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JUSTICE LEAGUE
JUSTICE LEAGUE is solid entertainment for animation and superhero fans. While I did enjoy watching JUSTICE LEAGUE on DVD, I think fans would be better served had the artistic intentions of the show’s creators been preserved with the inclusion of a 16:9 enhanced presentation. |
This DVD review 
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DVD
reviews are Copyright © 2002 THE CINEMA LASER and may not be copied
or reprinted without the written consent of the publisher. |
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It’s
wonderful to see all the great DC comic book characters appearing in animated
television series that depict them in a manner that respects their integrity,
as well as the intelligence of their audience. Starting with BATMAN:
THE ANIMATED SERIES television animation took on a new maturity and
a greater sense of style, which did not dumb down the characters and storylines
for a perceived audience that did not exist. That sense of intelligence
and style was maintained through a new SUPERMAN series, as well
as a new incarnation of The Caped Crusader- namely BATMAN BEYOND.
The latest animated superhero television series to ascribe to this level
of sophistication and character integrity is entitled JUSTICE LEAGUE
($20).
Those
of you that remember the awful Hanna-Barbera produced series SUPERFRIENDS
could be scared off of JUSTICE LEAGUE, because both shows share
a similar premise of superheroes teaming up to face common enemies. Unlike
the totally inane SUPERFRIENDS, JUSTICE LEAGUE offers intelligent
stories and characters that display unique personalities that sometime
clash, as they might if they existed in the real world. There is also
plenty of action in JUSTICE LEAGUE- something that was never achieved
in the cheap animation of SUPERFRIENDS. The premiere episode(s)
of JUSTICE LEAGUE entitled Secret Origins has been
released on DVD by Warner Home Video, and while I’m glad that the show
has come to DVD, I find the presentation somewhat questionable (more on
that later).
Combining
several heroes of the DC Comics universe with elements of the H.G. Wells
story War Of The Worlds, the plot of Secret Origins
brings together Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash,
Hawkgirl and The Martian Manhunter to save the Earth from an alien invasion.
Secret Origins opens with a US mission to Mars awakens a
long dormant alien species that obliterated all life on the Red Planet-
with one obvious exception. Arriving meteors, the war machines of the
alien invaders begin obliterating the cities of the world, with the above
mentioned superheroes teaming up to stand against the invasion force.
Secret Origins is a good introduction to the series, which
proves to be as entertaining for kids, as it is for more mature animation
and superhero fans. JUSTICE LEAGUE features the vocal talents of
Maria Canals, Susan Eisenberg, Phil LaMarr, Carl Lumbly, George Newbern,
Kevin Conroy and Michael Rosenbaum.
Warner
Home Video has made JUSTICE LEAGUE available on DVD in a full screen
presentation- that is appropriate to certain Cartoon Network airings of
the show, but does not reflect the intentions of the series creators.
JUSTICE LEAGUE is also aired in wide screen on Cartoon Network,
which represents how the show was conceived and how the action is framed
by the show’s production team. The full screen version adds unused headroom
and unnecessary picture information to the bottom of a 4:3 screen, but
all the action takes place inside an area whose dimensions are those of
16:9 wide screen television. An ideal DVD release of JUSTICE LEAGUE
would have included a 16:9 enhanced wide screen presentation, in addition
to, or in place of the 4:3 full screen version. As it stands, JUSTICE
LEAGUE looks very good on a 4:3 display- with a sharp and very colorful
image. The animation is somewhat better than standard television fare,
but certainly below that of theatrical quality. Still, it is cleanness
and style of the animation that allows the DVD presentation of JUSTICE
LEAGUE appear noticeably superior to the full screen cable airing
on Cartoon Network. I can only imagine how good JUSTICE LEAGUE
would look in wide screen, with the extra resolution that 16:9 enhanced
presentations have. The single layer DVD doesn’t display any noticeable
traces of digital compression artifacts.
JUSTICE
LEAGUE is offered on DVD with a
Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack that decodes to standard surround. This is
a good sounding track that has been mixed within the parameters of broadcast
television. The forward soundstage is prominent, with the surround channels
adding mild effects, ambient fill and musical augmentation. Dialogue is
very clean and highly intelligible, as one might expect from a newly produced
animated TV series. No alternate language tracks or subtitles have been
included on the DVD.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a few extras.
Short biographies for the superheroes have been provided, as well as a
cast & crew listing. Trailers for BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE
JOKER, BATMAN & MR. FREEZE: SUBZERO and THE BATMAN SUPERMAN
MOVIE are included on the DVD, along with Scooby-Doo DVD promos.