Teen Titans Go! To the Movies

I don't remember how I came upon watching my first clip of "Teen Titans Go!" on YouTube but what I do remember is that it and subsequent clips were genuinely funny. When I heard about "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies", I decided to watch all the episodes in my spare time over the summer. I was all caught up just as the film was being released. What made the TV show unique was that its satire worked. Its humor may have appeared childish when compared to the previous incarnation from a decade earlier but I argue that it is smart comedy disguised as a kids show. As for the theatrical film, there was a surprising attempt to balance this characteristic with serious storytelling. This is something we didn't really ask for. For us "Teen Titans Go!" fans, we don't need much seriousness because that is what the previous show is known for. However, if we want satire and silliness, we can continue to enjoy the TV show. This is a feature film after all and I normally praise movies that find a perfect balance between the drama and the humor. While "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies" did not have that perfect balance, it did pull it off better than I thought it could. Going forward, I will refer to the TV show that ran from 2003 until 2006 as "Teen Titans" and the TV show that this film is based off of as "Teen Titans Go!"

Before talking about "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies", I must set the stage. "Teen Titans Go!" has a following and the multiple seasons plus the existence of the theatrical film itself is proof. During the 2016 US blizzard, the three most popular streaming shows on Xfinity On-Demand were "Shades of Blue," "Game of Thrones" and "Teen Titans Go!" While the TV loves this show, the Internet is full of criticism because of the popularity and fan base of "Teen Titans". When you look at the kind of critiques given online about "Teen Titans Go!" however, they usually don't amount to more than a preference for "Teen Titans" without any further explanation. If an explanation is given, it is almost always about how "Teen Titans" is more serious. A big reason why there is such an outcry of dislike for "Teen Titans Go!" is the same reason why there was and is disapproval of new "Star Wars" films: the new stuff is successful. This success has emboldened fans of "Teen Titans" to be overly vocal about their displeasure. There is a tendency among passionate fans of any form of entertainment to feel like they have a sense of ownership because they love something so much. They take any change too personally as a result. Another important reason why there is criticism is because the "Teen Titans" series ended on a cliffhanger ("Trouble in Tokyo" was apparently not enough of a finale). Warner Bros. Animation it seems pushed a wrong button by doing a spin-off instead of another season. Please don't misunderstand me by concluding that I think "Teen Titans" isn't good because I really can't express an opinion on that yet. I have only seen one episode of "Teen Titans" in its entirety and when it was new on TV while I was in university, I was aware of it but didn't watch it. It is the style of animation that can either draw my attention to a show or bother me. "Teen Titans" obviously had an anime style and while I enjoy the occasion anime show/movie now and again, the animation style of "Teen Titans" wasn't such to maintain my attention. I am sure that the whole series is good because many have concluded it to be one of the best kids shows of that decade. In time, I may binge watch that show in my spare time. As for "Teen Titans Go!", it has clean and colorful animation but as mentioned, I enjoy the comedy and pop culture references of the show more. Funny enough, "Teen Titans Go!" has the ability to respond to its criticism directly and indirectly because it is a satirical TV show. For example, nearly every time Control Freak is featured in "Teen Titans Go!", there is a subtle or obvious reference to "Teen Titans" and their overly vocal fan base. With the exception of Adam West's Batman and "Teen Titans Go!", I can not think of any DC property that pokes fun at the its own universe (even the Bright Knight was less satire and more camp). Marvel has Deadpool so shouldn't DC have a way to make fun of itself? The existence of "Teen Titans Go!" shouldn't make the fans of "Teen Titans" so insecure in my opinion. Satire has its own place and fan base in entertainment otherwise Austin Powers or Saturday Night Live wouldn't have earned the success that they did.

