“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this blog post. The opinions I share are my own.”
Kevin Conroy provides the voice of Batman but “Justice League: Action” is not a continuation of the previous DC animated series. What we are resented with is a new series that takes the bigger stars of the DC comics universe and pairs them up with a rotating cast of supporting heroes. The Justice League is already established at the onset of this series, and a number of heroes are simply introduced, join the action and the plot moves along.
The various “episodes” are 11 minutes long, which means two of these segments are broadcast per actual half hour episode. The first four segments (or episodes if you want) are connected in one overarching story and horribly provides the command that provides the series with its title.
A number of notable guest stars show up in various guest roles. There’s Patton Oswald, Gary Cole, Sean Astin, Mark Hamill, John Cryer, Tara Strong, and more. The presentation is much more lighthearted than older viewers might be expecting. And rather than having a specific universe to deal with, “Justice League: Action” simply allows for various stories to be told and whichever heroes are right for the task are featured.
Some of the heroes get a very abbreviated origin introductions, but for the most part we are thrust right into the action. And that action comes quickly. With the shortened episode length there isn’t a lot of time to mess around with sub-plots or character development. It is almost as if DC is trying to completely reintroduce the Justice League to a new generation that already knows a lot of the characters but only peripherally.
While this isn’t the whole of the first season, it is a decent chunk – 26 segments, or episodes, depending how you want to look at it, spread over two discs. The whole of the series is pretty light-hearted, with minimal losses if any. Humor is present in “Justice League: Action” but it isn’t jokey (like “Teen Titans Go”).
This is an enjoyable series but it doesn’t scratch the same itch that previous DC comics animated series does (such as “Batman: The Animated Series or “Justice League”). “Justice League: Action” seems to be more of a “family” series, not one primarily aimed at older viewers. And in that Warner Brothers animation has succeeded.