FSF-144 Superhero Cartoons to the Rescue (09/13/08)

Comic books are all the rage! Studios are hustling and bustling to adapt almost any comic book or superhero property they can get their hands on. With the recent successes of IRON MAN (2008), THE INCREDIBLE HULK (2008) and THE DARK KNIGHT (2008), this trend is sure to continue.

Not all comic adaptations are big budget Hollywood movies. Some of them are low-budget, straight-to-DVD, animated films. This week on Film Score Focus we're going to dive into some of these low-budget, yet high-quality scores from a host of composers you may not have yet heard of.

Here is the lineup for FSF-144 Superhero Cartoons to the Rescue



Although I'm rather impressed by all the music on the program this week I have to admit that I'm not terribly familiar with the films and series the music originates from. I'm a die-hard superhero fan but there is just so much of it proliferating our entertainment worlds that I just haven't had the chance to catch up with.

TEEN TITANS: TROUBLE IN TOKYO (2008) is a movie based on the popular series TEEN TITANS which hailed from the DC Comics universe. Here is a quick blurb taken from Wikipedia.org about the series:

For five seasons, from 2003 until 2006, a TEEN TITANS animated series was produced. Briefly airing on Kids' WB, TEEN TITANS premiered on and currently airs on Cartoon Network. Many episodes were based on beloved storylines like the Wolfman/Perez era The Judas Contract and The Terror of Trigon although some elements such as the romances between Starfire and Robin were dropped due to the characters' ages in the new show. The show was draw in an anime-style based art form. The main characters are Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy. Many other TEEN TITANS comic book characters appear, including Aqualad, Speedy, Deathstroke (named Slade), Bumblebee,Wildebeest and Terra. Other characters have been specifically created for the show, including Más y Menos, Mumbo and Mother Mae-Eye.

The series was canceled after five seasons, with the final episode airing January 16, 2006. A direct-to-DVD movie, TEEN TITANS: TROUBLE IN TOKYO, premiered on Cartoon Network September 15, 2006 at 7pm. Three video games were made based on the show.

Three composers were used to compose music for the series: Lolita Ritmanis, Kristopher Carter, and Michael McCuistion each composing around 23 episodes each. For the film, all three composers were called in to harness their collective talents.

Next up is another straight-to-DVD film entitled SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY (2007) which was composed by Robert J. Kral. Earlier this year, I did a two part retrospective on the film music of Superman and included a little bit of this score. I was pleased to be able to delve into it a bit more on the program this week.

This motion picture chronicles the death of Superman at the hands of a supervillain named Doomsday.



Here's what Wikipedia.org has to say about SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY:

SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY is an original direct-to-video animated film adaptation of the popular DC Comics storyline The Death of Superman focusing on the superhero Superman. The film is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for action violence and is the first in the DC Universe Original Animated Movies line released by Warner Premiere and Warner Bros. Animation. It was followed by JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER. The film was released on September 18, 2007. Before the DVD release, the movie was first screened at the San Diego Comic Con on July 26, 2007. It made its U.S. broadcast premier on the Cartoon Network on Saturday July 12, 2008 at 9:00 p.m. EST.

Next up on the program, is one of the more recent additions to the Batman universe not called THE DARK KNIGHT. It's called BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT and it takes the Batman universe into a very dark environment and is animated similar to a Japanese anime style rather than more traditional animation incarnations.



Once again, Wikipedia.org has something to say about it:

BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT is a 2008 animated direct-to-DVD anthology film of six animated short films set in-between BATMAN BEGINS (2005) and THE DARK KNIGHT (2008). The shorts, or segments, are written by Josh Olson, David S. Goyer, Brian Azzarello, Greg Rucka, Jordan Goldberg and Alan Burnett. Each segment has its own writing and artistic style, just as the works from the DC Universe, although some segments are connected. The six films all star Kevin Conroy, reprising his role as Batman from BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (1992-1995).

It is rated PG-13 for stylized violence, including some bloody images. This film is notable for being the first DC original animated movie to have a connection with another Batman medium. While SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY and JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER have been released in the United Kingdom with a 12 rating, BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT is being accompanied with a 15 certificate for "images of bloody violence and injury".

The six short films contained in this feature length motion picture were shared amongst three composers: Christopher Drake, Robert J. Kral, and Kevin Manthei. Since we listened to Kral's score for SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY, we're going to focus on the scores of Christopher Drake and Kevin Manthei.

Finally, the last direct-to-video, superhero motion picture we're going to listen to is JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER which was composed by Kevin Manthei.

Here's a little bit more about JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER taken from Wikipedia.org:

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER is a direct-to-video animated film adaptation of the popular DC comic DC: The New Frontier limited series. The film was written by Justice League writer Stan Berkowitz, with Darwyn Cooke serving as story and visual consultant.

The video has received a rating of PG-13 for violent content/images and was released on February 26, 2008. It is the second in the line of DC Universe Original Animated Movies released by Warner Premiere and Warner Bros. Animation

These films are doing very well both critically and in sales. I would expect to see more of them hitting the shelves and on television which is a great thing for fans of great film music.

Up, up, and away!