Lanterna Verde: A Série Animada

This series and the animated direct-to-video movie "Green Lantern: First Flight" got me to love the superhero, the Green Lantern. I had looked at episode snippets on YouTube out of curiosity, and I really wanted to see the series before purchasing the DVD sets.

I had watched the first thirteen episodes during the week, and I thought it was an awesome series. It's also a fantastic depiction of DC Comics' interplanetary superhero. I loved Season One's arc "The Red Lantern War," in which Hal Jordan and Kilowog travelled through the far reaches of space in a prototype spacecraft called The Interceptor. Atrocitus and his Red Lantern Corps were killing Green Lantern Corps members.

You know, it's a shame that they didn't produce another season. So anyway, I really love this series.

This is a review for episodes 1-13, as it is one complete story arc.

Easy to contrast this against a horrible feature film and say it's good. But this 1st series stands alone as good Green Lantern canon on it's own. I like that the authors assumed we know that Hal Jordan was chosen and how he became a Green Lantern. Also like the realization of Oa and the Guardians. Art direction is top notch. Writing is even better. Excellent story obviously made by fans of Green Lantern Corps. Even with the cartoony style, it packs a lot more action, drama, and humor than the lame live action movie. (granted I know you have a better opportunity to develop characters in a series than you do in film).

All in all I compare this to the Green Lantern Corps comic book for it's scope and breadth. Top notch entertainment that doesn't insult your intelligence. Would like to have seen how this would do in a prime time slot on a major network. Bet it would crush stupid reality TV. People would remember..."Oh yeah, storytelling rocks!"

Also, this series encapsulates the true character of Hal Jordan. He's a cocky test pilot. I mean have you ever met a test pilot or even a fighter pilot? Very similar to the way Hal Jordan is portrayed here.

Another thing this series does well, is show the capabilities and limitations of the power rings. Very well done and spot on, the way it's portrayed in the comics.

Not to beat a dead horse, but the recent film got it wrong on even the characterization of Hal Jordan. Ryan Reynolds comes off as a smart ass. And while this is part of a test pilot's persona, it isn't the defining factor as it is with the way Reynolds played him. I suppose I can even go so far to say Reynolds was completely the wrong actor for the film. Hal Jordan in the comic book, is mid 40's early 50's, as he's retired Air Force and now a test pilot. Should have cast someone with the silver fox sides like the way Hal Jordan was drawn in the comic books.

That's my only gripe about this animated series. I suppose they expected the target audience to be 18 and under. So maybe a greying super hero was out of the question.

++++UPDATE+++ Recently finished watching episodes 14-26. It's even more engaging. Still blows my mind with the amount of money that gets put into live action film and promotions for "blockbuster" movies, that no super hero film I've seen comes close to this. It's that good. Once again, when a super hero comic is obviously written by comic book fans, and not your garden variety Hollywood ego-maniacs, (granted I'm assuming the creators of this series live and work in LA), you get a better story.

First, let me say that I am not at all a Green Lantern fan. I've never read the comics, and the character has never appealed to me before. I am, however, a huge fan of Bruce Timm and the DCAU (DC Animated Universe). Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League/Unlimited are my favorite animated shows of all time. BTAS, in particular, had a huge influence on me as I started watching it at a very early age as a child in the 90s.

When I first heard about Green Lantern: The Animated Series, I wasn't interested at all. Then when I heard that Bruce Timm was the executive producer, I thought it might be worth a try. I forgot about the series for a time, until I stumbled upon it again on Amazon. They had the complete series on Blu-ray. I read a couple reviews, and on a whim I decided to purchase it. The price was excellent for getting the complete series on Blu-ray, but I was really just taking a chance because I had never viewed an episode or talked to anyone who had. That was possibly the best Blu-ray purchase I have ever made!

This series is fantastic. I went into it pretty skeptical and not at all a Green Lantern fan. All I really knew about GL was from what I'd seen on JL/JLU. The writing and dialogue is very sharp, the plot is solid, the characters are fleshed out and well developed, the music is epic, the voice cast is incredible, and everything is really top notch! The cg animation and the designs are beautiful! I wasn't sure if I would really like the cg, but it really grows on you and I have really come to appreciate it.

All this to say, if you haven't seen this yet, please give it a shot. I'm not certain but it seems like this show is under-appreciated and I have no idea why. Maybe people simply don't know about it. If you like any of Bruce Timm's previous work, you will LOVE this show. Its maturity level and overall tone is right up there with the greats like BTAS, BB, and JL/JLU. This is seriously, one of the best animated series of all time!

So much better than the mediocre at best movie anyhow. While not one of my favourite animated shows, I found Green Lantern: The Animated Series very interesting. I didn't think the animation was that bad actually, it is simplistic of course but with the fluid colours and backgrounds they do have a slickness too. The only disappointment for me in this regard was the rather goofy character design of Zox. The music is very cool in its intro and is atmospherically haunting in the background scoring. The writing is superb, it is humorous and in a subtle way, intelligent and also has some thought-provoking depth. The premise showed some great promise, and it is more than lived up to in the exciting and very well-written story lines. The characters at least do engage, Hal Jordan does take some getting used to and the guardians' rather petty personalities may also leave some people cold, but the villains(while not on the same level as Sinestro) are fun and I like Ganphet, definitely the most likable of the guardians to me. The voice acting is brooding and dynamic in equal measure. In conclusion, I do love this show, it is not perfect but the potential was there and it has met that potential and I do hope it continues to do so. 9/10 Bethany Cox

i am honestly not a big fan of CG to be honest i really don't like it that much i prefer GL first flight and the emerald knights with 2D animation. this show blew me away on how well it was done first off the dialogue is very well written, the story is okay nothing special, the way they portrayed the characters was excellent. what made me like this show the most was the themes of how they talked about death. and sacrifice and what would u do. which really surprised me so overall please give this show a chance before hating on how cheap the CG its good change of things. this is coming from a GL fan who has grown up with the series.