Teen Titans Go! To the Movies

DC's young superhero team, the Teen Titans, made a name for themselves with their animated series in 2003. Their 2013 revival, Teen Titans Go!, took the show's goofy side and ran with it, allegedly, in the wrong directions. Few thought one such direction was to the big screen. But that's where they went in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.

The Teen Titans - Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven and Starfire - are Jump City's resident childish superheroes. Nobody takes them seriously, not even DC's other superheroes. Film director Jade Wilson (Kristen Bell) is making movies of DC's superheroes; even Batman's Batmobile and Utility Belt have movies. Robin decides to increase the Titans' prestige by getting their own movie. But first, they must have an arch-enemy.

Slade (Will Arnett), a gruff, armored supervillain, enters the scene. He wants to use a crystal to take over the world. The Titans want to stop him. But Slade doesn't take them seriously. But the Titans' efforts get Jade to take them seriously. That Teen Titans movie might finally get made. But fame and fortune might split them up before the premiere. How will they get out of this one?

The film's goofy humor has its hits and misses. There's not many misses, though. A few bits of childish humor and loud goofiness went a bit longer than needed. But the hits are plenty. A darkly funny scene has the Titans prevent, then un-prevent numerous superhero origins, including Superman's (Nicolas Cage), Batman's (Jimmy Kimmel) and, though their names aren't mentioned, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Batman v Superman's most derided moment gets a welcome mocking. And even Stan Lee gets to cameo here. It's that kind of movie.

It does know when to get serious, though. You'll feel it when the Titans are mocked by the other heroes. The Titans' temporary break-up was sad even if you knew it was temporary. And their home movie was silly but it had a good pay-off at the end. It's not an Oscar-caliber screenplay but at least it admits it.

The production values are a bit bigger than the TV show. Its characters look the same but the backgrounds are more elaborate. It even changes animation styles for a few scenes, including a surprising parody of The Lion King's Circle of Life number. Jared Faber's score is pretty good, but its best moments incorporate the 2003 show's famous theme. There were a few musical numbers, some forgettable, with the best one featuring Michael Bolton and a funny closing gag.

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is a delightfully silly superhero parody for kids. It goes by pretty good at 88 minutes even if it drags a bit at places. It's both a louder, longer and smarter episode of the TV show. Doesn't that sound weird? It's at least worth a matinee.

The silliness starts with a new short for DC's girl-centric franchise, DC Super Hero Girls. It was fun even if it ended abruptly. Its mid-credit scene homages the 2003 show. It ends the credits on the Challengers of the Unknown, Jack Kirby's classic, yet relatively obscure super team, whose comical mistreatment made for a funny running gag.