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Batman: The Animated Series – Perchance to Dream (Review)

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Darren

This September marks the twentieth anniversary of Batman: The Animated Series, and the birth of the shared DC animated universe that would eventually expand to present one of the most comprehensive and thorough explorations of a comic book mythology in any medium. To celebrate, we’re going back into the past and looking at some classic episodes.

Given how much care Batman: The Animated Series put into crafting and caring for the Caped Crusader’s iconic selection of bad guys, it’s often easy to overlook just how skilfully the series handled its central character. Batman has frequently been accused of being far less interesting than his costumed adversaries – particularly in Batman and Batman Returns – so it’s reassuring to note that Bruce Tim and his stable of writers had a very firm grasp on the character of Gotham’s Dark Knight. Perchance to Dream is one of the stories that offers perhaps the greatest insight into who Bruce Wayne is and what he wants. And, perhaps, why he could never have it.

Sweet dreams…

Note: This review contains spoilers. Given the episode aired twenty years ago, I consider it fair game. If you haven’t seen it already, please feel free to come back when you have. It is very good.

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: alfred, alfred pennyworth, batman, batman animated series, Bruce, bruce wayne, Christopher Nolan, dark knight returns, Dark Knight Rises, dc animated universe, FrankMiller, Hatter, Lucius Fox, robin, Selina, superman, thomas wayne, Warner Bros, Wayne Enterprise, Wayne Enterprises | 4 Comments »

Superman: The Animated Series – The Demon Reborn (Review)

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Darren

I’m generally not a fan of excessive continuity in comic book storytelling. I find it insular and exclusive. One shouldn’t need to pick up a twenty-part crossover involving books they’ve never heard of in order to read a story featuring an iconic character, and one shouldn’t feel left out because they weren’t reading comics written twenty years ago receiving an obscure but vital reference in this month’s issue. That said, I do think there’s an element of fun that comes from the idea of all these pulp characters sharing the same fictional space. It allows for a curious mixing and matching of archetypes and ideas, turning old matches into something a bit more exotic. The Demon Reborn finds Superman facing off against Ra’s Al Ghul, and the result is quite fascinating.

The Demon you know…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Al Ghul, arts, batman, batman animated series, Bruce, bruce timm, Brucetimm, Christopher Nolan, comic book, Comics, Dark Knight Rises, David Warner, dc animated universe, joker, League of Assassins, ra's al ghul, superman, Talia, Talia Al Ghul | Leave a comment »

The New Batman Adventures – Cold Comfort (Review)

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Darren

As wonderful as Heart of Ice was, offering a classic origin to a bad guy who would have otherwise been a footnote, there is a sense that the reimagining of Victor Fries hemmed the character in a bit. By giving him a moving origin story based around his wife, it meant that the character’s arc would be dictated by Nora. As such, it limits the story-telling opportunities, because there are really only so many stories you can tell. Fries can be seeking revenge (Heart of Ice) or striking a deal to preserve here (Deep Freeze) or responding to her loss (as here), but that’s pretty much it.

Cold Comfort is the first episode featuring the character without the direct involvement of writer Paul Dini. It certainly shows, as it feels like a fairly wasted chapter in the character’s arc.

Has Freeze flipped his lid?

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, batman, batman animated series, Bruce, bruce timm, bruce wayne, Clayface, comic book, Comics, Dark Knight Rises, dc animated universe, Freeze, gotham, mad hatter, Michael Ansara, Nora, paul dini, Television | 4 Comments »

Justice League Unlimited – Task Force X (Review)

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Darren

I’ll freely concede that I’m not as fond of Bruce Timm’s Justice League and Justice League Unlimited shows as most seem to be. With a larger and more expansive cast, and an impressively epic backdrop, the shows often felt a little too impersonal, when compared to the work that Timm did on Batman: The Animated Series or Superman: The Animated Series. As a result, I tend to favour the smaller and more intimate episodes of those two spin-offs, the ones very clearly focused on the characters rather than on the larger story arcs. I think Task Force X is one instalment that stands among the very best that the animated DC universe has to offer.

X marks the spot…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: batman, batman: the animated series, bruce timm, dc animated universe, dc comics, Dwayne McDuffie, justice league, justice league unlimited, LexCorp, suicide squad | Leave a comment »

The Adventures of Batman & Robin – Riddler’s Reform (Review)

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Darren

Batman: The Animated Series always did a great job with villain origins. Heart of Ice gave us the best Mister Freeze story ever told, The Clock King made the eponymous third-stringer a credible threat and Mad as a Hatter reimagined the Mad Hatter as a deeply tragic figure. That said, I don’t think that the show got a proper handle on the Riddler until his third appearance in Riddler’s Reform. The green-suited trickster has long been one of my favourite Batman bad guys, and while I mostly blame Frank Gorshin’s manic portrayal from the sixties Batman! television show, Riddler’s Reform played a pretty significant part in that as well.

