Fans won’t have to wait until next year to see their favorite DC heroes suit up for another round of world saving action, they can get their fix with the latest DC animated feature right now. Justice League: Throne of Atlantis premiered two nights ago at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles, CA; and when the clock struck 12:01, the Digital Download was made available for fans across the country.
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Throne of Atlantis picks up in the months after War, with a disjointed group of super heroes still not sure how to play at being a team. While the story is another telling of Arthur Curry’s rise to becoming the King of the Sea, it’s a fully realized Justice League movie with a solid ensemble cast that includes the usual suspects of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. We are also treated to some great scenes with Cyborg, Shazam, Flash and Hal Jordan, the later providing well timed comic relief to what was an otherwise dark and at times, sorrowful, film.
There’s been a lot of debate among fans about the direction in the DC cinematic universe – that it’s too dark, too moody, and that the live action films have lost their heart. Throne of Atlantis captures that heart, with a story crafted for their long time fans, but one that invites new viewer to join in and see why these fans of DC Comics are so passionate about the franchise.
Screen writer Heath Corson is one of those very fans, and writing this version of Aquaman was both fun and challenging for him, “I wanted to bring the majesty and the power [of Aquaman], and really ground this character in a really interesting way. I wanted to make sure I gave him a really interesting emotional core. In this movie Arthur Curry is really angry. He really doesn’t know who he is… he really doesn’t fit in anywhere.” At it’s core, this is a coming of age story for a young man who is given both an immense responsibility to be king to his people, but also a super hero to the world.
Helping Arthur navigate this new life that is thrust upon him is Mera, the future Queen of Atlantis. Sumalee Montano captures this character at her core. She’s strong, certain and shows a compassion for the young man that knows nothing of his origin. Because Mera isn’t as established as the core League, Montano had a lot of liberty when bringing Mera to life, “I don’t have to be compared to anybody. It does give you a freedom and I think she was written really, really well in this story. She gets to guide Arthur Curry through an amazing personal discovery of who he really is and where he comes from, and what he’s really capable of doing… it’s kinda awesome. As an actor getting to engage with a character like that in that way is such a gift. It’ gives you so much to work off of. There’s so much humanity in that.”
On the other end is Orm, half brother to Aquaman and in his mind, the one true heir to the throne of Atlantis. Smallville alumni Sam Witwer was brought on to voice the big bad in fitting fashion. Witwer played Darth Maul in the Star Wars Clone Wars series, while Aquaman star Matt Lanter voiced the young padwan Anakin. Witwer told the audience during a Q&A that he had no idea until after he recorded his lines that he would be reunited with his old adversary.
Witwer made clear Orm is not your traditional villain with grand ideas of world domination, “It’s a story of a guy who really does mean well, but his ambition and his arrogance runs away with him and he makes some big mistakes.” The one word Witwer used to describe Orm? “Insecure,”
Crafting the voice of such dynamic characters isn’t the only challenge faced by the creative team. Character Designer Phil Bourassa was brought on once again to bring these iconic characters to visual life, “I’m glad we’re back to something that is more traditional, albeit dipped in a new style.” While many heroes return with an updated New 52 style, Wonder Woman’s look is the biggest departure. “By the time I got to do Justice League: War, I had designed Wonder Woman for three or four different projects and I also tried to do a very faithful and traditional take on the classic. And I just thought, I’ve done that, I’ve done the best I could with it, let me just try something completely different. No body is going to go for this anyway, but I’m just going to give her this new look and run it up the flag poll and see how far it gets until it gets shot down. But it never got shot down.”
Throne of Atlantis continues the tradition of DC animated films by bringing the best of the DC universe to life without the constraints of a limited scope and budget of a live action film. These well loved characters continue to find new stories, even if it’s a well known story, and invites audiences to follow them on their quests to save the world, and often times, each other.
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis is already available for Digital Download, and comes out on Blu-Ray and DVD on January 27, 2015
