All-Star Superman Review

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it would end like this? and welcome again to

Animation Fiction. I was crossing over with Tooncast

Beyond. We are once again continuing our look

through the DC animated original movies. I am

your host, Ben, and we're joined by my co -host,

TV's Mr. Neal. Heavens to Murgatroyd. And we

have with us from Tooncast Beyond, TFG1 Mike.

We are talking about the all -star Superman.

I just want to get this out of the way right

now because I know this is going to be a very

comic -heavy reference episode for Ben. I have

never read the all -star Superman comic, so just

looking at this movie on a purely animation -based,

I did not like the style. James Denton did a

better Clark Kent than Superman. I'm sorry, Mike

from Desperate Housewives does not need to be

Superman. Anthony LaPaglia as Luther. was awesome.

I loved him voicing Luther. What the fuck was

Parasite doing in this movie? That was so fucking

stupid to me. Christina Hendrickson or Christina

Hendricks or whatever the hell her name is. Hendricks.

She was She was good as Lois Lane. Out of all

the Loises that we've had in the DC Universe

movies, I liked her the best at this point. The

only way that I would like anyone better is if

maybe in a future one they actually get Dana

Delaney back to voice Lois. For me, this movie

was just meh. I didn't really care for it at

all. Well, I think that part of the problem is

you didn't really grow up with Superman. because

this I grew up with Superman in the movies and

on the Well, let me let me continue. Let me show

cartoons and all that super around. Well, let

me continue It's this book was written by Grant

Morrison and The art was by Frank quietly and

they did an awesome job translating Frank's artwork

into animation but to me the idea I the idea

of what I Why I like this is because Morrison

is one of these people that Like on a spiritual

level gets Superman. He's from the street Well,

he grew up on a street but but but see Morrison

identifies Superman Because most people say that

Superman is the act Clark Kent is the person

but the way that Morrison sees it is Superman

is an act Clark Kent in Metropolis is an act,

but there's actually two Clark Kent's. One is

that the sky is the mask for Superman, the other

is a confident, strong, good -hearted Clark Kent

who was raised by Ma and Pa Kent in those that

drive a tractor. That's the most real Clark Kent

of them all. And who wants to bone Kristen Crook?

Sorry, had to throw that in there. And I think

James Denton's voice really lends to that version

of how how Morrison sees Clark Kent because That

to me just that screams what how The writers

saw Superman in this translated beautifully in

in this movie. This this is a movie That's a

love letter a love letter to the Silver Age It

has these high concepts the Silver Age has but

at the same time it has this seriousness, it's

It's the question that asked you at the beginning

is what would Superman do if he had one year

left to live? Yeah, and that to me just Because

everybody always hears that question. What would

you do if you had one year left to live? Right.

I mean, you know you hear people say I'll go

skydiving, you know You know and in all this

other stuff, but what would Superman do if he

had one year left to live and That to me is what

I really enjoyed about this because Because you

see him just doing things for other people I

mean, you know he he gave like Lois Lane the

ultimate date ever, you know and By by God Lois.

This is the sexiest Lois of them all. Oh, yeah

animation out of the movies. Yes I'm sorry Dana

Delaney hands down out of the of the actual animation

design i'm sorry i like being delaney's lowest

but this this is this is kicking it up a notch

yeah if this was dated look delaney voicing this

lowest i i don't think i could have finished

the movie yes but the only thing i want to bring

up before you get too far too much further in

this is really really something that surprised

me because i had to go back and look at the script

because i I just finished watching this movie

probably half an hour before we started recording

this I did not know this is the first one out

of all these movies that is rated PG instead

of PG -13 There was just as much violence I mean

there wasn't a bucket of blood but there was

just as much violence in this than there wasn't

any of the other ones Well to me I think part

of it is this one is just it's it's it's a such

a gentler story because It's like It's like making

you fall in love with the concept of Superman

all over again. That's what this movie is to

me. This is the greatest Superman story of all

time because to me with Superman, Superman isn't

about punching out an intergalactic alien god

or fighting some roughed up alien clone or something.

