DC ANIMATED UNIVERSE: 10th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION

SUPERMAN/DOOMSDAY: “An adaptation of a famous graphic novel, Superman/Doomsday creates a tight little superhero adventure. It mixes action and drama to turn into a lively tale."

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER: “With an intriguing story and a good cast, Justice League: The New Frontier offers reasonable entertainment. Unfortunately, it doesn’t achieve all its goals because it’s far too short for its ambitions.”

BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT: "With six segments, Batman: Gotham Knight ends up as a hodge-podge. Some fare reasonably well but the whole package fails to create consistent thrills."

WONDER WOMAN: “As an origin story, Wonder Woman gives us a competent overview. Though inconsistent, the movie comes with reasonable entertainment value as a whole.”

GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT: “I’m sure a good animated Green Lantern film can be made, but First Flight doesn’t achieve that goal. While it provides a watchable movie, it doesn’t turn into anything memorable.”

SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES: “While it lacks the political complexity its theme promises, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies compensates with other strengths. In particular, it throws out so much fine action that it creates a genuinely fun, exciting adventure.”

JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON TWO EARTHS: “If I recall correctly, I enjoyed the multiple universe concept found in earlier DC Comics. As explored in Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths, however, the theme provides only sporadic pleasures. Essentially a lot of fighting without much story, the film remains pretty average.”

BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD: “Arguably the best of the animated DC Comics adventures, Batman: Under the Red Hood packs a wallop. It delves into its characters and situations with uncommon power and keeps us gripped from start to finish.”

SUPERMAN/BATMAN: APOCALYPSE: “With Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, we find a pretty average comic book adventure. It comes with an intriguing story and some decent action, but it doesn’t quite come together in the end.”

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN: “Because it condenses a 12-issue comic series into a 77-minute animated film, All-Star Superman becomes awfully rushed and jerky. It attempts to pack too much into its brief running time and fails to deliver a satisfying end product."

GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD KNIGHTS: “Despite a strong narrative, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights provides pretty good entertainment. It tells a mix of short tales that vary in quality but often deliver fun and excitement.”

BATMAN: YEAR ONE: “Adapted from a much praised comic book, Batman: Year One has its moments, but it doesn’t provide a lot of satisfaction. At a mere 64 minutes, it simply lacks the breathing room to develop its characters and give us a vivid tale.”

JUSTICE LEAGUE: DOOM: “Though not the most plot-driven superhero story ever told, Justice League: Doom offers just enough story to make it interesting. It adds bunches of good action and turns into a generally exciting piece.”

SUPERMAN VS. THE ELITE: Not reviewed.

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS PART 1: “After many years, Frank Miller’s legendary graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns finally gets a cinematic adaptation. Unfortunately, it suffers from some poor choices and lacks the depth/darkness to make it really succeed.”

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS PART 2: “While I admit I wasn’t wild about the first half of the story, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 offers a pretty solid conclusion to the tale. It seems truer to the tone of the source comic and provides a good punch.”

SUPERMAN UNBOUND: “As a superhero adventure, Superman: Unbound scores a few points. However, the movie wobbles too often and lacks consistent impact."

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE FLASHPOINT PARADOX: “In Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, we get a mostly satisfying superhero adventure. It struggles in its middle but it usually delivers excitement and emotion.”

JUSTICE LEAGUE: WAR: Not reviewed.

SON OF BATMAN: “As an animated adventure, Son of Batman brings us sporadic entertainment. While it comes with some good action, the story and character elements work less well and leave this as a spotty movie.”

BATMAN: ASSAULT ON ARKHAM: Not reviewed.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THRONE OF ATLANTIS: "With Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, Aquaman gets an animated revival that allows him to prosper. The movie mixes different heroes well and becomes a lively, exciting adventure."

BATMAN VS. ROBIN: Not reviewed.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: GODS AND MONSTERS: “With an intriguing “alternate universe” premise, Justice League: Gods and Monsters looked like it’d offer a good adventure. Unfortunately, it suffers from pacing problems as well as a generally dull narrative.”

BATMAN: BAD BLOOD: “As an animated adventure, Batman: Bad Blood offers a decent experience. I don’t think it excels – partly due to too many characters and too many plot points – but it boasts enough excitement to keep us with it.”

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. TEEN TITANS: “Contrary to its title, Justice League Vs. Teen Titans doesn’t offer a balanced story, as it focuses heavily on its younger participants. That creates a problem, as those characters fail to become especially interesting, and the occasional action scenes don’t redeem the tedious teen bonding.”

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE: “An adaptation of a famous comic book, Batman: The Killing Joke doesn’t live up to the source. The film version feels tepid and fails to deliver the drama and horror at the tale’s core."

