People are wrong about DC Animated Movies ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

vaderise · Apr 13, 2021

NintendoSwitchLover said:
I didn't mind the animated universe attempt. There were some plain old boring movies but there's usually one or two things to pick out and enjoy for me.

I just watched red son for the first time and the pacing in that movie was just weird, I don't think the story they were going for works in animation.

I find it hard to get offended when a dc animated movie is bad. I don't usually go out and buy them at release and I wait for either netflix or rent it online when it's cheap. Because the movies themselves are inherently direct to DVD I can cut them some slack

The problem is previous animated universe was absolutely amazing and even the stuff came after the DCAU was great, this newer attempt is just plain bad and devoid of soul, both in terms of characters and the art style.
When DCAU did everything better 15 years ago, it's really hard to not hate these newer ones.

Bor Gullet · Apr 13, 2021

The Hobo said:
Did anyone else dislike Jason O'Mara as Batman?

I actually think he's underrated, and think his line delivery is perfect for that version of the character.

The worst Batman voice is Ben McKenzie in Year One. Just seemed miscast. But that film also had Bryan Cranston as Gordon, which was pretty perfect.

Eulala · Apr 13, 2021

I know they're top sellers, but I couldn't do another Batman or Superman arc. Release schedule always felt like Batman, Batman, Superman, Justice League, Batman, Batman and Superman, Justice League, Batman, Superman, and every so often Wonder Woman/Aquaman/Flash/Green Lantern get a solo arc.

I did really enjoy Justice League vs. Fatal Five though. A cool Jessica Cruz story in the guise of a spiritual continuation of Justice League/Unlimited.

PlayBee · Apr 13, 2021

vaderise said:
-Superman / Batman Public Enemies - Apocalypse
-Justice League: Doom
-Superman vs the Elite
-Wonder Woman
- All Star Superman
-Flashpoint Paradox

These ones are good.

-The Dark Knight Returns (P1-2)
-Batman: Under the Red Hood

These ones are excellent.

Bor Gullet said:
-Batman Gotham By Gaslight
-The Death of Superman
-Justice League Doom
-The Dark Knight Returns (both parts)
-Batman Assault on Arkham
-Justice League: Gods and Monsters
-Batman: Under The Red Hood
-Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
-Superman vs the Elite
-Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (for real this one is really good)

Cool, thank you!

FlashbladeERA · Apr 13, 2021

vaderise said:
Irony is that, Scott Snyder's Batman run was the best thing to come out from the New 52( which is funny because Batman was the least effected character from the continunity shift) and among the New 52 Era animated movies, Batman ones are most definitely the worst.

And those were exactly the ones that made me stop watching lol

The occasional cool ass fight scene couldn't save it

greenhadoken · Apr 13, 2021

My favorite is Gotham Knight, don't know if it counts but I think about it all the time.

DragonSJG · Apr 13, 2021

New 52 film universe sucked
Old ones were so good
Public Enemies

Famassu · Apr 13, 2021

OP is missing the absolutely dreadful Batman Samurai movie (I don't remember its name, I think my brains are trying to protect me and purge everything related to it from my memory).

AHA-Lambda · Apr 13, 2021

Have to agree; I've not watched many of the DCAU movies but all of the more recent ones I have seen have been meh at the very best.
I particularly hated Batman Ninja and Gotham by Gaslight
I've not heard good things about the latest Batman ones, death in the family and soul of the dragon

where the Adam West animated ones any good?

Waggles · Apr 13, 2021

The one constant in every thread about the DCAU is that everyone has different, but equally horrible taste.

Speaking of trash, did Batman Ninja ever get a "correct" sub? Coulda sworn there was a whole thing about how the dub and sub are completely different, badly done nonsense takes of the actual story. Am I wrong?

Scently · Apr 13, 2021

I thought JL: War was nice. I enjoyed it.

vaderise · Apr 13, 2021

Famassu said:
OP is missing the absolutely dreadful Batman Samurai movie (I don't remember its name, I think my brains are trying to protect me and purge everything related to it from my memory).

Batman Ninja is a terrible movie but i excluded it because it is an anime, done by a completely different team in Japan , outside the usual WB Animation department..

mutantmagnet · Apr 13, 2021

Spring-Loaded said:

He did add that qualifier.

Cut him some slack.

:|

tsmoreau · Apr 13, 2021

I dunno what you're on op

DC's direct to video stuff is almost wholly absolute trash on every level

Jmdajr · Apr 13, 2021

The Harley Quin show is fucking amazing. After watching that I Iost motivation for rhe rest on HBO Max.

Alienous · Apr 13, 2021

They became forgettable quickly when they began to establish a New52 shared continuity.

