Perry White
11-14-2001, 02:12 AM
Here is a review from WBArchivist, webmaster of the Warner Bros. Animation Archive (http://wba.toonzone.net/).
I am the webmaster of the independent Warner Bros. Animation Archive at Toon Zone. I've been a Batman fan since childhood and have closely tracked the progress of WB Animation in the past ten years. However, I have never read a JLA comic and am not familiar with many members of the Justice League with the exception of Batman and Superman. I have always eagerly anticipated anything Bruce Timm and Paul Dini cook up at Warners, but given the recent national situation forever changing our world's perspective and the fact that Dini is not a part of Justice League, I didn't have high expectations for this project. Was I ever wrong to doubt Bruce Timm!
Batman/Superman veterans Rich Fogel, Glen Murakami, Bruce Timm and James Tucker have cleverly constructed arguable the most anticipated animated series of all time. If there is anyone to trust the Justice League to, it's these men. Timm and company deliver a sleek interpretation of The Justice League of America with action, adventure and humor carefully packaged so it can be enjoyed by children and adults. However, newcomers to the superhero franchise might be a little intimidated.
I was not encouraged after seeing Bruce Timm and Paul Dini's attempt at the Justice League on Batman Beyond. There is something about a bunch of men who hang around in their costumes all day in a secret hideout that took away any element of reality that Batman Beyond tried to achieve. Who are these people? Do they have alter-egos? Are they human at all? Story Editors Butch Lukic and Dan Riba pull off this multi-character show with pizazz, showing us that there is a little bit of ourselves in each of these characters.
Justice League is visually the strongest series WB Television Animation has ever produced. The art direction is nothing less than superb. Superman fans will recognize storyboard artist Bret Blevins from his work on Superman Adventures. Bruce Timm storyboarded the main title for the series, and it was animated by Cantina Pictures LTD. The character designs are refined and simple. Batman's new look is my favorite take on the character - somewhere inbetween the B:TAS Batman and the Kids' WB Batman with his "Year One" costume and blue cape. Superman's design is less pleasing, the colors are faded and he looks to old and tired. His design works against the boyscout take the producers are trying to emphasize on the character. Flash and Wonder Woman each have their standard designs. Green Lantern was a pleasant surprise to me, he has the look and feel of an stern old general and his superpowers are nothing outrageous.
The animation is top notch, produced at Koko Enterprise Co. LTD (which also produced the bulk of Batman Beyond episodes). The props and backgrounds are incredible. I was most impressed by the alien designs in the pilot episode. They were slick, futuristic and eerily organic - the aliens had no black outline around them. This series simply could not pull off all that it does without the aid of digital coloring. The backgrounds are warm and vivid. It gives the show a very stylized feel to contrast simplified character designs with realistic backdrops. Kristopher Carter composes the music that bring the stories to life in Justice League. Though I sorely miss Shirley Walker's orchestral sound, Carter's score for Justice League is very much influenced by Batman Beyond. Electronics and synthesized strings are often incorporated into the soundtrack.
My major complaint is the dialogue in Justice League. My position is that animated characters should be able to act, and if a line is too cheesy for a human to say convincingly, then the animated human shouldn't either. In one sequence, a crowd of people fun away and the camera pans over to a woman with a child on her shoulders who cutely shouts "Mommy, what's that?" as she points at an approaching alien ship. I may be wrong, but in each of three parts of the pilot episode, a character proclaims, "Oh my Lord!" Flash's lines were all too hokey, and his character could be potentially funny with a little work. The ADR was not outstanding in this production either. Wonder Woman's weak "No!" at the end of episode two practically ruins the entire half-hour. Superman's new voice isn't awful, but it does need to be more assertive to match Superman's character. Overall, the dialogue was disappointing and certainly a turn-off to any viewer not familiar with the JLA. The phrase "Ground Zero" takes on whole new meaning nowadays, and it is interesting to hear it used in the Martian attacks. One feels guilty for ever enjoying watching a landmark building be destroyed in a film, so as we see the Eifel Tower burning the viewer can't help but feel uncomfortable. But on the other hand, seeing the whole world unite in the way it has in the past two months brought forth a sense of realism in that we see a group of heroes joining together for a cause worth fighting for. Children need heroes now more than ever, and they need to see good conquer evil.
