Teen Titans Go! To The Movies
Teen Titans Go! To The Movies – When the Teen Titans realise that they haven’t had a movie made about them and therefore are not considered ‘real’ superheroes, leader Robin becomes obsessed with getting his own movie. Coming across a new supervillain called Deadpoo- sorry, ‘Slade’ – the Titans feel that having him as their arch-nemesis could be the key to them becoming legitimate heroes. Unfortunately Robin’s need to be famous overshadows the rest of the team, making them vulnerable to Slade’s dastardly plan…
Teen Titans Go! To The Movies (2018) – Director: Aaron Horvath, Peter Rida Michail
Rating: PG
Running Length: 84 mins
Starring: Scott Menville, Greg Cipes, Khary Payton, Tara Strong, Hynden Walch, Will Arnett
Genre: Comedy, Comic Book, Musical
REVIEW: ‘TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES’
Teen Titans Go! is the animated capers of Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven and Starfire, based on the DC comics’ far more serious Teen Titans characters. Being a self-contained daft world of its own, Teen Titans Go! can do whatever it likes without concerning itself with any form of continuity with the rest of the DC universe plots. While the TV series started some years ago, ‘Teen Titans Go! To The Movies’ is the first time it has reached the big screen and thankfully it stays true to itself, keeping all the elements that makes it a successful show; transposing that to the big screen without it feeling like an over-long episode is quite a feat that thankfully comes across as an easy task.
Although ‘Teen Titans Go! To The Movies’ is inherently a kids’ movie, what makes it appealing to more than just youngsters is just how likeable the core characters are. There is little edge to them, making them simply joyous to watch and easy to root for. Supervillain Slade (or is it Deadpool?) has the intense, deep voice of Will Arnett – who also voices DC character, Lego Batman – and proves to be a good nemesis for our eponymous heroes and balances out the immaturity of the Titans without making anything too serious. Although the silliness may be what appeals most to its target audience, it doesn’t grate as much as other kids’ movies with plenty of child appropriate references that only adults will get to keep even the most mature viewers watching. The plot itself is predictable but is done well so that when Robin inevitably turns his back on his friends, it isn’t just a case of going through the motions and has a satisfying pay off and lessons being learned without anyone gloating or being obnoxious.
With an abundance of catchy, plot relevant songs, vibrant colours and larger-than-life personalities, ‘Teen Titans Go! To The Movies’ isn’t just a kids’ movie it’s entertaining popcorn fodder for all members of the family.
CONTENT: IS ‘TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?
A small superhero is accidentally stepped on and wiped several times against the floor, a brief quiet scream is heard before it is abruptly cut off. A short while later, this character is seen alive but bruised and bandaged.
A group of obscure superheroes are forced into a portal which transports them into a black void, their terrified leader says that there is ‘nothing here for us but madness!’. These characters are returned to several times throughout the movie but their plight is never looked upon with any sympathy.
During one of the songs, a friendly tiger sings and plays a guitar. At the end of the song, the Titans accidentally run him over; they get out and he is lying face down on the ground. The Titans panic and flee the scene, not checking whether he is even still alive. This character is never mentioned again and it is therefore quite possible that he is dead.
The Titans go back in time in order to change what is currently happening in their present and affect the lives of all the superheroes they know. Most of these things are positive, however one of the titans purposefully drops plastic packaging in water, causing the child Aquaman to get caught up in it. He is then left to drown. Shortly after, the Titans go back to undo all their changes and Aquaman is saved. Unfortunately this means that the positive changes made are now reversed, therefore Superman as a baby sees his planet destroyed along with his parents and Batman as a child sees his parents murdered; on-screen they are pushed by the Titans into an alley where a flash is seen, indicating that they have been shot.
The Titans fight supervillain, Slade, and two of them are injured while in flight so fall from a height. The fall rapidly and as they are unconscious are unable to protect themselves. Luckily they are saved at the last moment but there are about 10 intense seconds where it is unclear whether they will survive.
One time when the Titans see Slade, they instantly attack him but it soon becomes clear that it is just an actor, dressed as Slade. The Titans realise this and that it is actually a famous actor, this makes them attack even more viciously; a bone is broken, an eye is poked with a sharp finger nail and one Titan continuously bites them.
In his desperation to get his own movie, Robin is turned against his friends. He begins to resent them, they are devastated and are sad as they are sent away from him. As the group have been so close up until this point, some kids may find this a little upsetting.
Robin finds himself in a building which has been rigged with explosives which are detonated. He runs through the building as various parts blow up around him. This is an exciting scene and could be a little scary for youngsters.
Dozens of characters are mind controlled, causing their eyes to glow white. As they are all seen together, this wall of evil faces could be quite scary for younger children.
Robin also becomes controlled and aggressively attacks his friends. His voice changes to a distorted evil sound, as he fights them he yells ‘Kill!’
The movie has quite a few mean jokes at the expense of non-major characters which perhaps give negative messages about how to treat outcasts and strangers that parents may not be comfortable with.
CAN I SEE A CLIP?
VERDICT: IS ‘TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES’ FOR KIDS?
Following on from the hit TV series ‘Teen Titans Go! To The Movies’ is bound to be fun for all the family although younger kids may struggle with some of the violence so we recommend parental supervision for kids aged under 5.
- Violence: 2/5
- Emotional Distress: 1/5
- Fear Factor: 1/5
- Sexual Content: 1/5 (some non-sexual close-ups of bottoms)
- Bad Language: 1/5 (no cursing but words such as fart, darn and dang are used)
- Dialogue: 0/5
- Other Notes: Deals with themes of friendship, ambition, disappointment, immaturity, bravery and the dangers of fame.
Words by Laura Record
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