I'm not a massive fan of the series Teen Titans Go! I've seen a bit of the show and I've found it to be very hit and miss. Sometimes it's really clever, other times it's unbearably stupid and childish. There are very rare occasions where it ends up being a mix of both. It's safe to say that I still prefer the original more mature take on the team that the original Teen Titans show on CN had to offer.
When this movie as announced I was...skeptical, to say the least. However the more I saw of it; the more it peaked my interest. The trailers showed a film that seems to be very self aware and not afraid to take shots at other films in the superhero genre. Basically a family friendly version of Deadpool (which they also took shots at). I could dig that.
So I saw the film after the massive critical acclaim it received really sparked my curiosity and....I loved it. I thought it was fantastic.
The plot is that Robin is upset that he hasn't been given a solo film of his own while every major superhero around him is starring in big budget franchises. So the Titans set out to prove themselves as real heroes who are deserving of a film of their own. Overall the plot is pretty predictable but the film is very aware of that and even pokes fun at itself for it. This could easily come off as lazy but the film doesn't shy away from exploring the most creative and absurd things that they could do with this story. There are several over the top and absolutely hilarious scenarios that our heroes keep throwing themselves into. A lot of them don't even really contribute to the plot in any meaningful way but they're done in a very interesting and funny manner so you tend to forgive it as you laugh along.
One thing I really admired about this film is that they clearly had such a blast in experimenting with different animation styles for different scenes. During most of the songs (which are extremely catchy) they employed styles that made the animation more fluid and made those sequences more surreal than they would've been otherwise. This added to my appreciation for the effort being put here.
If you've seen the show then you probably have a very good idea of the type of humor to expect when you watch this movie. Fart jokes, self referential gags, meta humor, more fart jokes, etc. Deadpool follows this same standard for comedy but I actually think it sort of works better in this movie than it does in that one. Mainly because this film takes itself less seriously so there's a weird charm to the absurdity. Even (do I daresay) a surprising level of intelligence. Think of Lego Movie but with more toilet humor and you've got Teen Titans Go! To The Movies.
The film isn't aimed at just kids. There's a surprising amount of dark humor that I admit took me by surprise and made me laugh til my gut hurt. The last joke of the film had both me and my friend laughing out loud. Aside from that there is clearly a lot of love present here for DC comics and the superhero genre in general. This is evident from the jokes (present and background) that reference superheroes and stories that even I'm barely aware that existed. They poke fun but you can tell it's done with a lot of love and care for what they're referencing.
What really makes the film work for me is the characters. They have a really great dynamic with each other that's equally funny and heartfelt. They work off each other great and they really feel like a proper team. This is evident in the banter and the action scenes. The voice cast consists of talents like Tara Strong, Will Arnett, Kristen Bell...and Nicolas Cage (who finally got to play Superman). Everyone sounded like they were having a blast.
Overall I found the movie really fun. I'd strongly recommend it.
9/10
Mood
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