DC Comics Animated Films.


Movies

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Seeing as this wonderful dream-come-true animation is coming up... I thought it'd be nice to have a thread to discuss DC's straight-to-DVD animated movies released under the DC Universe Animated Original Movies flag (not to be confused with Bruce Timm's DC Animated Universe, which is also freaking amazing!).

Say what you will about Warner and DC Comics, their animation department is really good! They have quite the portfolio of great films. Not all of them are amazing, but the vast majority of them is pretty good.

For me... It's really difficult to choose a favorite, but if I had to, I'd probably pick Batman - Under the Red Hood.

Justice League - War and Aquaman - Throne of Atlantis were quite disappointing, IMHO. Fortunately, they are counterbalanced by great flicks such as Wonder Woman, the Green Latern movies and more than a few great adaptations of comic sagas, such as Batman - Year One.

Do yourself a favor and check these movies out!

So... What are you favorite DC animated films, if any? Which ones do you think could be better? Is there any that you really didn't like? Any story you wish they'd adapt into a full-length animated film?

Tell us! :)

Liberty's Edge

The New Frontier.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens Subscriber

Your original link seems to be generating errors, but I am guessing you are referring the upcoming The Killing Joke - which I will agree I am really looking forward. It's not as ground breaking as it was when it was published - mostly because what it tells has become so much a part of the Joker character than existed before. Still, I am very curious to see play out in an animated format.

The list of DC animated movies is really good. I find it interesting that DC struggles (compared to Marvel) to bring their characters to the live-action movie screen, but does such an amazing job in translating many of their big stories to animation so well.

Anyhow, if I had to pick favorites, I would agree that New Frontier is really well done and captures the book really well. Second for me is Justice League: Doom. The combination of the Vandal Savage portrayal and the story concept is well done.

As for ones I would be interested in seeing them develop. Superman: Red Son could make for an interesting take; but it's probably a bit too politically controversial. Plus, the latter half of the story doesn't really develop as well for animated format.

I wouldn't mind seeing something done with some of James Robinson work from DC. The Golden Age is perfect for animated story. Interesting story that is completely self-contained; maybe too esoteric but I think it could be done. But also, there are some great storylines in either his Starman series or the JSA I think could be done. The Young Justice series delved into some of those elements, but not as much I would have liked.

Liberty's Edge

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I think The Nail would do well.


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Krensky wrote:
I think The Nail would do well.

That would be a good choice and stays within the Justice League theme Warner's seems to like using.

Scarab Sages

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I own many of the Warner Premiere movies: I'm missing a few older ones, some of which I had on DVD and haven't yet gotten on Bluray. I've also refrained from buying some of the more recent Batman ones because I really despise the Damien Wayne character.

Some of my favorite are:
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (James Woods as Owlman!)
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (cool anthology)
Batman: Year One (one of the best adaptations of a comic story)
Superman vs The Elite (watching Supes Unleashed was awesome!)
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (duh!)

I'm really looking forward to The Killing Joke - it's only one of my favorite Batman stories ever. Really looking forward to Mark Hammill doing this version of the Joker.

I'd love to see them do Batman: Year Two, where he takes on The Reaper. That could be really cool. And maybe the old Gothic Story from Legends of the Dark Knight - Mr. Whisper was terrifyingly badass. Another good adaptation might be the JLA/JSA crossover story Virtue and Vice. The Great Darkness Saga would also be awesome! So would Crisis on Infinite Earths, but that would definitely be a multi parter.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

I'll likely rent or buy the Titans vs. JL video.

Damn shame they cancelled The Judas Contract.


Matthew Morris wrote:

I'll likely rent or buy the Titans vs. JL video.

Damn shame they cancelled The Judas Contract.

I'm interested in that first one.


Judas Contract would be awesome.

Though difficult if they're trying to fit it into established continuity.

It's still one of the best ever superhero stories.


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Alex Martin wrote:
Your original link seems to be generating errors, but I am guessing you are referring the upcoming The Killing Joke - which I will agree I am really looking forward.

Ugh... Sorry... Here's the link.

