When it comes to the DC Universe, I do not know all the comic book lore, who all the villains are, or what characters are variations of each other. However, I do love the DC shows! This includes all the current CW shows (Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Black Lightning) and a little show from Cartoon Network called Teen Titans GO! I was introduced to this show by my four-year-old son when he watched DVDs of it over and over and over again. There were two levels of humor which made it great for kids and parents alike, so I ended up enjoying it just as much as he did.
This meant when I saw the trailer for Teen Titans GO! To The Movies, I was incredibly excited. Weirdly enough, I was more excited than my son who is now six. I drug him along to the theater anyway so as not to be the lone adult watching a kids’ film.
The premise of the movie is that no one respects the Teen Titans. They are looked down upon and mocked by all the other superheroes. Robin decides that they need to have a movie made about them in order to be respected. To do that, they have to do something big, like fight an arch-nemesis. The poor, unsuspecting villain they choose is one of my favorite villains (though I’m biased because I love Manu Bennett as the character) – the incomparable Slade. The rest of the movie is spent unraveling a secret plot while the Teen Titans’ friendships are put to the test.
For Teen Titans GO! To The Movies, they brought back the original cast members: Scott Menville as Robin, Hynden Walch as Starfire, Greg Cipes as Beast Boy, Khary Payton as Cyborg, and my personal favorite, Tara Strong as Raven. The rest of the cast got filled in by big name actors. Will Arnett, who was also a producer on the movie, played Slade. Nicholas Cage was Superman, Wil Wheaton was The Flash, Kristen Bell played new character Jade Wilson (think about that one DC fans), and Jimmy Kimmel was Batman. As an added bonus, Michael Bolton is included singing “Upbeat Inspirational Song About Life.” At least, he does until Cyborg doesn’t watch where he’s going.
The film as a whole was amazing! It kept the fun originality of the series. I laughed more watching Teen Titans GO! To The Movies than I have with any of the last comedy movies I have watched. There was, of course, the bathroom humor that had the little kids rolling, but the humor for adults to get was freaking hilarious. SPOILER ALERT: I was nearly coughing from laughing by the appearance of Stan Lee. He voiced his own character, poking fun at his cameos in the Marvel films. The attack on Shia Labeouf was probably my second favorite part.
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There were a couple extras that I wasn’t expecting. The movie started with a short from DC Super Hero Girls. It seems that Batgirl has a bit of a rough go trying to get to the fight in time to help her friends. Batgirl is also voiced by Tara Strong, this was probably to help boost the new series to their target market. Though when this new version DC Super Hero Girls will be released is still unknown.
A second clip showed immediately following the main credits. After a bit of static and picture rolling, the original Teen Titans are shown and they say they’ve found a way to come back. What that may mean, I’m not entirely sure, but I look forward to finding out.
Have you been to see Teen Titans GO! To The Movies yet? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!