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK: “With an unusual cast of characters, Justice League: Dark becomes moderately compelling. Though not a great movie, it gives us a tale with enough dynamic material to keep the viewer involved.”

TEEN TITANS: THE JUDAS CONTRACT: “As a kid, I lacked a lot of interest in the Teen Titans, and The Judas Contract fails to alter that feeling. While the movie gives us enough action to offer mild entertainment, it never becomes anything memorable.”

BATMAN AND HARLEY QUINN: “With Batman and Harley Quinn, we get an animated adventure that focuses on the Dark Knight and one of his most popular adversaries. Unfortunately, the movie seems thin and without much punch.”

The Bonus Disc:

Back in 2007, Superman: Doomsday launched a new series of animated direct-to-video movies that featured DC Comics heroes. 30 films later, this series continues and doesn’t appear ready to quit anytime soon.

In this massive boxed set called DC Universe: 10th Anniversary Collection, we get all 30 of those films bundled into one giant package. Above you’ll find links to individual reviews of the various movies when available. I missed 10 of the 30, so I won’t be able to discuss those.

The Anniversary Collection comes with one disc of exclusive extras, and that becomes the focus of this review. The materials start with The Hero in All of Us, a 49-minute, 17-second show that features Writer’s Journey author Christopher Vogler, Women Inspiration and Enterprise founder Dee Poku-Spalding, Banner Fire Prevention’s Chris Banner, Women Moving Millions co-founder Jacki Zehner, producers James Tucker and Bruce Timm, Hollywood Heroes owner Jordan Hembrough, Dallas YMCA program director Tori Phillips, paint manufacturing representative Thomas Boyle Jr. and retired Marine Matt Sigloch.

“All of Us” looks at heroism in various forms, from mythology and comic book characters to real-life heroes. The show hits on interesting concepts but approaches them in a disjointed manner. That leaves it as a sporadically interesting program.

Mark Hamill: Finding the Laugh runs nine minutes, 33 seconds and provides notes from actor Mark Hamill. He reflects on his career, with an emphasis on his work as the Joker. He offers a nice overview of his experiences and approach.

Next comes a DC Universe 10th Anniversary Panel from San Diego Comic-Con 2017. It goes for 45 minutes, one second and includes Tucker, Timm, writer/producer Jim Krieg, writer Alan Burnett, and actors Christopher Gorham, Vanessa Marshall, John DiMaggio, Tara Strong, and Kevin Conroy.

The panelists discuss aspects of the DC animated flicks and the path forward. Usually these panels advertise one specific title, whereas this one acts as more of a retrospective. Though not scintillating, its reduced promotional bent makes it better than average.

After this we get a Darwyn Cooke Tribute Panel. In this 33-minute, 39-second piece, we hear from illustrators Steven Charles Manale and Michael Cho, brother Dennis Cooke, cartoonist Brian MacLachlan, and writer Mark Askwith.

As expected, the participants reflect on the life and career of the late comics writer/artist Darwyn Cooke. Inevitably, some of this leans toward general praise, but the content seems meatier than expected, and that allows it to become an enjoyable panel.

From 2008, we get another Comic-Con Panel, and this one focuses on the animated Wonder Woman film. It lasts 33 minutes, 46 seconds and offers info from Timm, DC Comics president/publisher Paul Levitz, casting director Andrea Romano, director Lauren Montgomery, and actors Nathan Fillion.

As expected, the panel looks at the then-upcoming Wonder Woman animated feature as well as other directions the DC Universe planned to take circa 2008. The discussion of Wonder Woman is more substantial than usual, and via the hindsight of 2017, it’s kind of fun to hear speculation about the DCU’s then-future.

A Comic Book History of Justice League Dark fills six minute, 15 seconds and comes hosted by “DC All Access” hosts Tiffany Smith and Jason Inman. We find additional notes from Tucker, DC Animation Creative Director Mike Carlin, director Jay Oliva, and actors Matt Ryan, Camilla Luddington, and Nicholas Turturro. This turns into a fluffy promo piece for the Dark film.

From there Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles splits into three shorts: “Twisted” (5:47), “Bomb” (5:58) and “Big” (5:53). These offer expansions of the Gods and Monsters characters/themes and prove entertaining in their own right.

Under Lookbook, we get a collection of stills. It spans 25 frames and mixes animatic images, character models and sets. It’s a mediocre compilation.

The bonus disc opens with ads for Justice League (2017) and Batman & Harley Quinn. UHD 4K Brand Trailers just offers a generic promo for WB’s 4K discs.

A decade down the road, the DC Universe: 10th Anniversary Collection offers a full compilation of all 30 films under that banner. Some fare better than others, but we still get a lot of good superhero entertainment here. The bonus disc adds a fair amount of information and contributes value to the set. If you already have all/most of the individual films, Universe isn’t worth the money, but if you’re new to the films, this is a good deal.