Justice League is an entertaining production that was worth the wait, and fans should rest assured that their favorite characters are indeed in good hands.
I am the webmaster of the independent Warner Bros. Animation Archive at Toon Zone. I've been a Batman fan since childhood and have closely tracked the progress of WB Animation in the past ten years. However, I have never read a JLA comic and am not familiar with many members of the Justice League with the exception of Batman and Superman. I have always eagerly anticipated anything Bruce Timm and Paul Dini cook up at Warners, but given the recent national situation forever changing our world's perspective and the fact that Dini is not a part of Justice League, I didn't have high expectations for this project. Was I ever wrong to doubt Bruce Timm!
Batman/Superman veterans Rich Fogel, Glen Murakami, Bruce Timm and James Tucker have cleverly constructed arguable the most anticipated animated series of all time. If there is anyone to trust the Justice League to, it's these men. Timm and company deliver a sleek interpretation of The Justice League of America with action, adventure and humor carefully packaged so it can be enjoyed by children and adults. However, newcomers to the superhero franchise might be a little intimidated.
I was not encouraged after seeing Bruce Timm and Paul Dini's attempt at the Justice League on Batman Beyond. There is something about a bunch of men who hang around in their costumes all day in a secret hideout that took away any element of reality that Batman Beyond tried to achieve. Who are these people? Do they have alter-egos? Are they human at all? Story Editors Butch Lukic and Dan Riba pull off this multi-character show with pizazz, showing us that there is a little bit of ourselves in each of these characters.
Justice League is visually the strongest series WB Television Animation has ever produced. The art direction is nothing less than superb. Superman fans will recognize storyboard artist Bret Blevins from his work on Superman Adventures. Bruce Timm storyboarded the main title for the series, and it was animated by Cantina Pictures LTD. The character designs are refined and simple. Batman's new look is my favorite take on the character - somewhere inbetween the B:TAS Batman and the Kids' WB Batman with his "Year One" costume and blue cape. Superman's design is less pleasing, the colors are faded and he looks to old and tired. His design works against the boyscout take the producers are trying to emphasize on the character. Flash and Wonder Woman each have their standard designs. Green Lantern was a pleasant surprise to me, he has the look and feel of an stern old general and his superpowers are nothing outrageous.
The animation is top notch, produced at Koko Enterprise Co. LTD (which also produced the bulk of Batman Beyond episodes). The props and backgrounds are incredible. I was most impressed by the alien designs in the pilot episode. They were slick, futuristic and eerily organic - the aliens had no black outline around them. This series simply could not pull off all that it does without the aid of digital coloring. The backgrounds are warm and vivid. It gives the show a very stylized feel to contrast simplified character designs with realistic backdrops. Kristopher Carter composes the music that bring the stories to life in Justice League. Though I sorely miss Shirley Walker's orchestral sound, Carter's score for Justice League is very much influenced by Batman Beyond. Electronics and synthesized strings are often incorporated into the soundtrack.
My major complaint is the dialogue in Justice League. My position is that animated characters should be able to act, and if a line is too cheesy for a human to say convincingly, then the animated human shouldn't either. In one sequence, a crowd of people fun away and the camera pans over to a woman with a child on her shoulders who cutely shouts "Mommy, what's that?" as she points at an approaching alien ship. I may be wrong, but in each of three parts of the pilot episode, a character proclaims, "Oh my Lord!" Flash's lines were all too hokey, and his character could be potentially funny with a little work. The ADR was not outstanding in this production either. Wonder Woman's weak "No!" at the end of episode two practically ruins the entire half-hour. Superman's new voice isn't awful, but it does need to be more assertive to match Superman's character. Overall, the dialogue was disappointing and certainly a turn-off to any viewer not familiar with the JLA. The phrase "Ground Zero" takes on whole new meaning nowadays, and it is interesting to hear it used in the Martian attacks. One feels guilty for ever enjoying watching a landmark building be destroyed in a film, so as we see the Eifel Tower burning the viewer can't help but feel uncomfortable. But on the other hand, seeing the whole world unite in the way it has in the past two months brought forth a sense of realism in that we see a group of heroes joining together for a cause worth fighting for. Children need heroes now more than ever, and they need to see good conquer evil.
Justice League is an entertaining production that was worth the wait, and fans should rest assured that their favorite characters are indeed in good hands.