Executive Producer:
Sander Schwartz
Cast (Voices):
Greg Cipes ………. Beast Boy
Scott Menville ……… Robin
Khary Payton ………. Cyborg
Tara Strong ………. Raven
Hynden Walch ………. Starfire
Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa ………. Broshogun
The Show:
When there’s trouble you know who to call… TEEN TITANS!
Sadly, there’s no Puffy singing the theme song in what is billed as the first Teen Titans “movie”, which debuted on Cartoon Network back in September 2006, but the “movie” was fun to watch regardless.
The basic plot sees a ninja named Saiko-Tek (who looks like something out of a Sentai show) come to Jump City and terrorize people, which naturally draws the Titans into a confrontation. They eventually capture him, but not before Cyborg’s sofa is destroyed. Interrogation leads to the Titans heading to Japan to find the man behind all of this – the mysterious Broshogun, voiced by career “that guy” Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa. The Titans encounter various villains, local heroes in the Tokyo Troopers, and generally have problems due to being in a foreign land, but in the end, capture the bad guy who most of you will have figured out pretty quickly.
What I like about the movie is that you really don’t need to have watched Teen Titans to follow the story – the characters all get to showcase their stuff early on, so you’re not confused about who is who… although Raven would definitely need a bit of explaining. And the story, while fairly by-the-numbers, never drags and you find yourself drawn in by the action.
Was there anything bad? Sure, but it’s just my personal bias. I have never liked Beast Boy as he’s portrayed on Teen Titans. Here, he’s still a big idiot who just doesn’t grasp the big picture most of the time. Yes, the writers play on his comic book relationships with Raven and Cyborg, but I’ve just never bought into the presentation of Gar Logan on the show. Again, that’s just me.
There’s also a lot of “easter eggs”, if you will, if you’re a fan of Japanese animation. There’s homages to Gatchaman and Akira, and baddies that resemble Astroboy, Godzilla, and creations by Nagai and Miyazaki. I’m certain that I’ve missed a ton, but they’re right there if you’re looking for it.
I think that if you were a fan of the Teen Titans show then the movie is right up your alley. If you weren’t, well, DC is supposedly working on an OAV of “The Judas Contract”, and I think that will whet a lot of appetites. Still, check out Trouble in Tokyo – you might just find yourself enjoying it in spite of yourself.
The DVD:
Video:
(Presented in Fullscreen Format)
This was the first chance I’ve had to watch a movie on my new Sharp Aquos television. As is appropriate for a kids show, the colors are bright and vivid, to the point of being overwhelming when the Titans are in Tokyo Square.
Audio:
(Dolby Digital English 5.1)
Very nice stuff here. As I generally maintain, you don’t NEED to have 5.1 surround for most television shows, but since this was made as a “movie”, you get explosions happening all around you at the appropriate times.
Special Features:
The Lost Episode – The Titans take on Punk Rocket, a Billy Idol wannabe.
Robin’s Underworld Race Challenge – Relive the chase scene with Robin in Tokyo.
