Could Teen Titans Go! Be The Greatest Post-Modernist Superhero Movie Ever Made? [Review]
What follows is a non-spoiler review for the movie Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. If you agree or disagree with my review, please feel free to leave comments on this article or engage with me on Twitter (@MatthewKadish).
I realize this may be a controversial opinion, but I happen to think Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is perhaps one of the best superhero movies yet to be released by DC Comics post Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy.
And no, I’m not joking when I say that.
Teen Titans Go! has been a contentious topic among comic book fans since its inception. The fan favorite animated series Young Justice was cancelled by Cartoon Network back in 2013 and was replaced with this goofier, more kid-friendly version of the Titans, which upset a large portion of the Young Justice fanbase. I, too, was upset over this decision, having become a fan of the Young Justice show myself. Though DC always seems to struggle with wild variations in the quality of its movies and TV shows, Warner Brothers Animation has always been pretty consistent in delivering high quality animated versions of beloved DC properties. But the introduction of Teen Titans Go! was seen as a step backward in comparison to the rather mature storylines of Young Justice by many fans.
Teen Titans Go! was conceptualized to be a comedic spin-off with little to no continuity to the previous DC series or any other media in the DC Comics franchise. And it’s initial pitch was to focus on what the Titans do during their down-time as opposed to their adventures fighting crime. Thus, the series was more focused on the character dynamics between the team members as they deal with mundane situations taken to an absurd level rather than them acting like actual superheroes and having traditional epic adventures.
I had completely dismissed Teen Titans Go! until I had a child who began watching the show in the morning before school. As any parent is aware, if your kids watch something, you have no choice but to watch it as well. While I was initially not interested in the show, over time I found that not only was Teen Titans Go! a kid-friendly light-hearted superhero comedy, it was also an extremely intelligent satire of superhero tropes with enough subtext and wit to be entertaining for adults too. Just like my child, I eventually became a huge fan of Teen Titans Go! and found the series to be a lot of fun and very enjoyable. Despite its goofy appearance, the show was actually very well written and extremely faithful to a lot of comic book lore (even if it does stand that lore on its ear from time to time).
When news of a movie version of Teen Titans Go! hit, I was very excited to see it, even though I had my reservations. The TV show would typically be a 30 minute episode which was divided into two shorter 15 minute segments. Though the format of Teen Titans Go! worked extremely well as a collection of what essentially amounts to short comedic sketches, I was concerned that they wouldn’t be able to maintain this type of entertainment in a longer feature-film format. Thankfully, this fear turned out to be unfounded, because Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is entertaining from beginning to end, and not once was either I, or my child, bored while watching it.
One of the things that most impressed me about the Teen Titans Go! TV show is that the creators inject meta-awareness into the stories. It’s not uncommon for characters to showcase they’re aware they are a cartoon show, but more than that, the writers and animators are also not afraid to wink at the audience and let them know they’re aware of what they are doing either. This “meta awareness” actually is taken up a few notches with the movie, and is perhaps one of Teen Titans Go! To the Movies greatest strengths — though I’m sure those unfamiliar with the TV show will not notice it. (A particularly funny nod in the film showed that the Titans had recorded their own movie over a VHS tape that formerly contained the “Young Justice” series. A nice wink to fans who were upset that Teen Titans Go! had replaced it.)
But when properly analyzed, the greatest achievement Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is able to accomplish is to be a biting satire about modern superhero movies, while simultaneously adhering to the narrative conventions of the very genre it is satirizing to deliver a quintessential superhero film.
In short, it’s a superhero movie that is also a spoof of itself.
(If that sounds like a “mental gymnastics” way of identifying a kids film as a postmodern deconstruction of the superhero genre, then I suppose I’m guilty of such a comparison.)
On the surface, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is about the Teen Titans trying to get their own superhero movie made by Hollywood so that they can be considered “real heroes” by the superhero community, and along the way they stumble upon an evil plot by the movie’s villain Slade where the Titans must actually break out of their “second tier” status and become “real heroes” in order to save the world.
