Nick Kyme

DC have been doing sterling work on their animated movies, of late. I loved Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Batman: Under the Red Hood was also stunning. No great surprise then that they’re increasing their output in 2011 to three features – joy is me.

On pre-order already are Superman/Batman: Apocalypse and Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam.

The former is actually the story in the graphic novel Superman/Batman: Supergirl but features a healthy dose of Darkseid so I get the name switch. The latter is really an anthology of shorts. These are made up of the DC Animated Showcase mini-movies (about 10 minutes or so each) that were, frankly, brilliant extras on the preceding full-length movies and include characters such as the Spectre, Jonah Hex and Green Arrow. This anthology piece not only has a brand new short, featuring the eponymous heroes Superman and Shazam!, it also includes extended versions of the other aforementioned shorts – cool!

I for one loved the DC Showcase material. It’s the animated equivalent of a short story and allowed the writers to give some neglected, perhaps less popular/more obscure, characters some love and do so in a dark and interesting way. The showcase pieces are bleaker, more adult than the full-length movies (though, in saying that, Under the Red Hood was pretty hard core). The stories are nicely simple and taught – I’ve only seen The Spectre and Jonah Hex so far, but they seem to follow a cautionary tale/moral theme. Of course, there’s action and more than a little horror in both of these. I’m hoping for the same from Green Arrow.

I really like this idea of giving slightly sidelined characters a bit of attention. Appending them to a feature that has the big boys duking it out on the grand stage is a masterstroke by DC, I think. Needless to say, I’m really looking forward to seeing what the extended versions are like.

The 2011 slate for animated DC looks even better. Announced so far are: All Star Superman (which I read, and enjoyed, recently but not sure how they’ll make it work as an animated movie), Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (presumably to riff with the new movie coming out, it’s actually a bunch of shorts too) and Batman: Year One (OMG – now that got me excited – I freakin’ love this story).

So, lots to be happy for in 2011, methinks. Have to say as well that DC kick the ass of Marvel in the animation stakes. Better stories, better animation, more sensible distribution and release patterns. No wonder they’re increasing their output. Long may it continue!

Forgot to mention something earlier (oh, I’m fed and watered by the way but starting to feel like crap as the afternoon wears on…), I am also looking forward to getting my grubby, geek mits on a copy of Batman: Under the Red Hood, which is on its way to meet via Amazon.com. I have to wait about a month for this sucka to get here but judging by the trailer it’ll be worth.

And since we’re in the mood for trailers, here’s a preview of the next DC Animated Movie, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, courtesy of YouTube.

Fans of the graphic novel series will realise that this movie is an adaptation of Superman/Batman: Supergirl, a really good story that under went a title change to presumably give it a broader appeal. Anywho, this looks great too and is a testament to the great quality output that DC are producing with their straight to DVD animated features. Let’s just say they are pooping all over Marvel’s, frankly lacklustre, efforts.

And just because it’s cool, here’s Batman: Under the Red Hood, too…

I read something the other day that said something along the lines of ‘DC is winning the straight to animated DVD movie wars with Marvel’. I’d have to say that I agree.

I’m a big fan of animation and I like the odd graphic novel, too. Recently, I picked up Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Planet Hulk on blu-ray. These two movies are part of the aforementioned straight to DVD features by DC and Marvel respectively.

It’s worth pointing out, I think, that I am a big fan of the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series. Therefore, Planet Hulk had its work cut out if it was going to overshadow Crisis on Two Earths. Suffice to say, it didn’t.

I hadn’t read either of the graphic novels/story lines the two films were based on, so I was coming into it cold as a pure fan of animation. Both films were enjoyable. I think, on the whole, I’ve really liked the output from both studios but DC is winning hands down with it’s darker approach to both subject matter and animation style. One can’t help but recognise the legacy of Bruce Timm in the often minimalist, clean art approach to the DC movies. Less so in Justice League: The New Frontier but then that was intended to pay homage and echo the original art style in the Darwyn Cooke graphic novel (and still looks amazing, if you ask me). The animation is better, too.

