Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) (V)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Dave Bullock

Writers:

Stan Berkowitz (writer)
Darwyn Cooke (writer)

Release Date:

26 February 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

In the 1950s, a new generation of superheroes must join forces with the community's active veterans and a hostile US government to fight a menace to Earth.

Plot Keywords:

Wonder Woman | DC Comics | Origin Of Hero | The Flash | Disillusionment

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Oct. 18

9:00 PM

TOON

Cast

David Boreanaz	...	Hal Jordan / Green Lantern (voice)
Miguel Ferrer	...	J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter (voice)
Neil Patrick Harris	...	Barry Allen / The Flash (voice)
John Heard	...	Ace Morgan (voice)
Lucy Lawless	...	Wonder Woman (voice)
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Superman (voice)
Lex Lang	...	Rick Flagg (voice)
Phil Morris	...	King Faraday (voice)
Kyra Sedgwick	...	Lois Lane (voice)
Brooke Shields	...	Carol Ferris (voice)
Jeremy Sisto	...	Batman (voice)
Joe Alaskey	...	Bugs Bunny (voice)
Jeff Bennett	...	Sportscaster (voice)
Corey Burton	...	Abin Sur (voice)
Townsend Coleman	...	Dr. Magnus (voice)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violent content/images.

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Portuguese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-11 | New Zealand:M

Company:

Warner Bros. Animation

Trivia:

Hal Jordan's fellow co-pilot, Ace Morgan, is the leader of a group of adventurers called The Challengers of the Unknown, who starred in several incarnations in the comics. The other team members (or "Challs", as they are called) can be seen during the final battle with the Centre. They are wearing the same lavender shirts and white gloves that Ace is wearing.

Quotes:

[first lines]
The Centre: [narrating] Like all things on this hurtling sphere, I emerged from the molten center of creation. But mine has been a unique path. Isolated, I developed attributes beyond those of lesser beings. Then the sphere was struck by a vast celestial stone. Black chunks of death filled the skies and the world became a chaotic world of doom...

Movie Connections:

References Steel (1997)

DC knocks it out of the park with this one!

Now THIS is how DC is going to put Marvel's animated movies to shame. It blows their previous release, Superman: Doomsday, completely away! I was only able to read Vol. 1 out of the two trades released from the DC comic series, and the trade was very good. The movie glazed over several plot points in the interest of time but what we have left is 75 minutes of heart-felt story that takes our favorite DC characters and adds new dimensions to them. At it's heart, New Frontier is mainly Hal Jordan's story. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman all play their roles but I think Hal is the core of this story. It tells the story of how the DC heroes reacted to the world giving in to the Red Scare during the beginning of the Cold War years and shows how they deal with it. The main antagonist of the story is a being called The Centre, an ancient creature that has been on Earth since before the dinosaurs and hates that humans have taken it over. We also get The Flash and Martian Manhunter heavily ingrained in the story. And with the PG-13 rating, the violence is not held back. Plus, the DVD bonus features are great! I especially loved the history of the Justice League feature. I highly recommend this one.