Seems like a standard superhero movie narrative, right? (Albeit one dressed up with goofy animation, jokes, and potty humor.)
But the “meta commentary” of the writers turn this surface-level cartoon flick into something so much richer than what it appears to be. If one knows anything about the history of Teen Titans Go! and the backlash it received from fans, then one becomes aware that the efforts of the actual Teen Titans to not be considered a “joke” by other superheroes in the film is actually a reflection of the creators of Teen Titans Go! to have their work not seen as a “joke” as well. There’s actually a meta-commentary at play here where the filmmakers are saying they want audiences to take them seriously by making an actual Hollywood film, and that at the end of the day, they don’t care if people see them as a “joke” or not, they’re just going to keep doing what they’ve always done and be happy about it.
Beyond this commentary on their quest (and ultimate apathy) to gain legitimacy from comic book fans, the filmmakers actually take this a step farther. Just like how the TV series spoofs comic book superheroes and other children’s programming (like Scooby-Doo), the film version goes on to lampoon all superhero films. This satire extends to things such as making fun of the Green Lantern movie for being bad (“We don’t like to talk about it”) to Hollywood’s obsession with spin-offs of ancillary characters (the film jokes about Batman’s butler Alfred is getting his own spin-off film, as does the Batmobile, and even Batman’s Utility Belt is getting its own movie — obviously a commentary on the ridiculous nature of Warner Brother’s Batfamily spin-offs like Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey, Joker, Harley Quinn, Batgirl, etc.) to even making light of obvious missteps in modern superhero films (there’s a Batman v. Superman joke where Batman and Superman stop fighting after they realize both their mothers names are Martha, but then Batman becomes violent once more after discovering their fathers names are different).
Perhaps the most blatant sign that Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is sending up superhero films has to do with the repeated appearance of Stan Lee, who actually makes “subtle cameos” (while obnoxiously calling attention to them) throughout the film, despite the fact that it’s a DC film and not a Marvel one… because apparently you need Stan Lee to appear in a superhero movie, even one he had no part in creating the universe of.
In addition to the satire of comic book films, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies also pokes fun at the DC Comics lore. Pretty much every DC Comics character makes an appearance in this film, no matter how ridiculous they may be. But no one is spared from being lampooned. The Atom constantly gets stepped on or squished for being so small. Batman is pretty much unstoppable, no matter what you do to him. Swamp Thing gets turned into a chia pet. And, of course, you have The Defenders of the Unknown… who are completely unknown by all comics fans (heck, “unknown” is even in their name!). But more than this, the movie makes it a point to make light of all superheroes “tragic backstories” in a hilarious time travel sequence where the Titans prevent iconic heroes from coming to be by ensuring their happy childhoods, while accidentally dooming the present to being overrun by supervillains in the process. When the Titans go back to ensure the tragedies they initially sought out to prevent actually happen, it’s particularly darkly comic to see them put a pearl necklace on Martha Wayne’s neck and push her and her husband into Crime Alley to be murdered. (Yes, this happens in a children’s film!)
The real irony here is that while Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is a biting satire of the superhero genre and the source material its based on, it actually faithfully pulls from Teen Titans lore for its main storyline and manages to tell a fairly straight forward superhero tale that hits all the right narrative conventions necessary to make a good superhero movie.
The first thing the film does is utilize the character of Deathstroke (“Slade” in the movie, for some reason) who is traditionally the arch-nemesis of the Teen Titans in the comic books. Pitting the Go! variation of the Teen Titans against their comic-counterparts’ biggest villain is quite respectful to the lore comic book fans judge comic book movies against, and something that the more serious live action films should probably do more of. The movie also reflects the desire for the Titans to step out of the shadows of their mentors and become heroes in their own right as opposed to simply being considered “sidekicks.” In fact, the whole subtext of teens striving to be adults and “coming of age” is woven throughout this film, despite its cartoony/jokey nature. This is something that was present in the Teen Titans comic books and previous cartoon shows as well.