In fact, the only Marvel straight to DVD that I’ve re-watched and really enjoyed was Hulk Vs. More of that please!

But back to the cases in point.

Planet Hulk (unlike its Vs predecessor) lacked the grunt and grit it needed to make it into a classic. If you’re going to tell a story about the Hulk you can’t pull your punches. It should be bloody, it should be dark and violent. This wasn’t. It was Hulk meets Gladiator sans grit. Enjoyable – yes. A classic – not even close. As I mentioned, I hadn’t read the story prior to watching the movie, so went in with zero expectations. The trouble for me was there wasn’t a recognisable villain for the Hulk to go up against. It never really got going, either. Now sure, if the graphic novel is like that then fine. I’d say: choose a different subject for a movie.

By contast Crisis on Two Earths was brilliant. I loved the alternate universes story line and the evil Justice League counterparts. James Woods as Owl Man was a particular favourite. This story felt like it had some substance and a great cast of characters to boot. Like with Hulk, I hadn’t read the source material but felt none the poorer for all that. This ranks alongside Superman: Doomsday and Wonder Woman as one of my favourite DC straight to DVD features. The fact the art style emulated that of the TV series was just a bonus.

I would wholly recommend Crisis on Two Earths. It’s a great story and looks much better than the Marvel offering, too. Looking ahead (as all of these movie features have a preview of the next film in the pipe), it seems like DC are going to trump Marvel yet again. Batman: Under the Red Hood is the next DC feature, a gritty tale that picks up where A Death in the Family leaves off (the story line that deals with the death of Jason Todd as Robin – one of the formative Batman stories) and focuses on Batman’s grief and his encounters with the Red Hood a brutal vigilante stalking the streets of Gotham; whereas Marvel have plumped for Thor: Tales of Asgard (or something like that – I honestly can’t be bothered to look up the title), a kids story that deals with Thor’s younger days before he becomes the awesome ass-kicker he is in the graphic novels.

Seems to me that Marvel are pitching at the wrong audience. Classic tales immortalised in animation is what we fans are looking for, not drab kiddy stories straight out of the aisles of Toys R Us. I’m insulted the Marvel bigwigs think we want to watch this crap. We don’t. At least, I certainly don’t. I won’t be picking up the Thor animated movie. I’ve pre-ordered Under the Red Hood, already though.

Take note Marvel boffins. Sure, your movies on the big screen are starting to kick some ass (I saw Iron Man 2 at the weekend and, while I wasn’t blown away, I did really enjoy it – especially the teasers…) your small screen offerings (with some notable exceptions) are a bit… well, lame.

And if all my talk of DC animated movies has got you fired up, check out this trailer for Batman: Under the Red Hood.

Well, not only am I stoked to have just watched the excellent Green Lantern: First Flight on DC Animated DVD, I’m even more excited to discover that Batman/Superman: Public Enemies is the next story to be given the animated movie treatment. Hell yeah!

Public Enemies (not to be confused with the Depp/Bale movie currently showing at theatres) is the first volume in the Batman/Superman comic book series. As stated in an earlier blog post, I’m not one for actual comic books, I prefer to wait until the trades come out so I can have the entire story. I bought Batman/Superman: Public Enemies when it was first released in hardback a few years ago. I loved it, and while the later volumes in the series haven’t really lived up to it, this first installment in the Batman/Superman saga is awesome.

Some still clips from the forthcoming movie revealing a shed load of characters!

Needless to say, I can’t wait for it to be released on DVD. The little behind the scenes glimpse on the Green Lantern movie’s special features has really wetted my appetite and just for anyone who hasn’t seen it, he’s a spanking trailer currently showing on Youtube. Enjoy!

