Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One Blu-ray Movie Review

The worst/best of both worlds.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 23, 2023

Fusing together two well-established franchises isn't exactly a new thing in any format or media, as it's usually meant to draw in those separate but sometimes similar fanbases to delight, enrage, and/or ultimately profit from both camps. Invariably, these fusions favor one property over another... and in the case of Kerry Shawcross' Justice League x RWBY, its focus leans more heavily towards the latter. (Fittingly, the 2021 comic mini-series it was based on flips the titular names around, but this adaptation is distributed by Warner Bros.) Either way, is the end result any good?

Well, yes and no. A viewer's own answer likely depends on their level of fandom and/or tolerance for RWBY, which is unquestionably "hosting the party": the adventure takes place on their home world of Remnant, and Rooster Teeth is credited with the animation. Plot-wise, there's no real and immediate explanation for the sudden arrival of teenage versions of Superman (voiced by Chandler Riggs), Wonder Woman (Natalie Alyn Lind), Batman (Nat Wolff), The Flash (David Errigo, Jr.) and others; they just kinda showed up in Remnant's four kingdoms of Vale, Mistral, Atlas, and Vacuo with no recollection of how or why they ended up there. Naturally, RWBY's lead and supporting characters -- including of course Ruby (Lindsay Jones), Weiss (Kara Eberle), Blake (Arryn Zech), and Yang (Barbara Dunkelman) -- organically pair off with similar Justice League counterparts, a creative decision that shows there was obviously some thought put into what's otherwise a paper-thin setup. As such, their shared goal is to take down superpowered Grimms before they destroy Remnant, which has been curiously affected by the arrival of these teenage visitors.

Of course, there's more to the story than that; at least two of our heroes soon learn that all is not as it seems, and we soon learn that the paired-off team members may not be in Remnant at all. And while Super Heroes and Huntsmen has a handful of interesting tricks up its sleeve -- each of the character pairings works reasonably well, several of the JL members' superpowers are organically muted to prevent overpowering, and there are a few neat little character and background Easter eggs to pick out for both camps -- the story never really develops into much more than extended introductions, a handful of fight scenes, and small revelations about the teams' shared fate that raise a few interesting questions along the way. Of course, this 80-minute film is listed as "Part One" and, while it ends on what I'd consider a pretty mild cliffhanger after members of the Justice League and RWYBY say their initial goodbyes, we'll just have to assume that one or more future installments won't need any formal introductions and can get right down to business. Overall, though, Super Heroes and Huntsmen is mildly interesting at best and, while I can't imagine fans of either franchise outright hating this movie, there's not much to get genuinely excited about either.

Warner Bros. presents Super Heroes and Huntsmen, Part One in two flavors: this standard Blu-ray and a full-on 4K/Blu-ray combo pack, both of which feature good to great transfers but come up short in the audio department. The extras are decent at best, but likewise contribute to my lukewarm-at-best recommendation for die-hard fans.

Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It's clear from these screenshots that Super Heroes and Huntsmen employs a different visual style than most WB Animation releases, DCAU or otherwise, by preserving the pseudo-3D world of RWBY as animated by Rooster Teeth. Those completely new to that franchise may find these visuals a bit tough to get used to: they occasionally feel more floaty than energetic, like a video game cut scene. Nonetheless, they're represented reasonably well on Warner Bros.' 1080p transfer which, even on a single-layered disc with a limited bit rate, runs fairly smoothly from start to finish with solid image detail, relatively clean lines, and good color representation that balances its vivid and muted hues deftly enough. Small problems can easily be picked out on medium to large displays, though, including moderate banding issues and a few compression artifacts on flat colors and in busier, action-heavy sequences. They're well-handled for the most part, and even partially hidden by much of the stronger moments and dynamic framing, but prevent the Blu-ray from achieving higher marks even though some of these issues are almost expected on the format. Of course, the differences are more evident if you watch the separately available 4K disc first like I did... so if you don't see much animation in UHD, you probably won't know what you're missing. At the end of the day, though, this is still a decently strong presentation that'll get the job done if you're working with a more modest home theater setup.

Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I'm not sure if Super Heroes and Huntsmen has some kind of intentionally odd sound design or if a few shortcuts were taken, but this DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix isn't exactly a smooth and nuanced presentation. Speech and most of the fight-scene sound effects are mostly confined to the front channel, while the hollow-sounding original score frequently occupies the left and right speakers and is mixed about 5-10dB too loud for its own good. Echoes break this trend, with some conversations in larger spaces enjoying a more natural sonic presence, but these are sadly few and far between. Discrete effects and other disorienting sounds occasionally shoot into the rear channels... but again it all sounds badly patched together, like most other aspects of this sporadically good but mostly below-average audio mix.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are included during the main feature and all extras.

Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc set ships in a dual-hubbed keepcase with appropriately busy cover artwork, a matching metallic slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption code. The bonus features are predictably light and fluffy.

• Justice Comes to Remnant (7:35) - This short behind-the-scenes featurette details the animated adaptation's inception and production, including the creative team's decision to pair up specific teammates and other separate franchise elements to try and make Super Heroes and Huntsmen more than just a fan service mash-up. Several key cast and crew members are interviewed including director Kerry Shawcross, screenwriter Meghan Fitzmartin, producer Ethan Spaulding, and all four of the main RWBY voice actors. (No one from the JL camp, sadly.)

• You Look … Different (9:01) - Many of the same participants return for a brief look at the visual/story side of Super Heroes and Huntsmen, from the animation style and Justice League's new manga-inspired character and costume designs to subtle differences in the RWBY landscape that die-hard fans will easily pick out.

• From the DC Vault - One and a half vintage Justice League animated episodes, one from Unlimited and the other from Action, that keep the kid-friendly theme going. I'm surprised RWBY didn't get its own sample episode as well to draw in even more new fans, but that's probably due to rights issues.

• "Kid Stuff" (23:09) - Episode #5 from Justice League Unlimited Season 1.
• "Plastic Man Saves the World" (11:14) - Episode #17 from Justice League Action Season 1.

Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kerry Shawcross' Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen, based on the 2021 comic series of the same name, is a well-intentioned but frankly kind of thin production that unsurprisingly favors the latter team in story, tone, and visual design. As the first of (presumably) two parts, the setup isn't exactly smooth but that may at least pave the way for a more involving second half. But this one's definitely not more than the sum of its parts and will clearly appeal more to RWBY fans, so take that under advisement if you're coming into this completely blind. Warner Bros.' Blu-ray offers a decent transfer within format limitations but the audio mix is not up to their usual standards, with a sort of weirdly patched-together sound design that doesn't exactly suck you into this shared world. Those who enjoyed the original comic series might want to indulge, but this is clearly more of a "try before you buy" disc.