Female superheroes may be slow to get their due on the big screen but on August 23, 2016 you'll be able to get your hands on DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year, the first full-length animated film in the new DC Entertainment franchise.
Warner Bros. is really pushing hard with this DC Super Hero Girls initiative, which is smart. Girls and women are a severally underserved market in comic book merchandise. DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson told Fortune recently, “We think the DC Super Hero Girls can be bigger than a $1 billion brand.”
“Girls in our research groups wanted action stories with heroes, so we started with animated shorts on YouTube, an hour-long animated special on Cartoon Network and Boomerang, and a website of adventures available in various languages,” she said. “Now come the dolls, action figures, and books, with animated shorts, direct-to-video and apps underway.” And DC Super Hero Girls' Katana has been singled out for an excellent Comic-Con exclusive this year.
Now their own original film! DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year stars the voice talents of Grey Griffin as Wonder Woman, Anais Fairweather as Supergirl, Mae Whitman as Batgirl/Barbara Gordon, Tara Strong as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, Teala Dunn as Bumblebee, and Stephanie Sheh as Katana. They'll be fighting a version of the villain Eclipso in the feature.
“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is thrilled to team with DC Entertainment to release DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year on DVD,” said Mary Ellen Thomas, WBHE Vice President, Family & Animation Marketing. “We”re excited to bring DC Super Hero Girls to life and create an immersive world to help inspire young women like never before. These characters were developed with girls 6-12 in mind and will deliver epic story lines featuring strong females. It truly embraces and celebrates girls as they discover their own unique abilities.”
Where can you find the most powerful and prominent Super Teens in the galaxy? Super Hero High of course! Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Bumblebee, Poison Ivy and Katana band together to navigate the twists and turns of high school in DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment, the film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) on August 9 on Digital HD and August 23, 2016 on DVD (SRP $19.98).
These young Super Heroes discover unique abilities, develop powers, and combat an abundance of overwhelming, exciting and awkward moments to master the fundamentals of being a hero – one day at a time! The group includes:
Wonder Woman was raised on Themyscira, a paradise island overflowing with female leaders. This natural born leader has super strength, the power of flight and a magic lasso that forces anyone to tell the truth.
Batgirl is crazy smart – she was accepted to Super Hero High based on her brainpower alone (she wasn”t born with super powers). But this crime-fighting sleuth may be the most influential of all! Her unparalleled intellect, expert martial arts skills, photographic memory and legendary detective skills are a formula for an incredible Super Hero.
Supergirl is the most powerful teen on earth, but also incredibly clumsy. She has super strength, super hearing and super speed but will need to be sure she doesn”t trip over her own two feet en route to saving the world.
Harley Quinn is the resident class clown who lives for jokes and over-the-top pranks. Nonetheless, this quick-witted gymnast is sneaky and full of surprises.
Bumblebee has the ability to shrink, allowing her to sneak around without being spotted. She makes sure her team is never surprised by any villains or enemies up to no good.
Poison Ivy, got caught up in a botched lab experiment, and now has the ability to control and summon plants. She”s gradually adapting to her amazing new powers and blossoming into her new life.
Katana is an artist with an edge – this fearless martial arts fashionista is up for any crime-fighting test and is never without her sword.
Special features will include six animated shorts: Hero of the Month: Wonder Woman, Fall into Super Hero High, Hero of the Month: Bumblebee, Hero of the Month: Poison Ivy, Clubbing, and Saving the Day.
If you're behind on the DC Super Hero Girls' lives, check out their YouTube content.