The Teen Titans Go to the Movies and Do What They Do Best

Robin (Scott Menville), Cyborg (Khary Payton), Beast Boy (Greg Cipes),
Starfire (Hynden Welch), Raven (Tara Strong) at the movies. 

The original Teen Titans cartoon was met with critical praise. It ran on Cartoon Network for five seasons including a made-for-television movie. Unfortunately, the series got canceled before getting a proper resolution. When news came that the show would return, fans were overjoyed until they saw the new designs and it would be a comedy re-titled Teen Titans Go! Reactions immediately turned sour. Despite the enormous backlash, the series remained popular with a fan-base and is the first Cartoon Network program to nab a movie deal since The Powerpuff Girls back in 2002. Will Teen Titans Go to the Movies fare better on the big screen or receive the same disdain as the show?

The Teen Titans jamming. 

Our story has the Titans- Robin (Scott Menville), Starfire (Hynden Walch), Cyborg (Khary Payton) Raven (Tara Strong) and Beast Boy(Greg Cipes)-fighting crime in their usual goofy manner. With every superhero getting their own movie, Robin wants in. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the Justice League and a famous movie director (Kristen Bell) they are seen as joke, until the villainous Slade (Will Arnett trading his Batarang for a Katana blade) shows up. The Titans take this chance to prove everyone wrong.

Confronting Slade (Will Arnett)

Like the show, the movie embraces its surreal humor and comedic style: a hybrid of Animaniacs, Deadpool and Ren & Stimpy. It's zany, self-referential with fourth-wall breaking while critiquing and lampooning the superhero genre. If you are a fan of the show you will have a good time, and if you aren't you will either A). Skip this movie. B). Have a good time. or C). manage to get a few laughs. I chose C). 

With a face like that, how can I not resist.

While I watched a handful of episodes of the original Teen Titans show I'm not that big of a fan. I do acknowledge that it's one of the best from Cartoon Network and the DC comics catalog. As for the few Teen Titans Go episodes I watched, it didn't grab my attention and it's type of humor wasn't my cup of tea. The movie was the same. The characters get rather obnoxious and while much of the humor is clever, 90% relied on toilet and surreal humor that I was waiting for Freakaziod and The Tick to show them how it's done. Not to mention, the movie matched The Boss Baby's obsession with butts. I find it ironic that by the end the Titans realize they don't need a movie to prove their greatness, yet we the audience are watching their movie thanks to its popularity.

The Titans meeting movie director Jade Wilson (Kristen Bell)

With computer animated movies dominating the movie market it is so nice to still see traditional animation on the big screen. I know I said much of the humor didn't work but the few times it did I giggled with delight. Most of it poking fun at the superhero and movie industry including some surprising Marvel references. While the music is nothing to right home about, the one song I loved involved a singing tiger voiced by Micheal Bolton. Its very upbeat.

Green Lantern (Lil Yachty), Wonder Woman (Halsey), Superman (Nicholas Cage),
Batman (Jimmy Kimmel) and The Flash (Will Wheaton).

Finally I need to applaud the voice work. Movies like this would focus on marketing celebrity actors but the emphasis is put on the voice-actors who have worked on the show. Whether you like the characters or not, you have to give credit to Menville and the crew who have been voicing the Titans for more than a decade and continue to work well off each other. Clever casting with Nicholas Cage, who never got a chance to play Superman in the cancelled Superman Lives movie from the nineties, finally lives his dream by being the man of steel in this movie.

"Next time I'm changing seats"

I find it interesting that on the same weekend we get the new Mission Impossible movie along with the Teen Titans Go movie. Look how both properties began: they angered fans of the original source material whether it was the radical portrayal of agent Jim Phelps from in the first MI movie, or turning the Teen Titans cartoon from a superhero action drama into a comedy. Both have come a long way as Tom Cruise's spy franchise is still going strong and Teen Titans Go having dedicated devotees despite the negative criticism.

If you like the show you'll like the movie. Nothing wrong with that. If you don't like the show and have no intention on seeing the film then don't watch it. Again, nothing wrong with that. Though the post-credit scene might change their tune. Without getting spoilery my theory on the existence and success of Teen Titans Go! and the recent news of several cancelled cartoons rebounding seem to be confirmed.

The movie is preceded by The Late Batsby, a DC Comics short that appears to serve as a pilot for the upcoming DC Super Hero Girls cartoon. The short comes from Lauren Fast who did Foster's Home for Imaginary friends and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It's a new look for certain DC characters with its fast paced and energetic animation but I'm nonetheless intrigued on the direction this goes. Can't go wrong with Tara Strong as Batgirl and Grey DeLisle as Wonder Woman.

Final Verdict: C