No, Superman is a much gentler ideal. That's

that's what I love about this. It's It's it's

so gentle. It's so it's it's so beautiful. It's

it it makes you stop and believe again it I'm

sorry if I'm gushing but that you know, it's

fine You you you have more than a right to gush

if this is a movie that you absolutely love and

that's more than fun I will just say and I will

probably bring this up in future episodes Why

are we breaking the moon? That was one thing

out of this that I was like, what? Really? And

as you said, James Denton's voice does lend to

being Clark Kent. However, in the suit, his voice

does not match Superman to me. Well, like I said,

it's the idea of who is the real man. is superman

the real man no is is the is the bumbling clark

hint no it's it's the it's the farm boy that's

that's who grant morrison saw is the real superman

clark hint it's the farm boy it's the good -natured

honest farm boy and like i said i just i just

love every bit of this it's you know solaris

the the the living son uh oh my goodness the

Just just the way that it cuts into these little

stories like like, you know You had Samson and

the Atlas show up that was great. And I hated

that part That was that was the dumbest thing

I have ever seen fighting fighting over the woman

to win her or having challenges that oh my god

But did you see what Lois was wearing Well, I

saw what she was wearing. And that's all well

and good. I loved it, but I could care less about

Samson and Atlas. I didn't like them at all.

But Neil, sort of me and Mike going back and

forth on this, what are your thoughts on this

movie as a whole, as a Superman story? I really

like it. I'm going to be somewhere in the middle

because I'm not... I'm not going to really gush

over it, but I suppose some of the little hiccups

for me was just that because I'm not familiar

with the comic that it comes from, a lot of the

subplots kind of seem like non sequiturs. Like

Mike brought up the parasite earlier. It's just

like, what's he doing in this? I realize that

it's part of the Luther storyline, but it's still

kind of, it feels for a comic, it would be normal

because it would be like an entire issue. For

a movie, it kind of feels like it's tacked on.

In a movie, it's like five minutes, I agree.

But overall, I think the spirit of the story

did so much more good than the little minor hiccups

of the adaptation. My real hiccup with Parasite

is mostly with... The design and look of the

character because I'm so used to him look, you

know being Rudy from Superman the animated series

and Justice League that was fairly that was a

fairly new design Let's be honest because before

then he looked like a slug man Okay, we'll see

I'd now that's something I did not know but that

was the one thing when I first saw this movie

when it first came out I got I originally got

it from Redbox when it first came out and I was

like That's not Parasite, what the hell? Because

I was so used to the other design. What else

about this, Neil? Where do you fall on this one?

Another story arc in the movie that I found kind

of bizarre was the two Kryptonians that show

up, I think, in the second half of the movie

somewhere. I know they were referenced early

in the movie, I caught that, but it was like,

okay, this doesn't go anywhere. Yeah, that was

really that was really in the actual miniseries

itself that was more of a one -shot story that

really didn't go anywhere either The thing to

remember is this is a love letter to the Silver

Age and the Silver Age had Stories like this

all the time where all of a sudden Oh another

Kryptonian survivor shows up. What are we gonna

do with them now? It's a in fact, I remember

there was actually a Kryptonian in the Silver

Age comics named kill or Yes, I know. And Superman

actually tricks him into killing himself. Like

I said, you have to understand the age this harkens

back to, while at the same time, it's a delicate

balance. A very delicate balance between being

a love letter to the Silver Age and appealing

to the modern sensibilities. It's hit or miss

for some people, but to me, this is a definite

hit. I don't know. This is something that I was

excited about. I think one of the things I was

excited about, and it's a very sad reason why

I was excited to see this, is because sadly this

is the last thing Dwayne McDuffie ever worked

on before he passed away. And simply because

it was Dwayne McDuffie working on it, I thought

it was going to be absolutely awesome, like everything

else he has done with animation. And maybe because

I don't have the comic background, that's where

it kind of lost me, because I just... I honestly

would rather watch Doomsday than this. Whoa,

whoa, whoa. And Doomsday is fucking horrible.

I'm sorry, dude, but I just could not get into

this movie. The only thing that, at the end of

the day, the only thing that really drew me into

this movie was... Anthony La Paglia's performance

of Lex Luthor. That was really the only thing

that drew me into this film. I just don't understand

how you could just see such a perfectly crafted

Superman story and would rather see some sort

of travesty where you have child acting Superman

puking up blood. I don't understand. Like I said,

I think it's the context. If you're not connected

to the comics, it's kind of a hit or miss thing.

This is the only movie so far that they have

done that you really need to have a comic book

connection and have had to have read the comic

series to really absolutely love this. Well,

to me, the reason I love this is sort of like...

