I love the DC Animated films and am always glad when news and new trailers come out. Their movies do such a great job for the most part and the films are quite entertaining. At New York Comic Con 2011 DC showed off the new trailer for the upcoming animated film, Justice League Doom. Check out the trailer at the bottom of this post. Also just out this week, Batman: Year One, which i loved as well. So, today I thought I'd take a break from the action figure reviews and go through some of my favorite DC animated fims in the form of a Top 10 list. If you're a DC fan, these animated films are a must see. Marvel may have the jump on DC when it comes to the big budget live action flicks, but DC is certainly holding its own in the animated movie department. If you haven't seen them, go out and get yourself a copy as they are better then A LOT of the live action superhero movies that have been released in recent years.
Now, lets go over some honorable mentions. These films were not my favorites, however a lot of DC fans enjoyed these movies and just because they weren't my favorite, doesn't mean they should be overlooked.
A lot of DC fans felt that Justice League - The New Frontier was a great film and would probably rank it in their Top 5. It is based on Darwyn Cooke's 2003-2004 graphic novel "DC: The New Frontier" and features all the major Justice League characters.
All-Star Superman was released earlier this year (2011) and is based on Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's 2005-2008 comic book "All-Star Superman". Again, a lot of fans hold this film in high regards but I myself, was not a fan of the animation in this one.
Superman/Shazam - Return of Black Adam is a DVD made up of a bunch of short films. In addition to the Black Adam Story, also included are short films on Green Arrow, Jonah Hex and The Spectre. By far, the best short film on this DVD is The Return of Black Adam. A lot of action squeezed into a short story. I wish they would've hammered out a full length film on this one. Black Adam kicks some ass! Green Arrow was probably the next best story. Worth a watch if you can get it cheap.
Batman Gotham Knight was basically a collection of short films, each of which each has its own style of animation. It was released as a tie into the Christopher Nolan's films supposedly taking place in between the Batman Begins and The Dark Knight films. Batman Gotham Knight features short stories that include the likes of Killer Croc, Deadshot, Scarecrow and many more Batman regulars.
Okay, on to my TOP 10 DC Animated Films:
#10. Superman: Doomsday
Loosely based on The Death of Superman comic book, this action packed movie did a great job of taking the concept of the popular comic series and condensing it into a 90 minute film. It features Superman, Doomsday, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson
Its sort of a new take on the origin story of Hal Jordan becoming the Green Lantern. Although they rush though Hal's training process (he seems to pick things up fairly quickly), this movie is filled with some pretty tight action sequences and Victor Garber voicing of Sinestro is brilliant. For those unfamiliar with the Green Lantern world, you get a good introduction to the Green Lantern Corps characters. The movie does have its flaws but is much better than the Ryan Reynolds live action version.
First off, Tim Daley IS the voice of Superman, and without a doubt, Kevin Conroy is the best Batman voice ever!! When you get them both in the same movie, you know its gonna be good. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is based on the "The World's Finest" comic series where Lex Luthor is President and puts a bounty on Superman's head. So of course, you have a ton of villains looking to collect. Look for appearances from Captain Atom, Metallo, Black Lightning, Powergirl, Shazam, Hawkman, Gorilla Grodd, Toyman and many more in this one.
Based on the "The Supergirl from Krypton" story, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse again features the voices of Tim Daley and Kevin Conroy as well as the equally great Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman. This movie tells the story of Supergirl and features some really brutally violent fight scenes, which of course, is a good thing. Darkseid is your main bady this time around and Granny Goodness and Big Barda to make noticeable appearances as well.
Loosely based on JLA: Earth 2, Crisis of Two Earth tells the story of a good Lex Luthor from a parallel Earth looking to recruit the Justice League to help save his planet from the Crime Syndicate. A very good story and animation the only real knock against this film, is no Kevin Conroy.
Yep, that's right, I'm including the older animated films in my list simply because they must be seen. Batman Beyond was not my favorite TV series but this movie is definitely worth the watch. Released in 2000, this movie features a retired Bruce Wayne at 80 years old and his Batman protegee Terry McGinnis and tells the story of the mysterious return of Batman's arch enemy, The Joker is voiced by the great Mark Hamill
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was released in 1993 and takes place in the Batman: The Animated Series world. An original story about the Phantasm arriving in Gotham and killing off Gotham's crime bosses. Batman becomes mistaken for the Phantasm and now must run from the police and apprehend the killer and clear his name.
An origin story based on Frank Miller's Year One comic book, this story looks at Bruce Wayne's transformation beginnings as Batman but even more so, tells Commissioner Gordon's start in Gotham. Also included in the DVD is a 15 minute short flick on Catwoman. Very Impressed with this one.
#2. Wonder Woman
Batman does not totally dominate the Top 5. A great origin story released in 2009, this Wonder Woman animated movie does a great job telling the story of how Diana of Themyscira becomes the greatest female superhero ever. Amazing story, stunning animation and brilliant voice acting, this movie really fills the void DC fans are feeling from a lack of a live action Wonder Woman film. Hey, if Marvel can pull off a live action Thor movie, I say that DC can pull of a Wonder Woman.
The story of Batman: Under the Red Hood is based on the comic book story "Under the Hood" where Batman and Nightwing are dealing with a new mysterious vigilante in Gotham known as the Red Hood. This leads Batman to interactions with some of his greatest enemies, The Joker, Ra's Al Ghul and Black Mask. Bruce Greenwood voices Batman this time around and truly does an amazing job. If ever you need a replacement for Kevin Conroy, Bruce is the man. Great story, violent, dark and full of emotion, Batman: Under the Red Hood will be very hard to top and is a must see animated movie for any super hero fan.
Thats it for my Top 10. Feel free to leave a comment below about which movie you liked the best or didnt like at all or check out the readers poll on the left side of your screen to vote for your favorite. See the trailer below for a preview of the upcoming DC animated film - Justice League Doom:
1 comment:
I really need to watch these.
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