'Dynamic Duo' Gets a 'Toy Story' Comparison From DC Boss Peter Safran

The ‘Dynamic Duo‘ movie is one of the stranger bets on DC Studios’ slate: an animated origin story about Batman’s 2 Robins, built with puppets, miniatures and CG instead of a standard studio pipeline. Fans have been curious ever since the project was announced, so any new hype from the studio is bound to get attention.

The film follows Dick Grayson and Jason Todd as orphans and childhood friends who are pulled apart by destiny. Dick is taken in by Bruce Wayne and becomes Robin, while Jason falls in with the criminal Red Hood Gang. Mason Thames voices Dick, Logan Kim voices Jason, and Lee Pace and Steve Buscemi play Red Hood One and Red Hood Two.

Now DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran has made the boldest pitch yet. Safran told IGN that the film is “as original today as Pixar was when they did Toy Story,” adding that the studio is really excited about it. He made the remark while discussing DC’s animated slate in the same interview where he revealed the leads of ‘Mister Miracle.’

That is a hefty comparison. ‘Toy Story’ arrived in 1995 as the first entirely computer-animated feature film, and it launched Pixar’s feature-film run. Safran is suggesting ‘Dynamic Duo’ could be a similar leap, at least in how different it looks and feels.

The movie is directed by Arthur Mintz, co-founder of New Orleans-based Swaybox Studios, and it is the studio’s first feature film. Swaybox uses a proprietary process called Momo animation, which blends CG animation with puppets and live-action performances. TheWrap has described the style as a combination of miniatures, models, puppetry, animatronics and computer animation.

The script comes from Matthew Aldrich, who wrote the original story and screenplay for Pixar’s ‘Coco’ and also worked on ‘Lightyear.’ That Pixar connection makes Safran’s comparison feel less random. Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho is producing alongside DC Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and Swaybox.

The film recently moved from June 30, 2028 to September 22, 2028. That makes it the second Batman-focused theatrical movie from DC Studios in 2028, with Reeves’ ‘The Batman – Part II’ arriving earlier that year. For a project that has been in the works for a while, the extra time may help the unusual animation technique.

Where ‘Dynamic Duo’ fits in DC’s world is still unclear. Despite Reeves’ involvement, it has been reported as set outside his ‘Batman’ films and outside the main DCU canon. James Gunn has indicated the movie could potentially become part of the wider DCU continuity, and fans have been unsure about its place on the slate since it was revealed.

Safran has previously pitched the film as a coming-of-age crowdpleaser and a way for family audiences to enter the world of Gotham. That framing fits the Pixar comparison, which positions the film as an accessible and visually distinctive entry point to the Batman mythos. Still, Gunn has said that DC’s animated projects will not all be aimed at families.