I'm sorry if I'm doing this to you, Neil, but

sort of like the reason, you know, Neil has a

connection to the Jim Henson era of The Muppets.

It's like all of a sudden, it's like it brings

it back again, you know? And that's perfectly

fine, but I'm mainly speaking, not even as a

cartoon lover or animation lover, I'm strictly

speaking as a mainstream audience, as someone

who would, you know... oh hey it's a new superman

cartoon movie let's let's go watch it let's you

know sit the kids down or whatever not that i

would ever let kids watch this movie but simply

because of what's because of the ratings of these

movies even though this one was rated pg this

is something more for comic book fans someone

who has read the all -star superman run and it's

not for the mainstream audience i get that i

would even say that you you don't even have to

be You could be a casual comic fan and never

have read All -Star and still love this. I think

that... Not me. Well, you don't even read comics.

What does that matter to you? But even as a mainstream

moviegoer, the first time I watched this, the

very first time when it first came out, I was

like, okay, that was a Superman movie. Hmm. I

wasn't like... Yeah, that was awesome. I wasn't

like at the end of Crisis on two earths. I wasn't

like oh my god. That was freaking awesome. I

didn't have that reaction. I was like hmm, okay,

well that was Slightly interesting, but not really

Well to me it part of it part of why I love this

so much is just the animation the animation in

this was Some of the best that they've done so

far. I will agree to that. Yes, it was and and

also like I said To me, it's a one -two punch

of a great Superman story with people who not

only can write a good Superman story, but can

write a good Superman. That's so important to

me where you have, like I said, Grant Morrison

gets Superman on a level that so few people do.

Superman, it's not about these bloody fist fights.

It's about something else. It's about something

much more pure. The you know how what what superman's

final act in this movie? He fixes the Sun. It's

it's not this it's not this slug -out fight with

Lex Luthor. In fact one of the most beautiful

moments in the story for me is The implication

that the natural course of the universe is good

that once somebody with that much power just

stops and realizes Which was what happened with

Luthor. It's this epiphany That it's so beautiful.

It's it's so wonderful and in I really just love

this story to death Okay, let's let's talk about

the voice cast in this You got James Denton as

Clark Kent Superman You've got Christina Hendricks

as Lois Lane. You've got Anthony La Paglia as

Lex Luthor Why is Granny Goodness Perry White?

Again, that's another thing. Why is Ed Asner

Perry White in this movie? That makes no sense

to me whatsoever. Because he looks like him.

Well, as far as the animation model, yeah, compared

to the actor, yes. So Ed Asner has been both

Perry White and J. Jonah Jameson. J. Jonah. Yeah.

They had that crossover comic before already,

Neil. You've got, uh... You sound just like me.

Okay, go ahead. You've got Kevin Michael Richardson

as Steve Lombard, you've got John DiMaggio as

Samson, and Steve Blum as Atlas. Now this is

one that's really weird to me, as much as I like

the guy, as much as I loved his Roman Angel,

why is Alexis Stenasoff in this as Dr. Quintem?

I just... Didn't even know that until I mean

I knew it in the back of my mind when I first

watched it But I had to actually look it up because

it doesn't sound like a lot. It doesn't sound

like I'm Other stuff that I've seen Alexis Dennis

off in I Don't know it was just weird to me having

him voice that character um if you know, it heals

you fennel a Hughes as a Lilo L Robin Atkin Downs

as salaris uh... and a bunch of other really

great people as well uh... i don't know i just

i think if they i know with this luther they

were going for more the mad scientist rather

than evil businessman and that's fine i i i like

that change is obviously it needed to change

for this film i'd just think if you put their

delay in lois's shoes and you put Whether it's

either George or Tim and George George Newburn

or Tim Daly in the Superman shoes I would have

liked this movie better To me I disagree because

because like I said the Tim Daly is a great Superman,

but for this story They they had to go back and

dig to the core To where like I said they wanted

they really wanted the farm boy. They wanted

they wanted that Clark Kent to be Superman Okay,

then bring in Tom Welling to voice him. Fuck

no. Like I said earlier, you put Dana Delaney

with this Lois, I think the raw sexiness of that

would just shatter the universe. It would've

been too much. Tom Welling, are you fucking kidding

me? We don't want a fucking emo Superman. Wearing

all black and... God damn it. I Think I just

broke Ben's brain. I love it He didn't break

my brain. I have no other I know other people

that said that he should be the light next live

-action Superman do and I'm like no, I Think

he should at least get a shot at something else

whether it be animation or or something but anyway

I don't know. The voice cast in this is great

for what the movie is, but still, outside of

Luthor, none of the other voices really captured

my attention. Neil? You know what? I saw this

like a month ago, and so the voices really aren't

that fresh for me. Yeah, I do remember liking

Lex, because he was really sinister in this movie.

