Journey Into DVD: Wonder Woman (2009)

The latest DC Comics animated direct-to-DVD feature, "Wonder Woman," is so good that it breathes new life into a comic book character often neglected despite her iconic status and despite periodic attempts to make her actual comics as vital as that persona. This excellent effort also makes me wonder if we really need that live action feature film that keeps getting teased, then dropped. After all, the cartoon tells Wonder Woman's story so well, what's the use of live action, except as an excuse to get a nubile starlet into that costume (admittedly, depending on the starlet, that in itself might be justification enough to greenlight a $150 million movie).

As a comic reader from way back, I'm tired of seeing origin stories on film, and I never thought any of Wonder Woman's were particularly exciting, anyway. Yet this movie effectively combines an origin with a solid new story to make a coherent feature that works on several levels. Maybe my only complaint is the length. At 70-minutes plus, the movie could have used a bit more time to flesh out a few things. Still, "Wonder Woman" says something about gender, isolationism, even reading (yep, and books, no less) while offering clever dialogue, fun action sequences, and impressive animation.

The casting is excellent, with Keri Russell a surprising but perfect choice. She captures the strength of the character, but importantly she excels with the playful side that makes Diana so appealing and not just an Amazonian warrior. Nathan Fillion deserves an award because we can credit him and the screenplay for actually making Steve Trevor interesting--something I believed near impossible. The supporting roles are also well cast, with a nice blend of voice-over vets and "name" performers.

There is an edge here, but not a crass one. There are beheadings, nut shots, and suggestive dialogue, and none of it feels forced to avoid a "too-tame" MPAA rating. It's no kiddie flick, but it doesn't get out of hand, either.

The bonus disc offers 4 "Justice League" episodes and two featurettes that together are about 50+ minutes. They didn't blow me away like the extras in the "Superman: Doomsday" DVD set, but they were interesting.

I recommend this one even if you are not a Wonder Woman fan. It's not quite the stunner that "New Frontier" is, but it's a big step up from the preceding "Batman Gotham Knights," ranking right up at the top of the DC animated movies.