Against all odds, Warner Bros. has managed to make an Aquaman standalone movie that actually looks like it might be the most epic DC movie to date. But let’s all be honest with ourselves for a second: Hot or not, Aquaman’s still a goofy character, and this fan edit of the recent trailer using old animated footage reminds us of that fact.
The inherent silliness of an orange-and-green-clad superhero zooming through the oceans on a giant seahorse’s back as he telepathically communicates with fish is undeniable, but it’s also a big part of what’s always made Aquaman so appealing. That’s what makes this retro mashup trailer blending visuals from the old Super Friends cartoon with audio from the new Aquaman movie so charming.
Even though you can’t always see that old-school campiness in the live-action Aquaman, it immediately comes to the fore when you replace Jason Momoa’s face with that classic Hanna-Barbera animation.
If anything, this mashup proves that the reason Aquaman’s probably going end up being one of the DCEU’s more enjoyable films is the fact that it’s not taking itself too seriously. Sure, it may look dark and gritty in places, but at its core, it’s still a story about sea people going to war with tridents while sharks swim around going “lol, humans.”
That’s the sort of whimsy the DCEU is in desperate need of, and, hopefully, it’s something Aquaman brings in with the tide when the movie hits theaters on December 21.
