Greeting Ladies and Gents! It is I, The Shaman of Animation back again with a new review. It's that time once again people. A new DC Animated film has come and as always, I've got stuff to say about it. So let's not waste any time, and dive right into Justice League vs Teen Titans!
JL vs TT begins with The League fighting The Legion of Doom while Robin A.K.A Damian Wayne is getting civilians away from the battle. After the League successfully defeats the team, LOD member Weather Wizard tries to make a run for it, but he is quickly possessed by a mysterious shadowy creature who's later revealed to be Trigon. Robin, disobeying Batman's orders, crashes the Batwing into Weather Wizard, which in turn causes the mysterious force in control of Weather Wizard's body to leave. Because of his disobedience, Batman forces Damian to work with the Teen Titans.
I initially rolled my eyes at the premise of Damian joining the Titans, because after Son of Batman and Batman vs Robin, I really didn't think the character needed any more focus on him and also in some aspects, the movie tread on the same waters that the previous films already did: working with this team is beneath him and he's better on his own. And plus, those same movies I feel bend over backwards to try and make him look cool.
But for the first time in this universe it felt like there were actual consequences to Damian's actions, that he got off with more than just a simple slap on the wrists. Whether it's his insubordination causing him to be sent off to the Titans or a particular fight in the movie that somewhat humbles him. And he has an actual arc in this movie that has a beginning and end, and if you've been following this New 52 movie universe, then the conclusion of this arc is pretty satisfying, in my opinion. JLvTT quite possibly is the best material done with Damian as far as these movies go.
But hey, Damian's only a small piece of the equation. We have a new slew of characters introduced into this Universe in the Teen Titans: Beast Boy, Blue Beetle, Raven, and Starfire. On paper, it was kind of odd having Raven and Beast Boy being younger than Starfire considering I grew up knowing that they were around the same age. But for this movie, it works really well. These are all characters that come from different walks of life and by the standards of normal people are considered freaks and rejects: Beast Boy has green skin and can turn into animals, Blue Beetle has the alien technology attached to his body that he can't fully control, Raven is this mysterious person that keeps to herself and her dad is quite literally the devil, and Starfire is a princess from another planet. They all come from such radical walks of life but it's this one thing they all share that connects all of them.
Now with that said, there isn't A LOT of time focused on the team as individuals. Don't get me wrong, the movie does take some time to briefly go over Beast Boy's and Blue Beetle's origins and personalities: Beast Boy being the jokester of the team while Blue Beetle being more of the normal guy. Starfire herself was mostly just kind of there to be the leader and the big sister figure to the young heroes, which in itself isn't bad. My favorite thing about this movie was that it took time to let all of these characters just be kids. There's a butting of heads, mainly from Damian and the rest of the Titans, but there's a scene where you see the team, just hanging out and having fun. It's not a long scene, but it's one that humanizes the characters, that they're more than just people in suits, and it never felt tacked on to me.
Like I said, there isn't a lot of time devoted to individual heroes, but that is because that time is given to Raven. The film goes the route of going over the origins of Raven and her father Trigon, which I must say for a movie that's a little over an hour long, it does a great job of doing Raven's origin and not holding back on anything. Aside from her her origin and everything with Trigon, Raven has the most interactions with Damian, and the two do end up finding some common ground with one another.
I would take some time to talk about Trigon, but really, what's to say about him? He's big, red, and menacing. and he's voiced by Jon Bernthal, which I find kind of funny that he played the Punisher in Daredevil Season 2 and a movie where he voiced a DC character came out relatively close to each other. But yeah... that's about it;
You disrespecting me? In front of my people? Boy, don't make me get my Batbelt!!
So let's talk about the Justice League...who're really just there to be controlled by Trigon and fight the Teen Titans. Aside from that, and the fight in the beginning that sets up the movie, they don't really do anything. There is the further development of the Superman/Wonder Woman relationship but if my Throne of Atlantis review's any indication, I could care less about that relationship. Now with that said, there is an interesting little subplot with Cyborg where, because he's the youngest member of the League, he can't really connect with them; and that he resonates more with the Titans. It's a very little arc, but being one of the fans that felt like Cyborg just wasn't all that interesting in the Justice League, it's a pretty entertaining one. And the big fight the movie is titled after? It's only like 2 minutes long. You know someone should REALLY get a hold of a person at WB and tell them a 5 minute or less fight doesn't warrant the title for a movie, and considering they have the top billing in this movie, that's not a good thing...
By the way, Nightwing's only in like two scenes in this whole movie. This picture is a LIE!!!
In summation, Justice League vs Teen Titans, for me, is the best of the New 52 inspired animated films. There's this sense of fun, playfulness, and heart that I feel that a lot of these DC Animated movies have been missing. And while the titular fight will leave you disappointed, there's plenty of action that makes up for it; and with the stinger at the end, it leaves you wanting more from this team.
But that's all I have to say for this film. Til next time folks, I'm the Shaman of Animation.
Take Care...
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