by Mike Favila, Senior Editor

When I first heard about Teen Titans Go! vs Teen Titans, I wasn’t really sure how they were going to make it work. I’ve seen pieces of a million Teen Titans Go! episodes with my kids, and just marveled at how they’ve been able to make the show function on two levels. For the parents, there are a lot of throwback and hipster jokes that do a little *wink wink*, meant to keep them entertained while sitting alongside their kids, who just love the repetition and deadpans, along with sight gags. Three Stooges for 8 year olds if you will. How were they going to combine that with the still funny, but much more direct Teen Titans? Would it even be cohesive?

It turns out, my fears were totally unfounded.  Teen Titans Go! vs Teen Titans is a fun whirlwind.  While I do like Teen Titans Go! in doses, the sight gags do wear on me after a while.  This was the perfect balance of gags, plot and action.  More Bad Boys than Bad Boys 2, if you’re familiar with the two leaders of the action comedy oeuvre.

There’s a number of unbelievable jokes in here, although less obscure than the Teen Titans Go! show itself.  As a non-fanatic, I really appreciate the outreach and attention.  Bobblehead Robin! Too hilarious.    The thumb war in the arena between competing Starfires is simultaneously amazing and slightly disgusting.  (Are thumbs really supposed to have abs?)  The plot weaves in these visual gags so well that I didn’t spend too much time examining if they made sense.  I’d like to say the Santa fight was beyond surreal, but at this point, the movie had almost prepped me to EXPECT a Mrs. Santa beatdown.  Another scene involved Trigon trying to drink a soda.  A friend of mine once noted there was no way to look manly while trying to drink from a straw. I think the writers probably got that in their head as well.  Also, if you’ve never seen a bad guy with 4 butt cheeks, this is your chance!

The writers put a lot of music in the show as well, but the few songs in Teen Titans Go! vs Teen Titans  were quite well done.  The early 90s variant of the theme song, with the straight up In Living Color outfits and Young MC rhymes had me bobbin my head before I caught myself.   The Get Lucky ripoff before the action (“Whiragog”) is so casually thrown out, but makes a great point about the differences between the teams.

I’ve just started reading the original Teen Titans anthology by Marv Wolfman and George Perez , and I’m amazed at how excellent the source material is, and how the show creators have used it as a jumping point for this multilayered universe.  I’m really happy these creations still resonate for audiences many decades later.  Robin’s insecurity at being a sidekick is still evident in both, without being heavy handed.  I don’t know if Cyborg was ever this playful, but there’s only so much brooding anybody can take.  Raven is radically different in both incarnations, but still stay true to the character.  

Even if you haven’t watched much (or any) of the two shows, you don’t need a lot to go on to jump right in.  This is a great movie to introduce somebody into the animated universe, without needing a lot of backstory.  Teen Titans Go! vs Teen Titans is the perfect mix of action and goofy jokes that will resonate well past the core audience. I will probably rewatch it today, just to get all the in jokes and little visual references (Why is Green Lantern in Trigon’s lair?)

Rating:[5/5]
ComicsOnline gives Teen Titans Go! Vs. Teen Titans 5 out of 5 mismatched teamups!