Behind the scenes of the animated movie

Translating the best selling Death of Superman saga into a 70 minute animated movie is a daunting task. Of course in that time frame not everything will be covered, which might upset purists, but unless you have the money to produce a story on a Peter Jackson scale, that’s inevitable.

The other purist constituency who might quibble over details would be fans of the Superman animated series, disappointed that different voice actors are being used and the look of the characters will be different. However, for the rest of us, this should be a very intense and entertaining movie.

The Story

“My aim is to make something so dramatically compelling that within the first five minutes you’ll forget you’re watching a cartoon.”

Bruce Timm, who has brought Superman back to life in a big way through animation, took on the Superman – Doomsday project.

We all know the story, a mammoth, seemingly unstoppable monster is destroying everything in its wake and the only thing that stands between Doomsday and the survival of the human race is Superman. The Man of Steel finally defeats the behemoth, but at the cost of his own life. And basically that is the story of Superman’s death.

However, the writers had a specific goal in mind with Doomsday. He had to be powerful enough for the audience to believe that Superman might not win, but not so powerful that he could easily beat Superman. In turn, Superman will face an enemy for the first time who could actually defeat him, something Superman never let himself believe before of any enemy.

“As exciting as the Superman – Doomsday sequence is, I think in some ways I was even more challenged and more interested by how we would do The World Without Superman segment.”

The Characters

While many heroes are defined by their quests, vengeance or even their villains, Superman’s true connection is to humanity, to his friends, family and the woman he loves.

Because this is true, we believe their grief at his loss and believe that the world would mourn his passing.

Jimmy Olsen in this version is a bit more mature than the version in the animated series so that he’s more in keeping with the Doomsday story arc.

And though not a key character in the original saga, Lex Luthor was given a key role in the animated version. He is described as “darker” and a “very damaged individual.”

Lex also grieves over the loss, not of Superman, but what he represents to Lex, his one true challenge. The one enemy that he could not defeat.

It’s said that a hero is only as good as his villain, well, the reverse is also true. Without Superman, Lex has no real challenge left. In one of the clips of Lex pounding an ersatz Superman, he shouts, “Why did you leave me!”

Obviously no one is going to feel the loss as keenly as Lois Lane. Always famous for her rock solid toughness and cynicism, Lois fell hard for Superman in a way she had never and would never love another. There was only one other woman that could match Lois’s grief and that was his mother Martha Kent.

There’s no indication that Jonathan is alive in this version of the story from the clips I saw, but Martha was at the funeral and grieved by herself because the public would never know that she was Superman’s mother.

In Martha Lois saw a kindred spirit and sought her out so that they could grieve and remember him together without the prying eyes of the world finding out that Martha had lost a son and Lois had lost the love of her life.

The Romance

“We decided that when our story begins that Lois and Superman have been seeing each other. So that gave us the opportunity to explore thematically more mature material.”

–Duane Capizzi

Not just Superman, but Clark as well. It would be nice if the story included a revelation, but whether it does or not, it’s clear that Lois knows that Clark and Superman are the same person in this story as was true in the Death of Superman arc where they were engaged.

The romance of Superman and Lois Lane has endured for 70 years because of many factors like nods to classical myth and even fairytales, but where it differed is where it really succeeded. Instead of a heroine waiting for a glass slipper, or to be awakened by a magical kiss, Lois Lane would be more likely to interview Prince Charming about the continued viability of the monarchy.

“Personally, for me, if Lois isn’t a major character, if she’s not really a super important character in the story, then it’s really not a Superman movie because in a weird kind of way, she almost becomes the central character because you’re almost seeing the entire story through her eyes. “

– Bruce Timm

Raised by a general who wanted a son, Lois makes things happen, she doesn’t wait for them to happen. However, her penchant for extreme risks and a dangerous approach to journalism is what caught Superman’s eye in the first place.

It’s difficult to imagine Lois with anyone else because it seemed to take a super man to handle her. That’s why the Death of Superman arc hit her so hard and made her feel helpless for the first time in her life.

The Look

Although the look of the movie is different from the previous series, the characters seems to be a blend of the comic art and the familiar animated characterization.

“When it came to designing Metropolis, one of the things we wanted to do was ground the movie in a little bit more of a believable reality.”

–Bruce Timm

The art captures a beautiful verisimilitude. Attention to scope, scale and detail makes Metropolis a real city. At least as real as Superman’s mythical home can be captured in animation.

If I haven’t sold you on this DVD, then it wasn’t for want of trying. Pick it up September 18, 2007.

Tags: Animation, doomsday, movie

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 8th, 2007 at 3:56 am and is filed under Animation, Supeman Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.