The DC Animated Movie Universe really doesn’t get the credit that it deserves. It’s a long-running animated DC Universe filled with over 36 movies as of the time of this writing, with more on the way. It flies quite under the radar, and many aren’t even aware of its existence. Today, we’re going to be paying a bit closer attention to this franchise, and going over ten things the Animated Universe does better than the DCEU. Without any further ado, let’s get right on into it.

A Wider Array Of Characters

The DC Animated Universe allows for many more characters to be explored than in the DCEU. As there have already been over 30 movies released under the banner, there has been time for many different characters to enter the fray, both heroes and villains. The entire Gotham crew exists in this universe, along with members of the Justice League that the DCEU will never get close to touching. As the world is animated, it’s simply easier to make things happen.

An Interconnected Universe

Due to… the past, the DCEU is straying away from an interconnected universe, and is instead focusing on solo films from here on out. That’s fine, but seeing all of our favorite heroes interact with one another is always tons of fun to see. That’s where the DCAMU steps in. This universe is much more interconnected than the DCEU, allowing for many types of crossovers throughout various different films. We’re even getting Justice League Dark crossovers. How are you coming on that one, DCEU? The DCAMU lets all of our favorite heroes work together, which is nice to see.

They’re Cheaper

Of course, animated movies are going to be far cheaper to produce than the DCEU films; that just makes sense. Justice League cost $300 million just to produce, and had disappointing box office returns. Obviously, the animated films aren’t bringing in as much as their theatrically-released counterparts are, but they’re clearly making enough that Warner Bros wants to make 36 of them. They’re cheaper to make and still bring in millions, but this cheapness helps in more ways than you might expect.

A Faster Production Cycle

The fact that these animated films are cheaper to produce than their live-action counterparts aren’t the only thing that’s great about them. They also have a much faster production cycle. While DC is currently putting a lot of time and money into the DCEU in order to get more films out in a timely manner, the DCAMU has been consistently releasing 2-3 projects a year. There’s constantly something happening in this animated franchise. While the DCEU is ramping up to this pace with their currently announced projects, the DCAMU has been doing this since the late 2000s. Can you really blame the DCEU, though? It takes time to CGI a mustache away.

More Plots To Be Explored

The comic inspiration for DC films is essentially never-ending. This is good for the DCAMU, as they’ve been able to cover a lot more ground than the DCEU. As we previously stated, there have been 36 movies in this continuity to date. That’s a whole lot of movies. The DCAMU has been able to cover all sorts of plot points due to their quick turnaround time, which is obviously great for us. We’ve explored all sorts of origin stories, and plenty of others throughout the years. Keep it coming, DC.

A Generally Positive Reception

Oof. While the DCEU is slowly building their way toward it, one thing that we can say is that the live-action films do not have the same critical reception rate as the animated side of things. Save for a few duds here, all of the DCAMU films have a great critical reception rate, which is even more impressive considering the number of films in the lineup. Even at the fast pace they’re released, almost all of the films are loved by critics.

The Teen Titans

The Teen Titans are a part of the DCAMU, something that the DCEU is lacking. And really, how dare they? The Teen Titans first debuted in Justice League vs. Teen Titans, and have since had their own follow-up movie in the DCAMU. While they’re frequently mentioned throughout the following films, they’ve yet to receive a third entry focused on them. Let’s hope we see this come sooner rather than later, as this iteration of the Titans is an absolute joy to watch. Can you believe we have three different on-screen versions of the Titans airing at once?

A Unified Vision

One problem that the DCEU is currently facing is their lack of a unified vision. Due to the underperformance that they’ve dealt with in the past, they’ve needed to switch up directions a few times, and have been throwing anything that they can at the wall to see what sticks. The DCAMU hasn’t had this problem at all. The team that has been crafting the movies know what they’re doing with these characters and have been following a steady vision⁠ — unlike the DCEU.

They Don’t Have Live-Action Problems

We’ve mentioned all of the difficulties that come with live-action superhero films. They’re time-consuming to make, they cost an incredible amount of money, there are no mustaches allowed, and sometimes your actors drop out. Warner Bros. has a mess on their hands with both Batman and Superman, two of their most important heroes. While Henry Cavill is still up in the air, Ben Affleck has dropped out of the role of Batman, which causes sort of a huge problem for the future of the films. Let’s just say it’s easier to change a voice actor than it is a physical one.

The Ability To Course-Correct

Sometimes you need to course-correct. Films can be negatively received, and Justice League wasn’t able to turn things around fast enough to get a more positive reception than its predecessor, Batman V Superman. It’s a lot easier to fix things in animated movies. If fans aren’t liking where things are going, creators can just scrap or rework an animated sequel whereas live-action films don’t have that luxury.