[Animation] Wonder Woman (2009)

The use of the (2009) quantifier above is just a wee bit pandering, I suppose. It seems to have pervaded listings of the film universally, yet there has never been a Wonder Woman movie before. Curious that this animated film, which offers up the seemingly definitive tale of the character and her mythology to date, would need to be explained away by its year of release (as opposed to, say, an "Animated Movie" subtitle).

Having seen the film over this past weekend at WonderCon, I really just want to portray that I'm impressed as hell with it. The DC Universe series of animated films has been very successful so far, exploring and reinterpreting classic parts of DC lore that may never get the film treatment they deserve.

Not only does Wonder Woman successfully blend epic, mythic action and drama with a comedic subplot, but it's just the right kind of self conscious and perfectly tongue-in-cheek about the absurdities of the source material (such as the invisible jet and the lasso of truth) while still taking itself seriously. Michael Jelenic's screenplay paces the story perfectly with the beats of pure entertainment, and up-and-coming animation savant Lauren Montgomery proves why a legend like Bruce Timm would trust her so much with the director's role for these films. The voice cast is, in a word, solid.

A review of a film like this may be worthless - the vast majority of the target audience will buy it regardless of what anyone else says or thinks - but still, if you're on the fence, at least give this a thorough Netflixing.