Sporting a different animation style, Teen Titans Go! serves as a comedic standalone spin-off with little to no continuity to the original Teen Titans series (although some references are included as comedic fan service) or any other media in the DC Comics franchise. Many DC characters make cameo appearances and are referenced in the background. The original principal voice cast returns to reprise their respective roles. This series explores what the Titans do when they are hanging out around the tower.
In 2023, it was confirmed via an EIDR listing that the series was picked up for a ninth season consisting of 52 episodes.[5]
Plot
Teen Titans Go! is an animated series that follows the adventures of the young Titans: Beast Boy, Robin, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire. They reside in Jump City when they are not saving the world while living together as teenagers without adults. Unlike most of the other superhero series, the situations are comic, crazy and parodic—for example, juvenile jokes that reach new heights of danger, obtaining a license to drive after destroying the Batmobile or washing the suits after staining them when fighting their enemies. The show regularly features characters who have appeared in the original series, albeit with reduced roles and/or exaggerated personalities. It also features greater attachment to the DC Universe at large, with more references to other characters including those in the Justice League, plus a few appearances by Batman and Commissioner Gordon in lighthearted moments.
The show expresses in-jokes regarding the whole of DC's library, many of them in blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments, as well as numerous jokes at the expense of the show itself.
The first 8 episodes of the series were originally produced by Warner Bros. Animation in pairs of 22-minutes each, two 11-minutes stories sharing one intro and end credits sequence. Starting with "Ghostboy", however, the crew started producing each individual episode on its own, the series being generally treated today as a quarter-hour show.
The international masters of the whole first and second seasons were still edited to have the episodes in pairs.
Teen Titans Go! has received generally mixed reviews by critics. Common Sense Media gave the show 4 out of 5 stars and wrote that it "manages a few positive messages alongside the clever comedy and characterizations".[7]IGN writer Scott Collura gave the pilot episode a score of 7.8 out of 10, stating that "DC Animation revamps the beloved Teen Titans series for a new generation – with pretty fun results".[8] Randy Schiff of The Buffalo News praised its writing and animation, calling it a "consistently quirky comedy that is often laced with keen social commentary".[9] After the trailer for the series' film adaptation was released, Scott Mendelson of Forbes praised the series and its "nihilistic madness", writing that "taken on its own terms, it is blisteringly funny and endlessly clever, offering grimly cynical history lessons, comedically grimdark holiday specials, and occasional pure fantasy freak-outs...amid some serious superhero genre trolling and self-commentary".[10] The first season holds a critical approval rating of 67% based on 9 reviews on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, but the season only received an audience approval rating of 40%.[11]Teen Titans Go! has received a rating of 5.7/10 on online database IMDb.[12]
Writing for Slant Magazine, Lee Wang gave the show 2 stars out of 4, saying "Teen Titans Go! would offer little to even the most ardent Titans nostalgists and completists".[13] Aaron Wiseman of Moviepilot cited various criticisms of the show, noting slight appreciation for the characters of Starfire and Raven.[14] The show's pilot episode brought in over 3 million viewers. Cartoon Network renewed Teen Titans Go! for a second season in June 2013, citing successful ratings.[15] According to Hope King, a tech reporter for CNNMoney,[16]Teen Titans Go! was one out of three of the most viewed television shows (the other two being Shades of Blue and Game of Thrones) and other media to contribute to a record setting 1.3 million simultaneous Xfinity On-Demand viewings during the January 2016 United States blizzard.[17]
Nominations
Year
Award
Category
Nominee
Result
2013
Behind the Voice Actors Awards
Best Female Lead Vocal Performance in a Television Series - Comedy/Musical[18]
Teen Titans Go! content is featured as part of the toys-to-life video game Lego Dimensions, via two packs released in September 2017. These include a Team Pack containing Beast Boy and Raven minifigures and constructible T-Car and Spellbook of Azarath items; and a Fun pack containing a Starfire minifigure and constructible Titan Robot. The characters are able to access a Teen Titans Go!-themed Adventure World featuring locations from the series, as well as an exclusive episode themed after the game. Additionally, the pre-existing minifigures of Cyborg from DC Comics and Robin from The Lego Batman Movie are able to turn into their Teen Titans Go! counterparts when used in the Teen Titans Go! Adventure World.[28]
A theatrical film adaptation of the series was released by Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Animation on July 27, 2018.[29] Titled Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, the film was written by series executive producers and developers Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, and directed by Horvath and fellow producer Peter Rida Michail. The voice cast of the TV series reprise their roles, with Will Arnett and Kristen Bell also starring.[30]
In the Young Justice: Outsiders episode "Nightmare Monkeys", TTG's animation style was used as the basis of Beast Boy's visions within his mind. Cipes had started voicing Beast Boy during this season of that series as well.[35]