It's The Killing Joke... Approved to be R-Rated by Warner... Directed by Bruce Timm... And starring the cast of Batman TAS.

I never dreamed this could actually happen... Why won't DC release this on theaters instead of BvS. :P

- - -

BTW I really like the Assault on Arkham film as well... And I expect the live action movie to be good, but not as good. I'm hoping to be proven wrong. :P


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The Killing Joke trailer is here! GET HYPED!


Hm. Let's see what happens here.

Scarab Sages

Lemmy wrote:
The Killing Joke trailer is here! GET HYPED!

Yeah, really looking forward to this one. I recall being blown away by it when the story was first published. My copy retains a place of honor in my collection.


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Nostalgia Critic reviews my very favorite Batman movie! :D

Scarab Sages

Yesterday, just before dinner, I found out they were doing limited, two-night showings of The Killing Joke. A bit further research showed the theater near my house was taking part, so I picked up a ticket for the 10 pm showing.

I enjoyed the hell out of it. It was an excellent adaptation of what is, in my opinion, one of the best Batman stories every written. Even the extra material they put in (to lengthen the run time) was okay. Not perfect, but it blended in well enough and helped lead into the "why" of Batman going to see Joker at the beginning of the story.

The animation style really reflected Brian Bolland's art. The voice casting was awesome, of course. Kevin Conroy was spectacular as always. I thought Mark Hamill really out did himself.

More about the added footage (spoilers):

Spoiler:
Most of what's added is a pure Batgirl story: the pursuit of a charismatic, sociopathic young mob boss who becomes obsessed with Batgirl. In that, they attempt a nice parallel to what has been and will be coming between Batman and Joker.

They also throw a bit more complexity into the relationship between Batgirl and Batman, something that's been used before in Batman Beyond, where they enter into a sexual relationship. I thought it was an interesting take, and especially good at focusing on the coldness and near inhumanity that Bruce can far too often display.

Sovereign Court

Seen the killing joke. Freaking amazing.


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Lemmy wrote:


I never dreamed this could actually happen... Why won't DC release this on theaters instead of BvS. :P

- - -

Because Animation is still pretty much in a ghetto in the US, outside of kid oriented Pixar and Disney films, no one has been willing to try to market outside that market. There've been a few exceptions, but none of them has done well.

Selling it by streaming bypasses the distribution and printing costs, which means you have a lower target number to make a profit.

Scarab Sages

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Hama wrote:
Seen the killing joke. Freaking amazing.

Indeed. And, next week, we finally get to own it on DVD/Bluray!!! WOOT!!!! Which is cool. I was getting tired of not buying the latest DC Animated flick because of lameness.


I have yet to see Bruce Timm lay an egg on ANY of the DC films he's made.


I won't say he exactly laid an egg on Batman: Year One, but Mazzucchelli's illustrations for the comic were so stylistic that I found the animation very, very bland in comparison. Otherwise a winner, though. :)

Scarab Sages

Hitdice wrote:
I won't say he exactly laid an egg on Batman: Year One, but Mazzucchelli's illustrations for the comic were so stylistic that I found the animation very, very bland in comparison. Otherwise a winner, though. :)

Yeah, that was probably one of the toughest ones to adapt, art/animation wise. The original comics were very gritty.


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Not one of Timm's, but Son of Batman is one of the worst comics related things I've ever watched.

Mostly because I really like Deathstroke, and he was such a little b+~*$ in that movie.

Liberty's Edge

Sundakan wrote:

Not one of Timm's, but Son of Batman is one of the worst comics related things I've ever watched.

Mostly because I really like Deathstroke, and he was such a little b@&$% in that movie.

Oh my gosh, yes. Everything in that movie was so stupid it hurt.

Scarab Sages

lucky7 wrote:
Sundakan wrote:

Not one of Timm's, but Son of Batman is one of the worst comics related things I've ever watched.

Mostly because I really like Deathstroke, and he was such a little b@&$% in that movie.

Oh my gosh, yes. Everything in that movie was so stupid it hurt.

Yeah, that's one of the movies I didn't even bother to watched and will never buy because it has Damian, the one Robin who probably deserves the Jason Todd treatment more than Jason Todd.


