Teen Titans Go! To The Movies - Thom Rush

Looking at how me and... well, everyone thought this movie was going to be the dishonored champ of bad summer movies of 2018 (until the 'Slender' movie was barfed into existence), and now that I have watched it... Fudge man, I gotta command my appreciation where I feel it's deserved.

(These blogs are meant to convey quick and straight-to-the-point thoughts and opinions on the selected movie. Some spoilers are inbound for this one.)



"How do you make a 'Teen Titans Go!' movie that isn't litter box filth?", asked many people like me when the movie's announcement arrived out of thin air. Apparently, it was simple. Take the chibi Titans and put them in their own silly adventure in which they themselves are constantly seen as the "goofballs that nobody likes" by everyone surrounding them, in a quest to get the rights to their own movie. I'm sure the concept has been executed before somewhat in the same veins like this, but for a movie based on 'Teen Titans Go!' of all IPs, I'm frankly surprised with how they went along with the idea! Okay, it's not without snapping its head a few times (more on that in a few minutes). Yet again, who in the world expected this movie to try in the first place? Because the thing is that, throughout most of the movie, it succeeds the most when it's humorously doing its own ridiculous spin on scenes that initially appear like they're going to be basic and cookie cutter, but almost immediately subverts that first impression by doing something ridiculous or experimental with it. Can be either from an unexpected punchline, or by transitioning into a different and frankly awesome style of animation for a few minutes.



Also, expect a barrage of references and nods to DC and even Marvel thrown in to spice some the humor up a notch (that said, if you're a fan of "Challengers of the Unknown", you'll probably hate this movie (XD)). Alongside plenty of self-stabs at the superhero movie industry, and DC's previous movies that were flops critically! That self-aware and meta humor, when done well and with sufficient doses like this one does it, is always worth of my time and money. For all of heaven's sake, Nicolas Cage, Tara Strong and freaken' Stan Lee are in this movie. You can't make this combination up overnight. And you certainly wouldn't be able to have a chat with someone who strongly dislikes 'Teen Titans Go!', and say that there's a godarn '*** **** ****' AND a '**** ** *** ******' reference in the 'Teen Titans Go!' movie, with a straight face. I'd be laughing myself if I had to do the job, more so because I was laughing along with the movie. And it was genuinely funny a lot of the time! Hell, there were even two songs in this movie that got the best of my toes and got stuck in my head after I left the movie. One of which is a song that parodies general motivational and inspirational songs (with a few seconds worth of sexy musical company from the saxophone), and another one where Robin tries to convince why there should be a movie all about him (because when Batman's car get its own blockbuster movie, you know something's off.) Not only from their melodies, singing talent and parodying nature of the thing or cliché they're addressing, but from how they also change the animation style while playing and just go creatively crazy with it. Seriously, it almost made me want to bop my head up and down and tap my feet at the back of the cinema room I was in.



There's also a rap song introducing the Titans, but I'm not much of a rap fan, so I can't say as much as I would for the two songs I've mentioned just now. It's fine. And speaking of indifference, I'm also indifferent to the more kid-oriented jokes. I checked Cosmonaut's video review of this movie before I went and watched it in cinemas, and after hearing what he had to say regarding the kiddy humor presented in this movie and the show with the context he presented... honestly, my reaction was plain indifference. Of course, there's the oh-so-classy fart joke, butt joke,... a joke revolving around pronouncing Slade's name in a way that's supposed to be menacing, but really isn't (okay that one got a tad repetitive later on)... I mean, to its credit, it's not padding out the movie as much as 'Hotel Transylvania 3' did with plain stupidity, so I don't mind. The movie's fun and cool for the first and last thirds of it, but somewhere in the middle act, it loses some of that hot steam. The moment I'm specifically referring to *that felt poorly-executed* is at the halfway point, when Robin's request for his movie is accepted by Kristen Bell's character (Jade Wilson, who's the director of all the successful superhero movies in this universe), and a little bit forward after that inside the movie studio, Robin plays the straight-man and asks the Titans to not do anything stupid and damaging around the studio. And what do they do right there? Without any flow or reason, the Titans go nuts and screw over with some of the superheroes in the studio. Pranking Superman, Aquaman, etc.. Alright, the scene with them and Superman was funny, but you get the idea. And by the end of their pranking, they find a "doomsday" device which they believe is real. Here's my issue: Why not just have the Titans wander around the studio for a bit, reflecting on their situation with Robin now separated from the team, cutting most of the out-of-place trolling until the Superman bit, and then find the device by convenience? From how they portrayed the Titans in this one sequence, it just made them look like inconsiderate arses for the sake of advancing the plot in a clunky and underwhelming fashion.



