In the mid-credits scene of Teen Titans Go! to the Movies, the Teen
Titans team of the 2003 Teen Titans animated
series – the predecessor of the 2013 Teen
Titans Go! animated series – makes a surprise appearance. For a while, it inspired some excited speculation
among fans on what it meant. A
movie? A revived series? As it turned out, it was teasing Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans.
Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans is a feature-length crossover between
the 2003 and the 2013 animated versions of the Teen Titans. The two teams are abducted by the Master of
Games, and are forced to fight each other to determine which team is superior. Soon, they discover that the ones behind it
are the 2003 Trigon and the 2013 Trigon. In order to save the multiverse, the 2003 and
2013 Teen Titans must learn to work together to stop the two Trigons.
I’m a fan of neither shows, but I
can tell that those who are fans of either or both will have a blast with this
movie. As far as crossover goes, it’s certainly
fun and winning. It checks all the boxes
of what makes an effective crossover. Not only do the characters feed off each other, but the dynamics and
elements inherent to each show do so as well. In the
process, the differences and similarities of the two are highlighted to an
entertained audience, and their melding produce something more special than the sum of their parts.
Furthermore, the incarnations of
the Teen Titans involved in this movie aren’t limited to two. There are a whole lot of them, and they have an Avengers: Endgame-esque big moment (this isn’t
necessarily a spoiler because this was already revealed in the trailer). The concept of a mega, interdimensional teamup
of the different versions of a particular character/team/property isn’t really
new. It has been explored before, most
notably in Spider-Verse (the movie
and comics) and in those Power Rangers anniversary specials. But the approach
of this movie reminds me more of the 2009 TV film Turtles Forever.
Anyway, it’s
such a delight seeing these Teen Titans come in
various themes and styles – many of which amusingly reference certain mediums,
eras, and animated properties. Heck, the
DCAMU version even show up. However, it
fails to include the DC Universe live-action version to the gag, which I think
is a massive missed opportunity. Moreover, I wish it invented a Timmverse version of the team. I was also initially disappointed that there
were no Young Justice contingents, for even though that universe has no Teen Titans, it does have versions of those characters. Then I quickly remembered that there are no
versions of Starfire and Raven in Young Justice yet, so it wouldn’t work.
Just like Teen Titans Go! to the Movies, the comedy in Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans ranges from juvenile and silly to clever
and meta. It particularly teases and
services the fandom of the two shows, especially those who couldn’t get over
with how Teen Titans was given up in
order to give way for Teen Titans Go!. It has significant bits that seem to point
out that, yeah, the former is superior to the latter, but the latter brings in more dough.
The tone is mostly Teen Titans Go!-ish. This movie, after all, is a Teen Titans Go! movie first and foremost; this crossover is happening in the Teen Titans Go! “homecourt.” So, just like Teen Titans Go! to the Movies, its childish sense of humor and characterizations sometimes get on my nerves.
The tone is mostly Teen Titans Go!-ish. This movie, after all, is a Teen Titans Go! movie first and foremost; this crossover is happening in the Teen Titans Go! “homecourt.” So, just like Teen Titans Go! to the Movies, its childish sense of humor and characterizations sometimes get on my nerves.
Thankfully, it happens to be
smarter under its surface. Through the
teamup between the two incarnations of the Teen Titans, as well as in the arc
of Raven, it asserts that there’s room and time for both the silly and the
serious – for jokes and plans, for fun and grind, for campy Adam West Batman
and gritty Christian Bale Batman. You
get the point. More than that, there are
facets to a whole, and even though there are facets we dislike, we must acknowledge
them as they nonetheless add up to making that whole – especially if we love
that whole. This is true to both the IPs
we become fans of and us as individuals.
All in all, Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans isn’t necessarily groundbreaking or
mindblowing. But it’s stimulating, comical,
and nuanced at appropriate amounts to provide ample enjoyment to the most casual of fans.
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