Ultimate Avengers (2006) (V)

Directors:

Curt Geda
Steven E. Gordon

Writers:

Bryan Hitch (comic book and characters)
Greg Johnson (screen story and screenplay)

Release Date:

21 February 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Individually, they are super heroes. United, they are the Ultimate Avengers...

Plot:

To confront an alien menace, General Fury assembles a team of superheroes lead by a recently resuscitated Captain America.

Plot Keywords:

Avenger | Thor | Iron Man | Alien | Superheroine

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Justin Gross	...	Captain America / Steve Rogers (voice)
Grey DeLisle	...	Janet Pym / The Wasp (voice)
Michael Massee	...	Bruce Banner (voice)
Olivia d'Abo	...	Black Widow / Natalia Romanoff (voice)
Marc Worden	...	Iron Man / Tony Stark (voice)
Nan McNamara	...	Dr. Betty Ross (voice)
Nolan North	...	Giant Man / Hank Pym (voice)
Andre Ware	...	Nick Fury (voice)
David Boat	...	Thor (voice)
Fred Tatasciore	...	The Hulk / Additional Voices (voice)
Jim Ward	...	Herr Kleiser (voice) (as James K. Ward)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dee Bradley Baker	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Steve Blum	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Steven Blum)
Keith Ferguson	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Quinton Flynn	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Kerrigan Mahan	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Aileen Sander	...	Additional Voices (voice)
James Arnold Taylor	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Also Known As:

Ultimate Avengers: The Movie (USA) (DVD box title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for action violence.

Runtime:

72 min | Argentina:80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Spanish | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | Argentina:Atp

Company:

Marvel Studios

Trivia:

The filmmakers chose to produce Ultimate Avengers in the traditional 2-D cell animation process as opposed to the current trend of computer generated animation. Producer Craig Kyle explained that he believed that traditional animation remains a powerful medium for conveying character emotion on screen.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Capt. America escapes from the lab, General Fury is in a stealth suit (mildly reminiscent of the Hulkbuster suits). When Fury walks up to Cap outside, he is now wearing his usual military uniform. When did he find time to change clothes?

Quotes:

[in a battle with the Hulk]
Giant Man: You're still a little man, Banner. Now, knock it off or I'm gonna squish you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Ultimate Avengers II (2006) (V)

Fans and non-fans alike will find something to love with this movie.

Excellent movie here. For newbies, Ultimate Avengers is based off of The Ultimates, arguably the best Ultimate Marvel book out right now. This movie does a good job of adapting the comic to movie form. The transition isn't perfect, but it's still an outstanding film.

The movie has taken liberties with the comic story in order to suit it into movie form. Most people, like myself, won't mind, but a few die-hard Ultimates readers might be irked. In the movie, many of the characters are influenced more by their 616 versions than their Ultimate counterparts. The greatest liberty was taken with Iron Man. In the Ultimates, he willingly joined the Ultimates and his identity is public knowledge. In Ultimate Avengers, he is much more like 616 Iron Man.

Story wise, this movie combines the first and second arcs of the comic and does so in the perfect manner.

As far as voice acting goes, it's top-notch. All the characters sound as they should, although I still would've liked Sam Jackson to have voiced Fury. The best voice by far is Black Widow. She sounds excellent and is probably the best voiced of all the characters.

Overall, this movie does a great job of blending two major comic arcs into one story. The story will throw off people that were expecting a perfect comic-to-film transition, but people with an open mind will enjoy and appreciate the changes. Animation wise, this movie is like a cross between anime, and cartoon. I can honestly say that the animation looks as close as Brian Hitch's work as you're gonna get, which is a very good thing.

Final Verdict: I'm just gonna say it, this is a very good animated movie. It does the comic justice without straying too far from the source material. Fans and non-fans alike will find something to love with this movie. The animation is spot on, and readers of the comic will find many scenes to be almost ripped from the comic. All the characters are likable, and the voice acting is excellent. Unfortunately, fans of the comic will be unhappy with the more 616 than Ultimate aspects of the film. Nevertheless, it's a solid film and a very good sign of things to come by Marvel.

Score: 9/10