And Villains: Trigon - Featurette
From the DC Comics Vault - 2 Bonus Cartoons
PLUS: A Sneak Peak at DC Universe's Next Animated Movie: BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE
Own it on Blu-ray™ Deluxe Edition, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD & Digital HD 4/12
Official WBHE Trailer
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