Green Lantern: The Animated Series

The new Green Lantern: The Animated series, brought to life by uberscribe Bruce Timm, definitely has the goods.

It has good writing, a decent premise and animation, great voice acting and good character portrayal.

The show's CGI animation is actually not that bad, it grew on me. Hal Jordan's character seems a bit off here, to be honest. Instead of being stiff and serious, he's pretty much a space cowboy. It does feel a bit off, but I'm getting used to it.

All in all, the show has great writing and a strong premise. I really enjoy the show and will be glad to see it run at the very least a couple more seasons.

First, let me say that I am not at all a Green Lantern fan. I've never read the comics, and the character has never appealed to me before. I am, however, a huge fan of Bruce Timm and the DCAU (DC Animated Universe). Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League/Unlimited are my favorite animated shows of all time. BTAS, in particular, had a huge influence on me as I started watching it at a very early age as a child in the 90s.

When I first heard about Green Lantern: The Animated Series, I wasn't interested at all. Then when I heard that Bruce Timm was the executive producer, I thought it might be worth a try. I forgot about the series for a time, until I stumbled upon it again on Amazon. They had the complete series on Blu-ray. I read a couple reviews, and on a whim I decided to purchase it. The price was excellent for getting the complete series on Blu-ray, but I was really just taking a chance because I had never viewed an episode or talked to anyone who had. That was possibly the best Blu-ray purchase I have ever made!

This series is fantastic. I went into it pretty skeptical and not at all a Green Lantern fan. All I really knew about GL was from what I'd seen on JL/JLU. The writing and dialogue is very sharp, the plot is solid, the characters are fleshed out and well developed, the music is epic, the voice cast is incredible, and everything is really top notch! The cg animation and the designs are beautiful! I wasn't sure if I would really like the cg, but it really grows on you and I have really come to appreciate it.

All this to say, if you haven't seen this yet, please give it a shot. I'm not certain but it seems like this show is under-appreciated and I have no idea why. Maybe people simply don't know about it. If you like any of Bruce Timm's previous work, you will LOVE this show. Its maturity level and overall tone is right up there with the greats like BTAS, BB, and JL/JLU. This is seriously, one of the best animated series of all time!

This is a review for episodes 1-13, as it is one complete story arc.

Easy to contrast this against a horrible feature film and say it's good. But this 1st series stands alone as good Green Lantern canon on it's own. I like that the authors assumed we know that Hal Jordan was chosen and how he became a Green Lantern. Also like the realization of Oa and the Guardians. Art direction is top notch. Writing is even better. Excellent story obviously made by fans of Green Lantern Corps. Even with the cartoony style, it packs a lot more action, drama, and humor than the lame live action movie. (granted I know you have a better opportunity to develop characters in a series than you do in film).

All in all I compare this to the Green Lantern Corps comic book for it's scope and breadth. Top notch entertainment that doesn't insult your intelligence. Would like to have seen how this would do in a prime time slot on a major network. Bet it would crush stupid reality TV. People would remember..."Oh yeah, storytelling rocks!"

Also, this series encapsulates the true character of Hal Jordan. He's a cocky test pilot. I mean have you ever met a test pilot or even a fighter pilot? Very similar to the way Hal Jordan is portrayed here.

Another thing this series does well, is show the capabilities and limitations of the power rings. Very well done and spot on, the way it's portrayed in the comics.

Not to beat a dead horse, but the recent film got it wrong on even the characterization of Hal Jordan. Ryan Reynolds comes off as a smart ass. And while this is part of a test pilot's persona, it isn't the defining factor as it is with the way Reynolds played him. I suppose I can even go so far to say Reynolds was completely the wrong actor for the film. Hal Jordan in the comic book, is mid 40's early 50's, as he's retired Air Force and now a test pilot. Should have cast someone with the silver fox sides like the way Hal Jordan was drawn in the comic books.

That's my only gripe about this animated series. I suppose they expected the target audience to be 18 and under. So maybe a greying super hero was out of the question.

++++UPDATE+++ Recently finished watching episodes 14-26. It's even more engaging. Still blows my mind with the amount of money that gets put into live action film and promotions for "blockbuster" movies, that no super hero film I've seen comes close to this. It's that good. Once again, when a super hero comic is obviously written by comic book fans, and not your garden variety Hollywood ego-maniacs, (granted I'm assuming the creators of this series live and work in LA), you get a better story.

OK so normally I don't usually do this sort of thing but since I have finished watching the show I have felt that I have to say something cause I cant contain it.

Anyway so I have never been a huge Green Lantern fan but my husband is and so when he said we were going to watch the GLTAS I was none too thrilled cause I had seen commericals of it on TV before and was not interested whats so ever but let me tell you something...

This show is flipping amazing! seriously everything about it is wonderful,from the character designs to the witty dialogue and storyline is perfect and I highly recommend anyone who is a fan of superheroes,even if you prefer Marvel over DC to watch this show,not only will you love it but will want more which is also why I'm writing this review...

The only disappoint part of the show is that its only 26 episodes long because it was canceled due to different reasons on Warner Bros. part so when you become a fan like me then you can now be left with painful whole in your heart from all the feels. Although I'am upset the show was canceled I can at least say that the very last episode was satisfying and not a cut mid-plot so overall it was a show ended quickly before its time.

My first experience with this series was catching the occasional episode on free-to-air TV, and it honestly struck me as kind of stupid. But tempted by the art design, I sat and watched the series consistently and got hooked.

Off in the Frontier Zone, someone is killing Green Lanterns. Hal Jordan, Earth's Green Lantern, and his colleague Kilowog discover the Red Lantern threat and are tasked by the Guardians of Oa with gathering intelligence. On their ship the Interceptor, run by an AI (dubbed "Aya" by Hal), they start their return to Oa, meetings friends and foes along the way. But the Guardians have not told them everything ...

I love the art design and music for this series, but it's the characters that kept me watching. Hal, the maverick pilot who is always ready to accept people and give them a chance; Kilowog, gruff and by-the-book, but noble at heart; Aya, a genuine personality who develops a mind of her own; and Razer, a Red Lantern who makes the journey from despair to hope. The voice actors are well cast and genuinely good, able to make moments of drama or comic relief equally believable.

The story arc for each half of the series is broken up by some standalone stories, but many elements that seemed to be over and done with are brought together in later episodes. While the overarching plot is gripping, some of the episodes along the way are less strong as you might expect in a series. There are quite a few clichés and plot holes, it's true, but for me they are well and truly outweighed by the strengths of this series. One thing that particularly struck me with the scriptwriting was the adult approach taken. Strong emotions are in play here, sometimes justified, sometimes not; and while there are times when the characters make good decisions, at others times they don't. It's refreshing, and realistic, too, to see characters struggling with situations where there are no easy answers. You don't have to be a Green Lantern fan to enjoy this, as the scriptwriters did a good job of making the core concepts of the Guardians-Green Lanterns easy to pick up.

If there is a message from this series, it is that hope is never wasted; anger has its value; and love and friendship matter most of all. I'm not a Green Lantern follower, so I can't say whether this is a good addition to the history/concept or not. What I can say is that I love this particular version and I am genuinely gutted that no more episodes will be made.