While it is an action cartoon, the series is also heavily character-driven, with a focus on the main characters’ struggles with being superheroes, their mutual friendships/relationships, and their limitations. A major difference between the animated series and the comic book is that while the comic portrayed the characters as being in their late teens to early 20s (resulting in the comic series at one point even dropping the word Teen from its title to reflect its older characters), the animated series characters are all depicted as being in their teen years and young adult (supposedly 14-16 and others 16-18, 17-19).
Seasons two and four are based upon two of the most popular New Teen Titans arcs, "Judas Contract" and "Terror of Trigon" respectively. Many characters from the comics, though most of them heavily reworked, appear throughout the show, especially in the final season.
The group's base of operations is a large self-built T-shaped structure that combines living quarters, a command center, training/workout facilities, and hangar/garage space. It sits on an island just offshore from a fictional city called Jump City (though the exact location is never directly stated in any episode, it is obviously in the United States of America, and is supposedly somewhere near Gotham City, a fact which is also never said in both the show and the comics, but merely supposed). At the end of the third season, a second team of Titans come together in Steel City, called the Titans East, residing in a T-building identical to the original, except positioned on a cliff by the sea (no doubt for Aqualad).
Teen Titans frequently uses self-referential humor, and its animation style is heavily influenced by Japanese anime. Throughout the series, the opening theme song of the show alternates between the English and Japanese versions, which are both sung by the Japanese pop duo "Puffy AmiYumi". Andrea Romano revealed in a Season 3 DVD featurette that if the opening is sung in Japanese, it indicates that the episode is intended to be silly and funny, while the English opening indicates the episode is aimed to be dark and more serious (with the exception of the episode "Nevermore").
In mid-November 2005, TitansTower.com reported that prospects for a sixth season were looking extremely unlikely, and fans were urged to express their support for the show to Cartoon Network. Several days after this initial posting, word came that Cartoon Network had officially terminated the show. According to the actor who provided the voice of Aqualad, the series was terminated by new Warner Bros. Feature Animation executives who made the decision not to renew the series based on its sixth season pitch. Wheaton's story was contradicted by series story editor Rob Hoegee who stated that the decision came from Cartoon Network, not WB, being that there were never any plans for a sixth season. Layoffs at WB studios in late 2005 were also speculated to be a factor in the cancellation.
After the series finale, Warner Bros. Animation announced a feature film called Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo. The film premiered at and was shown on Cartoon Network first on September 15, 2006. The DVD was released on February 6, 2007.
The series is shown on a rerun Boomerang (a sister channel to Cartoon Network) in the 10:30pm time slot on weekdays since February 2, 2009.
The series was acknowledged in Cartoon Network’s 30th Anniversary video in October 2022.
Revivals[]
- In 2012, it was announced that there would be a new animated series of Teen Titans called Teen Titans, Go!, The series is much lighter compared to the earlier Teen Titans series, focusing more on comedy than action. The series premiered Tuesday, April 23, 2013. Teen Titans Go! was universally panned by fans due to lacking the seriousness and action the original Teen Titans embraced.
- In 2016 and 2017, Warner Home Entertainment released two movies containing the characters, Justice League vs. The Teen Titans and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, which are geared towards the mature audiences due to having much heavier themes including violence, language, and sensuality, as both are given the PG-13 rating.
Comeback[]
In Thursday, August 3rd, 2017 after 5 years Cartoon Network has brought back Teen Titans. From 6-7 a.m. and since the airings have increased, with Cartoon Network evening airing Teen Titans "Apprentice" part one and two. Now they are back to being gone.
Trivia[]
- The opening theme song was not featured in the "EVERY Cartoon Network Original opening title" video on Cartoon Network UK's YouTube Page, despite the Teen Titans Go! intro being shown.[1]
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