A Look at the World of DC Animation: How DC and Warner Bros. Cornered the Superhero Animation Market
Marvel may have an uncontested lock on the superhero film genre (and no, I don’t expect that to change with Batman v Superman), but DC has traditionally dominated in the world of animation. While Marvel has had some animated success worth noting, such as the ‘90s animated Spider-Man and X-Men shows or the more recent Ultimate Spider-Man show, DC has had years of successful animated projects that continue even now.
The 1990s was a good time for animation. Before CG became the cheaper standard for cartooning, animated shows and films were beautifully and painstakingly drawn. Both DC and Marvel had some of my favorite childhood TV shows that still, for the most part, hold up today. These 2D renditions of our favorite characters are still in a lot of ways the best representation these characters have had, and I stand by that. For as much as I love the Batman comic books, or Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, the ‘90s Batman the Animated Series by creators Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, with notable writing by Paul Dini and Alan Burnett, is still the absolute best characterization of Batman/Bruce Wayne we have had to date, in any medium. Kevin Conroy will forever be the voice in my head when I think of Batman, and Mark Hamill’s Joker will always be how I envision that character. As blasphemous as it sounds, I have always been on record stating the best Batman film ever made was the 1993 Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. As much as I love The Dark Knight, Phantasm is still the better Batman and Bruce Wayne story. At a time when my younger self could never even entertain the notion that we would live in a world where a big budget Avengers film was possible, let alone wildly popular and well received, animation was the closest we had to bringing these characters to life. I still think there are many advantages to using animation to tell superhero stories, and I’m glad DC has kept their commitment to the medium, delivering quality animated features at a semi-regular rate.
Traditionally, superheroes possess exaggerated, cartoon qualities that will always translate best to animation, from the pages of comic books. They are agile, acrobatic and possess impossibly generous physicality from head to toe. It is often pointed out that women in comic books are unrealistically portrayed, and while that’s true, men are portrayed just as…well shaped and unrealistic. I’ve always looked at this from the positive side, seeing these characterizations as the visual representation of humanity at its physical peak. These are traditionally selfless heroes who always know the right thing to do, and always succeed no matter what the situation, it is only to be expected that they would also have a superhuman physique to go along with their superhuman heroism. Superheroes are meant to embody the pinnacle of humanity; physically, mentally and morally. By their nature, superheroes just translate more gracefully to the world of animation and comic books than other mediums, and I’ve always embraced and appreciated that about them.
While Marvel does some work with animation, they are much more focused on their live action film universe, leaving the market wide open for DC to fill a much needed void, at least what I feel is much needed. Bruce Timm has been spearheading DC’s animation initiative since the early days and while not everything has been a homerun, there is a ton of amazing content for DC fans to enjoy. As much inspiration as these animations (especially recently) have taken from their comic book counterparts, they have also given back in kind. The work being done in the animated space has directly influenced the work being done with the comic books, and vice versa, which is quite rare and speaks largely to how well written a lot of these animations are.
While the DC animated heyday is firmly rooted in the ‘90s and early 2000s with shows like Batman the Animated Series, Batman Beyond and Justice League, DC has quietly worked on an animated film universe since 2007. These films aren’t connected like the Marvel cinematic universe, but rather they sample different interpretations and iterations of characters and re-create seminal DC comic book stories, as well as add unique stories of their own. What makes these films special is that they have made the conscious decision to stay with 2D animation, over the far too common CG 3D animation that I have historically hated for this kind of animation. Everything seems more vibrant and alive with 2D, and while they aren’t hand drawn anymore, it still has the crisp feel and smooth flow of the lovingly animated superhero work of the 1990s.
Over the course of the next few weeks or longer, I will be revisiting all the DC Universe animated films, starting from the 2007 Superman: Doomsday, which is a re-imagining and retelling of the popular Death of Superman story, all the way to the most recent 2015 Justice League: Gods and Monsters and hopefully going forward as we get more DC animations in this pantheon of films. While they haven’t all been good, I am nevertheless always excited when a new DC animation comes out, and always make time to sit down and watch it. Even though the better and more interesting DC animated stuff is found in their older animated shows, I’m keeping these features to the recognized line of “modern” DC animated films. I’d love to write about Batman Beyond or the ‘90s Superman the Animated Series shows, but I recognize how big of a commitment that would be, not just in re-watching everything but in writing features that do them justice (no pun intended).
For those who are curious, here is a list of the complete DC Universe animated original movies that I will be looking at.
