Creature Commandos

There has been an unexpected amount of hype surrounding the animated series Creature Commandos, despite the fact that it contains characters that are probably completely unknown to most people. The reason, of course, is that it is the official kick-off for James Gunn's (and Peter Safran's) new DC universe.

That Gunn has been involved is evident very early on. The basic premise of the film is similar to Gunn's The Suicide Squad from 2021, and a band of troubled characters is hired for a high-profile mission, for which the government does not want to allocate official resources. In the opening scenes, we meet the familiar Amanda Waller (who will eventually get a series) and Rick Flag Sr. (father of Rick Flag who was killed by the Peacemaker in the aforementioned The Suicide Squad - something also addressed in Creature Commandos).

The secret mission is to protect a princess in a fictional Eastern European country from an extremist movement, and to do so, the flag is joined by a motley crew of creatures including the aquatic and seemingly quite normal mutant Nina (played by Zoë Chao), the Frankenstein-inspired The Bride (played by Indira Varma), the violently radioactive Doctor Phosphorus (phenomenally played by Alan Tudyk), The Suicide Squad survivor Weasel (played by Sean Gunn) and my personal favourite, the insane android G. I. Robot (also played by Sean Gunn) - whose life goal is to kill Nazis anytime, anywhere.

Gunn's involvement in the production and writing of the script is evident. It's his typical humour, which often works very well, but always with a clear underlying love for anything a little different. It's not a children's show either and if you imagine an animated The Suicide Squad or Peacemaker, you'll get pretty close to the tone of this production. Gunn's penchant for not trying to over-explain things to viewers also shines through, sure we get flashbacks where needed, but you don't have to suffer through any so-called 'origin stories', you're expected to accept the premise as it is, straight off.

In terms of design, the series is clearly Western, although there are features reminiscent of Japanese anime, and the French studio Bobbypills, which made the animation, delivers really high class on everything from creepy situations to romance and of course action. The music is one of the strongest elements of the series, and the soundtrack is filled with various artists including, among others, Norwegian Kaizers Orchestra and Finnish Korpiklaani. Composers Clint Mansell and Kevin Kiner also contribute atmospheric and varied music to fill in the gaps.

The seven episodes are around 22 minutes long, and with this, perhaps we shouldn't hope for too much depth of plot and it almost feels like the episodes end shortly after they start. I would have liked them to have a bit more time in some scenes. In the second episode, however, things start to heat up a bit and show hints of where the series will go. It promises to be very good and the Creature Commandos gang is easier to like than The Suicide Squad, which was a bit too numerous and scattered, but also had Harley Quinn as the obvious star of the group. There is none of that here and since all the creatures (except possibly Weasel, but that may come) have real personalities, I think everyone will find their personal favourites.

I hope this is the approach Gunn will take in his new DC universe, which feels snappy, fun yet serious, with a sense of stakes and without having to rely on massive destruction in every scene - and above all, heart. A very good start, in short.