I watched it because I asked my brother (having never read a comic that included him) "Why does everyone hate Damian?"

He said "Here, watch this".

I get it now.

Sovereign Court

Because he is an insufferable prick.


I like Damian... In the comics. When he's well written.

Far too often, authors forget the whole character development he got and turn him into an annoying jerk. It doesn't help that every animated movie he's been in so far is mediocre at best and treats Damien like an arrogant Mary Sue.

Son of Batman is particularly bad...

Justice League vs Teen Titans is... ok.


I wouldn't mind him being an arrogant little prick at all (being raised by the League and essentially as a prince makes that a very logical characterization).

It's the Mary Sue part that annoyed me. What makes arrogant characters fun to watch is basically for when they get knocked down a peg...but he never is. Even when he gets whupped by Nightwing, he gave a fair enough accounting of himself that rather than catharsis you feel like screaming "BULLSHIT!".


To be fair... He was trained by the League of Assassins since he was a toddler. Giving a good fight and/or making a good analysis of the fight makes sense.

Which really annoys me in that movie is how Deathstroke is treated like an idiotic thug barely above random minions... Damian may be a terrific fighter, but he isn't Deathstroke good. At least, not yet, maybe in the future, after years of Batman/Talia training.


Sundakan wrote:

I wouldn't mind him being an arrogant little prick at all (being raised by the League and essentially as a prince makes that a very logical characterization).

It's the Mary Sue part that annoyed me. What makes arrogant characters fun to watch is basically for when they get knocked down a peg...but he never is. Even when he gets whupped by Nightwing, he gave a fair enough accounting of himself that rather than catharsis you feel like screaming "B@!@&$*~!".

They took a different tack with Damian, at least before he died. Rather than setting you up to enjoy to arrogant 10(?) year old getting whupped, the good parts were the cracks in his armor. The bits where you could see the arrogance was largely a mask and you could see the little kid inside, desperate for his father's love.

And Bruce nearly incapable of showing it.


Ahem... In any case, I watched The Killing Joke yesterday after work.

It's not a perfect film, but it's really freaking good. The cast from Batman TAS really haven't lost their touch... Kevin Conroy is amazing and Mark Hamil may have given his best performance yet. :)

The Batgirl prelude (added to extend the movie's length) is... okay. Unnecessary, but okay.

Batgirl Prelude:

I don't particularly like where they took the Batman/Batgirl relationship, but Bruce Timm always sailed that ship. Although it was always subtle (until a relatively recent comic book that retcons Bruce into having impregnated Barbara while she was dating Dick, which I find very out of character, but I digress)

And there's a short, but sweet after-credits scene...

After-credits scene:
We see Barbara starting her career as Oracle. Despite the usual cries of "sexism" that we hear every time any female character suffers or fails, I always considered Barbara to be far, far more interesting as Oracle than as Batgirl.

She was an absolutely amazing, capable and unique character as Oracle. She was never particularly interesting as Batgirl... In fact, I consider her the least interesting Batgirl ever.


Mm that new preview for Justice League Dark looks great.

Oh and it has Matt Ryan as John Constantine. :)


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Lemmy wrote:
Which really annoys me in that movie is how Deathstroke is treated like an idiotic thug barely above random minions... Damian may be a terrific fighter, but he isn't Deathstroke good.

My thought was always "Why is Deathstroke playing the equivalent of Ubu?" a) Ubu has always made a great minion/henchman as is and b) what a waste of usually interesting super villain.

As for your comment Lemmy:

Spoiler:

I agree, Barbara Gordon as Oracle probably made her a much stronger character than constantly being "female sidekick" in the comics. It gave them a chance to show that she was more than capable as a character to move beyond the spandex.

I think it's a problem DC has with the Supergirl character, given that she's had like six revamps post-crisis. They can't seem to move her beyond just being a superhero into more character development.