I agree with other comments in this thread that Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay is worth highlighting out of that bunch. I thought parts of it were clever, and I can't really say that for most of the movies.

vaderise · Apr 13, 2021

Jmdajr said:
The Harley Quin show is fucking amazing. After watching that I Iost motivation for rhe rest on HBO Max.

Yeah, Harley Quinn show is indeed fantastic. With Young Justice dissappearing again (seriously, when is the next season?), we definitely need more DC animated series.

tsmoreau said:
I dunno what you're on op

DC's direct to video stuff is almost wholly absolute trash on every level

That is what i am saying in the thread though.

Keldroc · Apr 13, 2021

mrmoose said:
So do you want a live action movie like that?

Again, I'm not saying they are all absolutely terrible, I'm saying nobody (that I know of) is saying that they should be the direction a live action cinematic universe should go in. Also the best ones are only decent because they halfway translate a much better comic book story.

They're not good but they'd still be an improvement if adapted into live action over what we have now.

But I don't really see anyone say that much. When people say the live action films should take inspiration from the animated universe they mean the Dini/Timm stuff from the '90s and early '00s.

Claire Delune · Apr 13, 2021

vaderise said:
- Batman and Harley Quinn: Another DCAU homage where Harley Quinn fucks Nightwing. Yeah, that happened.

For some reason, clips of this have been showing up in my YouTube recommendations, and between the Super Hooters restaurant, Nightwing having sex with Harley, and the smelling farts in the Batmobile scenes, yeeeeeeeeesh... Just skeezy and horny and weird and besmirching of the BTAS continuity.

timedesk · Apr 13, 2021

I stopped actively following the DC animated movies around the time they made Flashpoint. I've always hated that story and outside of Harper Row and the Court of Owls I never really liked much that came from it. The movie's push for bloodier and darker stories just left me cold. When Apocalypse War was the worst of all the movies that came before it because, like Flashpoint, the whole thing was going to be undone.

The bigger problem to me is that the movies are just following the trend set by the comics. It feels like ever since Identity Crisis, a story I didn't hate at the time but have come to dislike more and more as the years have passed, DC has been a weird cycle. Infinite Crisis was entirely about how dark and twisted the DC universe had become, and ended with a lot of the big heroes leaving for a time to re connect with their families or reexamine their recent failings... and then wound up right back into the pattern of killing off legacy heroes or minorities and reveling in that grim dark stuff.

They did an entire relaunch which was about how the universe needed more hope. They brought back Wally West as a symbol of that hope and then not too long later ruined him in the name of "exploring trauma". It feels like the old DCAU would never be allowed to exist these days. It's too simple, too optimistic. It feels like these days they just want deconstruct the heroes and not build anything with them. Sorry for the slightly off topic rant.

mrmoose · Apr 13, 2021

timedesk said:
I stopped actively following the DC animated movies around the time they made Flashpoint. I've always hated that story and outside of Harper Row and the Court of Owls I never really liked much that came from it. The movie's push for bloodier and darker stories just left me cold. When Apocalypse War was the worst of all the movies that came before it because, like Flashpoint, the whole thing was going to be undone.

The bigger problem to me is that the movies are just following the trend set by the comics. It feels like ever since Identity Crisis, a story I didn't hate at the time but have come to dislike more and more as the years have passed, DC has been a weird cycle. Infinite Crisis was entirely about how dark and twisted the DC universe had become, and ended with a lot of the big heroes leaving for a time to re connect with their families or reexamine their recent failings... and then wound up right back into the pattern of killing off legacy heroes or minorities and reveling in that grim dark stuff.

They did an entire relaunch which was about how the universe needed more hope. They brought back Wally West as a symbol of that hope and then not too long later ruined him in the name of "exploring trauma". It feels like the old DCAU would never be allowed to exist these days. It's too simple, too optimistic. It feels like these days they just want deconstruct the heroes and not build anything with them. Sorry for the slightly off topic rant.

That seems like what the audience wants though for whatever reason. Not me, but a large contingent. Like the people who find traditional Superman too boring and prefer MoS. In some ways Apocalypse War was like what the Snyder movies would look like if he could get away with that in live action. And I think some people like that. To me it looks like the classic "we took the wrong things away from Watchmen and TDKR" trend that happened right after those classics came out: grim and gritty does not equal adult. You only have to see the Dini/Timmverse (without Batman on Batgirl fetishist action) to see that. But maybe that's too old fashioned or something.

I did love Justice League Action before it died the predictable slow death from a thousand CN timeslots.

MisterHero · Apr 13, 2021

I really slept on Batman Year One and TDKR1+2.

