Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
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Warner Home Video / 2003 / 75 Minutes / Not Rated
Street Date: October 21, 2003 
As I wrote in my review of Of the three people most credited with the look and feel of the original animated series, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm don't seem to be involved, but Alan Burnett is acting as the supervising producer and while he may not have been responsible for the screenplay, he is responsible for the story. His tale opens with a shipment of illegal arms intercepted by a new caped crusader, Batwoman (voiced by Kyra Sedgwick), clad from head to toe in a gray, form-fitting costume designed to completely mask her identity. Batman (Kevin Conroy reprising his role) is alarmed by her brutal disregard for the lives of the thugs she's attacked and determines to discover who this new vigilante may be. Batman finds that the Penguin (voiced by David Ogden Stiers replacing Paul Williams) has allied with notorious gangster Rupert Thorne (voiced by the returning John Vernon) to manufacture and sell arms and weapons of mass destruction to unfriendly foreign powers and terrorists. Apparently, Batwoman is after them both. The film brings back established characters and establishes several new characters and their backstories, providing us with any number of red herrings for Batwoman's identity. Barbara Gordon (voiced by Tara Strong) partners (apparently in every sense of the word) with Batman as Batgirl; she's ostensibly away at college. Roxanne Ballantine (voiced by Kelly Ripa) is a clumsy but brilliant WayneTech research scientist; her man is in prison, wrongfully convicted. Detective Harvey Bullock (voiced by the returning Robert Costanzo) has a new partner named Sonia Alcana (voiced by Elisa Gabrielli); she owes her life to Batman and bears a grudge against Thorne that motivated her to join the force. And then there's Kathy Duquesne (voiced by Kimberly Brooks and clearly drawn to resemble Halle Berry). Kathy's father just happens to be Carlton Duquesne, Thorne's head thug. Batman suspects Kathy; it couldn't be a coincidence that Batwoman flew back to the vicinity of the Duquesne rooftop penthouse, and Kathy does, after all, have access to inside information. Bruce Wayne steps in to become involved with Kathy in an attempt to discover the truth. But as the plot thickens and Batman is perceived as getting a little too close for comfort to a huge arms deal, Penguin and Thorne bring in one of Batman's most dangerous foes, Bane (voiced by Hector Elizondo, replacing Henry Silva) to take out both caped crusaders. The truth behind Batwoman's mask and Batman's efforts to stop the arms from leaving Gotham make for a clever show. Other familiar voices are back, like Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred Pennyworth and Bob Hastings as Commissioner James Gordon. I enjoyed the plot and the subplot, and I was only a minute or two ahead of the film when Batwoman's identity was finally revealed. The animation style has been updated once again and seems to be a compromise between the more realistic early series and the more caricature-like work seen as the series was winding down. Unrealistic geometric forms, like the representation of Catwoman's form in the featurette Chase Me, have been modified to reflect the more anatomically correct forms of the earliest Batman animation. Even Penguin's proportions have been tinkered with to create a more believable character. This is a nice addition to the Batman animated canon. Video: How Does The Disc Look? When Warner Home Video released it's first feature-length animated Batman film,
Abandoning anamorphic widescreen video for Batman animated features is a great pity. Warner Home Video is assuming that children are not sophisticated enough to appreciate the wider format, conditioning them to ask as they grow older, "Why are there black bars on the television?" And Warner Home Video must know that there is an older, appreciative audience for these features. The significant aspect ratio criticism aside, the transfer is exceptional. Edge halos are thankfully absent. The level of detail, such as it can be within the context of low budget animation, is also very fine. Colors are vivid and noise-free, with no smearing to mar the video. Contrast and brightness dynamic ranges are excellent. I noticed no digital compression artifacts. This is another great transfer from Warner, but for denying us the pleasure of an anamorphic widescreen presentation, the video loses one whole point. Audio: How Does The Disc Sound? The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is surprisingly good considering the nature of the content. Discrete surround effects may be heard from time to time, but are not as dramatic as they might be. EX decoding works well with this mix. Deep bass is present but it does not reach the lowest depths of audibility that other recent tracks have explored. The sound effects are excellent, with very fine dynamic range and punch. I miss Shirley Walker's scoring, but composer Lolita Ritmanis does a reasonable job of tapping into Walker's variations on a theme by Danny Elfman as she makes her own creative contributions. The orchestra is presented with a pleasing fidelity across a broad soundstage. The dubbed voices remain quite clear throughout, with only one brief instance of digital compression raspiness during on of David Ogden Stiers' speeches. The audio is supported with subtitles in French, Spanish, and English, for which Closed Captions are also provided. Supplements: What Goodies Are There? You'll find a surprisingly generous array of extras on this disc, all presented in full screen. The first is a short action piece entitled Chase Me (6:23). It's a clever little confrontation between Batman and Catwoman. (Do those two rivals have an unhealthy codependent relationship or what?) Sans sound effects and dialog, the entire sequence is set to a jazzy orchestral score. The quality of the images is every bit as good as the main feature. Next is Behind the Mystery (9:33), a behind the scenes look at the film and, in particular, the voice casting and recording. We hear - and get to see - the voice actors both commenting on their roles and in action. The plot and the characters are discussed in detail, certainly more detail than you would want to know before seeing the film, so avoid the supplements until after you've enjoyed the feature. Batman P.O.V. (10:16) focuses on the animation side. Sitting around a table surrounded by sketches and storyboards are supervising producer Alan Burnett, writer Michael Reaves, composer Lolita Ritmanis, producer/director Curt Geda, and an unnamed artist whose thankless task is to sit and draw (on 16:9 frames) as the others speak. The filmmakers discuss the concept of the film, the new characters, the evolution of existing characters, and the casting. Making of a Scene (2:17) then gets even more specific. We're walked through the process from script to voice recording, to storyboarding, to rough animation, and to detailed animation. This short is rather thin, glossing over many of the details you've come to learn about animation, including coloring, computer assisted animation, editing, sound design and mixing, and many other minor but interesting details. Batcave Profiles and Bat Gadgets are interactive features that allow you to explore some of the main characters in the film and the devices used in their confrontations. It's here that you'll discover, as I did, that the film was originally produced in the 16:9 aspect ratio. Finally, there are the Super Hero Favorites, two promos for Warner superhero animation DVDs. The 75-minute feature is organized into twelve chapters. DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC? After the Warner skin loads atop of your InterActual player, you'll find that in addition to the usual Warner Bros. Web site links, there is a link to a video game demo and a link to a little video game that will run on your computer. Aimed at the youngsters, the game's object is to capture toxic chemicals before they spill. The player manipulates valves in an ever increasingly complex array of holding tanks. Parting Thoughts I find it sad and disappointing that the storylines for the animated Batman are frequently more compelling than most of the live action Batman features. I've suggested it before and I'll suggest it again... Warner Bros., are you listening? Get the animation side of the house involved in your next Batman feature film. Invite Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, and Alan Burnett to get involved. As for Mystery of the Batwoman, this disc is recommended for fans of the series. Those who may be unfamiliar with the animated Batman might want to start with the series collection DVDs. |
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