Wonder Woman is now out on DVD and Blu-ray. All images © Warner Bros. Ent. Inc. ™ and © DC Comics. All rights reserved.

"Stronger than Hercules, wise as Athena, beautiful as Aphrodite, and swift as Hermes, she is the champion of the immortal Amazons of Themyscira, their Ambassador of Peace and Knowledge to the World of Man. She is Wonder Woman."

So writes Phil Jemenez in his foreword to Scott Beatty's book Wonder Woman: The Ultimate Guide to the Amazon Princess. With those mythical abilities and her magic truth-seeking lasso, bullet-proof bracelets and invisible plane, Wonder Woman has earned a place as one of DC Comics' "big three" -- a top hero alongside Superman and Batman.

That stature has also earned Wonder Woman a starring role in the latest DC Universe animated original PG-13 movie from Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation. Superman was recently showcased in Superman Doomsday (2007) ,while Batman was featured in Batman: Gotham Knight (2008).

"This time she gets her solo role, and the action spotlight is really focused on her," says director Lauren Montgomery. "So in this movie, it's really Wonder Woman in action, on her own, kicking some serious butt."

While the Wonder Woman animated film is available today on DVD and Blu-ray via Warner Home Video, fans have been treated to previews at such venues at New York Comic Con and WonderCon in San Francisco.

"We had about 2,500 very enthusiastic fans in New York, and another 1,700 in San Francisco, and they seemed to relish every funny line and every impactful blow with the same level of enjoyment," comments producer Bruce Timm. "Normally, when you produce a DVD or a TV series, it's a very solitary process because people watch your work in their homes. The premieres at the cons are really very gratifying because we, as filmmakers, actually get to witness the fans' response with a mass audience."

"And the premieres we've had for Wonder Woman have been our best so far -- which says a lot considering the response we had to the first three films," he adds.

Character design for this full-length animated feature was intended to simplify the lines, keeping her strong and physical, yet still feminine.

Designing Wonder
Getting a grasp on the Amazing Amazon was as difficult as resisting the spell of her magic lasso. Wonder Woman has a long and complicated history, and it was up to the movie's team to pull all the elements of her mythology together and, in effect, to redefine Wonder Woman.

"One of the things that really intrigued us the most about the whole Wonder Woman mythology is the actual mythology of it," comments Timm. "Her character has distinct roots in classic Greek mythology, so we really played that up. The movie actually starts with a fairly long, epic battle that takes place in ancient times. It's swords and sorcery, die-hard Amazon warriors versus monsters and barbarians."

"Wonder Woman is based in mythology, but it doesn't follow it to a 'T' by any means," says Montgomery. "I really just had to bone up on my Wonder Woman version of mythology, so I could make sure that we pleased the fans. We wanted to stay true to the legend but we did eliminate or underplay some of the sillier aspects of that mythology."

"We worked hard to establish the character design, the costume details, the weaponry design and the background styling," Timm says.

"I think the action will wow the viewers because I don't think they're used to seeing Wonder Woman in moving pictures this way," comments Montgomery. "The only previous incarnations were mostly the Lynda Carter series and the Justice League series."

In this retelling of the Wonder Woman legend, Amazon Princess Diana has been living with her proud, strong, warrior Amazon sisters in a utopian civilization shielded from the corrupt world of man -- hidden away on the mystical island of Themyscira. A betrayal within the Amazon sisterhood leads to the escape of Ares, the God of War, and Diana must capture him before he unleashes global chaos and destruction. With the aid of fighter pilot Steve Trevor, Diana tracks Ares to the United States for a battle unlike any humankind has ever experienced.