Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes And Huntsmen, Part One

When it comes to crossovers, if the crossover itself is NOT amazing (see Batman Vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) than the best case scenario is one of the halves of the crossover is leaned into more heavily so as to generate interest from people from the other lesser-known fandom not familiar with the other stuff. I don't remember my review of Batman Vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It might have been positive, it might not have been negative. What I do remember about it is that it did no favors to either franchise, and neither franchise picked up any new fans from it. Mostly because Nickelodeon obviously wanted equal billing and say.

It's been my experience the best crossovers are focused on the weaker franchise. Look at Teen Titans Go! Vs. DC Super Hero Girls. THAT may have been a matter of Too Little Too Late (the movie essentially wound up as DC Super Hero Girls' series finale) but the Teen Titans had small appearances as a framing structure, and the movie's main focus was getting DC Super Hero Girls out to a wider audience. I think the movie was wildly successful for that, even if people felt like they were sort of sold a bill of goods with the Teen Titans Go first in the title, and them essentially having cameos role. But nobody needs to advertise Teen Titans Go. It is already wildly popular. It doesn't need the DC Super Hero Girls brand. Which is why is made sense to focus the story and the bulk of the crossover on the DC Super Hero Girls.

Likewise, everybody knows the Justice League and DC Comics. They don't need RWBY to sell them to anybody. Which is why they are the supporting cast. And the movie is mostly from the viewpoint of the main characters and world of RWBY. As a matter of fact, it's SO tied to that show I am confused when they do several flashbacks to important moments on the show I have no context for because I've never seen it. But I never HEARD of it either before this movie, and the crossover is successful, because I'm now aware of the brand. I'm not necessarily going to seek it out. But if I someday see it on a streaming service I already subscribe to, I might check it out and binge it at some point. Crossover mission accomplished.

If nothing else, I'm grateful to that franchise for allowing us a DC cartoon movie that's pretty family friendly. A character says "ass" at the end but other than that it's strictly PG stuff, and not too intense PG stuff either. I don't like the fact that you have to show an ID to watch Superman cartoons anymore. I find that notion ridiculous. So yeah, the lighter tone is appreciated and if this IS Part One, I look forward to Part Two.

Batman seems a little... off, don't you think? I get he's a teenager and struggling with that, but he seems to be really written out of character. On the other hand I found Green Lantern Jessica Cruz's plight very relatable and appealing. I SOMETIMES get chills when the Green Lantern oath is recited, but not usually. This one was kinda chilly.

My favorite bit was the guy sitting down to play the piano to orchestrate the fight Batman started. Is this typical for RWBY? If so, it's a fun franchise, and yeah, the crossover DID pique my interest there.

I'm not going to call this a great movie. But it tried to get me interested in RWBY, and while I haven't made a firm commitment to it or anything, I'm far more interested in checking it out than I was before I saw this movie. Mission accomplished. ***1 removed link