Justice League - The Brave And The Bold (Animated) (DVD)

...found the full range of Justice League animated DVD's on sale at £1.99 per DVD, which in my view was a bit of a bargain. This is my review of one of the series, 'The Brave and the Bold'. Also available are : -

Secret Origins
Justice on Trial
Paradise Lost
Starcrossed the Movie

I managed to pick all 5 up for less than £10.

BACKGROUND

Justice League the Animated Series, ...
.../> Compared to the other Justice League DVDs available, this plays well and will while away an hour or so of time quite nicely. This is neither world-beating animation nor does it push back comic-writing boundaries a la 'The Dark Knight Returns', but at a bargain price, or if you are a fan of the characters, it's well worth adding to the collection.


Please message me if you would like any more info!  ... more

Being a keen book-worm, I normally pop into the uber-cheap 'The Works' stores that seem to retail books at silly prices. Just before Christmas, I paid a visit and found the full range of Justice League animated DVD's on sale at £1.99 per DVD, which in my view was a bit of a bargain. This is my review of one of the series, 'The Brave and the Bold'. Also available are : -

Secret Origins
Justice on Trial
Paradise Lost
Starcrossed the Movie

I managed to pick all 5 up for less than £10.

BACKGROUND

Justice League the Animated Series, spins off from the DC Comics superhero group, the Justice League of America, which tends to showcase a rotating group of heroes joining together to fight evil.

In the DVD, the group is based around the 'Big 3' of DC heroes, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, who are joined by The Flash, Green Lantern (the John Stewart version, comics fans), the Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl.

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD - PLOT

'The Brave and the Bold' features four episodes from the series, two as per the DVD title and two called 'Injustice for All'. Here's a quick plot summary: -

1) The Brave and the Bold - named after a famous DC Comic, this two-part story focuses on Green Lantern and the Flash, who face off against Gorilla Grodd, a super-intelligent ape, who is trying to take over the world via mind-control.

The strengths of this story are that it plays well on the slighty arrogant nature of the Flash against the by-the-numbers Green Lantern. As with all the episodes on the DVD, the animation is excellent an the interplay between the characters is spot on.

2) Injustice for All - Lex Luthor has assembled a group of super-villains (Ultra-Humanite, Cheetah, Copperhead, Solomon Grundy, Star Sapphire, The Shade and the Joker) to take on the League. Despite Batman being captured, the League has to work out a way to beat the bad guys who for once have the firepower to take on the heroes.

For comics fans, seeing this collection of villains together is a treat, and the story works well despite the sheer number of characters that have to be blended in.

MISCELLANY

There are no 'stars' involved in voicing the characters, but Batman may be recognisable to some viewers as Kevin Conroy, who voiced Bats in the cartoon series of the same name.

The downsides of this DVD are that, if anything, it's a little...short! Four episodes, running for 83 minutes would be poor value if you were paying full price. However, at the price I paid, I really can't complain! Looking around the on-line stores, I think you could buy for a similar price too.

In addition to the four episodes, there are some extras, which include two interesting featurettes as follows: -

i) Behind the Brave and the Bold: this gives the producers view of the episodes and some nice background information and stories. Worth watching.

ii) Storyboards for Justice: A nice piece that focuses on transferring an action sequence from the original drawings to the screen.

TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY

The PG rating makes this set of 4 cartoons very suitable for kids; indeed, it makes for a nice introduction to some of the characters and the violence is mainly limited to fight scenes, with no obvious 'deaths'. This makes for easy viewing for parents and kids!

Compared to the other Justice League DVDs available, this plays well and will while away an hour or so of time quite nicely. This is neither world-beating animation nor does it push back comic-writing boundaries a la 'The Dark Knight Returns', but at a bargain price, or if you are a fan of the characters, it's well worth adding to the collection.

Please message me if you would like any more info! 

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