Justice League vs. Teen Titans (Blu-ray Review)

8 Apr, 2016 By: John Latchem

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Street 4/12/16
Warner
Animated
$19.98 DVD, $24.98 Blu-ray, $29.96 Blu-ray w/figurine
Rated ‘PG-13’ for fantasy action violence and some suggestive images
Voices of Stuart Allen, Taissa Farmiga, Brandon Soo Hoo, ari Wahlgren, Jake T. Austin, Jon Bernthal, Jason O’Mara, Sean Maher, Jerry O’Connell, Rosario Dawson, Christopher Gorham, Shemar Moore.

There sure are a lot of superheroes fighting each other these days. Netflix gave us Daredevil fighting Punisher. We’ve got Batman v Superman in theaters. In another month, Captain America: Civil War will give us pretty much every hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe going at it.

You can add this latest DC Universe animated movie into the mix. Justice League vs. Teen Titans connects the two main threads of the recent DC animated continuity, Following two movies that brought together the Justice League and a trilogy about Batman dealing with his son, Damien, the new Robin.

Hoping to teach Damien some discipline, he sends him to train with the Teen Titans, a collection of superpowered teenagers. One of the Titans, Raven, happens to be the magic offspring of a human and a satanic being called Trigon, who has returned from the underworld to claim her.

Trigon’s minions possess several of the Justice League members, leading to the battle of the film’s title. Such possessions also allow some of the Justice Leaguers to fight each other as well.

Before the main event, however, several of the Titans take turns fighting each other, mostly during training exercises that get a little too intense, not to mention a heated video game dance-off during an amusement park respite.

Justice League vs. Teen Titans pays off a number of the story arcs from the earlier films, contrasting Damien’s upbringing with Raven to good effect. The animators also have fun using the characters’ abilities to create some dynamic fight sequences.

The Blu-ray includes a lengthy and informative featurette about the history of the Teen Titans, plus profiles of Raven and Trigon.

In addition, there are bonus episodes of “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” and “Teen Titans” that deal with characters that appear in the film.

There’s also a 10-minute preview of the next DC animated movie, the eagerly awaited Batman: The Killing Joke, based on the classic graphic novel.
 

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