Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons has absolutely no business being this damn good. Aided in part by the sure-handed storytelling of Justice League Dark co-director Matt Peters and Justice Society: World War II writer Jeremy Adams, DC’s latest animated effort benefits from focused storytelling, inspired voice performances, and a welcome willingness to sideline Batman and Superman. The result is one of DC’s most straightforward and endearing animated efforts to date.

Battle of the Super Sons coasts on the undeniable chemistry between Jack Dylan Grazer and Jack Griffo. Each of them brings a playful power that’s essential to their characters’ appeal. Grazer, moving from playing Billy Batson’s best friend in Shazam! to running the show as Jonathan Kent, proves a capable lead. He’s charming, quippy, and likeable, a cheery foil for the brooding Damian Wayne. Sure, Damian is more curmudgeon than child, but Griffo smartly imbues him with longing. Longing for affection. Longing for attention. Longing for friendship. You get it. There are layers to Damian, and Griffo communicates all of them beautifully.

Battle of the Super Sons packs its lean runtime – a breezy 79 minutes – with storytelling decisions that could have worked against a less assured creative team. Opening on the destruction of Krypton has become too played out to be compelling… in most cases. Adams plays the bones of this long-dead horse like a xylophone, feigning a “been there, done that” approach before using the tragedy to set up something else entirely.

Adams refuses to introduce anything he won’t bring back later. Even Clark’s excuses for missing his son’s baseball games serve a purpose… as do the games themselves. Fun, funny, and conscious of its constraints, the script is a great example of ruthlessly efficient writing. It’s not groundbreaking. It won’t redefine anything. But it’s also not trying to. It’s a sweet story that establishes a fan-favourite friendship, showcases some cool fights among Justice League members, and then wraps things up neatly and without fanfare.

From a technical standpoint, Super Sons mostly nails it. It’s DC’s first foray into CG animation so there are kinks here and there. Somewhat incongruously, though, the clunkiness is only noticeable in more mundane moments. Jonathan dashing through farmland doesn’t look quite right, nor do most of the interactions in the Kents’ kitchen. When given time to linger, the visual flaws are obvious. But when things ramp up, the movie is stunning.

Thanks to Battle of the Super Sons, the Jonathan Kent/Damian Wayne dynamic has never been snarkier or more fun. More, please!

BATMAN AND SUPERMAN: BATTLE OF THE SUPER-SONS hits DVD/Blu-ray on October 17th