Teen Titans Go! To the Movies

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is a 2018 American animated superhero comedy film based on the television series Teen Titans Go!, which is adapted from the DC Comics superhero team of the same name. From Warner Bros. Animation, the film is written and produced by series developers Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath, and directed by series producer Peter Rida Michail and Horvath. The events of the film take place during the fifth season of Teen Titans Go!. It is the forty-third Warner Animation Group film.
The film features the voices of Greg Cipes, Scott Menville, Khary Payton, Tara Strong and Hynden Walch reprising their respective roles from the series, while Will Arnett (who also produced the film) and Kristen Bell join the cast. It was theatrically released in the United States on July 27, 2018 by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film has grossed $44 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics. According to movie revenue tracking site Box Office Mojo, Teen Titans GO! To the Movies sits on a grossing range of #16 out of 44 theatrically released films adapted from animated television programs in North America; having out-grossed other well known tv to film adaptations such as Hey Arnold! The Movie, The Powerpuff Girls Movie, and DC's own Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
== Plot ==
In Jump City, the Teen Titans arrive to stop the Balloon Man. However, when he cannot figure out who they are, the Teen Titans jump into a rap song to introduce themselves and become distracted, forcing the Justice League to intervene. They criticize the Titans for being childish and not taking anything seriously, and bring up the fact that they do not have a movie of their own to prove their legitimacy. While at the premiere of Batman Again, Robin humiliates himself, after assuming that there will be a movie about him, and is laughed out by the audience. At the rest of the team's suggestion, Robin resolves that in order to get a movie made about him and the Titans, they need an arch-nemesis.
Nearby, Slade breaks into Star Labs to steal a crystal. The Titans arrive and attempt to stop him, but he swiftly defeats and insults them. The next day, Beast Boy, Starfire, Cyborg and Raven create a movie to cheer up Robin, but he turns it off prematurely declaring that they will go to Hollywood to have a movie made about them. Upon arriving, they encounter director Jade Wilson, who is responsible for all the superhero movies being made. She turns down the Titans' request to be in a movie, but explains that the only way she would make one about them is if they were the only superheroes in the world. The Titans take her words literally by going back in time to prevent the origins of the other superheroes, but only end up ruining the present, forcing them to go and undo their blunder.
Slade next arrives at Wayne Tech to infuse the crystal's power and the Titans arrive to stop him, this time putting up an actual fight. They secure the crystal, but Slade escapes, resolving to split Robin from his teammates. The next day, Jade invites the Titans back to Hollywood and announces that she will make a movie about them due to their recent fight with Slade. While Robin is given a tour of the premises, Raven, Beast Boy, Starfire and Cyborg venture out and cause mischief. They find a Doomsday Machine that is heavily guarded by the heroes and try to destroy it, but Jade arrives and reveals that D.O.O.M.S.D.A.Y., is just a terrible acronym for a new streaming service for the new movie she is making. She resolves to drop the rest of the Titans from the film and make it solely about Robin, which he happily accepts, much to the consternation of his team, who wish him luck.
Robin finishes making the movie, but during a scene where he interacts with the Titan Tower door panel, a light falls and knocks him out. He awakens and finishes the scene where Jade reveals that they are in the tower for real, and that she is actually Slade himself in disguise. He gets the crystal back, restrains Robin, and tells Robin that his making so many superhero movies was a plan to keep the heroes busy while he invaded their cities to build his D.O.O.M.S.D.A.Y. Device to take over the world. Robin escapes from the shackles with his baby hands, and runs out of the exploding tower. The next morning in the wreckage, Robin calls his friends back, who join him with open arms.
At the premiere of Robin: The Movie, the Titans arrive and unmask Slade, but Slade unleashes the crystal's power to control the other heroes and sends them after the Titans. Robin goes after Slade while the rest of the team leads off the heroes. However, Slade uses his new power to control Robin, and tells him to attack his friends, who show him the rest of the movie they made for him. Robin comes to his senses, and using one of their songs, the team takes out Slade together, defeating him and his giant robot, which also destroys the crystal, snapping the heroes out of their trance.
The heroes all congratulate the Titans for their heroic efforts with Robin admitting that he has learned to be himself. When he tries to go on, everyone demands that they cut to the credits immediately with Robin attempting to stall so that "kids can ask their parents questions." Starfire breaks the fourth wall to say to go right to the credits but Robin stops just before the film ends telling kids to "ask [their] parents where babies come from."
In a mid-credits scene, the Teen Titans from the 2003-2006 series show up on a distorted screen telling the viewers that they "found a way back". In a post-credits scene, the Challengers of the Unknown, who were sucked into a portal by Raven earlier in the film, are still trapped with their leader postulating that they missed the movie.
== Cast ==
* Greg Cipes as Beast Boy
* Hynden Walch as Starfire
* Khary Payton as Cyborg
* Scott Menville as Dick Grayson/Robin
* Tara Strong as Raven
* Will Arnett as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke
* Kristen Bell as Jade Wilson
* James Corden as Balloon Man
* Halsey as Wonder Woman
* Nicolas Cage as Superman
* Lil Yachty as Green Lantern
* Jimmy Kimmel as Batman
* Wil Wheaton as Flash
* Patton Oswalt as Atom
* Eric Bauza as Aquaman, Stan Lee's assistant.
