[5.1/10] I get what Teen Titans is trying to do here. There’s comic juice and narrative potential in dour, unfriendly Raven having to babysit a trio of toddling superheroes. But good lord is the execution lacking.
This group of Tyke Titans are just plain annoying. I realize that’s the point. They’re supposed to irk Raven. And honestly, they’re not that far removed from some real life kiddos. But they’re also annoying to the audience, and their shtick gets old fast. There’s very little endearing about them, which undermines the story’s broader goals.
Namely, despite Raven’s trademark frostiness, she’s supposed to warm to these moppets, and they’re supposed to grow attached to her. The problem is that the episode doesn’t really show any bonding, besides one kind look from Raven toward the sleeping munchkins, and a few smiles on the kids’ faces. This is mostly a mutually grievance society, so when the crew is suddenly deeply devoted to one another, it feels like Teen Titans hasn’t done the math.
Still, there’s some cool design work. Using Malla’s ape abilities to have him traverse a cable car has some oomph to it. The depiction of what I take to be the Alps, or a similar environment, is well-done. And I particularly like the look of Billy, the would-be imaginary friend of Melvin who turns out to be a genuine giant teddy bear who can turn invisible to non-believers. It’s a little weird, but seeing a big sentient ape fight a gargantuan well-loved teddy bear is a trip and treat.
Overall, this episode is more of a pester than a success. You can see what “Hide and Seek” is designed to do, and here and there it achieves its goals, but it mostly annoys and disappoints.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-08-27T19:11:54Z
[5.1/10] I get what Teen Titans is trying to do here. There’s comic juice and narrative potential in dour, unfriendly Raven having to babysit a trio of toddling superheroes. But good lord is the execution lacking.
This group of Tyke Titans are just plain annoying. I realize that’s the point. They’re supposed to irk Raven. And honestly, they’re not that far removed from some real life kiddos. But they’re also annoying to the audience, and their shtick gets old fast. There’s very little endearing about them, which undermines the story’s broader goals.
Namely, despite Raven’s trademark frostiness, she’s supposed to warm to these moppets, and they’re supposed to grow attached to her. The problem is that the episode doesn’t really show any bonding, besides one kind look from Raven toward the sleeping munchkins, and a few smiles on the kids’ faces. This is mostly a mutually grievance society, so when the crew is suddenly deeply devoted to one another, it feels like Teen Titans hasn’t done the math.
Still, there’s some cool design work. Using Malla’s ape abilities to have him traverse a cable car has some oomph to it. The depiction of what I take to be the Alps, or a similar environment, is well-done. And I particularly like the look of Billy, the would-be imaginary friend of Melvin who turns out to be a genuine giant teddy bear who can turn invisible to non-believers. It’s a little weird, but seeing a big sentient ape fight a gargantuan well-loved teddy bear is a trip and treat.
Overall, this episode is more of a pester than a success. You can see what “Hide and Seek” is designed to do, and here and there it achieves its goals, but it mostly annoys and disappoints.