Peter Weller's a cool guy, he just isn't Batman though

Aly · Apr 13, 2021

The last one I really liked was Flashpoint Paradox. The newer stuff with Damian and the N52 verse have been garbage. I'm still salty about them ruining the Dick/Damian relationship.

timedesk · Apr 13, 2021

mrmoose said:
That seems like what the audience wants though for whatever reason. Not me, but a large contingent. Like the people who find traditional Superman too boring and prefer MoS. In some ways Apocalypse War was like what the Snyder movies would look like if he could get away with that in live action. And I think some people like that. To me it looks like the classic "we took the wrong things away from Watchmen and TDKR" trend that happened right after those classics came out: grim and gritty does not equal adult. You only have to see the Dini/Timmverse (without Batman on Batgirl fetishist action) to see that. But maybe that's too old fashioned or something.

I did love Justice League Action before it died the predictable slow death from a thousand CN timeslots.

It definitely seems like there is a big market for these kinds of stories, and I am happy if there is a group of people that earnestly enjoy these kinds of stories and films. I think I'm just kind of burnt out on it all. There are so many superhero shows and films that play up the ultra violence, or the What if Superman Turned Evil and Killed People stories out there that it all just leaves me feeling apathetic or tired. I'm not against deconstructions, but it sometimes feels like the characterizations these movies and books are deconstructing don't even exist anymore. That's not true, but the ratio feels really lopsided.

Still, it seems like some of the live action stuff they're making could be moving towards the more optimistic side of the spectrum. I've heard good things about the new Superman show, and Stargirl wasn't bad. I wish the animation side of things would find a balance between pure lighthearted fluff and bleak cynicism. Harley Quinn is the closest they've come to that balance, but it's still pretty cynical.

Electricb7 · Apr 13, 2021

You know whats crazy? The last good DC animated movie was a direct to video movie called "Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

mrmoose · Apr 13, 2021

timedesk said:
It definitely seems like there is a big market for these kinds of stories, and I am happy if there is a group of people that earnestly enjoy these kinds of stories and films. I think I'm just kind of burnt out on it all. There are so many superhero shows and films that play up the ultra violence, or the What if Superman Turned Evil and Killed People stories out there that it all just leaves me feeling apathetic or tired. I'm not against deconstructions, but it sometimes feels like the characterizations these movies and books are deconstructing don't even exist anymore. That's not true, but the ratio feels really lopsided.

Still, it seems like some of the live action stuff they're making could be moving towards the more optimistic side of the spectrum. I've heard good things about the new Superman show, and Stargirl wasn't bad. I wish the animation side of things would find a balance between pure lighthearted fluff and bleak cynicism. Harley Quinn is the closest they've come to that balance, but it's still pretty cynical.

The WB stuff has always been more on the lighthearted side, it's just that both Superman and Lois and Stargirl seem a bit higher quality, more than likely because of their seemingly higher budget and lower episode count. But then you have something like Titans, which I don't mind (gaping gaping plotholes aside) but which is a very dark take, and then the great Doom Patrol, which does something completely different. Someone definitely made Titans thinking that we wanted a Teen Titans full of death and killing and stuff.

FelRes · Apr 14, 2021

DC animated movies have always been just okay. Background noise movies. It's the DCAU and other animated shows that are peak cape fiction and should be preserved for future eras.

Sander VF · Apr 14, 2021

Counterpoint:

The entire movie was worth it just for this.

InfiniteKing · Apr 14, 2021

I really wish they'd make a sequel to Batman and TMNT

Imperfected · Apr 14, 2021

Why are there so many of these? Is this some kind of Uwe Boll-esque tax scheme?

MisterHero · Apr 14, 2021

I didn't watch the 2nd one but the 1st Batman 66 movie was fun. If you can ignore the changed likenesses of the non-returning characters, which kind of defeats the purpose of using the property...

I imagine they'll do the same for Superman 78 and Batman 89, if the comics get that far. Or maybe they're saving Keaton for regular film appearances.

mrmoose · Apr 14, 2021

Imperfected said:
Why are there so many of these? Is this some kind of Uwe Boll-esque tax scheme?

Because people buy them?

excelsiorlef · Apr 14, 2021

vaderise said:
Nah, DCEU has stinkers like Suicide Squad and WW84 but also some great stuff like Wonder Woman and ZS JL both are miles above these animated movies.

Bloodlines has a better 3rd act than Wonder Woman to be fair.

Imperfected · Apr 14, 2021

mrmoose said:
Because people buy them?

Are they selling that well to justify this sort of assembly-line production?

I've never even heard anyone mention like 2/3rds of these, and I'm a big dumb nerd who sometimes listens to Slayven when he talks.

Tycho Kepler · Apr 14, 2021

Gods and Monsters was maybe one of my favorites from the last decade

Foltzie · Apr 14, 2021

Imperfected said:
Why are there so many of these? Is this some kind of Uwe Boll-esque tax scheme?

They seem to be budgeted for ~2-3.5M. Assuming they sell between 500K and 1M in whatever platform they more than make their money back and have content for streaming services, which it seems they do easily. I assume that Bruce Timm or whatever executive is in charge of the division has secured a reoccurring budget for ~3 movies a year.

