A delightfully silly animated dig into the absurdities of the superhero movie industry, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is chock-a-block with vibrant toons, catchy tunes, and jokes aplenty, resulting in one of the more entertaining movies released this year.

“Silly” is underrated. It is the key element that makes all matter of comedian – ranging from Monty Python to Mel Brooks – irresistibly madcap in their genius. It is also a superpower which directors Aaron Horvat and Peter Rida Michail wield with impressive vigour in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, lampooning the ultra-serious tone found in most superhero movies, while creating one of the best left-field entries in the ever-expanding subgenre.  

A continuation of the popular animation series that airs on The Cartoon Network, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies finds superheroes Robin (Scott Menville), Cyborg (Khary Payton), Starfire (Hyden Walch), Beast Boy (Greg Cipes), and Raven (Tara Strong) on the outs from the rest of the superhero community, who find these Teen Titans to be a joke. Desperate to prove their worth and receive that ultimate reward of acceptance in the form of a “superhero movie”, the Titans take on the ultra-villainous Slade (Will Arnett). Yet this battle just might tear the Teen Titans apart.   

There are a lot of elements to Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, and each one hits the mark. As an animation feature, its seemingly simplistic 2D design gives way to entertaining sequences brimming with vibrancy and imagination, such as a time-travel sequence where our immature heroes mess with the history of many an iconic superhero as the familiar sounds of Alan Silvestri’s Back to the Future score plays soundtrack.

While on the topic of music, the original compositions featured here are fun, catchy, and sure to be a fixture in the family playlist for some time. Whether it be the Beastie Boys tinged theme song “Go!”, the anthemic “Superhero Movie”, or the hook-laden “Upbeat Inspiration Song” (featuring none other than the smooth sounds of Michael Bolton), the soundtrack to Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is as super fantastic catchy as they come.

Best yet is the films blend of satire and silly. In a world where superhero movies are taken very seriously, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies puts the funny back in a genre that deserves to be taken down a few notches. Only fitting that it’s the Teen Titans that showed the big-wigs how it’s done.