Now that I have set the stage properly, I can delve into what worked in "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies" and what didn't. I love how the DC Comics logo sequence was redone using the "Teen Titans Go!" versions of the superheroes. As mentioned, this movie was a little more dramatic than I was expecting but I shouldn't be so put off about that. When the Powerpuff girls released their own theatrical film, it was likewise more serious than its source material. That is the case with so many TV movies or theatrical films based off a show. There are some franchises where the characters are more important than the stories such as the "Looney Tunes" or "The Muppets". I was expecting a similar scenario with "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies" but I respect the attempt to instill a little serious action and storytelling to compliment the unique style of humor we are used to. I don't think anyone can handle 90 minutes of pure silliness anyways. The film, like "Teen Titans Go!", is still self referential as the fourth wall is broken a few times. There are even subtle examples such as Robin telling his team to be serious before confronting Slade the second time. When it comes to the humor in "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies", there is the ridiculous that we are used to but there is also the smart comedy that adult comic book fans in the audience will catch. I like the irony in the TV show of Cyborg using 80's tech to play media and this was seen in the movie as well with the cassette and VHS tapes. The "Back to the Future" references were a joy for me personally. The movie even makes subtle fun of the fact that there are so many superhero movies being made. "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies" itself is the sixth superhero movie of 2018 and then take into account that it was released at the end of July. There was no way that a satirical superhero movie was going to pass on making fun of that. Other funny jokes I liked in this movie include "There is no stopping the Batman" and the final joke of the film. The TV show is also known for its short musical numbers and I would say half of the songs in the movie were entertaining. That is on par though with the songs in the TV show. I did not expect the mid-credit scene and it appears to show that Warner Bros. Animation is either succumbing to the criticism or using the success of "Teen Titans Go!" as justification for "a way back".

Usually when a series does a reboot, they recast the characters. As I was beginning to discover "Teen Titans Go!" on YouTube, I watched a few clips of "Teen Titans" in order to compare the two and I was very impressed with how the original cast performed a comical version of the same characters while basically using the same voice. Scott Menville's voice as Robin in "Teen Titans" for instance isn't much different from his voice on "Teen Titans Go!" For the spinoff, the humorous aspects of the characters were exaggerated to great effect. To illustrate, Starfire's naïveté and grammatical errors are much more apparent in "Teen Titans Go!" and that provides a lot of genuine humor. Furthermore, these voice actors have performed for these characters in at least three different TV shows and each time, I can sense only subtle changes. They can use the same voice to be serious, satirical or innocent and it works each time. Even supporting characters in "Teen Titans Go!" were voiced by the original actors. The spinoff series did hint at Slade at least once but did not actually show him and that ended up being a good thing. It was like he was being held in reserve for the feature film but I am guessing that the true reason is that the TV show creators were having trouble creating a Slade that would work in the spinoff. It is much easier to find that magic in the context of a feature film and if you have Will Arnett voicing him (Arnett was also one of the producers of the movie). This actor has done a lot of voice work because he is quite versatile. I am glad for example that Slade doesn't sound too much like Lego Batman. I was first introduced to this villain (and Cyborg) via "Justice League" but he is more commonly known as Deathstroke. I am curious where he got the nickname Slade. I think it’s ironic that Jade is voiced by Kristin Bell because of what happens to her character in "Frozen". I am surprised that I didn't catch the importance of the name Jade Wilson until the climax. "Teen Titans Go!" has featured celebrity cameos so it makes sense that the movie has a few celebs. This appears to be Stan Lee's first cameo in a DC movie but it was much funnier before he broke the fourth wall. Nicolas Cage has been after the role of Superman since the 90's and he finally gets his opportunity as he voices the Man of Steel in this film. Other celebrities in "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies" include Jimmy Kimmel, Wil Wheaton and Patton Oswalt. Michael Bolton even sings the "Upbeat Inspirational Song About Life".

Unlike the second and third "Hotel Transylvania" movies, the filmmakers behind "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies" honor their audience's intelligence. They understand that parents are taking their kids to this film and that it is possible to entertain everyone while staying true to what this version of the Teen Titans is known for. Not all children's entertainment has to be simple and I can't call this animated film simple because there was an attempt to balance the familiar satire of "Teen Titans Go!" with a narrative worthy of being on the big screen. The balance wasn't perfect but I believe that to be my own fault because I went into the film with certain expectations that weren't sensible for a feature film. The intelligent moments of comedy also prove that the movie isn't as simple as it appears.

3.5 Stars out of 5