Rackham · Apr 14, 2021

I liked a majority of the DC animated movies so /shrug.

Pandora012 · Apr 14, 2021

Ehh, I like a good portion of the movies. They range from decent to good, tho there are some....shitty ones forsure. Alot of the batman and robin ones lost me, not sure if it was the story or the really obvious lack of money invested. But i can't really remember any of them. Some of my favorites are the TMNT, Apokolips War, Titans, and Suicide Squad ones. I think the ones not related to new 52 were the ones that I generally liked more.

tata toothy · Apr 14, 2021

DC really needs to get over this obsession with making everything so goddamn dark, edgy, and "mature" all time. I think things like the DCAU and Young Justice show that DC properties are really better off on a PG or light-PG13 level.

OneTrickJeffrey · Apr 14, 2021

I vividly remember seeing The Killing Joke in its limited theater run and the crazy amount of chuckling that happened when Barbara/Bruce started fucking and the camera panned up to the gargoyle.

What a piece of shit.

Forkball · Apr 14, 2021

Red Son has a weird ending in the comics so I see why they changed it.

TDKR is good but the original comic art is so distinct that to distill it into a more generic animation style takes away from it IMO.

RPG_Fanatic · Apr 14, 2021

Bor Gullet said:
-Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (for real this one is really good)

I am just coming in here to say that I agree that this movie is great. Much better than what I was expecting from the cross-over.

Imperfected · Apr 14, 2021

Foltzie said:
They seem to be budgeted for ~2-3.5M. Assuming they sell between 500K and 1M in whatever platform they more than make their money back and have content for streaming services, which it seems they do easily. I assume that Bruce Timm or whatever executive is in charge of the division has secured a reoccurring budget for ~3 movies a year.

Ahh, I see. It's a sort of Disney straight-to-video sequels situation?

Deleted member 10560 · Apr 14, 2021

Really enjoyed the run from Flashpoint to Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. Some amazing standouts are Flashpoint, JL:War, Throne of Atlantis, Killing Joke, Dark, Constantine: City of Demons, and Apokolips War. Matt Ryan playing the animated version of Constantine as well is just icing on the cake. The Dark Knight Returns p1&2 are probably my favorite but came out a few years before Flashpoint New52 continuity.

Weltall Zero · Apr 14, 2021

What's the general consensus on which ones of the DC animated movies are the best? I've only watched a handful (Flashpoint Paradox and Red Hood, which were fantastic, and Superman Unbound, which was pretty good too).

Parch said:
Into The Spider-Verse raised the bar.

That's a really apples to oranges comparison for self-obvious reasons of production budget and time.

Punchline · Apr 14, 2021

man of tomorrow was pretty good, was pleasantly surprised with how well it was executed
then again im starved for anything that portrays superman correctly

Gunman · Apr 14, 2021

I think you're a bit out of touch with the conversation around these movies. In most threads about one being announced or released, there are plenty of people that lament their quality (I think the recent Long Halloween thread was like that too - with good reason).

Also disagree on your assessment of 2 of the films. Suicide Squad Hell to Pay is good fun, and Gotham by Gaslight is wack, especially compared to the one-shot.

imbarkus · Apr 14, 2021

I will admit I bought all these blu-rays out of misplaced DCAU nostalgia. Fortunately I bought the DCAU on blu-ray as well.

Flashpoint had a goofy art style, you may forget. Very distracting. Public Enemies, too. Apocalypse was way better.

So many of the plot problems with these movies and the DCEU itself can be traced to Nu52 ideas, it seems.

I wish the CGI series of the time had found more of a following: Beware the Batman and Green Lantern the Animated Series.

The Constantine animated movie was good fun. I've yet to watch the Deathstroke one, though I bought it. 😝

Sketchsanchez · Apr 14, 2021

Totally disagree about Death/Return of Superman being worse than Superman Doomsday.

Granted Return isn't as good, but I legit enjoy death and find it better animated and choreographed.

I also feel like it fixes one of the problems with the OG story in that Doomsday actually mows down the "real" justice league and not a bunch of D listers.

AHA-Lambda · Apr 14, 2021

Gunman said:
I think you're a bit out of touch with the conversation around these movies. In most threads about one being announced or released, there are plenty of people that lament their quality (I think the recent Long Halloween thread was like that too - with good reason).

Also disagree on your assessment of 2 of the films. Suicide Squad Hell to Pay is good fun, and Gotham by Gaslight is wack, especially compared to the one-shot.

I'll give OP credit, I certainly remember a time not long after Red Hood and TDKR where it seemed everyone loved the DCAU stuff, and tbh I wasn't really aware that folk had turned on them either

People are wrong about DC Animated Movies ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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