Entertainment
10 Greatest DC Animated Movies of All Time, Ranked by Letterboxd
If one thing has always been true, it’s that DC Comics has always had a great time in the animated film realm. While not every one is perfect (the more recent Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths series being the best example), their batting average is much higher than Marvel Comics’ and just generally high as it is. When it comes to the best-of-the-best of DC’s animated flicks, it’s safe to say that they go above and beyond.
Which ones soar the highest, though? If fans really want to know how the rest of the world thinks of DC’s non-live-action ventures, the best place to look isn’t necessarily the likes of review sites like Rotten Tomatoes, but actually the social media platform, Letterboxd. This is a spot on the internet that allows users to review the films they watch, make lists, and see what their friends are watching. This means there’s no spot for critics, and it is a fan/general audience-centric review site. So if one is looking for the most accurate thoughts on what movie viewers think, Letterboxd is the way to go, and that happens to be the case with DC’s animated projects, too.
10
‘Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two’ (2021)
Letterboxd Score: 3.5/5.0 (42 Fans)
If there’s one thing that DC Entertainment loves to do, it’s produce its best or most popular comic book stories in animated film form. One of the most recent cases comes through the Batman: The Long Halloween duology. The story is so long (pun intended) that the studio had to split it into two, and while the first part is good, Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two is far better. Letterboxd user, alor, agrees: “Slightly better than part one in my opinion but both films were excellent.”
The one and only Jensen Ackles returns to the DC animated realm in this one, but not as his most iconic role, Red Hood, but, surprisingly, the Caped Crusader, and he actually does exceptionally well. He does so well, in fact, that people genuinely seem to want him to play the character in James Gunn‘s live-action DCU. It’s clear that the finale of this duology had a positive impact on most viewers. It’s not the best thing since sliced bread, but still a very good flick.
9
‘Watchmen: Chapter II’ (2024)
Letterboxd Score: 3.6/5.0 (7 Fans)
While the brand has always been popular in the comic book realm, movie audiences became very well aware of the team that is the Watchmen when Watchmen, directed by Zack Snyder, was released many years ago, which is considered one of his best movies. The Watchmen (1986) comic story is lengthy, though, so come the 2020s, DC decided they were going to retell the story in — much like Batman: The Long Halloween — a duology.
While the two movies aren’t nearly as popular as the previous live-action installment, people generally liked these two movies, with the favorite being the second chapter, Watchmen: Chapter II. It’s still not a perfect adaptation, though, with André stating, “No adaptation of one of the greatest literary works of all time would do justice to the source material, of course. That said, these two chapters do a pretty decent job.” So, while not perfect, it still does a relatively good job of being a fun watch and pleasing comic book fans.
8
‘Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo’ (2006)
Letterboxd: 3.6/5.0 (196 Fans)
Ask literally any comic book fan, and they’ll tell you that one of the greatest animated superhero series ever made is the legendary Teen Titans. It’s so beloved that fans were, and still are, incredibly depressed that it came to an end. At least, however, it has a good finale in the form of a feature film titled Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo. Fred will prelude what makes it great in their review, “‘Trouble in Tokyo’ is vibrantly animated in the show’s classic style and beautifully extends the spirit of the ‘Titans’ stories that so many of us loved and continue to hold in fond regard.”
This project has everything that made Teen Titans so good: wonderful vocal performances, stellar animation, phenomenal storytelling, and overall strong direction from directors Michael Chang, Heather A. Maxwell, and Matt Youngberg. So, despite people being understandably sad that the show was ending, they, at the very least, got a strong finale, which is more than other DC and Marvel animated shows can say (R.I.P. The Spectacular Spider-Man).
7
‘Justice League Dark: Apokolips War’ (2020)
Letterboxd Score: 3.6/5.0 (216 Fans)
When it came to providing a finale to the old DC Animated Film Universe, the teams at Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment decided to deliver fans the likes of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. Boy, did they decide to go out with a bang. This project is incredibly well-written, albeit a bit too dark for the sake of being dark, at times. Yes, this is supposed to be a dark story to wrap things up and make the conflict feel hopeless, but nattheratking puts it best when they say, “Raven saying ‘oh for f**** sake’ was funnier than it should’ve been
I feel like a lot of the dark imagery was just for shock value (ie Starfire literally bisected on the ground) and didn’t really have an emotional impact beyond that”.
Despite these failings, though, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War still provides a satisfying ending for this animated universe — one that spanned a long seven years, starting in 2013. It puts the DC heroes to the test in a way that they have never been before. Characters are either brutally murdered or, like Superman (Jerry O’Connell), turned into hollow shells of themselves for the main characters to save. It begs the question: “What if Darkseid (Tony Todd (rest in peace)) won?” and does so very well.
6
‘Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1’ (2012)
Letterboxd Score: 3.8/5.0 (275 Fans)
The Dark Knight Returns (1986) is one of the most well-known and positively hailed DC Comics storylines ever written. Brought to life by the legendary Frank Miller, this story really shook the boat when it was released for the unique direction it took with the Batman character, bringing the story far into the future where he’s a very old man and makes his comeback as the Caped Crusader for the first time in many years. This is explained pretty well by Marcos in his review of the film, “His return is framed as a cry for help from Gotham itself, born from Bruce’s need to don the mask once more, unable to overcome the trauma of his parents’ death.”
