Warner Bros. Animation Archives | Otaku No Culture

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders Brings Back Plenty of Nostalgia

Holy Double, no Triple Take … Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Batman! The Return of the Caped Crusaders is here!

Available to purchase on Amazon — available on Amazon to purchase

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Holy Double, no Triple Take … Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Batman! The Return of the Caped Crusaders should have my coffin co-writer (James Shaw) wake up from his post-Halloween coma, do the Batusi, dust his cowl off (from all the dirt I dumped on him) and fly to the nearest big box store to buy this animated video release and give a review. He loves the 60s Bat more than I do but his steadfast refusal to review any product on his own is his loss and my gain. Some readers may have wondered why his content is few and far between and I don’t comprehend why he behaves this way.

I picked up this product just because I find the creative heads at Warner Bros Animation never fails to disappoint. Just like the vintage show, lessons in morality are offered and advice in how to overcome obstacles are offered. Maybe James did not hear those messages and apply them to his life.

This video, like the series, is made for the yuk yuks and camp we all recall the TV series represented instead of being taken seriously. Though the show was not blatant in saying we should all be boy scouts, the throwback style was obvious in the many television programs from this era and it is recreated in all its memorable glory. The Andy Griffith Show is the best example of leads imparting infinite wisdom, and other programs like My Three Sons and Bonanza followed suit. Because the two are deputized as duly appointed representatives of Gotham Police, Batman has to remind Robin to do what’s right. From properly crossing the street at a corner instead of jaywalking to get to the other side to stop crime, the humourous examples remain!

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What Does Warner Bros’ Storks Intend to Deliver?

storks-poster By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Mild Spoiler Alert

Warner Bros. animated film Storks does not quite deliver the goods — not the babies as they used to do in the past — just right. There’s a bit of an in-joke with how Cornerstore (i.e. Amazon) is the one and only place to order all goods and it will be sent to your home on time, every time (and returns are just as fast) which I like, but for the average viewer, the narratives flies in your face and fast. There are two tales in this film, and while they run parallel to come together by the finale, just which story is more important feels muddled.

On one side of the coin is a story that seems more fitting for an Angry Birds movie; Junior (Andy Samberg) is a top delivery bird about to get a promotion, but he has to fire the only human Tulip (Katie Crown) living with this flock who never found her parents because of a mess-up in the past. The device containing the information of her forever home is lost.

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DC’s Scooby Doo Apocalypse is a Mixed Bag

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Scooby-Dooby-Doo, Where Are You?
We got some work to do now.
Scooby-Dooby-Doo, Where Are You?
We need some help from you now.
Come on Scooby-Doo, I see you… pretending you got a sliver
But you’re not fooling me, cause I can see, the way you shake and shiver.

And those are still the words I still hum along to whenever I tune into broadcasts of this fond classic cartoon from the 70’s. It had brief comic book runs by different companies putting their own spin on the tale and they were faithful to the animation, like Gold Key. When I discovered this fond cartoon, not a day in my life could go by without me catching a rerun or reading the Harvey Comics reprint. Woe befell me when I heard about DC comics reimagining of this franchise and after picking up the first issue to read, I strangely found myself enjoying this post-apocalyptic look of my favourite canine turned cyber-mutt.

No, Dynomutt has not been replaced but if later issues start affixing this Great Dane’s body with mechanical parts because he’s been hurt after his encounters with monsters (either attempting to run away or otherwise), I will cry foul. He wears a type of Google Glasses with holoprojectors to give him cartoon eyebrows and show how he’s feeling. What it does is to allow him and Shaggy to work together.

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Zoiks! It’s a Scooby-Doo and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery Review

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Gene Simmons is definitely one shrewd businessman. He knows how to market KISS and keep the band’s brand alive for more than 40 years. In that time, he’s made attempts into getting into acting (more so for himself) and for the group, comic books and various paraphernalia. Eventually that will lead into crossovers with popular characters for a particular era. Very few will remember their appearance in Marvel Comics‘ Howard the Duck. They made their own series with Image Comics and in some ways, they’ve returned to this realm of crossovers in their own animated special Scooby-Doo! & KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery.

This direct to DVD product is more about the band of musicians than the mystery solving gang. The in-jokes with supporting characters and objects that reference their songs are everywhere. The product placements to even fictional items are downright ridiculous. It’s hardly hilarious, but at least this one-off film does to KISS what the original 2012-13 Mystery Incorporated did to create an encompassing mythology that explains who this group is. They’re from a realm called Kissteria and they guard a mysterious Black Diamond that they carry with them on their tours. Although it doesn’t grant them powers, it is a key to a prison that must never be unlocked. The Scooby gang get involved in a mystery of a frantic Crimson Witch who looks like she should belong in a Power Rangers product. She’s looking for the gemstone so an evil Destroyer can be awakened. When Shaggy and Scooby meet her, the usual antics take place, and eventually the team will find answers to why she must have it.

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Justice League: Throne of Atlantis DVD Review

Justice_League_-_Throne_of_Atlantis The Justice League is quite literally a fish out of water in Throne of Atlantis. This animated product was released January 27 and it continues in the world of DC Comics’ New 52. A bit of knowledge from the previous film, Justice League: War, helps establish a story arc that will span several films and just what Wonder Woman means about the Justice League being gods might see the light of day by the end of the year.

With this story’s focus on introducing Arthur Curry (voiced by Matt Lanter) as Aquaman, the rest of the heroes appearance really feels unimportant. Cyborg (Shemar Moore), Batman (Jason O’Mara), Superman (Jerry O’Connell) and crew are more like bit characters on a tale about who shall rule the seven seas. When a power struggle threatens the peace, it’s only the sea dwellers who will be concerned with how it will spill into a complete civil war. When Black Manta (Harry Lennix) is seen in cahoots with Orm, also known as Ocean Master (Sam Witwer), just what’s going on means somebody is pulling the strings.

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So where’s the Justice League in Flashpoint Paradox?

When Flash is the protagonist, shouldn’t this movie simply be titled The Flash: Flashpoint Paradox instead?

dvd justice league the flashpoint paradox Spoiler Alert

When Cartoon Network’s DC Nation is now comprised of Beware the Batman and Go Teen Titans Go, just where will comic fans get their Justice League fix? With Young Justice gone, fans of DC’s animated products do not have much left over to enjoy. This particular universe has a great diversity and great storytelling backing it. But with the new products showing a divergence than convergence, only the direct to video releases, namely Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox will prove that there can be only one.

And Barry Allen is stuck right smack dab in the middle of a coming apocalypse. Finally, some other heroes are getting the center-stage, and The Flash shows that one wrong mistake can mean one fractured time-line. Flashpoint is based on the 2011 comic of the same name, where the speedster awakens in a universe not quite his own.

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