Teen Titans: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.5

Teen Titans: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Another fan-tastic season of Teen Titans reminds viewers why this is one of the best DC animated gems

The teenage superheroes at the heart of Teen Titans return once more: Robin (Scott Menville), Beast Boy (Greg Cipes), Cyborg (Khary Payton), Starfire (Hynden Walch), and Raven (Tara Strong) are ready to kick some more evil villain butt and fight for the heroes in all of us. The characters make the show and these fun and lovable heroes are great fun to watch as they save the universe and goof off as the odd-ball teenagers they truly are. Robin aims for greatness, Beast Boy aims for vacation, Cyborg aims for upgrades, Starfire aims for Robin (romance!), and Raven aims for endless and unwavering solitude. The audience aims for fun (and the series delivers that in spades).

There are a number of great episodes in the fourth season. “The Quest” is one of the best in that it gives Robin a moment in the spotlight as he aims to strengthen his skills as a fighter and as he seeks guidance from a master. With martial arts in the episode, audiences are sure to be entertained. Another episode to commend is the comedic “Employee of the Month” (as it focuses on the broke Beast Boy getting a day job at a fast food chain in order to purchase a moped).

“The Prophecy” is a significantly darker episode with the return of Slade ramping up the action in good measure. The series sometimes manages to o be dark and brooding while fun at the same time and this episode is a perfect example of that balance. One of the most under-rated episodes of the entire series is “Mother Mae-Eye” and it's a must-see comedic gem (with a dark undertone): a kooky witch puts a spell on the entire Teen Titans team and makes them act as her zombie-like children (as they eat endless pie and snuggle in one bed together). Comedy unfolds.

"We remain awesome?! AWESOME!"

The fourth season once again demonstrates the amazing artistry of the animators. The hard work and dedication of the animation team is on full display from the first episode to last episode. The character designs are well detailed and fit the characters personalities like a glove. The line art is always creative and the background animation makes the canvas seem cinematic and as though it is at a greater scope than an ordinary television program.

The voice cast of Teen Titans are consistently outstanding in their respective parts and help to make the series the gem that it is. With a cast that includes Scott Menville, Greg Cipes, Khary Payton, Hynden Walch, and Tara Strong audiences are in for a real treat. The characters are so energetic and it makes watching the series so much more fun. This is an A-grade voice-cast and combined with the superb direction by voice-director Andrea Romano (Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond), the experience of watching Teen Titans is all the more rewarding.

The fourth season of Teen Titans once again focuses on a central character (with more emphasis placed on their role in the series compared to the other characters). The season brings a clearer focus to the character of Raven and her involvement in the group. These episodes manage to make the already compelling character even more important to the Teen Titans.

The writers did a great job with the season and the conclusion of the season is arguably the best season finale of the entire series run. A apocalyptic conclusion, the three-part “The End” feels like an ending working towards a real end game for the entire series. There is a true sense of suspense during these episodes and one wonders where the show might head to next in the fifth (and final) season.

Teen Titans: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The fourth season of Teen Titans arrives on Blu-ray from Warner Archive with a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition presentation in a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio. The series has never looked better than it does in high-definition on Blu-ray disc. The episodes appear robust with a massively colorful presentation that easily pulls viewers into the experience. Though the series originally broadcast in a 4:3 full-frame aspect ratio, the widescreen framing does not seem out of place at any point during the season (not even in the slightest).

The framing is outstanding and there were never any moments that seemed out-of-frame during the entire run of episodes. The fourth season looks outstanding and fans will be pleased by the massive visual upgrade. Line art is equally terrific (with only a few scenes showcasing some barely-visible rough edges). The series looks like it is a modern production and one would be easily forgiven for mistaking it as such.

Teen Titans: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented with an impressive DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. The lossless audio quality is a superb patch to the dynamic video-quality presentation. Dialogue reproduction is superbly crisp, clear, and easy to understand. The sound effects are engaging and dynamic. The music score and theme song are also wonderfully reproduced by the lossless encoding. The fourth season of Teen Titans sounds every bit as impressive on Blu-ray as the other seasons. A wonderful effort by Warner Archive.

Optional English subtitles are provided.

Teen Titans: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Know Your Foes (SD, 14:52) is a featurette focusing on villains spotlighted on the series. The extra is presented in the same style as the featurette on villains included on the third season set of Teen Titans. However, the featurette focuses on a completely different roster of big-bad villains and is specific to characters featured in the fourth season.

Producer David Slack, producer Glen Murakami, series story editor Rob Hoegee, series story editor Amy Wolfram, casting/voice director Andrea Romano, character designer Derrick Wyatt, and director Ben Jones delve into these diabolical characters and their role in the series. The villains spotlighted on the extra include the following: Trigon, Control Freak, Bob & The Source, Mother Mae-Eye, and Billy Numerous.

Teen Titans: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The fourth season of Teen Titans may be the second best in the entire run. The episodes are engaging and entertaining throughout the entire arc and the focus on Raven this season leads to some of the greatest moments in the series run. The animation remains breathtaking and the voice-cast are so charming in their respective parts that the series is a non-stop blast.

As a fan of the series since it originally aired on television, it has been a pleasure to revisit the series in high-definition. The Blu-ray from distributor Warner Archive is superb (with a top-notch video-audio presentation). Fans will not want to miss this outstanding release. Highly recommended.