After disobeying orders during a mission
with the Justice League, Robin is reprimanded and sent to learn about teamwork
from the Teen Titans. Though he clashes instantly with the group of teenage
heroes, Robin is drawn to the enigmatic sorceress Raven. It’s through this
connection that Robin is convinced to help the team as they are drawn into a
battle with the demonic villain Trigon.
Justice
League vs. Teen Titans is a 2016 animated film directed by Sam Liu and
features the voices of Stuart Allan, Taissa Farmiga, Jerry O’Connell, Jason O’Mara,
and Rosario Dawson.
The storyline for Justice League vs. Teen Titans is loosely adapted from The New Teen Titans #4-6 by Marv Wolfman
and George Perez. In both versions, the Teen Titans race against the clock to
prevent Trigon from entering into our dimension and turning the planet into a
hellish wasteland. Where they differ is in the film’s lack of cohesion and the
divergence from the canon. Justice League
vs. Teen Titans essentially tries to be a sequel to Justice League: Throne of Atlantis and Batman: Bad Blood and a spin-off for the Teen Titans. The product
that director Sam Liu and screenwriters Bryan Q. Miller and Alan Burnett put
together feels like a cobbled together mess of two films crammed into one. The
presence of the Justice League throughout feels unnecessary, especially since
there’s a forced continuation of the relationship between Superman and Wonder
Woman that takes away precious screentime from the film’s true stars (the Teen
Titans). Furthermore, the absence of Aquaman, Green Lantern, and Shazam isn’t
addressed in a satisfying way.
This film is at its best when it focuses
on the Teen Titans and is actually really entertaining when it actually
explores the interpersonal relationships between the characters. The rivalry
between Robin and Beast Boy proves to be rather amusing, which culminates in a
(somewhat dated) scene where they compete against one another in a game of
Dance Dance Revolution. Similarly, Robin and Raven make for an interesting duo.
The sullen bird-named heroes both have villainous father figures (an actual
father in Raven’s case). There’s also a sense that Robin may have the inklings
of romantic feelings for Raven, which is admittedly kind of cute.
Unsurprisingly, Robin and Raven are the standout characters of this film, the
latter especially due to her having a fully developed character arc. That said,
there is an uncomfortable exchange between Raven and one of the male members of
the team when she retells the story of her conception. Whether it was Miller or
Burnett who wrote the dialogue, their flippant approach to making a punchline
out of an instance of implied sexual assault is disgusting.
The same, however, cannot be said about
Blue Beetle and Starfire. Blue Beetle is a rather obvious stand-in for Cyborg,
whose status as a Titan was nullified by being a founding member of the League
instead. He’s given very little to do throughout and there’s not much to convey
that he has a personality. With Starfire, who has a couple of eyeroll worthy
fan service moments, she comes across as a glorified babysitter who seems to be
constantly hovering around the team. In fact, it was a major misstep to have
her serve as the team’s mentor. This is probably more of a personal preference
than an objective criticism though. For one thing, Starfire is portrayed in
this film in a rather dippy manner, especially giving the lilting tones that
Kari Wahlgren uses. As such, it seems her characterization draws more from the
2003 cartoon than the comics. Furthermore, all of her lines and the role itself
would have been more effective had they been given to Donna Troy. She’s a
better leader, a far more nurturing individual, and would likely not have been
portrayed as if she had nothing but air rattling around between her ears. Quite
frankly, the continued mistreatment of Donna at the hands of Warner Brothers and
their employees is irritating and is disrespectful towards the legacy and
importance of Wonder Woman. The legal red tape is no more, so stop leaving her
in the dustbin. She’s an amazing character, one of the best you all have, so
start putting her in adaptations!
Justice
League vs. Teen Titans is one of the weakest entries into the DC Animated
Movie Universe, which is a shame because it’s adapted from such a seminal comic
book series. The character designs, performances (Rosario Dawson in particular
continues to shine as Wonder Woman), and direction overall is quite good, but
it’s the writing that drags the quality down. It juggles one too many subplots
and has an unwieldly large cast that is woefully underdeveloped. It would have
been more effective as a film had it stuck closer to the source text (this
means having both Donna and Wally as part of the cast) and if it kept the
Justice League members to cameos. As it is, Justice
League vs. Teen Titans is a bit of a mess with occasional stints of
compelling character moments.
RATING:
C+
