The universe of DC Comics has inspired some of cinema’s most enjoyable films, from The Dark Knight to animated classics like Mask of the Phantasm. As great as the company’s live-action output has been, many of its most devoted fans would agree it’s in animation where it truly shines. However, for every masterpiece the media conglomerate puts out, there are just as many forgotten gems waiting for more love.
With James Gunn’s DCU in full swing, animated efforts have fallen off, but viewers have more than enough to keep them happy. Where everyone knows and loves the instant hits, even the best adaptations of beloved stories have fallen under the radar in recent years. From origin stories to franchise crossovers, these are the overlooked DC cartoon films that are among the company’s best stories.
Batman & Scooby-Doo: The Brave and the Bold
In 2018, Cartoon Network fans were gifted the return of Diedrich Bader’s Batman to team up with Scooby-Doo in a fresh Brave and the Bold movie. The film follows the arrival of Mystery Inc to Gotham City, where they pass a test to join the prestigious Mystery Analysts of Gotham, a club for the best detectives in town. However, when a ghost from a past case comes back to haunt The Dark Knight, he must turn to the teenage sleuths for help.
Batman and Scooby-Doo team-ups have been a tradition since the ’70s, both in comics and animation, but The Brave and the Bold is easily their best. To date, it’s their only feature-length crossover, and it’s a fantastic showcase of how well both sides complement one another. Matching the Silver Age style of DC with Mystery Inc for a creepy haunted mystery, the flick resurrects a simpler era of cartoons, one that’s packed full of funny dialogue and character interactions.
The DCAU Perfected Wonder Woman Before Patty Jenkins
As the DCAU brought Wonder Woman to her absolute peak, it was only natural that DC would give her a long-overdue animated project to fit in alongside Batman and Superman. Released in 2009, the movie centers around Diana’s first encounter with Steve Trevor, prompting her to leave Paradise Island and explore Man’s World. No sooner does she leave than does Ares escape his imprisonment, bringing war to America and forcing the Amazon princess to fight back.
Wonder Woman used the same story as inspiration that made Patty Jenkins’ film a hit, but made a point of modernizing it to fit alongside other DCAU projects. Naturally, in a world where the story has an almost direct live-action counterpart, it’s far from the best-remembered work of the animated universe. Regardless, it offers a fantastic introduction to the character, doing justice to the work of her creator and George Perez.
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders Revives Adam West’s Caped Crusader
In 2016, just a year before the death of 1966 Batman star Adam West, the actor returned to the character he made iconic through the animated gem Return of the Caped Crusaders. Alongside Burt Ward reprising his role as Robin, the movie focuses on the classic Caped Crusader as he battles his greatest rogues, Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman. What follows is a comeback of the old-school hijinks, cheesy dialogue, and lovable Dark Knight.
For everyone who loves the ’60s era of Batman, this film was nothing shy of a treat, one that shed the grim and gritty tone of the modern comics for something more wholesome. Alongside its sequel, Batman vs Two-Face, it gave the beloved TV dynamic duo one last hurrah, reminding everyone of West’s enduring legacy. Feeling like a Silver Age comic in motion, it was a fun experience, but it didn’t match where the average DC fan was in the late 2010s.
Green Lantern First Flight Is What Ryan Reynolds’ Movie Should Have Been
The challenge of bringing viewers a great Green Lantern movie has plagued DC for years, but its 2009 movie, First Flight, proves it can be done. The film tells the origin story of Hal Jordan as one of the greatest heroes in the universe, partnering him with Sinestro on a mission to find Kanjar Ro. When the veteran Corpsman murders the villain, he frames Hal, forcing the rookie to learn the ropes fast and stop his mentor before he can harness the power of fear.
Green Lantern: First Flight nails the combination of sci-fi and adventure that defines everything great about the Corps. Beginning as a buddy cop movie and cycling into a galactic action epic, it’s the best template for understanding the dynamics between different Lanterns and the threats in the DC universe. However, with a superior animated series coupled with the disaster of the live-action film, it simply fell through the cracks as far as most fans were concerned.
Justice League: New Frontier Is Simply Perfect
In 2004, Darwyn Cooke turned in his career magnum opus when he wrote and illustrated DC: The New Frontier, a story that serves as an origin for the Silver Age Justice League. Four years later, DC Animation gave viewers the cartoon treatment, streamlining Cooke’s fantastic story for a simpler team-up. A showcase of America’s Space Age and the advent of the company’s Silver Age, it pits the heroes against the monster known as the Center in an existential crisis.
Released outside the main continuity and taking viewers back to the Golden Age, this movie was an acquired taste for many, causing it to be overlooked by numerous fans. At a time when the average DC buff loves modern, dark, and gritty Bat-books, this retro classic served up a fantastic antidote to the grim side of the universe. In both comics and animation, it really doesn’t get better than The New Frontier, but its disconnection from the DCAU made it more obscure than it should have been.