8.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
With awesome super skills and powers galore, these crimefighting partners kick butt and squash evil like nobody's business! But as roommates in Titans Tower, it's every hero for himself when it comes to living in peace. Not even super heroes can settle fights over who's in control of the TV remote! The Titans - Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy and Robin - face their rogues gallery of villains - Mad Mod, The Puppet King, Mumbo and of course, their archnemesis Slade - in one power-packing showdown after another. Some battles even pit the Titans against each other! Featuring bold animation, funky music and fun characters, this DC Comics series is an intergalactic knockout!
Starring: Scott Menville, Greg Cipes, Khary Payton, Hynden Walch, Tara StrongAnimation | 100% |
Comic book | 92% |
Fantasy | 77% |
Adventure | 59% |
Sci-Fi | 48% |
Action | 44% |
Comedy | 44% |
Teen | 15% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1, 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
While they are not exactly identical, the opening phrases of the theme songs to Teen Titans and the great old spy classic Danger Man (perhaps known more widely on this side of the pond as Secret Agent Man) are so similar that years ago when my then young sons were watching Teen Titans in another somewhat distant room, I actually walked in to see why in heaven’s name they were watching an old (black and white) Patrick McGoohan enterprise whose music I thought I had heard, and indeed why that old show would have even been on the cable airwaves to begin with (which it obviously wasn't). Teen Titans is kind of unavoidably nostalgic for me to watch now, a reminder of times past and one of the prime exemplars of a show seemingly geared to the demographic my boys were in when it premiered. In fact Teen Titans could almost be thought of as a “kinder and gentler” (and, obviously, younger) version of other group dynamic offerings from the DC universe like Justice League, with an emphasis on a somewhat lighter tone than even the occasionally whimsical “older” skewing cartoons culled from iconic DC comic books can offer at times. Perhaps interestingly for older viewers, the only overly familiar character in the main quintet of superheroes might arguably be Robin, with the supporting quartet maybe falling into "and the rest" territory (to quote the now legendary redaction from the first season theme song of another venerable enterprise, Gilligan's Island). That aggregation includes (again, for some at least) the lesser known Beast Boy, Starfire, Raven and Cyborg.
Teen Titans: The Complete First Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Archive with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is generally a nicely sharp and extremely vividly suffused looking presentation, one that supports the series' tendency toward bright and bold primaries coupled with some rather appealing pastels and interstitial tones. As mentioned above in the main body of the review, there are occasional stylistic "detours" that give the series a rather distinctive appearance (look at screenshots 13 and 19 for just a couple of examples). Some fans may not like the 1.78:1 framing for all of these episodes, but I noticed nothing untoward in terms of "missing heads" or the like. The one minor issue that caught my eye here is some kind of oddly variable line detail. What shows up occasionally is not exactly "classic" stair stepping, but it's somewhat similar, with very closely hatched "jaggies" that just kind of appear occasionally for no rhyme or reason (or at least a rhyme or reason that I could discern). You really have to be watching for these, so my hunch is most fans of the series will not be overly troubled by their occurrence.
Teen Titans: The Complete First Season features a rather robust sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, one that bursts with energy during the regular fighting and/or action scenes that are generally present in each and every episode. There were a couple of moments where I detected what sounded like very slight distortion in elements like explosions, but it may indeed have been part of the sound design. Otherwise, this is a clear and well delineated track that offers excellent support for dialogue, effects and a pretty insistent score.
Teen Titans: The Complete First Season doesn't try to reinvent the superhero wheel, and as such may seem a bit on the repetitive side even for the kids for whom it's obviously been designed. But the show's lightness of tone is extremely enjoyable, and the main quintet of heroes are all "believable" characters, at least within the outlandish context of a series like this. There's not a ton of suspense in any of these episodes, since it's a given that the Titans will prevail against any and all supervillains, but the show is extremely colorful and boasts a rather distinctive design aesthetic. Technical merits are generally strong, and for fans if no one else, Teen Titans: The Complete First Season comes Recommended.
Warner Archive Collection
2004
Warner Archive Collection
2004-2005
Warner Archive Collection
2005
Warner Archive Collection
2005-2006
Warner Archive Collection
2006
Season One / Warner Archive Collection
2011-2012
DC Comics Classic Collection
2003-2004
Warner Archive Collection
2004-2006
Commemorative Edition | DC Universe Animated Original Movie #2
2008
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #8
2010
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #13
2012
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #9
2010
2011
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #19
2014
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #7
2010
Commemorative Edition | DC Universe Animated Original Movie #4
2009
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #18
2013
2008-2009
2017
DC Showcase Animated Shorts
2010
Commemorative Edition
2015
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #29
2017
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #17
2013
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #11
2011