While DC has had many great animated films they've put out, there have (especially lately) been many mediocre or downright bad entries as well. From whiny characters to lack of detail, some of the DCEU's worst flaws appear to be contagious to the animated films as well. While not all inherently broken films or unwatchable dumpster fires, some of them can be pretty rough nevertheless. Here's a rundown of the ten most controversial and lackluster animated films DC has spawned over the years.
10 Superman: Red Son
The "Superman: Red Son" comic was a huge hit upon release, winning an Eisner award in 2004 for its excellent quality. In this universe, Superman's baby rocket landed in Ukraine instead of Kansas, and Superman was raised as a Soviet asset. The film's themes and plot are complex, and unfortunately, massive chunks of the story were chopped out of the cinematic adaptation. The film is also very blindingly patriotic and Pro-American, which is distracting when the film is supposed to be from a Russian point of view, and likewise, the complicated message gets overhauled with forced new ones.
9 Superman: Brainiac Attacks
Braniac Attacks is a strange film. It has the animation style of the DC Animated Universe (Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League) but none of the usual writers. And on top of that, Lex Luthor's voice actor is no longer Clancy Brown, and the character isn't serious or intimidating, so much as a Gene Hackman-like Luthor played for laughs.
The tone of the film is all over the place, and the strange production elements being taken from Superman: The Animated Series without full commitment or continuity to the series just makes it all the more confusing.
8 Batman vs. Robin
Damien Wayne is a blight on the current DC Animated Movie Universe. It's already fatiguing that Batman is featured in 4 out of every 5 films, but it's strenuous that Damien is a big part of the canon. Damien is the son of Talia al Ghul and Bruce Wayne, and naturally, he has great abilities from both of his parents in terms of intelligence, brawn, and spirit. The problem is that he's incredibly egotistical and unlikeable, with few redeeming qualities. Add up an unlikeable/uninteresting main character with a predictable plot and underused antagonistic force, and the film comes out tepid.
7 Teen Titans: The Judas Contract
"The Judas Contract" was a classic Teen Titans story arc that resonates with comic readers to this day. The film does not live up to it, giving a stale and watered-down version of the comic, and it never emotionally resonates because the lead character, Terra, appears and disappears within the same film. It's also dwarfed when compared not only to the comic but to the Teen Titans cartoon, which did the same story with much more impactful depth in just a few short episodes.
6 "Batman Unlimited" Films
There's nothing quite like watching a film that serves as nothing but an advertisement. That's what the Batman Unlimited films are. There's absolutely nothing wrong with taking DC in a lighter tone from time to time, but seeing Batman ride dinosaurs that shoot lasers or fight in big mech suits is a bit far-fetched, mostly because it's clearly a toy advertisement.
It would be fine if they were 5-minute shorts, but these are feature-length advertisements that overstay their welcome.
5 Batman: Bad Blood
After Batman is seemingly killed in action, it's up to the Bat-family (including the ever-unloveable Damien) to clean up crime in Gotham City in his absence. Bad Blood is similar to Into The Spider-verse, in that there are several variations of the Caped Crusader at once, but it lacks the depth, finesse, and gorgeous animation. The movie, like the other subpar DC Animated Movie Universe films, is fine to watch once, but it doesn't have the substance to warrant any re-watches. It's perfectly forgettable and bland and does nothing to distinguish itself from the plethora of Batman animated films.
4 Batman And Harley Quinn
Bruce Timm was an integral part of the DC Animated Universe, but lately, his input in movies just seems to be having iconic characters hook up. In this film, Harley and Nightwing make whoopee, in a very forced and unnecessary scene. Batman And Harley Quinn is another hot mess, in a very similar manner to Brainiac Attacks; it uses the familiar DCAU animation style and a few of the voices, but changes others (namely, Harley).
On top of that, the style of the film is simply a loose story loaded with cheap gags and shock humor that isn't more "adult" so much as more juvenile. It cheapens what would have been a fun film. It's surreal, or perhaps, disturbing, to see a DCAU style Harley Quinn loudly fart in a car, and proceed to have Kevin Conroy's Batman sniff it and say "smells like...discipline."
3 Batman: Hush
The "Batman: Hush" comic arc is one of the greatest Batman stories put to ink. The tale is one of the best Catwoman/Batman stories, hosts a fascinating original villain with a great plot, and has gorgeous artwork. So how did the cinematic adaptation go? The animation style is perfectly fine, just in line with the other recent DC animated films. The Catwoman/Batman aspect of the story still mostly remains intact. Several subplots and side characters suffer, and don't make the cut, which is bad, but it gets much worse.
But the villain of the film was utterly butchered. Hush, AKA Thomas Elliot, was not the film's villain, and instead, the Riddler was revealed to be the man behind the bandages. It's baffling because, throughout the film, it's increasingly obvious that Elliot isn't Hush, as his backstory and critical scenes were cut out. But it's still surprising (in a bad way) that the film ruined the great detective story and a fresh new antagonist for a cheap twist.
2 Son Of Batman
This list has a lot of the recent Damian Wayne outings, but none achieve to portray Damien in such an annoying manner as Son Of Batman does. There's a lot going wrong in this film. Damian Wayne feels like every wannabe "cool kid" from the 1990s. In fact, he is reminiscent of Jason Todd in the comics, who was voted to be killed off by fans in "Death in the Family" due to his constant whining and the need to be rebellious.
However, Damian Wayne just doesn't have any real charm to compensate or a cool "Red Hood" comeback to justify his issues. He's just a brat. And it gets worse when Deathstroke, one of DC's deadliest and smartest villains, is outsmarted and defeated multiple times (with relative ease) by said brat. Maybe in a few years, he'll take up the mantle of "Brat-Man."
1 Batman: The Killing Joke
The universal consensus of "The Killing Joke" comic adaptation was that the long-winded, pointless, and downright uncomfortable Batgirl prologue stained the whole movie. And to say it "stained it" is putting it lightly. The opening prologue feels like a dreadful twisted version of Sex And The City, with Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) explaining to her flamboyant and sassy gay friend how she ended up hooking up with her much older boss. It's so out of character for both Batman and Batgirl, so inappropriate, and serves no purpose. And yes, the actual criminal plot is boring.
Then, when the adaptation of "The Killing Joke" began, it was underwhelming, especially after having to follow up the previous 20-minute padding beforehand. The animation was a bit stale, the plot moved rapidly, and it simply didn't live up to the hype. Sure, Joker and Batman's voice actors were great. But there have been hundreds of hours of performance from both Hamill and Conroy at this point, so praising their performances in every movie is to be expected. In other news, water is wet. We know.