As I was sitting in my flu-ridden stupor (getting better, by the way, but slowly – I’m lingering at home still and finding short moments of strength and purpose to write or so something; the rest of the time I’m on my ass, feeling weak ans shitty…), when there was a knock at the door. Initially, I was peeved. Slumped on the sofa, I thought I might take a much-needed nap, but the knock came again, loud and insistent at my front door, so I answered.

Lo and behold, there was the Posty with a clutch of letters and… what’s this… a brown cardboard package from Amazon in his hands. My interest was piqued. Thanking him, I took said letters set them down (after realising one was a bank statement and the other was a bill from Virgin Media) and went to the package. Tearing it open, a copy of Green Lantern: First Flight was revealed.

Joy to me. Suddenly, I found a little extra energy to be cheerful.

For those of you not in the know, Green Lantern: First Flight is the most recent DC Animated Movie release and it’s awesome. It follows the tale of Hal Jordan as he’s inducted into the hallowed ranks of the Lantern Corp upon the death of Amon Sur. Being the first human to join the Green Lantern’s, there’s some resistance from both the Guardians (the little blue, gnome-like, Dungeon Master-type guys that basically run the Lanterns) and from the other Lanterns themselves (most notably one named Kilowog).

Written by Alan Burnett, the story, though it concerns Jordan’s origins as the Green Lantern of Earth, is very quick to get going. Unlike in Justice League: The New Frontier (which is also great, but in a different way, and also deals with a lot of Hal Jordan’s origin story), there’s no getting use to the power ring, learning to control your will and mind crap – we skip that part, Jordan is cocky and picks it up straight away and we move straight into the core story. Great stuff.

Essentially, Jordan is taken under his wing by another Lantern (a slightly outspoken one) by the name of Sinestro (fans will know what this guy is about…), who takes the human under his wing to ‘train’ him. The first mission is tracking down Amon Sur’s killer and in so doing, a deeper plot is revealed. I won’t go much further as that way lies spoilers. Let’s just say, I was really impressed with this movie.

To be honest, the Green Lantern is not one of my favourite DC characters. I also prefer the John Stewart version of the character, as seen in the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited TV shows (and what awesome shows they are too – highly recommend them if you like superhero stuff). It’s not that I don’t like the character (and he’s had lots of different incarnations over the years), rather that I just don’t find him as appealing as say, Batman, the Question or even Superman. Still, I’ve loved all the DC Animated Movies that have been released so far, so figured I’d give this a go too. I wasn’t disappointed.

The animation is very nice, not as appealing to me personally as the minimalist stylings of Bruce Timm’s shows Batman: The Animated Series, Superman and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited but cool none-the-less (incidentally, Bruce Timm is a producer/executive producer on this movie – I think he has been on all of the DC animated movies to date). The voice acting is great, which is no surprise given the excellent Andrea Romano handles the direction (she has been a stalwart of DC animation since the early 90’s with Batman: The Animated Series). Strong voice direction is also supported by a really strong cast including  Christopher Meloni as Hal Jordan (probably best know for Law & Order: Special Victim’s Unit), Victor Garber as Sinestro (Alias), Tricia Helfer as Boodika (Battlestar Galactica) and even Michael Madsen as Kilowog (does this guy really need a CV – he’s been in tons of great movies…). If you listen carefully, there’s even a cameo from Juliet Landau (who played Drusilla in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) but I won’t spoil it and say where and whom…

One of the things that struck me about the movie, especially as it moved on at break-neck pace with healthy doses of action and explosions, was that it really earns its PG13 certificate. There is character death, even blood, and it’s very violent. The themes are dark, and it has a kind of space opera meets hard-boiled detective drama edge to it that I really liked. The dialogue is snappy, the story swift and logical with a fair few twists. Nothing is drawn out for too long and the ending is very satisfying. I wasn’t sure what to expect when this was handed to me by the Posty. I’m very pleased to say that it was great and helped alleviate a crappy day in prospect.

I’m not one for giving out ratings, but suffice to say that Green Lantern: First Flight is a great little animated movie. Fans should totally check it out.