Teen Titans Go! To The Movies Parent Guide

We all know what to expect from Saturday morning cartoons – lots of action, slapstick violence, minimal character development, and corny jokes. If that’s what you are looking for in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies you will get your money’s worth. If you are hoping for a masterpiece of children’s cinema…prepare to be disappointed.

Based on a TV show geared at five to eight year-olds, Teen Titans Go! To The Movies delivers a watered down plot which is overshadowed by cheap laughs and drawn out musical numbers. The story is centered on Robin (voiced by Scott Menville) and his pursuit to become a “real hero” with a tribute film. Aided by his friends Cyborg (voiced by Khary Payton), Starfire (voiced by Hynden Walch), Beast Boy (voiced by Greg Cipes), and Raven (voiced by Tara Strong), they attempt to thwart a real arch-nemesis: Slade (voiced by Will Arnett). When Robin’s narcissistic movie plans are rejected by Jade Wilson (voiced by Kristen Bell), a director at the cartoon world version of Warner Brothers, the gang try to cheer up a dispirited Robin by making him a home video. Offended by their jokes about his “baby hands”, Robin is an easy patsy for the super villain’s plan to take over the world with “mental manipulation”. Will Robin come to his senses and reunite with his friends? Will the Teen Titans be able to stop Slade?

The answer, of course, is yes. Still, parents might be surprised by how long it takes to get there. The movie is only 93 minutes long, yet adults and anyone who isn’t a fan of the franchise might feel like they have been sucked into the magical void that Robin’s friend, Raven, can create..

Aside from enduring their own boredom, parents will not have many concerns with this film. No drugs or alcohol are consumed by any characters (although adults might wish for some in the theater). There is no profanity but there is a lot of bathroom humor – the only part of the movie’s preview I attended which had lots of kids laughing out loud. And there’s no sexual content, except for one joke at the end, in which a character leans into the camera and tells the audience to ask their parents where babies come from. The only real issue is violence, but it is largely sanitized. It is the type of cartoon slapstick in which explosions only throw characters backwards, head injuries lack dangerous consequences, and bullets are as ineffectual as foam darts.

There are two exceptions to the relatively innocuous violence. The first is standard cartoon fare: little known DC character “The Atom” is repeatedly smashed, crushed, and otherwise smeared, although with no long term damage. The second is the most disturbing episode in the movie: an actor dressed as Slade is beaten extensively by the Titans – a scene that includes x-ray shots of a bone shattering and a large number of teeth being spewed onto the floor. The victim then weakly raises his bruised face and says “I’m only an actor! I’m Shia LaBeouf!”, at which point the beating recommences. This is played for laughs but the violence in the rest of the film is so mild that this bullying scene really stands out – and not in a good way.

One final note: out of the scores of movies I have watched, this is the only one where I have seen multiple people leave in the middle and not return. Teen Titans may get people to “Go! to the Movies” but they can’t make them stay once they arrive.