JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time

JLA ADVENTURES: TRAPPED IN TIME, came out of nowhere. There was minimal publicity to accompany this limited release, and perhaps it was for the better. JLA Adventures can only be described as "Justice League lite", a step down from Warner's DC animated offerings from the last decade. For years, Warner has given us the likes of Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice and its critically acclaimed Direct to video Animated movies which all viewers agree is a huge step above Marvel's animation efforts. Those shows combined well developed characters with top notch realistic voice acting, complex plots, a darker tone and outstanding animation. Those were shows that could appeal to the more mature comic book fan and stand toe to toe with the tone of summer blockbusters.

This general feel goes out the window within moments when you hear Superman doing a "G.I Joe" style roll call of the characters and ending off with "Justice League! Into Action!". One silly cheesy line after another plagues this excuse for a movie. Comedy is fine, but not when the tone is as inconsistent as here. On one hand, you have lines that are right at home in comedic shows like Batman Brave and the Bold, while the plot and acting seems to take itself seriously.

In this story, villain Lex Luthor is freed from his frozen prison in the far future and enslaves another villain called Time Trapper to send him back to the past. His plan: to reform the legion of doom and prevent Superman from growing up into the superhero he is by stealing him away when he first crash lands in Kansas as a baby. Now those are high stakes! We are talking about the very existence of the Justice League here! Into this adventures comes Dawnstar and Karate Kid (LOL), two wannabe superheroes who followed Luthor from the future and come face to face with the legendary heroes that they practically worshipped back home.

Giving life to our heroes (and villains) is a fine bunch of voice actors. Sadly, it is the writing that neuters any memorable or complex characterisation. Even Teen Titans: trouble in Tokyo felt more mature than this movie. Hampered by an indecisive script, our characters sound like one dimensional caricatures of their comic book selves. There is hardly any development as the plot progresses. It's like the early episodes of Superfriends, except that it keeps trying to be like Justice League: Doom. You got some good looking action and a couple of epic fights. But you also got badly timed comic relief like this stupid sequence of the heroes and villains playing "catch the baby" like something out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Then again, at barely 52 minutes long, one could not expect much.

JLA Adventures plays more like a hastily produced TV series pilot than a standalone movie. It even looks hastily produced. Animation studio DR Movie turns in some disappointing work making JLA Adventures look no better than their previous work on Justice League Unlimited more than 10 years ago. Animation is as inconsistent as the tone, with a few good sequences and the rest merely mediocre. As for the artwork, you either love Superman looking like a caricature or you do not. Designs take some getting used to but having characters go off model once too often spoils the experience.

For an audience of under 12 years old, JLA Adventures is a sufficient kid pleaser, offering a straight up battle between good end evil, zero plot complexity, simple characters and child friendly action. It may appeal to grown up fans who yearn for the old days where comics were for kids; a more innocent alternative to DC's PG-13 animated offerings. But for the more discerning viewer, even if you have not been a follower of past DC animated productions, the sub par quality of the overall production compared to other recent cartoons is a definite turn- off.

All I can say is...not much.

My kids enjoyed and was entertained by it so I guess that is the only thing that matters.

Both the animation and story was alright, but both could have been better. Like some of the other reviewers mentioned it did feel a bit like a 1 hour Super Friends television special with the all too familiar Legend of Dome headquarters and Hall Of Justice.

There was some heavy hitters in the voice acting department at least.

Didn't like the inconsistency of when Superman disappeared, so should have Bizarro since he was an imperfect clone of Superman. No Superman, No Clone!

I'll keep it simple. It has a character called Karate Kid (!?) - yeah I'm not joking! The best scene features Bizarro and Solomon Grundy having a low IQ conversation. That's it. Bad beyond belief. Imagine the power of time travel preventing this flick from being made. That may be a better story.

As a side note, why are they making more and more preschool friendly animated movies? Marvel's Black Widow and Punisher movie was equally bad. The days of JL Unlimited storytelling seem to be over. :(

P.S. The guy who said that this is more watchable than JL: War clearly doesn't watch enough animated films.

I've been trying to find something my preschooler and toddler could watch. They like superheroes but none of the cartoons which are available on disc these days are appropriate for them. This was in my opinion, an excellent, clean way to introduce them to the DC universe and have a basic idea of the Character's abilities. My 4 and 2 yr old boys watch it all the time. Im grateful that it doesn't have be-headings or sexually suggestive content, because honestly there is enough material out there for the more hardcore comic book fans this isn't for them. It's for kids. Let it go. When you become a parent, then you'll understand why JLA trapped in time is a great little movie for them.

An entertaining movie that is not excellent, but has its essence, questionable negative points, and still delivers.

"JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time" is a super simple proposal for the little ones at home, but it is also enjoyable for fans of DC animated films, with a sustainable premise that has shortcomings due to various scenes that take you out of context because of certain arguments that were not taken into consideration. However, despite this, it offered attractive moments. "Trapped in Time" is a super simple offering for the little ones at home, but it is also enjoyable for fans of DC animated films, with a sustainable premise that has shortcomings due to various scenes that take you out of context because certain arguments were not taken into consideration, but despite that, it provided attractive moments. This movie is a rollercoaster of emotions because you might not like it or simply let it pass by to find something that catches your attention.

Regarding the animation, I think it has its advantages and disadvantages, as the movement sequences, color tones, action sequences, and some character designs are decent, making it coherent for a small production like this. However, the focus on many of the characters' faces is debatable. Many of them are not well drawn or were done in a very strange manner, which can slightly diminish the experience.

It should also be added that the movie does not escape the conventional, the neglect of each hero or villain's abilities by the script, the forced comedy, the scenes that make no sense at all, the excessive addition of characters, and perhaps small plot holes that have no answers.

In that sense, I think it's valid or fun to see many of your heroes fight their enemies, watching them work together (even if it's a little) and contributing something more to the animated films.

Lex Luthor will always be a great villain, even though sometimes he forgets how intelligent he is. I must highlight the action scenes of Karate Kid. The plots involving time travel and its consequences always catch attention.