BUY IT AT AMAZON: CLICK HERE
STUDIO: Warner Home Video
MSRP: $9.99
RATED: Not rated
RUNNING TIME: 91 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Zilch
The Pitch
It’s the JLA junior varsity .
The Humans
Nolan North – Conner Kent, Khary Payton – Aqualad, Danica McKellar – M’gann M’orzz, Jason Spisak – Wally West, Jesse McCartney – Dick Grayson, Bruce Greenwood – Batman, Crispin Freeman – Roy Harper, Jeff Bennett – Red Tornado, Kevin Michael Richardson – J’onn J’onzz, Phil LaMarr – Aquaman, Alan Tudyk – Green Arrow, Miguel Ferrer – L-1,
Oded Fehr – L-2, Mark Rolston – L-3, Vanessa Marshall – Black Canary, Peter MacNicol – Professor Ivo, Rob Lowe – Captain Marvel, Marina Sirtis – L-4
Power Girl...doing yoga.
The Nutshell
The proteges of various Justice League members – Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Miss Martian and Artemis – come together with Superboy, a clone of Superman, to form a team that the JLA uses for more covert operations. As a team, they go up against various operatives and entities that are controlled by The Light, as mysterious grouping of individuals with an unknown agenda.
The Lowdown
What can you say about Warner Bros. when it comes to their animated properties? With their films and their TV shows, going all the way back to Batman: The Animated Series, they just keep cranking out great cartoons, the latest of which is Young Justice. This incarnation features a fresh take on several of the young characters that are different than the Teen Titans. They frequently have missions where they’re undercover and in street clothes. The writing on the show is good and the voice acting, from veterans of several other WB animated properties, is also quite good. The animation is top notch, and YJ has a pretty good mythology developing with The Light, as well as engaging standalone episodes. It’s much more serious than the whimsical Teen Titans and also frequently includes guest appearances from JLA members such as Batman, Red Tornado and Black Canary.
"Your first test will be a battle against Doomsday." "Don't you mean battle simulation?" "Uh...sure..."
The characters have good depth and there’s a nice mix of jokesters like Robin and Kid Flash and more serious types like Aqualad, Artemis and especially, Superboy. There’s also a really nice twist in the relationship between Superboy and Superman. Basically, once Superman learns that he’s been cloned, he doesn’t take it well and shuns Superboy, avoiding him whenever he can. I hope that they explore this more because it’s a side of Superman I’ve never seen portrayed before. As a result, Superboy is angry and has daddy issues that adds another dimension to his character. The action is often fast and furious, with plenty of good smackdowns including battles with Cadmus genomorphs, A.M.A.Z.O., the League of Shadows, Psimon, Black Manta, Blockbuster, Klarion the Witch Boy, Red Inferno and Red Torpedo and Mister Twister among others.
So yeah, the show is good. But as I’ve said in many a DVD review about these animated shows that are offered piecemeal, say four or five episodes: don’t be suckered into buying them. Wait for the full season offering, unless you can find this in a $5 bin somewhere.
The Package
The show looks fantastic, audio is the typical Dolby goodness. Special features are basically nonexistent. Like I said, great show, shitty offering.
Rating: Out of a Possible 5 Stars
