In 2009, Warner Bros. Animation released Wonder Woman. The film – which featured the voice talents of Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, and Alfred Molina – was the fourth release from the DC Universe Animated Original Movies collection, following the success of Superman: Doomsday (2007), Justice League: The New Frontier (2008), and Batman: Gotham Knight (2008).
Directed by Lauren Montgomery, and loosely based on George Pérez’s reboot of the 1980s Wonder Woman comic, the movie retold the character’s origin story from the ground up. The film featured characters such as Steve Trevor, Queen Hippolyta, and Etta Candy, and focused on Wonder Woman’s battle against the Greek god, Ares.
Released direct-to-video, Wonder Woman received a fairly warm critical reception back in ’09. In fact, at the time of its release it was one of DC’s strongest animated movies, and for Wonder Woman newbies it was a great introduction to the character – especially as the first live-action Wonder Woman movie wouldn’t arrive for another eight years.
Keen to revisit the movie to bask in its glory, today I’m doing a deep dive. I will re-watch Wonder Woman, record my thoughts in real time below, and offer up a few insights along the way.
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Wonder Woman (2009)
*Presses play*
30secs – A truly magnificent opening. Queen Hippolyta and the Amazons versus Ares and his army! It’s an epic battle and a great way to kick off this movie.
2mins 20secs – A decapitation! Something which becomes a recurring theme in the movie.
2mins 40secs – Queen Hippolyta v Ares!
3mins – Opening a movie with a huge battle scene is great, as it gives the audience some action from the get-go. And when combined with stunning animation this is simply perfection.
5mins 45secs – Decapitation No.2. I told you it was a recurring theme. And the decapitations are probably the reason why Wonder Woman is a PG-13 in the US and a certificate 12 in the UK.
6mins 30secs – After defeating Ares in battle, Hippolyta is ready to kill her foe, but Zeus and Hera intervene. No killing today! Well, except for those decapitations. And of course, any Amazons that died on the battlefield. So yeah, no killings… from this point on. Maybe.
7mins 30secs – Although Hippolyta is stopped from killing Ares, she is given an impressive consolation prize instead. Hippolyta and the Amazons are gifted the paradise island of Themyscira to call their home. Not a bad pay-off, all things considered.
8mins – Hera has also given Hippolyta the opportunity to have a child, which she makes out of clay. That child is Diana.
10mins – Flash forward in time and centuries have passed since the battle with Ares, and Diana has grown into a young woman. Amazons don’t age like us regular folk, so she still looks youthful while the rest of us wither and die. Seems a tad unfair.
10mins 50secs – Although Ares was allowed to live, he has spent centuries locked up in a prison cell on Themyscira.
12mins – And now an introduction for pilot Steve Trevor, who is on a mission high above Themyscira.
17mins – Oh heck, Steve Trevor has crashed his plane on the island.
18mins – Nathan Fillion is voicing Steve Trevor and he is doing a great job in this role. In addition to Trevor, Fillion voices Hal Jordan/Green Lantern in a number of DC movies, and while he is great as GL, I do prefer him here.
19mins – A little observation now: The colour palette in this film is gorgeous. That is all.
20mins – As the Amazons interrogate Steve Trevor to find out why he is on the island, the Lasso of Truth is introduced. This is a good way to introduce the Lasso and also leads to a funny gag.
25mins – Back on Themyscira, and Diana is taking part in a contest to prove she is the right Amazon to return Steve Trevor to America. Meanwhile, one of her fellow Amazons, Persephone, has just released Ares from his prison cell. This will not end well.
26mins – The Amazon bracelets have just been introduced. Along with the Lasso, the bracelets are another key piece of Wonder Woman’s costume.
26mins 50secs – And now the rest of Wonder Woman’s costume is making an appearance. It is red, blue, and star spangled, to reflect the country Diana is headed to… which kind of makes sense. If you want to fit in with the locals, you had best dress like their flag.
29mins – As Diana suits up, the Amazons discover that Ares has escaped. Diana is now tasked with two missions: Return Steve Trevor to the US, and hunt down Ares.
33mins 45secs – After arriving in the States, Diana and Steve begin their search for Ares, and it is not too difficult to follow his trajectory. Wherever he goes, violence and destruction follow.
36mins – A fun little scene here, with Diana and Steve getting to know each other over drinks in a bar. Diana can hold her booze. Steve cannot.