From a structural perspective, the typical “superhero team” narrative is followed almost to a tee in this movie. It starts with the team encountering a formidable villain and thwarting his plan. The villain then sets about breaking up the team and turning them against each other, thus facilitating the execution of his evil plan. The team must then put aside their differences and come together to defeat the evil foe. In Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, they even go so far as to isolate the Titans from the rest of the superheroes by having the superheroes become mind-controlled into being bad guys, once more implementing the tried-and-true Teen Titans plotline of not only being unable to rely on the “real” superheroes for help, but being put in a position of having to save them too.
Thus, all the typical narrative beats of a superhero film are preserved in this movie. It also successfully works in the themes of friendship, teamwork, and the importance of being yourself (all necessary for a kids film) while making fun of the fact that it has to do this.
Indeed, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is a surprisingly deep film. It has commentary on the pitfalls of fame, pop culture’s influence on society, friendship, adolescence, growing up, and remaining true to oneself. Though appropriately goofy and humorous, the villain Slade can actually be quite dark and threatening when compared to other animated villains. The movie (like the TV show) uses different animation styles to lampoon certain narrative tropes (such as Disney style animation for a rather humorous take on The Lion King, etc.) and even goes so far as to spoof the obligatory musical numbers that are often shoehorned into kids animated fare (the biggest of which in this movie is a cheesy “upbeat” song performed by Michael Bolton, complete with a 90s-era style saxophone solo). And, of course, it isn’t above throwing in a few poop and fart jokes when it feels it needs to.
Probably the most interesting aspect of the film’s story is that it makes light of the “plot holes” so many superhero films struggle with. They make it a point to let the audience know that Raven can create portals to help the Titans bypass almost any obstacle, but the Titans keep forgetting she has this power. That doesn’t stop Raven from using her portal abilities to solve major plot issues, such as banishing mind-controlled superheroes into another dimension so as to avoid having to fight them. The ease with which the Titans use this tension-destroying power actually makes sense, because “why wouldn’t you use your portal power to solve this major crisis?” Of course, this type of logic seems to elude less talented writers of superhero fare who seem to discard plot logic in favor of spectacle and manufactured conflict every chance they get. (Remember Superman not using his superspeed to save Pa Kent in Man of Steel?) And while Raven’s use of the power may be a bit anti-climactic, it’s actually an example of how good the writers are to acknowledge this ability and incorporate its use in the actual narrative in fun and creative ways rather than just ignoring it and creating plot logic issues while doing so.
But beyond the simple utilization of logic in the plot regarding the powers of the Titans, the film also makes light of the contrivances of going from a TV show to a movie. The Teen Titans Go! show has utilized a time machine before, but when the Titans need to travel through time in the movie, they need something flashier and more cinematic, so they create “time bikes” to ride, all while referencing back to the future and retro-80s movies (the “time juice” required to time travel can only be created by doing “rad” BMX moves on a bigwheel scooter). Indeed, everything has to be more “cinematic”, such as the use of special effects to enhance how cool Robin’s cape is, and the like. Yet another example of the meta-awareness of current superhero films.
Taken on a surface level, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is an enjoyable and fun kids movie. But when analyzed further, it’s actually a very deep postmodern deconstruction of superhero movies wrapped in the guise of a children’s film. Writers Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath are obviously not only huge comic book fans, but also incredibly skilled and talented writers to have pulled off the most subversive superhero movie in history.
I would very much recommend watching Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, especially if you’re a fan of the TV show. If you don’t have kids or are unfamiliar with the show, it is probably best to watch it once it comes out on video, but do yourself a favor and familiarize yourself with the TV version first. It will make you appreciate the film version all the more when you finally do see it.
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