When I first heard that a “Teen Titans” remake was in production I was as skeptical as anyone else. That weird feeling in my gut came up when I saw that they were remaking the show with a new animation style like they did with the “Powerpuff Girls.” It bothers me — why not just try to make something else inspired by those old shows instead of redoing an old idea. It’s hard to see it as anything other than a marketing decision.
Because of this I never had high hopes for “Teen Titans Go,” and I never had any intention of watching it. I don’t remember the first time I watched it either. A friend recommended it to me at some point. She enjoyed it even though she wasn’t familiar with the original show. With her blessing, I decided to give it a chance. With some time it grew on me and I noticed why she enjoyed it so much.
Even though the animation has been altered, it doesn’t bring me to the point of disgust or discomfort. The characters are cute, but it doesn’t cross a line for me in the way that the new “Powerpuff Girls” reboot does. Something about that show just looks odd. I think the animation for “Teen Titans Go” is well done and the physical comedy they derive from it is part of what makes it work — despite negative criticism from older fans. Kids who have never seen it before can still enjoy it because it’s visually interesting.
Additionally, for people who were hardcore fans of the original and other DC comics classics, there are all the easter eggs and references that your fanboy hearts could possibly desire. Starfire’s toys on her bed are dressed as Wonder Woman and Bane. There are loads of posters on the walls of Titans Tower that reference Bruce Wayne and Superman. Jump City is full of stores like Lil Alfred’s Toy Cave. Anywhere that has room for a nod to the peripheral DC universe has something for fans to find.
Apart from subtle visual cues, the characters do justice to their original counterparts as well. The writers and producers of “Teen Titans Go” Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic made the reboot primarily a comedy, departing from the more dramatic tone of the original. While this aggravated some fans, the way the characters were adapted was handled properly. They did this by accurately depicting the personality traits of each character and accentuating the most absurd aspects of their personalities for comedic effect.
Robin’s neuroticism and inferiority complex are a particularly funny and a poignantly dark source of comedy throughout the show. Raven is shown to have an affinity for a “My Little Pony” analogue called “Pretty Pretty Pegasus,” Starfire is rife with whimsical misunderstanding and Beast Boy and Cyborg both are lazy gluttons reminiscent of Shaggy and Scooby-Doo.
Another cool thing that this show does consistently is remain self-aware and break the fourth wall. The villain, Control Freak, from the original series acts as the voice of the audience and illustrates the complaints or apparent flaws of the show. This sense of self-awareness is refreshing to see, if only just to acknowledge that the creators are aware of the critiques surrounding them.
I understand that the main reason why most people are upset about “Teen Titans Go” is because the original show ended before the final season was completed. The show left off without a conclusion, which is an understandable reason to be upset with a reboot that focuses more on crude humor than it does plot. But, at the end of the day I’m won over by the comedy and the way the characters are portrayed.
For people who are also familiar with the show “Dragonball Z” there is an analogous online series that does a similar job of creating a comedy out of the original drama. “Dragonball Z Abridged” is a fan-made series that accentuates the comedic moments in the storylines of the original show and makes that the focal point.
The original show actually had its fair share of comedic moments and what this series does is place a majority of the emphasis on the comedy and have the plot and drama take a back seat to the laughs. I firmly believe that “Teen Titans Go” does the same for “Teen Titans.”
We may never see the conclusion to the original series, but “Teen Titans Go” is fun to watch when I am sitting at home eating a sandwich mid-day before I have to go to class. It makes me laugh and it’s fun to look at. What more you could you possibly ask from an 11-minute kids cartoon.
Fans of the series should stop complaining about the things they never received and be thankful that Horvath and Jelenic cared enough to do the characters justice and make a funny adaptation of a childhood gem, instead of just phoning in another cheap copy of a successful idea from the past.
