DC Super Hero Girls: Legends Of Atlantis Review

DC Super Hero Girls: Legends of Atlantis may be targeted to a young demographic, but it still has a message for all ages.

DC Super Hero Girls—an alternate DC universe animated series where some bad guys are good guys—has been a hit with kids, and it’s not hard to see why. The series is extremely lighthearted with just the right amount of stakes and fun humor. So it’s no surprise that we now have an upcoming fifth feature-length film for the series—DC Super Hero Girls: Legends of Atlantis.

The movie starts with, what we assume, a flashback to a few years before Wonder Woman attends Super Hero High. It’s a first meeting with Mera and her sister, Siren. As with all first encounters, there are a lot of misnomers and false information on both sides. This shaky first meeting quickly ends with the Goddess of Truth waking up on the beach after her near-drowning.

In the present, we see our hero in high school—excelling in all arenas. However, her world is about to be turned upside down with the arrival of the Book of Legends—the object that triggered her original meeting with underwater dwellers Mera and Siren. Speaking of those two, Siren and Mera have been planning to overthrow Aquaman by using the book and stealing his legendary trident.

As Siren and Mera attain the book and enact their plans, it’s up to the students of Super Hero High to stop them and save Metropolis from being submerged. However, the battle may prove to be more than physical when Wonder Woman discovers that Mera is not what she assumes her to be.

Overall, DC Super Hero Girls: Legends of Atlantis has a very clean animation style—bright and airy. The minimalism allows action scenes to be quite dynamic. The character designs are also very distinct, so there’s no second guessing as to who these characters are.

Like with all DC franchises that try to cater to a younger crowd, there are a lot of liberties taken with the characters. For example, Aquaman still has “man” in his name, but he’s a “boy king.” Mera and Siren are both outcasts. And, consistent with the overall series, the rest of the characters are a conglomeration of their own respective collective histories.

The film is definitely aimed for elementary school children or younger, but adults will appreciate some very subtle references and homages. For example, the MacGuffin—the Book of Legends—closely resembles the Necronomicon. Since this film is geared towards children, the writers, of course, don’t go into the gory details of how the book was created. And it’s design is not as threatening, though it still has a ghoulish, howling face on it.

As for the lessons learned, the film doesn’t bog itself down with too much preaching. It allows the action and the narrative to send a message of being empathetic and objective. This adheres to the old adage of “You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar,” as children may find the message much more attractive when they actually see it versus being told—like another old boring school lesson.

The DVD also has a special features section which contains a bonus TV special—DC Super Hero Girls: Super Hero High. The story follows Supergirl starting her academic career at the school. Behind-the-scenes and unknown to her and her peers, there’s a conspiracy brewing among the administration. Going along the inclusion of subtle references, this special also contains a very brief homage to the original Richard Donner / Christopher Reeve Superman franchise. If you listen closely at the end, when the villains are being sent off, they’re serenaded with background music from “Lex Luthor’s Lair”—a track from John Williams’s legendary score.

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DC Super Hero Girls: Legends of Atlantis is an amusing alternate universe tribute geared towards a much younger crowd. However, that’s not to say there are some special surprises for the adults. It’s also a fun and entertaining way to teach kids some valuable life lessons.

Own DC Super Hero Girls: Legends of Atlantis now on Digital and on DVD on October 2, 2018.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided us with a free copy of the DVD we reviewed in this blog post. The opinions we share are our own.