There’s no show quite like Teen Titans GO!

While each episode of Teen Titans GO! might clock in under 15 minutes, the guffaws will last for hours once you start binging the all-ages animated series. A team of classic DC teen heroes that doesn’t take itself seriously at all might not sound very…well, super. No angst? No gritty drama? Not even one huge super-powered battle against nefarious super-villains to determine the fate of the multiverse?

But that’s exactly what makes Teen Titans GO! so much fun to watch. This is a show that never hesitates to make fun of itself. While you might balk at the idea of a kids show packed with enthusiastic yelling, fart jokes and DC characters with their personalities multiplied by a thousand, Teen Titans GO! does it all fearlessly and breathlessly to remind viewers that superheroes can still be just plain fun.

Any discussion of this incarnation of the Teen Titans has to start with how extraordinary the voice acting is in every single episode. Tremendous. Fantastic. Amazing. I don’t have enough adjectives to describe the brilliant way the regular cast of Titans performs in each episode with joyful abandon. Voicing different versions of the heroes they first portrayed in the original Teen Titans, Greg Cipes, Scott Menville, Tara Strong, Hynden Walch and Khary Payton are superstars. They’re so comfortable both with their characters and with each other as an ensemble that nothing is off-limits, from singing silly songs to making absurd sound effects with their mouths to even playing their real-life selves.

Speaking of those songs, they may be ridiculous, but they’re also undeniably catchy. A few episodes of Teen Titans GO! and you and your kids will sing every time you cook waffles together or get a hankering for some pie. Watching as a family results in laughing together now, and again later when songs and jokes pop back into your head out of nowhere.

The short episodes also mean that the songs and zippy dialogue are delivered at breakneck speed. Blink-and-you’ll-miss-them visual gags fly by on the screen, along with homages to DC characters both hiding in the background and up front and center. The Catwoman clock that hangs in the Titans’ living room and Zatanna’s poster taped to Raven’s wall are just two of the most delightful. And, yes, there are over-the-top villains you’ll recognize from the pages of your favorite comic books. I have just five words that should convince you to immediately begin your binge: “Weird Al” Yankovic voices Darkseid. You’re welcome.

While there are certainly juvenile jokes and bonkers adventures, the most enjoyable thing about these Titans is that each one finds happiness in being unapologetically themselves. Beast Boy, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven and Robin embrace their quirks and their passions without a shred of shame. (Especially Robin.) The things that you love about their characters in the comics and other appearances—Robin’s unyielding dedication, Starfire’s innocence, Cyborg’s curiosity and genuine passion—are on full display and magnified exponentially.

These Titans even have their own unique traits that set them apart from other versions of themselves, like Cyborg’s love of The Golden Girls and other ’80s pop culture, Raven’s insistence that the elderly are simply the cutest and Beast Boy’s obsession with veggie burritos. Even the Batman of Teen Titans GO! has a passionate delight for watching television with his BFF and constant companion Commissioner Gordon. Their giggle-filled bromance is hands down one of the most delightful things about the animated series.

Teen Titans GO! delivers quick bursts of laughter and glee whenever you need them. The animated series encourages viewers to let go of their superhero expectations and just enjoy the crazy ride no matter how far off course it can go. Tune in and you start to feel like a kid again. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s quite a superpower.
 

The first four seasons of Teen Titans GO! are currently available on Hulu and episodes air Fridays on Cartoon Network. Visit our official Teen Titans GO! page for more news, articles and craziness featuring the animated team.

Kelly Knox writes about all-ages comics and animation for DCComics.com and her writing can also be seen on IGN, Nerdist, Geek & Sundry and more. Follow her on Twitter at @kelly_knox to talk superheroes, comics and crafts.