* Joey Cappabianca as Plastic Man
* Meredith Salenger as Supergirl
* Phil Morris as D.O.O.M.S.D.A.Y., a streaming device, the Red Carpet Announcer
* James Arnold Taylor as Shia LaBeouf
* Kal-El Cage as Young Bruce Wayne
* James Corden as Balloon Man
* Stan Lee as himself
* Michael Bolton as Tiger
* John DiMaggio as Guard, Synth Skate Voice
* Tom Kenny as Machine Voice
* Vanessa Marshall as Vault Voice
* David Kaye as the Alfred trailer announcer, the Inside Premiere announcer.
* Alexander Polinsky as Control Freak
* Fred Tatasciore as Jor-El, a security guard
== Production ==
Warner Bros. announced the film on September 25, 2017 and confirmed its release date of July 27, 2018, with the show's cast reprising their roles. On October 9, 2017, Warner Bros. released the film's title and teaser poster, and announced that Will Arnett and Kristen Bell would be in the movie.
On March 12, 2018, it was announced that musicians Lil Yachty and Halsey were part of the cast, as Green Lantern and Wonder Woman, respectively, with Nicolas Cage revealed as Superman the same day. Cage himself was originally slated to portray Superman in Tim Burton's canceled Superman film, Superman Lives, in the 1990s. Jimmy Kimmel was announced to voice Batman in the film through an extended cut of the trailer.
== Release ==
=== Theatrical run ===
The film was released in theaters on July 27, 2018, by Warner Bros. Pictures, followed by a United Kingdom bow a week later. It is scheduled to be released in Australia on September 13, 2018. An early screening was held on June 22 in Vidcon 2018, for both badge members and YouTubers. The film was also shown at the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 20, 2018. The film's theatrical release was preceded by The Late Batsby, a short film based on Lauren Faust's forthcoming DC Super Hero Girls television series.
==== International Premieres ====
=== Marketing ===
==== Home media ====
Teen Titans Go! to the Movies was released on digital copy on October 9, 2018 and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 30, 2018.
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies has grossed $29.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $22.3 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $51.9 million, against a production budget of $10 million.
In the United States and Canada, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies was released alongside Mission: Impossible – Fallout, and was initially projected to gross around $14 million from 3,188 theaters in its opening weekend, with a chance to go as high as $19 million. However, after making $4.6 million on its first day (including $1 million from Thursday night previews), estimates were lowered to $10 million, and it ended up debuting to $10.5 million, finishing 5th at the box office.
=== Critical response ===
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 111 reviews and an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies distills the enduring appeal of its colorful characters into a charmingly light-hearted adventure whose wacky humor fuels its infectious fun -- and belies a surprising level of intelligence." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 69 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Laura Prudom of IGN gave the film a score of 8.0/10, calling it a "gleefully unhinged deconstruction of superhero tropes that isn't afraid to take aim at the rest of DC's cinematic roster". Owen Glieberman of Variety said "Teen Titans GO! is fun in a defiantly super way, and that's a recommendation." Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "Considering the somberness that afflicts so many DC universe releases, the tongue-in-cheek, albeit admittedly juvenile humor of Teen Titans Go! To the Movies should come as a welcome relief to fans."
David Betancourt of The Washington Post opined, "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is a laugh-a-minute ride that hits you with the jokes from the very first frame. From the cute shots at Marvel Studios to the self-deprecating tone on the state of DC movies, you’ll leave the theater with a new set of superhero abs from laughing so hard."
Brandon Katz of The New York Observer said that the film is "a fun parody of sorts that gently skewers our superhero obsessed culture, and while there may be one too many gags thrown in there which can get a bit tiresome after awhile, it's an enjoyable movie for both kids and adults." Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com rated the film 3/4 stars, saying "It's not a film designed to break ground or even offer too much social commentary on the role of superheroes in modern culture. It's built with the primary goal of making you laugh and forget your problems for just under 90 minutes, and it does exactly that."
GameSpot's Chris Hayner, while finding fault with what he deemed excessive toilet humor and some dragging in the film, said that "In a superhero movie landscape where the world is constantly being destroyed by massive CGI abominations, this is a refreshing change... it doesn't forget how funny and exciting these types of movies can be."
== Trivia ==
* This is the first ever feature film of the series.
* This is the first animated Teen Titans movie and Teen Titans movie in general to hit theaters. Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo (2006), Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016) and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017) were all direct-to-DVD releases. But however, considering this movie is set in the Teen Titans Go! universe, it is likely it will have a far less serious plot compared to the other previous animated Teen Titans films.
** This is the first movie of a Cartoon Network series to be theatrically released since The Powerpuff Girls Movie in 2002 of The Powerpuff Girls 1998-2005 series.
* This film marks the eighth and ninth celebrity guest star of the series. Will Arnett and Kristen Bell will be part of this film's performance. Before the series had; "Weird Al" Yankovic voice Darkseid in "Two Parter", LeBron James voice himself in "The Cruel Giggling Ghoul", Fall Out Boy, CeeLo Green, William Reagan, Frank Enea and Carl Burnett voice themselves in the four-part the Night Begins to Shine special.
* This is the first Warner Bros. film to have the WarnerMedia byline in the logo.