An original animated short released on a DVD packed as a bonus with some of Fisher-Price's Imaginext DC Super Friends toys.
When the DC Super Friends renovate the Hall of Justice,
The Joker infiltrates it and takes over, leaving
Superman and
Batman trapped inside a holographic training program. The remaining DC Superfriends,
The Flash,
Green Lantern,
Hawkman and
Cyborg must find a way to rescue the World's Finest, but Joker has called on Gorilla Grodd and Mr. Freeze for backup.
For a 17-minute short aimed primarily at ages 3 to 5, it is surprisingly entertaining, featuring plenty of action, quirky characters and good humor. It wonderfully apes on the classic
Superfriends cartoon, and has found its fair share of enthusiasts in the adult fandom.
It can be viewed on Fisher-Price's
official YouTube channel
.
This short provides examples of:
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: Joker takes over the Hall of Justice with help from Gorilla Grodd and Mr. Freeze.
- Arm Cannon: Cyborg has one on each arm.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: Batman and Superman.
- Bash Brothers: Batman and Superman!
- Big "NO!": Green Lantern lets one out when Mr. Freeze leaves him trapped inside a yellow smiley-face bomb.
- Deadly Training Area: Batman and Superman are locked in one.
- Everything's Better with Monkeys: Gorilla Grodd!
- Freeze Frame Bonus: Hawkman flies by a billboard on which Booster Gold is advertising a breakfast cereal.
- Getting Crap Past the Radar: Blink and you'll miss it Sweetie Graffiti, with Joker's and Batman's names.
- Hard Light: The holographic training simulator in the Hall of Justice runs on this. Joker makes sure to trap Batman and Superman in it and have them fight "holograms" of Solomon Grundy and mud monsters.
- Hey, It's That Voice!: Beast Wars Megatron/Sesshomaru/Animated Optimus Prime is Superman (and Hawkman), Timmy's Dad/Knock Out is Batman, Green Lantern/Hermes Conrad is Cyborg (and Gorilla Grodd) and the Crypt Keeper is the Joker!
- Humongous Mecha: The Joker has one.
- Incredibly Lame Pun: After trapping Grodd in some super-sticky bubble gum, Hawkman tells him to "stick around". Flash promptly tells Hawkman to let him tell the jokes from here on out.
- The Narrator at one point saids Batman are Superman are getting in over their heads while fighting sludge monsters. Even pausing before saying it.
- Lady Not Appearing in This Short: Wonder Woman. Along with Sirs Aquaman and Robin.
- Large Ham: Both the narrator and Hal Jordan.
- Merchandise Driven: Surprisingly averted, aside from some Imaginext and Hero World vehicles showing up in the motorpool... the episode prominently features toyless toyline characters such as Cyborg, Solomon Grundy and Gorilla Grodd, as well as locations and vehicles that don't have toys, like the Hall of Justice (the only playsets in the toyline are Batcaves) and Joker's big mecha.
- The Most Dangerous Video Game: Joker turns Cyborg's room into a live video game, complete with video game sound effects.
- Narrator: The video has one, aping the classic Superfriends narrator perfectly.
- Parental Bonus: Since this is intended for young children, the sheer amount of shout-outs to Superfriends and the DC universe in general all qualify.
- Shout Out: The intro is basically a remake of the classic Superfriends one.
- Cyborg's feet as he jumps from building to building bring to mind Inspector Gadget.
- The Stoic: Hal Jordan is a Dudley Do Right-sounding, cardboard dullard in this one. It works magnificently.
- Swiss Army Appendage: Cyborg is practically the superhero version of Inspector Gadget in this department! He has extending legs, arm cannons, the cyborg part of his head can turn into a radar dish, and when he gets electrocuted tons of other trinkets pop out of him.
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