"The Losers" DC Showcase Animated Short Talkback (Spoilers)

[Yojimbo]

From the creative forces behind the DC Universe Movie line, DC Showcase puts the spotlight on favorite characters from throughout the annals of DC Comics in fascinating, short-form tales sure to entertain longtime and new fans alike. DC Showcase Presents...The Losers.

DC Showcase: The Losers
Included On: Batman: The Long Halloween - Part One Home Entertainment Release
Release Date: Digital HD and Blu-ray - June 22, 2021

Synopsis: The legendary rag-tag team of World War II outcasts - Captain Storm, Johnny Cloud, "Mile-a Minute" Jones, rookie Gunner and Sarge - find themselves marooned on an uncharted island in the South Pacific that is completely overrun with dinosaurs! Their would-be ally on this deadly mission, the mysterious and beautiful Fan Long of the Chinese Security Agency, tells them their job is to rescue the scientists that have been sent to study the time/space anomaly. Perhaps... but what is her mission?

Comments?

Please post all discussions and comments about the The Losers animated short in this thread! Please discuss the other aspects of the home video release of Batman: The Long Halloween - Part One in the proper talkback, as linked below.

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Note: Remember, this talkback thread is for discussion of the animated short only. If you wish to talk about the home video release, please click on the appropriate link (s) above. We appreciate and encourage discussion, but please keep your posts civil, relevant and insightful. Please do not post any improper or inflammatory material, as we will issue warnings if we believe it necessary. And remember to keep the discussion ON-TOPIC!

 

[Classic Speedy]

I couldn't get into it at all. And it had dinosaurs, so I'm not sure why it didn't hold my attention.

 

[Yojimbo]

It was definitely a short where the viewer had to figure stuff out on their own or look it up online. I felt like they didn't explain enough about the Losers to the uninitiated (i.e. an infamous World War II era unit comprised of soldiers from all military branches who take some level of pride in their collective bad luck and casualties they've suffered in their careers.)

What I presumed was the Chinese didn't want to risk anymore of their personnel or resources because they had their own problems and dispatched only Fan Long in the role of the cleaner and mislead the U.S. on a joint op about rescuing scientists behind enemy lines. It was just The Losers who had the luck of the draw of being the pawns. Of course, if you knew a little more about World War II, you'd know China was part of the Allies. If you know a bit more, there was a lot of the beginnings of the Cold War with the U.S. more backing the nationalist government, the Soviets backing the communists, the pretext of supporting both parties publicly, etc. It was an interesting reveal that the Chinese wanted to harness the time rip to win the nuclear arms race. I guess they just assumed they would get the time rip and not have to explain why the U.S. soldiers were KIA in the mission because the main focus was on Germany and Japan in the two theaters.

I think the short may cater more to the hardcore comics fans, specifically those that read the WW II stuff. But it's not too difficult to glean the story, like the comics it is influenced by, highlights the dirtier aspects of war, the secrets and lies and the decent people who get entangled in it. Script was okay, something was missing. Still felt bad for the dinosaurs. They were just being wild animals. Animation was just okay. The one Asian character secretly being the bad guy isn't a good look in today's current events.

The short is produced by Rick Morales, directed by Milo Neuman, character designs by Steven Choi, Dan Panosian, and Zak Plucinski, written by Tim Sheridan, and animation by NE4U, Inc. The cast is comprised of Ming-Na Wen as Fan Long, Eugene Byrd as Jones, Dave B. Mitchell as Gunner and Sarge, Martin Sensmeier as Cloud, and Dean Winters as Storm.

 

[Dallas Kinard]

Is this short set during WWII?

 

[Yojimbo]

Is this short set during WWII?

Clearly... there shouldn't be a question if it is or isn't. The Losers are WWII era characters, the synopsis lists WWII, the clothing, guns, ship of the characters are WWII inspired even Fan Long's is based on the WWII era Nationalist Army clothing, Captain Storm refers to "The War" when he tricks Fan into admitting they're after secret research, Cloud references the Allies when he's separated with Fan, the Losers not recognizing CPR yet as the method not really adopted until the 50s, at the research center Fan mentions the U.S. is developing the atomic bomb setting this before the Manhattan Project completed there bombs in July 1945.

 

[Fone Bone]

DC Showcase: The Losers

The title of the short was appropriate because that was just no good.

No fun, unlikable characters, and a non-ending. I don't usually LOVE these shorts, but I can't remember disliking one this much since The Spectre, which was the very first. I could be wrong. There could be bigger Losers as far as DC Showcase shorts go. But I don't remember them.

It's a nice moment when Johnny pats the dinosaur, so the lady kills him because the short and this franchise don't believe viewers actually deserve nice moments. Spoiler alert: Yes, we do. This is an actual story failing, and I will treat it as such.

I did like one thing. I think Dean Winters did a great job as Storm, and I'm wondering why he isn't cast more in animated stuff. His voice is distinct enough that I quickly realized who it was, which means it's memorable, and sounds good, and cartoon characters need more memorable, good-sounding voices. You can't do what Justice League did and cast Tom Sizemore as Metamorpho and have him sound like he's reading the phone book backwards in a mirror. Get someone whose voice actually sounds good, and can do the work. It's not rocket surgery.

It takes a special kind of suck to take all of the fun out of army guys fighting dinosaurs and time warps, but that's DC Comics for you. But I don't have to act like that's acceptable. *.

 

[khuddle]

Not especially bad, but not especially good either. Pales in comparison to DC's last animated short,
"Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth!"

BTW, didn't these "Loser" characters make a appearance in the Justice League: Animated Series
episode "The Savage Time"? (ie. the one where Vandal Savage takes control of Nazi Germany and attempts an invasion of the United States).

 

[Fone Bone]

Not especially bad, but not especially good either. Pales in comparison to DC's last animated short,
"Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth!"

BTW, didn't these "Loser" characters make a appearance in the Justice League: Animated Series
episode "The Savage Time"? (ie. the one where Vandal Savage takes control of Nazi Germany and attempts an invasion of the United States).

The was Easy Company. Different guys.

 

[Otaku-sempai]

Not especially bad, but not especially good either. Pales in comparison to DC's last animated short,
"Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth!"

BTW, didn't these "Loser" characters make a appearance in the Justice League: Animated Series
episode "The Savage Time"? (ie. the one where Vandal Savage takes control of Nazi Germany and attempts an invasion of the United States).

The Losers did show up in Justice League: The New Frontier.

 

[Yojimbo]

The Losers did show up in Justice League: The New Frontier.

Yeah, but in a much smaller capacity than the source material, which is a highly recommended read.

 

[Frontier]

It was nice to get another DC Showcase short about DC soldiers and their attempt to brave the most unspeakable and unexpected of odds .

It always comes back to the Losers and Dinosaur Island, doesn't it ?

Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation never looked more satisfying .

Nothing kills the romance quite like a woman blowing up your new dinosaur pal. Sorry Cloud .

Poor Gunner and pooch. Just...poor Gunner and Pooch .

Ming-Na, as always, steals the show. Not that Fan Long was a great gal, but her sheer professionalism, directness, and serious commitment to her mission was a great contrast with the humanity and bond of brothers between the Losers. But in the end she ended up being the biggest loser of all, no matter her final fate .

They just couldn't resist the "Made in China" joke. Although the "Sounds about right" moment from Storm killed me .