Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow

When I go into these Marvel animated outings I expect play by numbers stuff, whether it be a dark or kiddie friendly one they rarely surpise but manage to entertain to some degree.

With this one I went in with even lower expectations than usual. The children of the Avengers? Sounded like a blatant cashgrab and the plot seemed to confirm that further.

However from the opening sequence, it's writing and perfect score I realised I was mistaken and this was going to be something quite special.

Telling the story of a world where Ultron defeated the Avengers and killed most of them, Tony Stark has hidden away their offspring keeping them safe and off the grid. But of course things go wrong and they find themselves forced to embrace their destiny.

The whole thing looks beautiful and almost feels like a AAA movie, the score is outstanding and the movie is a kid friendly riot of fun.

Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow exceeded all my expectations and showed that these things can rise above mediocrity. Really good stuff.

The Good:

Great opening

Very well constructed

Excellent score

Some good ideas

The Bad:

Some really dumb ideas

Few unanswered questions

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Fred Tatasciore is more Hulk than Mark Ruffalo, seriously he's in every one of these things

All of Marvel Studios animated films in the last 3 years starting with The Invincible Iron Man, Dr Strange, and Avengers 1& 2 were first rate comic book animated films that truly delivered the character drive and action that comic book fans have lusted for decades. They now follow up with a suspiciously kiddish animated movie set in an alternative future where the avengers have been long wiped out by Ultron apart from Tony Stark who takes the children of the Avengers into hiding to raise them away from harm. This is definitely a more kid friendly entry but don't let that put any of you off. The children behave like normal children with powers (did that make sense?), are likable, very vulnerable and needing adult guidance. The story is entertaining if rather straightforward with a couple of interesting revelations and welcome cameos. The voice acting for the children Avengers are charming (much akin to those in The Incredibles) with production levels on par with Marvel's previous films. This is not the best of the Marvel series but it is certainly a great deal of fun for both children and adults.

Marvel Animation has been a consistent contributor to the greater Marvel multiverse for years, creating diverse and impressive reimaginings of canon favorites, and adding entertaining, new characters to the already eclectic mix. "Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow" does a spectacular job of making its young protagonists feel like natural fits in the already established mythos surrounding them, while also keeping everything family- friendly and fairly lighthearted - in fact, this is Marvel's first PG- rated animated film, and it definitely has a certain cutesy, Saturday morning cartoon appeal.

Ultimate Avengers 1 and 2, Invincible Iron Man, Doctor Strange and now "Next Avengers".

The Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes, have been defeated by the machine menace known as Ultron. Presumably the last survivor of that final terrible battle, Iron Man/Tony Stark takes it upon himself to hide the baby children of the Avengers in secret so that Ultron would never find them. He raises them hidden in a underground artificial paradise, constantly spinning them tales about the parents they never knew. Fast forward 13 years later and the children have grown up into fine youngsters, training their individual gifts but longing to find their place in the world. Following a surprise visitation by the Vision and an unfortunate accident, Ultron discovers the location of the Avenger's children and launches an all out attack. Separated from their mentor, Iron Man, and on the run, these "Next Avengers" must live up to their family heritage while dealing with their individual inner turmoil and teenage angst.

How good is the movie? This is my take.

First off, the story is very intriguing and engaging. There is a good amount of mystery and tension in the first act but the second part taking place in Ultron City falls a little bit into futuristic cartoon clichés. The story isn't as intense as the previous two animated movies, nor as character focused, but tries not to fall too far into the juvenile side.

The Characters, you either Love em or hate em. There children are typical kid hero character stereotypes. The irritating youngest brat(Pym), the hot headed slacker turned leader(James), the feisty girl with daddy issues(Toruun), the token African American for political correctness(Azari) and the cold aloof flirty one(Barton). Aside from the clichés their individual story arcs play out very believably. The inner turmoil faced by the heroes alludes to many common problems face by average teenagers nowadays, such as living up to one's parents' expectations and finding a sense of self-identity. These are very Heart warming themes that can appeal to young and old alike. Some of the dialogue may be a little too "saturday morning cartoon" for the older teenagers like myself but those are few and far between.

It is in the animation department where this otherwise great film suffers. The animation is very inconsistent here. The art varies from an intricate level of detail with heavy shadows to flat and cheap looking crap with no other detail other than the basic outlines and features. A number of animation short cuts are jarringly visible and the fluidity of the animation usually varies indirectly to the art detail. This leads the overall animation of the movie to have a budgeted look; more fitting for a TV series than a movie. The character designs had a strong American anime feel to them. Not as exaggerated as Teen Titans but more on par with Ben 10.

On a whole, Next Avengers was an enjoyable movie with themes that are easy to relate to and can be watched by an audience of any age above 7. If it were not for the sub standard animation(compared to other animated movies), I would have given this a higher rating. This was a decent direct to DVD show and i look forward to the next. NEXT PLEASE Marvel!!!

The Next Avengers is not based on an existing comic. It does however feature characters from the Marvel Universe. Basicaly you can view this cartoon as one of many alternate stories in the Marvel Universe only with one difference. And that is the fact that this cartoon is meant for a younger audience than usual. We get introduced to the children of some of the Avengers. While I have no real objections to this premise I do wonder why these children almost have the same power as their parents. Surely these kids would have some extra or different powers since some of them are products of two parents who both had super abilities. I understand that this is done for recognition and to simplify matters. But it would have been nice to see some new abilities. OK,done with the nitpicking. The story itself is not that impressive. The characters however are fun and there is just enough action to keep you entertained. There are some surprises featured in this cartoon considering you haven't had a good look at the cover of the DVD. Let's just say that a certain character we all love finally gets more screen time then he did in Ultimate Avengers 1 and 2. Overall this is a nice cartoon that plays around with the Marvel mythology.