Drahliana Moonrunner wrote:
Lemmy wrote:


I never dreamed this could actually happen... Why won't DC release this on theaters instead of BvS. :P

- - -

Because Animation is still pretty much in a ghetto in the US, outside of kid oriented Pixar and Disney films, no one has been willing to try to market outside that market. There've been a few exceptions, but none of them has done well.

I agree completely, especially after the relative failure of "Mask of the Phantasm" in theaters.

For what it's worth, B:TKJ made $3.175M yesterday in limited showings according to Box Office Mojo, good enough for third place overall, and the best per-theater take out of all releases.

Scarab Sages

Thomas Seitz wrote:

Mm that new preview for Justice League Dark looks great.

Oh and it has Matt Ryan as John Constantine. :)

The more I see about this, the more interested I become. I may end up On Demanding it first, however.


Aberzombie wrote:
Thomas Seitz wrote:

Mm that new preview for Justice League Dark looks great.

Oh and it has Matt Ryan as John Constantine. :)

The more I see about this, the more interested I become. I may end up On Demanding it first, however.

Well my feeling is they'll some how connect towards both Justice League Dark and some Demon Knights with maybe Morgan Le Fay as the main purveyor of evil soul stuff. I could be wrong though.


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Thomas Seitz wrote:
Mm that new preview for Justice League Dark looks great.

It does look interesting. I would have loved to see them take Bill Willingham's Shadowpact for a DC supernatural team, but understand that's way behind the style they are going for. Nice trick with some the callbacks to DC's 70's-80's style creep comics (House of Mystery). I would be curious if the Spectre makes at least a cameo.

Appears Felix Faust makes another turn as the sub-villain, but agree that the implication in the video is that Morgan Le Fay is the mastermind.


Alex,

Yep Felix Faust never has shown much other than being an underling to other more powerful players.

So to me, him showing up just means he's playing for someone else's team, not running it.


Got to see the Killing joke for myself, and man was it something. I already knew the basic plot, but seeing it acted out was great.

I do agree with an assessment I saw elsewhere though: Seeing it now it has much less "oomph" than one would expect...because it's such an utterly influential story to begin with. You've already seen it because much of what the Joker is has been shaped by this story.

It's kind of like reading the final version of The Lord of the Rings and then finding Tolkien's original rough draft. It's still great, but you already know this story, and in a much more refined state with the weight of many years chugging along based on this one manuscript.

Still, I loved the movie, it definitely lives up to its reputation as one of the defining moments of part of the Batman mythos.


I just figure I'll catch this on TV.


I watched Batman - The Killing Joke and I enjoyed it. If you have read the comic, then you already know the punchline, but it was worth watching anyway.


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Turns out... Assault on Arkham is still the best Suicide Squad film we have. As expected, live action Warner productions can't measure up to the much superior animation productions.


Lemmy,

That's because animation doesn't need a huge FX budget to make people that aren't normal look...well normal!


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Thomas Seitz wrote:

Lemmy,

That's because animation doesn't need a huge FX budget to make people that aren't normal look...well normal!

So the money goes to hiring decent writers? Because visual effects aren't what I'm comparing. :P

Warner always had a great animation department. They completely revitalized the medium in the early 90s and have been keeping a really good track record ever since. Specially with DC properties.

For every "Son of Batman" we have multiple good movies. :)


Lemmy,

Dunno. All I can say is the animated films, like you said, do great stuff and the live action...less so.

Unless it's Batman. Apparently they can't screw that up as much since they found out people love Grimdark for Batman.


Last good Batman live action movie was The Dark Knight. :/

In that time, Warner's animation department gave us "Under The Red Hood", which is freaking amazing! As well as some great adaptations, such as "The Dark Knight Returns" (parts 1 and 2), "Batman - Year One" and "The Killing Joke" (which I'll admit, the first half hour or so is rather unnecessary).

Hell! Even the Green Lantern animated movies are great! The live action one, on the other hand...


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Lemmy,

I think we both agree no one speaks of the live action Green Lantern.

Not even Ryan Reynolds.


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But Deadpool does!


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Yes but only because it makes him a) money and b) he's Deadpool.

Sovereign Court

The last good batman live action movie was The Batman from the 80s. The one that didn't have exploding penguins on radar.

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