To the movie's credit though, that sequence was about the real only bad sequence, while the others that would be second worst were still passable. I for one didn't even see Jade's twist later on (I don't know if others caught up to it earlier than I did, or if I'm just a dumb knobhead for not noticing it sooner), which even for this movie, I was surprised when it came, and the villain's plan alongside it. And speak of the devil, I also liked how the Titans try to convince Slade to be their ultimate arch-nemesis, in the same veins of Batman against the Joker, but Slade thinks they are too dumb and annoying to bear with. How he plays the menace and straight man, yet jokingly makes fun of their dumbness trait, almost without having to rely on hand-to-hand combat at the start, but how in the movie's climax, he just accepts the nemesis slot and appears with a neat plan to essentially enslave the world population. And I know, I've been flinging toss at the Titans through this entire thing, but really only because I was considering how stupid and kiddy they were in the original show. Oh, and in that sequence I just discussed a minute ago. The 'Go!' versions, not the 2003 ones. In this movie, they're portrayed as a group of friends who don't give a crap about their oddball manners in the public eye, yet strive for better recognition as "heroes". And the great thing is that there's way more of a sense of friendship and likability going for them in here than in any episode I've seen from the show, particularly on Robin's side.



Much to my shock, Robin is an entertaining character who wants him and his team to be seen as actual heroes and not worthless by others, while attempting to make his movie a real thing, and appears so with a glass of conflict with himself and others every once in a while as he tries to do so. All while retaining an eager attitude, but never to an annoyance degree. At this point, y'all get the comparisons I'm implying here. Lastly, I want to bring up the animation, which is more or less the same quality as the show, but because it's now in movie territory, it has been improved to look more colorful and less bland than its source material. Also, with less butt shakes and unnerving visual gags! Sceneries are slightly flashier and nicer on the eyes, while the movements have also received a bit more style and flow to 'em. I'll cut the cheddar; it's the original show's animation but better. Followed by the previously mentioned switches in animation styles for either a musical number or a short sequence. Only real issue I had with it was in the last fourth of the movie, when the animation had to clash 2D with 3D environments for a sometimes visually unfinished setting in a frankly funny car chase sequence. In those times, it looks like a scale model with buildings represented by flat cutouts.



With all done though, I give my respects to the team that made this, knowing what they were dealing with. They had the most watched modern Cartoon Network show for kids, at the same time that it's the most popularly disliked one by older people all around the planet. And it was slated to launch in most cinemas worldwide around the end of July, which for the last couple of years, has been the doomsday of cinema with movies like 'Pixels' and 'The Emoji Movie' coming out on that timeslot. They didn't bother with the bad spot they were in; the staff crew just moved along with their work, had fun in the process (and it shows), and in the end, came out to the world with a movie that was the opposite of what the general expectations were claiming. They utilized a perfect setting that'd allow them to spoof the Titans and the downsides of DC's cinematic legacy of the current decade, as well as giving nods to many of its characters' history, and to Marvel, and even to other movies that have left their impact on the movie industry. And, above all else, just make a fun movie altogether. That said, I believe the ones who'll enjoy it most are the ones whose knowledge of existing superheroes and movies (and film/industry clichés) clash with the majority of the pile of references and puns in stock, and can roll with the meta humor all throughout. If not, then it'll be harder to recommend this movie. But either way, consider my hunch shocked and my hands clapped, because much like the majority who were in the negative zone for this destination, I'm caught surprised.




Oh yes, the post-credit scene! Honestly, I loved how it was presented as a sudden interference message with poor signal as the credits were pretty much shortly interrupted for it, like an emergency rescue video call, and if that scene's really promising what it's implying, then call me curious.

So, this has been the first entry here of a chain of quickie movie blogs that I've been working on for a small while I was absent from this community (feels good and, I'll go as far as to say, nostalgic to be back after so long! XD). Hope that it's decent at minimum! And also, I'm open to criticisms and words of advice on how I can improve. Those'd be very appreciated! ^-^