Washington, DC, because America’s terminally-cancerous political “culture” and “system” have been really detrimental towards my mental health, and just even the slightest exposure to US politics gives me suicidal thoughts, since American politics has pretty much been the story of my life. Having a politician as a father who can’t shut up about the subject doesn’t really help in that regard, either.
This independent animated DC Comics film opens with the standard origin story of Superman, with the infant Kal-El sent by his parents from the doomed world of Krypton. However, their Labrador Retriever (or whatever Krypton’s equivalent was), Krypto, accompanies the future Man of Steel on his journey to Earth. Years later, Krypto feels neglected when his superheroic owner starts dating Lois Lane and has a falling-out with his master. Around the same time, Lulu, a hairless guinea pig and former test subject of Superman’s archnemesis Lex Luthor’s corporation, now in an animal shelter alongside other various beasts, retrieves a shard of the orange kryptonite the Justice League stops Luthor from using, both gaining superpowers and escaping. Simultaneously, the other animals receive its effects and seek to rescue the hero group’s members once Lulu subdues them.
The most notable voice performances include Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Krypto and comedian Kevin Hart as Ace the Boxer, whom Batman, voiced by Keanu Reeves (a role he does much better than he would have Superman when propositioned once upon a time), ultimately adopts, the other Justice League members, in the end, fostering the other empowered animals from the shelter. Overall, this was a fun rewatch that I enjoyed far more than most entries of the DC Extended Universe, which may have had to do with the animal cast. The tone is light-hearted, enforced by the nonstop humor (and while some of it is on the toiletic side, it’s strictly urinal, which was fine by me), and given the post-credits scene, I hope it receives some form of continuation, which I would gladly watch.
While Marvel Studios has pretty much dominated the art of comic book movie adaptations, DC and Warner Bros. have really struggled in that regard, and this film starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is no exception. It doesn’t overstay its welcome like a few other certain DC Comics films, and while the atmosphere, historical background, and effects are good, it just didn’t really enthrall me.