Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Vixen: The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Make Friends with the Animals

Reviewed by Michael Reuben May 26, 2017

Vixen began life as a webisode series from Arrowverse creators Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg. The show first appeared on The CW's streaming channel, CW Seed. A total of twelve episodes aired in two series in 2015 and 2016. They have now been edited together into a direct-to-video movie, with additional footage to facilitate linkage.

Vixen is the origin story of a superheroine whose power derives from magic. Mari McCabe (voiced by Megalyn Echikunwoke, The 4400) was orphaned as a child in Africa after a warlord sacked her village. Raised in Detroit by foster parents, she discovers as a young adult that she is heir to the Tantu Totem, a gem she wears around her neck that allows her to summon the essential power of any animal she chooses, whether it's flight, strength, agility or walking up walls. No sooner does Mari begin to explore her abilities than she becomes an object of intense interest to numerous factions. The Arrow and the Flash arrive from Star City to investigate reports of a newly risen metahuman, while Mari's sister, Kuasa (Anika Noni Rose), also appears in Detroit, claiming that the Tantu Totem belongs to her. Eventually, Mari is confronted by Benatu Eshu (Hakeem Kae-Kazim), the warlord who made her an orphan and who is now determined to acquire other totems related to the Tantu that Mari wears, especially the Fire Totem currently held in the Detroit museum that confers even greater power on the wearer than Mari's Tantu.

Vixen's webisode genesis is evident in the choppiness of its narrative, as Mari is flung from friend to adversary and back again, with her foster father, Chuck (Neil Flynn), showing up regularly to express concern at the unexpected direction his adopted daughter's life has taken. Mari's development as a crime fighter and the discovery of her past alternate awkwardly, as if the two plots were fighting each other for attention. The proceedings liven up whenever a familiar figure from the Arrowverse appears, reassuringly voiced by actors starring in The CW's live-action roster. In addition to Stephen Amell's Arrow and Grant Gustin's Flash, Vixen includes cameos by Brandon Routh supplying The Atom's voice, Katie Cassidy appearing as Black Canary and Victor Garber and Franz Drameh as the dual identities of Firestorm. Sidekick support is lent by Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) from Arrow and Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) from The Flash. (It's Cisco who christens Mari's alter ego "Vixen", not because the name has anything to do with her powers but because he thinks she's hot.)

Enjoyable as these cameos must have been in individual webisodes, in a full-length narrative they detract from Vixen's effort to establish its eponymous heroine as a fully rounded character with her own purpose and presence. If DC and The CW ever decide to proceed with the live-action version of Vixen that has been floated as a possibility, they will need to retread this ground, keeping the focus squarely on Mari and more thoroughly answering the question she keeps asking herself: "Who am I?"

Vixen: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Vixen's barebones animation is typical of Warner's DC projects, and Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is typical of releases from the studio's animation division, in that it adequately presents the outlines and colors, but rarely, if ever, dazzles with any technical flair. The palette is generally drab, with brighter hues reserved for superhero costumes and uses of their powers. Some of this ordinariness is attributable to the style of the original animation, but it certainly isn't helped by the animation division's continued addiction to low bitrates, here an average 15.06 Mbps with over 9 GBs of space left unused on the BD-25.

Vixen: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Like its video presentation, Vixen's 5.1 soundtrack, encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA, is typical of the animated DCU, alternating between quiet passages of dialogue with little or no ambiance and bombastic effects when the villians attack and the heros defend. The dialogue is clear, well localized and correctly prioritized, and the score by Arrowverse regulars Nathaniel Blume and Blake Neely provides the requisite sense of scale.

Vixen: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Vixen: Spirit Animal (1080p; 1.78:1; 6:13): Featuring Marc Guggenheim (EP of Arrow and DC's Legends of Tomorrow), comic book historian Alan Kistler and voice actors Victor Garber and Carlos Valdes.



• Bruce Timm's Top Picks (1080p; 1.78:1): The prolific producer, director and animator selects two episodes of Justice League Unlimited.
• Hunter's Moon (23:09)
• Grudge Match (22:53)

Vixen: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As a feature film, Vixen is an interesting concept, but I would have preferred that Warner and DC simply release the original webisodes. Episodic series and feature films have different narrative demands, and it's hard to make one into the other without losing something in the translation. Recommended for fans.