The story, without a doubt, deserves a two-part film story. DC Entertainment clearly was well aware of how important this story is to people and made sure they took the time and care to make this story a phenomenal film series — that much is clear from the first entry: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1. It’s astoundingly animated, contains near-perfect performances (how has Peter Weller only played The Dark Knight here?), and tells the comic plot with grace, setting up for an even better second part.
5
‘Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker’ (2000)
Letterboxd Score: 3.8/5.0 (280 Fans)
Much like Teen Titans, Batman Beyond is commonly known as one of the best superhero shows of all time that would get a finale in the form of a movie — this one is an unofficial one, though, never confirmed as a finale. Also, like fans of Teen Titans, fans of this incredible Batman series were treated incredibly well when Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker in 2000.
There is so much to love about this movie, keeping the charm of the original series while also managing to tie it back to Batman: The Animated Series, almost acting as a pseudo-finale for that, too (which is a bit of a reach, but it really does tie up some character arcs effectively). Mr. Beyond himself, Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle), is at his best here. The proof of the quality can be found in the three reviews made by Emil: “this film (and the batman beyond tv show) is incredibly underrated, hot take but this is probably my favorite animated DC film”, “one of the best batman movies idc“, and “secretly the best batman movie“. Sensing a pattern?
4
‘Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox’ (2013)
Letterboxd Score: 3.8/5.0 (423 Fans)
When it comes to Justice League movies, it doesn’t get much better than 2013’s Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (sorry, Zack Snyder). Even though it has “Justice League” in the title, this doesn’t mean that it loses itself in too many protagonists— no, the film still focuses primarily on Barry Allen (Justin Chambers), The Flash, which, in the opinion of many, is a good way to handle a team film. “Despite the large ensemble, the film manages to stay focused on Barry Allen’s emotional journey, grounding its multiverse chaos in genuine character drama,” is how SamGunn2006 describes this aspect of the movie.
Many people also agree that this is one of the best adaptations of a DC Comics story into an animated form, managing to coherently turn this giant crossover event into an hour and 15-minute film. This isn’t easy to do, and other animated adaptations can act as proof of that (cough, cough, Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, cough, cough). It narrows it down, but keeps the heart and soul that made the comic so special in the first place, keeping it compelling the whole way through.
3
‘Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2’ (2013)
Letterboxd Score: 4.0/5.0 (215 Fans)
As stated, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 is a very good movie and well-made adaptation of the original comic book, but they really needed to stick the landing with Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2. Everyone was incredibly pleased to see that they absolutely did, and brought the final half of the story to life with grace.
This movie features the legendary battle between Batman and Superman (Mark Valley), with Batman clad in his armored suit, bringing some iconic imagery to the screen that the major motion picture, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, would take inspiration from. Letterboxd user, leozinbreckado, boldly claims that this movie is far better than the first in their review: “Holy s***, part two managed to be even better,” (translated from Spanish).
2
‘Batman: Mask of the Phantasm’ (1993)
Letterboxd Score: 4.0/5.0 (2k Fans)
Often considered the best Batman movie ever made, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm‘s popularity remains strong to this very day — a whopping 33 years later. It has the massive advantage of being part of the Batman: The Animated Series franchise, which is already extremely praised. This also means it has the stellar voice cast the show had, bringing in Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, who are known for being some of the greats.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is legendary and beyond memorable. It acts as a great character study of both Batman and Bruce Wayne, via the villain, The Phantasm’s (Stacy Keach) history and motives. This is a huge part of what makes this movie so impactful for the character and so beloved to this day. Patrick Willems puts it perfectly when he said, “Warner Bros: Hey can you rush out a cheap cartoon Batman movie for kids? The filmmakers: Sure. Also we’re gonna make it a tragedy about two adults whose reactions to trauma cost them their happiness, and it’s going to have more elegant dialogue and character work and denser storytelling than any live-action Batman movie.”
1
‘Batman: Under the Red Hood’ (2010)
Letterboxd Score: 4.0/5.0 (3.1k Fans)
While Jensen Ackles may play Batman in the Batman: The Long Halloween duology, he got his start in the DC animated realm with the astounding movie, Batman: Under the Red Hood. Bringing the “Under the Red Hood” storyline from the comics to life, the film brings the source material writer himself, Jeff Winick, back to write the movie, which makes the screenplay of this movie a borderline perfect adaptation. It’s genuinely incredible.
The voice cast, also consisting of Bruce Greenwood, John DiMaggio, and Neil Patrick Harris, does wonderful work bringing these characters to life and, especially in the final confrontation, has phenomenal dynamics with each other. There’s a reason that Batman: Under the Red Hood is hailed as one of the best Batman movies. Jason Todd’s story specifically makes the movie beyond compelling, with irisoftheeye stating, “They can never make me hate you Jason Todd”.