Oh yeah. We didn't even touch upon the serum

part of the story. We can touch on that if you

want to. We shouldn't totally spoil it, but the

whole part where you put Lois Lane in the super

sexy superwoman costume was a story arc where

Superman made a super serum for her that would

last for 24 hours. And God, I love that part

of the movie. But then later, Lex Luthor somehow

gets this formula. I don't exactly remember how,

and I shouldn't really spoil it anyway. Well,

I'll go ahead and spoil it. I don't care. The

movie's been out long enough. Robot 7 betrayed

Superman. Lex broke in and re -broke in Robot

7. And then there was that whole thing where

Lois breathed in that gas from that room. It

made her kind of paranoid, but it also played

with the audience a little, because you really

didn't think Superman was up to something. Yeah.

I love that. That was awesome. I just don't get

this movie. I just don't get it. Well, you know,

I'm sorry that you don't, because to me, this

really is one of the greatest Superman stories

I've ever seen told. Alright, so Neil well, let's

get into the box office Because this one made

So far It's one of the lower ones actually it

made only four million two hundred and sixty

seven thousand It sold two hundred and fifty

two thousand units So yeah, this one didn't do

all that well, and that's just good It did good,

but it didn't do all that well compared to the

other ones, because most of the other ones are

either five, six, seven, or eight million. You

know, one thing I've been wondering, are these

box office numbers, are they relative to when

they were released? Because, you know, Doomsday

has been out the longest, so it's had the longest

period of time to sell. You think that might

factor into it at all? I'm not sure. Again, it's

Wikipedia. Take Wikipedia with a grain of salt.

I do know from when I, because I actually have

the Wikipedia page pulled up here. When I originally

pulled up the numbers to put in each of the scripts

for the spotlight, I've since gone back and looked

at the Wikipedia and Doomsday had actually gone

up since I originally did that. But every time

that we're doing these now I go back to this

and I would assume it's correct. Considering

that year one and emerald nights had just come

out and year one is only made a million at this

point So the IGN replacement crew Neil, what

do you give it zero to four? even though I kind

of nitpicked at it is I still think it's a really

good movie and It is something that I think I

would own so I'll give it a four. I give it a

three It's you know if it was on Netflix, and

I know you can get it through Netflix DVD or

you know a DVD rental whether you rent it on

iTunes or whatever It's worth renting. It's worth

watching. It's not so awful that It doesn't deserve

to be watched. It is a very good story as I said

before I still think someone coming into it from

a mainstream who knows Even even me who I've

watched Superman stuff over the last you know

28 29 years of my you know, they're almost 32

years of life it just didn't capture me and I'm

not sure if it's gonna capture a mainstream audience

it's as Ben has said it is a letter to it's a

love letter to the comic and Ben Well, let me

guess four, right? I give it two fours you buy

it for yourself and you buy it for someone you

know, okay It is on DVD, DVD in Blu -ray, includes

two bonus episodes from Superman the Animated

Series, selected by Brewston, and a preview of

the next DC Universe original movie, Green Lantern

Emerald Nights. So I think we're gonna take a

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-cha! We are back on Tooncast Beyond and Animation

Aficionados. Neil, final thoughts, sum it up

really quickly. Uh, best Lois ever. Fun movie.

Not the greatest, in my opinion, but pretty darn

good. And that's all I got. Yeah, Lois and Lex

are the only good things for me in this. What

about you Ben? Best Superman story ever best

Lois ever I I think this is the perfect stock

stocking server for everyone on your Christmas

list. That's my thought Thank you for joining

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spotlight with Green Lantern Emerald Nights For

now I am TFG1 Mike with Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

In brightest day and blackest night, no evil

shall escape my sight. Let those who worship

evil's might beware my power, Green Lantern's

light! When you shape the light of your ring,

you walk in the footsteps of the First Lantern.

We've got one chance and one chance only. If

he gets past Oa, he can annihilate any world,

anywhere. I am a green lantern. I believe in

destiny. All of this, everything we do, is a

part of that destiny.