 DVD Reviews: Green Lantern: First Flight and Superfriends: The Lost Episodes
By Craig Byrne - KryptonSite Webmaster
Please note: This review covers the new "Green Lantern: First Flight" standard 2-disc DVD set. A single-disc edition and Blu-Ray edition are also available.
The highly-anticipated Green Lantern: First Flight follows in the footsteps of recent DC Comics-related direct-to-DVD features such as Superman/Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier, and Wonder Woman. It's the first full-length feature to focus solely on Green Lantern, and for some it might be a good primer to get pumped for the upcoming Green Lantern feature film starring Ryan Reynolds.
Unfortunately, I'm not so sure this is the best introduction of Green Lantern that is possible. When I reviewed the Wonder Woman animated movie, I pointed out how well it was done, appreciating not only the animation but also the voice talent. One thing Wonder Woman had that Green Lantern didn't, I feel, was it had a stronger story.
Very little effort is spent to make us get to know Hal Jordan. Perhaps I prefer the pacing of the Emerald Dawn comic book miniseries; but part of what makes this version of the Green Lantern so interesting is the man wielding the ring. The way it was presented, at least for the first half, it seemed like he had no character at all besides being human.
This lack of being able to identify with the lead character made the animation the only part to really enjoy as it began. Green Lantern: First Flight looks amazing, and the animators all did a bang-up job. There is also a very solid voice cast, as I pointed out before.
I will say the story picks up later on when Sinestro finally makes his move and Hal is "framed" in a way. Unfortunately I feel for some that may be too little, too late. (Hopefully "Sinestro going bad" is not a huge spoiler; after all, look at his name.)
Like the Wonder Woman movie, there seems to be some profanity thrown in for the sake of using bad language and make it more "adult." I don't really see what the point was in doing that. I'm not a prude but I think it was totally unnecessary.
Almost more enjoyable than the movie itself are the special features on the 2-disc set. The Green Lantern: Blackest Night featurette can probably safely be skipped, but the interviews with creative talent behind GL animated features and comic books - including Geoff Johns - are very interesting. Also featured as a bonus is the Duck Dodgers episode "Green Loontern" - it's a lot of fun, and wait until you hear who voices Hal Jordan! The Justice League 2-parter "Out of Time" is also included.
There's a preview of Superman/Batman: Public Enemies which cannot come soon enough. The way that comic book has translated into animation looks fantastic, and that it may be on par with New Frontier. It also boasts the voices of the best animated Superman (that would be Tim Daly), the best Batman (that would be Kevin Conroy), and the best Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack). How can you not love that?
Maybe First Flight would be better if it were the pilot for a Green Lantern animated series. I loved the animation style, but also, I feel like I may have appreciated it more if more time had been spent in fleshing out Hal. Appearances by Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, and John Stewart would also be VERY welcome. Even so, this entire package gets only a 2 out of 5 from me. I liked the Wonder Woman feature a lot more.
 Another recent Warner Bros. DVD release - one which I did love - was the recent release of Superfriends: The Lost Episodes.
This collection of shows came somewhere in between Challenge of the Superfriends and the later Super Powers shows... and maybe it's my nostalgic side taking over, but these represent some of the best of what Superfriends had to offer. There were no hokey "life lessons" or recurring sketches this time around, nor is it a glorified toy commercial. The animation is also much better than it was in its later two incarnations.
For those not in the know, between 1973 and 1985 (give or take a year in each direction), Superfriends was a long-running collection of animated series featuring the Justice League, occasionally joined by new members such as Wendy, Marvin, and Wonderdog; Zan, Jayna, and Gleek; and even an international group of characters such as Samurai and El Dorado. Zan and Jayna - collectively known as the Wonder Twins - were alien teens who had the powers to turn into an animal or, well, a bucket of water, respectively - and fans of Smallville might want to give them a look because you never know when they might be showing up.
Among these guest heroes I admit I don't remember El Dorado AT ALL, though his boots look just like Hawkman's. Nor do I get why a "Samurai" wouldn't have any swords, but hey.
There are 24 short "episodes" spread onto 2 discs here. This set is perfect for background noise or nostalgia. Although the animation wasn't as good as Green Lantern: First Flight, there's a lot of heart to it, and I really liked this set. Though I still want to know why the Atom's head is in the show's title card when he doesn't get a formal introduction in the opening credits! It's still good entertainment, and my only regret is that there are no extras on this set. Because of that, I'll give it a 4 out of 5... 5 if they had some extras. I really enjoyed it. I hope more Superfriends of this era comes to DVD soon - as far as I know, the circa-1980 episodes are still unreleased, and these are so far the ones that I like the most. It's cheesy but at the same time, it's awesome.
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Green Lantern: First Flight
Warner Home Video
Available July 28, 2009
Featuring The Voices Of:
Christopher Meloni, Victor Garber, Tricia Helfer, Michael Madsen, and John Larroquette
Krypton Rating: 2.5 out of 5
GreenLanternDVD.com
Superfriends: The Lost Episodes
Warner Home Video
Available August 11, 2009
Krypton Rating: 4 out of 5
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