She doesn’t don the famous red, white and blue outfit until about a half an hour into this film, but when Diana, Princess of the Amazons, finally does become Wonder Woman, it’s an awe-inspiring scene in a film that’s jam-packed with plenty of such moments. Although Wonder Woman has been a fixture on the popular Justice League animated series, the folks at DC Animation decided to go back to the origin story for this direct to video release, showing in proper detail how Diana became Wonder Woman, which might be recognizable to fans of the Linda Carter WW series from the seventies. But instead of simply rehashing the story, director Lauren Montgomery has embellished it on a much more grander scale that takes full advantage of the animated art form that finally gives the Amazonian Princess a chance to shine.
Forged from the clay of Themyscira by her mother, Hippolyta, and granted life by the classical Greek Pantheon of Gods, Diana is raised in the classic warrior tradition of her people, the Amazons. Life is peaceful and dandy, until a man arrives in her all-women paradise. Air Force pilot Steve Trevor is once more shot down in this version of the story--this time while dog fighting with supersonic jets. Diana, struck with meeting a man for the first time in her life--as well as fascinated with the world he comes from--enters a competition held among her sisters to determine who will escort Steve back home. But when she wins, Diana is not only charged with bringing Steve home, but she must also deal with the escape of Ares, the god of war.
The voice cast that’s been assembled here is marvelous. Keri Russell (Felicity)
is perfectly cast as Wonder Woman; she gives the character her much needed
strength, while still imbuing her with warmth. Nathan Fillion (Firefly; Serenity) is great--and very funny--as Steve Trevor. Alfred Molina, perhaps best known in recent years as Doc Ock from Spider-Man 2, continues his villainous streak here as Ares. The script by Michael Jelenic is taunt and exciting, and director Montgomery handles the action scenes with a dynamic flair, uplifting it from previous cartoon incarnations. And the PG-13 rating allows the film’s creators to show the Amazons in all of their battle-loving glory--as well as let them stage spectacular fights with Wonder Woman (the pitched battle between WW and Deimos alone is worth the price of the DVD).
Special features on the single disc DVD include a commentary by the film’s
creators, as well as a behind the scenes look at the making of Wonder Woman,
and an advanced look at the upcoming Green Lantern animated film. Although no
chapter index is listed on the main menu, the DVD does indeed have chapter
stops; you can still skip through them using the ’skip’ control on your DVD
player’s remote. First created in 1941 by William Moulton Marston (who also
invented the polygraph lie detector device), Wonder Woman has endured for
nearly seventy years as an equal alongside Batman and Superman. And thanks to a
fun, thoroughly enjoyable movie like this, the Amazonian Princess will be
around for a long time to come. Here’s hoping DC Animated considers doing a
Wonder Woman animated series.
--SF
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