As most of you are aware for a decade or so, Marvel and DC have both put out some pretty solid animated films straight to DVD, i.e. WONDER WOMAN, GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT, ULTIMATE AVENGERS 1 & 2, etc.
Most of these are made to draw non-readers in and it is quicker to produce a 70 min. animated film than a Big Budget Summer Blockbuster for every comic they have. They are also used to generate interest in characters who have never quite made it on to general audiences' radar but could be made into Big Movies in the near future, again Wonder Woman, GL, The Avengers.
While they are well put together, and they do things in the stories that the TV Censors would never allow to pass, and I have enjoyed most of them... I feel like they aren't doing as much as they could, namely with the content and style.
They're still drawing it like Saturday morning cartoons, when they could draw them more like comics, or at the very least like a feature length animated movie. They don't have the same deadlines as a TV show so why make them look only slightly better than what we already watch?
The violence and language are a little more mature, and there is some sexuality and other adult content, but it isn't really that much more, especially the ones based on comics with mature themes, like SUPERMAN vs. THE ELITE or PLANET HULK. SUPERMAN:DOOMSDAY is a prime example of a massive story line with dire occurrences, that was watered down for the kiddies. What's the point in making a one shot animated film about a major story arch if it's just going to cram and condense major characters and story elements into a hour long episode of the TV show?
There have recently been some anime done about X-MEN and IRON MAN and a few others, but they don't go as far as anime, in fact they are kinda boring.
Anime has been treating the medium of animation as High-Art for decades, pulling no punches and appealing to audiences of ALL ages. Comics haven't been just for kids for awhile now, so why is U.S. animation? I'm not saying start making torture porn out of it, but how about something richer for the older audiences who remain interested. The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, etc. are a great start, but that's comedy, I'm talking ACTION, HORROR, and DRAMA you know, take more risks, be a little more experimental.
Personally, I'd love to see them do a feature length CGI, unrated JLA film straight to video that looks as good as the opening short for DC UNIVERSE ONLINE, with one of the better JLA story lines. Or an unrated version of SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING done like a Ralph Bakshi film but with better Rotoscoping.
I just think it's time for the U.S. to catch up with all the rest, and the perfect way to do this is with straight to DVD releases that are unrated.