Knight caller…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: animation, art, arts, batman, batman animated series, bruce wayne, comic book, Comics, Dark Knight Rises, dc animated universe, riddler, two face | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Batman – Year One

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Darren

To celebrate the release of The Dark Knight Rises, July is “Batman month” here at the m0vie blog. Check back daily for comics, movies and television reviews and discussion of the Caped Crusader.

With the release of The Dark Knight Rises just around the corner, it makes sense for Warner Brothers to capitalise on one of the greatest influences on Nolan’s trilogy. Frank Miller’s take on Batman – as defined in Year One and The Dark Knight Returns – was bold, brash, clever and iconoclastic. So it’s only fair that both stories are receiving animated adaptations for Warner Brothers. While Batman: Year One might be little more than a shot-for-shot and line-by-line adaptation of Frank Miller’s origin for the Dark Knight, there’s absolutely no shame in that. Year One is perhaps my favourite Batman story, and I think it’s one certainly worth telling.

“I shall become a bat…”

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: batman, batman begins, Bruce, Christopher Nolan, dark knight returns, Dark Knight Rises, dc animated universe, dcau, film, frank miller, FrankMiller, gordon, Miller, Movie, non-review review, review | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Green Lantern – Emerald Knights

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Darren

In many ways, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights can be seen as a counterpart to the earlier Batman: Gotham Knight. Beyond the fact that both contain “knight” in the title, both animated films were released as promotional tie-ins to major motion pictures featuring the characters in question, and both are structured as vignettes rather than one continuous storyline. Don’t let that fool you. Unlike the incredibly uneven Gotham Knight, Emerald Knights is actually quite a worthy little movie.

Good to the Corps...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Abin Sur, alan moore, batman: gotham knight, Christopher Nolan, Comics, dc animated universe, DC Universe Animated Original Movie, DC Universe Animated Original Movies, dcau, dcu, Emerald Knights, geoff johns, green lantern, Green Lantern: First Flight, Movies, non-review review, peter tomasi, review | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: All-Star Superman

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Darren

March is Superman month here at the m0vie blog, what with the release of the animated adaptation of Grant Morrison’s superb All-Star Superman. We’ll be reviewing a Superman-related book/story arc every Wednesday this month, so check on back – and we might have a surprise or two along the way.

From the outset, it’s immediately clear that All-Star Superman is immensely faithful to the twelve-issue miniseries that inspired it. There are a few key deviations from Morrison’s core text – some of which were made simply to save time or money, but others which are interesting of themselves. Still, this is pretty much as direct an adaptation as we are ever likely to receive – right down to the eight-word introduction (intercut here with the opening action sequence), the power of the origin distilled down to its core attributes. So the movie, based on perhaps the finest Superman story ever told, obviously has a lot of power drawn from its roots – but one has to wonder what the real point of making an animated feature of it ever was.

Shine on...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: alan moore, All Star Superman, Anthony LaPaglia, bizarro, bruce timm, Christina Hendricks, clark kent, dc, dc animated universe, dcau, grant morrison, joker, lex luthor, lois lane, non-review review, review, richard donner, solaris, superman, the tyrant sun, zack snyder | 2 Comments »

Batman Beyond: Out of the Past (Review)

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. I’ll be looking at movies and episodes and even some of the related comic books. This is the last post of the week, and so I thought I should focus on where it all started, with the animated Bruce Wayne.

I don’t think Batman Beyond gets the credit that it so sorely deserves. It was really the first time that it was explicitly acknowledged that Bruce Wayne couldn’t be Batman forever – that, unlike so many other members of the DC pantheon, the character was a mere mortal who would pass away and that he couldn’t wear the cowl forever. The animated television show was the first to wonder what would happen to the concept of Batman, if Bruce couldn’t do it anymore. Would the hero die out and fade from memory? Or would he live on, somehow, enduring forever?

Batman always was a showman…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, batman, Batman Beyond, bruce wayne, dc animated universe, dc comics, dc universe, dcau, dcu, grant morrison, Grantmorrison, kevin conroy, out of the past, paul dini, Talia Al Ghul, Terry McGinnis | 4 Comments »

Batman Beyond: The Call (Parts I & II)

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Darren

This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters. I’ll be looking at movies and episodes and even some of the related comic books. This review/retrospective was meant to go out over a week ago, when I looked at Justice League: New Frontier, but unfortunately my package was delayed in the mail. However, I thought it might be worth a look back at the first time we saw a Justice League in the DC animated universe.

It seems that Bruce Timm and his staff of writers had considerable advanced notice that they’d be working on a Justice League cartoon show. The last season of Superman: The Animated Series contained animated introductions of characters like the Green Lantern in In Brightest Day and the Flash in Speed Demons. However, the introduction of the Justice League as a concept, a team of superheroes working for the greater good, came in Batman Beyond of all places. Portraying the distant future of the animated universe after Batman retired, it proved an interesting way to look at the team without getting too involved in the personalities involved.