Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (Review)
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies Is So Stupid… And I Loved Every Minute of It.
I was a big fan of the original Teen Titans series before it was twisted into Teen Titans Go! In fact, when Cartoon Network made the change I was so resentful I swore I would never give the series a chance. Cut to a few years later and I found myself sitting in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies and regretting that decision. What I thought would be one of the most excruciating movies of the summer actually made my sides cramp from laughter. I just wasn’t prepared for this and that’s why I’m here to warn you about just how wonderful this movie is.
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is a glorious film that will shape the future of fanboys and girls for the best. Even us bitter and jaded old nerds will love just how many easter eggs are in this animated feature. They range from the obvious of a Stan Lee cameo in the wrong movie to the more obscure of casting of Nicolas Cage as the voice of Superman (he was set to star in the ill-fated Tim Burton’s Superman Lives). It’s a fanservice movie made for comic book nerds but never feels like it’s pandering to them. In other words, it’s a movie for geeks made by geeks. Best of all, kids and adults will find common ground in the absurdist humor throughout the film. While not every joke lands, there are more than a few that will leave you in stitches.
While it might not come out and say it, Teen Titans Go! teaches fanboys a valuable lesson by the end of the film. That lesson? Stop getting into pissing matched over Marvel vs DC! This film is stuffed full of not only self-deprecating DC humor pointing out the flaws in their own cinematic universe (from that infamous “Martha” scene to the atrocious Green Lantern movie), but it features plenty of scenes poking fun at Marvel as well. Personally, I like to think that DC and Marvel sat down and traded rights to mock each other in Teen Titans Go! and Deadpool 2 chuckling as they ran jokes by each other and high fiving after each one. It might not seem like a big deal, but this self-aware style of comedy is very similar to Deadpool and that makes it a kid’s flick that grown-ups will enjoy just as much as the little ones.
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies features the same voice cast as the cartoon series (Greg Cipes, Tara Strong, Khary Payton, Hynden Walch, and Scott Menville), but it also has more big-name celebrities than you can shake a stick at. Of course, I already mentioned well known comic nerd, Nicolas Cage, but it also features the likes of Will Arnett, Kristen Bell, John DiMaggio, Patton Oswalt, and… STAN THE MAN LEE! It’s a collection of actors who are as passionate about superheroes as the audience is and that translates perfectly on the big screen. Like I said earlier, this is a film for geeks by geeks, and that’s the secret to its success. While the film spends plenty of time mocking the superhero genre, it never does so maliciously. In fact, it feels very much like the kind of jokes you’d hear nerds making over a few beers while talking about their love of comics. There’s a sort of respect for that thing so many of us cherish and because of that, it’s easy to take it all in stride. Teen Titans Go! is the perfect example of “all in good fun.”
Despite the bright and vivid animation style, Teen Titans Go! features a lot of really dark humor. Fortunately, it’s subtle enough that it won’t upset the kids, but it’s a welcome addition for the parents that might be forced into seeing this in theaters. Don’t fret though if your little one is shrieking about seeing this movie though. I was in the theater with plenty of kids and parents alike, and I wasn’t the only one over the age of 10 that was cackling like an idiot at the jokes these animated superheroes made. Writers Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath line up some delightful jokes for all ages and fortunately the directors (Aaron Horvath and Peter Rida Michail) know just how to deliver the material to make it really pop.
While this might not be a film that stands a chance at winning an Academy Award with movies like Isle of Dogs and Incredibles 2 competing, Teen Titans Go! is a movie that will make your day. I had the chance to see it the same day as Mission: Impossible- Fallout, and to be honest I’m already excited to show this film to other comic geeks I know. It’s a film that many might be apprehensive about, but let me tell you as a hardcore comic geek, I couldn’t have been happier with my movie-going experience. True, it’s an incredibly stupid film, but I loved every second of it. In fact, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is the very reason why the popcorn metric exists here at Stars & Popcorn. It might not be a great film, but it’s one that will ensure you have a great day at the movies.