38mins – Keri Russell is voicing Diana and doing a fine job. She’s strong, confident, and taking no nonsense from anyone. This is Russell’s only time in the role of Diana/Wonder Woman and it does feel like DC/Warner Bros. missed a great opportunity to keep her in this part.
40mins – Although he is nowhere to be seen, Ares is clearly getting a little spooked, as he has sent one of his emissaries to attack Diana. This has led to a fun fight sequence with Wonder Woman kicking butt.
44mins – Diana and Steve have tracked down Ares and Persephone, who are standing outside the gates of the Underworld. If they open the gates, they could potentially unleash all manner of evil on Earth.
47mins – And the gates are open! Oh, dear.
48mins 45secs – Ares is meeting with Hades to broker a deal. It’s time to prepare for Armageddon.
54mins 30secs – This movie does a great job of balancing the viewpoints of both Diana and Steve, leading to an ongoing dialogue about the sexes. As a result, Steve is able to see things from Diana’s point of view, and vice versa.
56mins 30seds – Things are ramping up for the big finale. Ares is ready to unleash hell on Earth! And just as the world enters its darkest hour, the Amazons arrive to aid Diana.
57mins 30secs – Wonder Woman v Ares.
58mins – The US military believe Ares has come from Themyscira (which I suppose technically is true), so they plan to nuke the island.
1hr – Ares has become incredibly powerful, and has called in some reserves: a bunch of deceased Amazons who have risen from the grave to be his unwitting slaves.
1hr 30secs – Living Amazons v dead Amazons! This battle is freakin’ awesome! This looks great in animation and would look brilliant in live-action. Can we please have another live-action Wonder Woman movie with the living dead? Oh, and maybe lots of Greek monsters.
1hr 2mins 30secs – Ares has lost control of the deceased Amazons, and now they are turning against him.
1hr 3mins 45secs – While Wonder Woman is busy with Ares, Steve is tasked with destroying the nuke. Will he achieve his goal?
1hr 4mins – Oh, Steve’s mission is in vain, as Themyscira has its own defence system and the nuke is disabled quite easily. Ha! I love it.
1hr 5mins – Hippolyta has just killed Persephone. That’s what you get for betraying your people.
1hr 6mins 40secs – Wonder Woman has defeated Ares, leading to, yes you guessed it, decapitation No.3! Brutal.
1hr 8mins 30secs – Ares’ reign of terror is at an end, the world is saved, and all of the Amazons are back on Themyscira. But with Diana’s task complete, she is home and miserable. So, Hippolyta sends her back to the US, to help protect mankind.
1hr 10mins – And as the movie wraps up back in the US, classic super villain, Cheetah appears, leading Diana to transform into Wonder Woman to save the day.
*Presses stop*
Bravo!
I loved Wonder Woman the first time I watched it; loved it the second and third time I watched it; and love it every time I watch it. Wonder Woman takes key elements of the comic book mythology, embeds them into a well-written and beautifully animated picture, tops it all off with great gags and plenty of action, and never puts a foot wrong.
Sure, it places its focus on Themyscira, and on a Diana who is not quite Wonder Woman (yet), but it tells such a good story. And it does so with confidence and well-rounded, interesting characters.
Wonder Woman is one of those movies which can be enjoyed by long-time fans and newbies alike, and leaves you wanting more. In fact, my only criticism of Wonder Woman is this is a standalone tale and not the first entry in a vast series.
Why wasn’t there a sequel to this film? Because despite a strong critical reception back in 2009, Wonder Woman wasn’t as financially successful as Warner Bros. Animation had hoped. The company expected it to sell more copies and when it fell a little short, all plans for a sequel were dropped.
That said, it made $9,904,313 in the US alone, which was more money than Justice League: The New Frontier ($5,735,377) and Batman: Gotham Knight ($8,539,068). In fact, out of all the DC Animated Original Universe Movies, it remains the fourth most profitable behind Batman: Under the Red Hood ($12,411,958), Superman/Batman: Public Enemies ($11,014,346), Superman: Doomsday ($10,102,202).
So, yeah, not sure what the execs were thinking?! Either way, this standalone tale is such a great feature and one I highly recommend.
If you have never watched 2009’s Wonder Woman then take a look. Great cast, great animation, and a great take on Wonder Woman.
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