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When cultural historians look back at America during the 20th
century, one of the most important, but often overlooked, contributions
will likely be the comic book. Until recently, comic book artists
have struggled to earn the respect of their peers, because they
have been simply producing "art for the masses." In
the same vein, the comic book writer has also struggled to earn
respect.
But if only to prove the worth of the comic book, as society
has become more visually oriented, these worlds have evolved.
Just take a brief glimpse at the plots and artistic styles used
today compared to the past. Sadly, with this evolution, the financial
hardships of cost, a declining reader base lost to video games
and other distractions has nearly devastated the comic industry.
Thus, creators must focus on licensing their product for other
avenues, such as film and television, to continue to be profitable.
This is not a new idea. Think of how long fans have been clamoring
for good film adaptations of Spiderman, X-Men (mission accomplished,
mostly), Ghost Rider, The Fantastic Four and others. Of course,
you'll notice all products from Marvel. The other major player
left from the old guard is DC, which to everyone's excitement
has been controlled for years by Time/Warner. DC's big guns Superman
and Batman have already been given their big screen treatment,
with mixed success. Let's face it, since Warner Brother has deemed
that Tim Burton's Batman films were too dark, the live action
films have sucked. (Don't blame Joel Schulmacher, he directed
dark films such as 8MM and Falling Down.)
During the 1990's we saw a resurgence of television animation.
Along with the success of The Simpsons, almost every animated
character recently resurrected has been successful, but none more
than Batman. The Animated Adventures, from the early 90's, was
a staple of every comic book fan's viewing habits. It captured
the look and feel of the original Bob Kane artwork, more dark
and solemn than the Hanna Barbara tripe from the 1960's. But by
the time "The New Adventures of Batman and Robin" had
been replaced by a new series starring Superman, people were wondering
if Batman would return to the airwaves.
Then in 1998, Batman Beyond burst upon the scene, but with a
new angle. Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy), now older and a bit frail,
had retired. Terry McGiness (Will Fredle), became the new Batman,
in an effort to avenge his father's murder. I'll admit, I was
skeptical of this new "techno" Batman, but it quickly
grew on me. Unfortunately, aside from Bruce Wayne, little is known
about what happened to everyone else from the earlier Batman days.
What happened Dick Grayson and Tim Drake? Whatever happened to
Barbara Gordon/Batgirl? Arkham Asylum?
Return Of The Joker attempts to answer all of these questions.
Best of all? It brings back Bruce Wayne's most hated nemesis,
The Joker (Mark Hamill). And we all know that Batman:
Mask Of The Phantasm was better than the live-action films,
although a mediocre DVD. Subzero (the animated feature with Mr.
Freeze) was also far superior to the live action Batman & Robin.
Even the somewhat mediocre Batman/Superman Movie was pretty good.
Return Of The Joker is probably close to Mask of the Phantasm
in terms of quality, one of the best of the bunch. This feature
has apparently been edited for content, because it was too violent
for its core audience. (See our Cut
List update for the full overview.) What audience that is
I don't know. Last I checked most Batman fans enjoy the stories
for their dark themes. I don't see many five-year-olds asking
for this movie.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The picture quality of this DVD is just OK. Return Of The Joker
is presented in its original 1.33 aspect ratio, but having watched
the documentary, it looks as if it could have easily been framed
at 1.85 and anamorphically encoded. The colors are vibrant, while
still retaining the traditional dark overtones associated with
the Batman series. There were no signs of digital artifacting
and minimal grain for a very clean image, but I did notice signs
of edge enhancement throughout the film.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
In all honesty, when I watch a direct-to-video product, if the
soundtrack is in 5.1 I'm pleasantly surprised. The mix here is
fairly aggressive, with some decent split surrounds and a generally
balanced use of the whole sound stage. The new Batman Beyond theme,
using a full orchestra as opposed to solely electronic sounds,
really rocks. There some pretty decent LFE, especially in passages
such as Chapter 17 "A Whuppin'," when the last ravages
Gotham City. This brings up a question, is Bruce Wayne really
rich enough to rebuild Gotham every week?
No foreign language dubs are provided, only English Closed Captions
and subtitles.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? This DVD is a bit surprising in that it contains a new screen-specific
audio commentary. Bruce Timm (Story), Paul Dini (Producer),
Glenn Murakami (Producer) and Curt Geda (Director, Storyboards)
are all featured on this track, though pretty much, this is Bruce
Timm's deal. The commentary is fairly informative and entertaining,
if a it dry. The documentary Beyond Batman Beyond, which
runs about 12 minutes is also included, though is probably more
accurately called a featurette. What did I think of this? I always
thought those HBO documentaries are insulting, but this is pure
promo fluff and is the same reel that was released last summer
to hype the film.
Other features on this disc include 3 minutes of Animatics
(early pre-production rough animations) which are interesting
but not that exciting. There are some Video Character Bios,
which are basically five minutes of wasted space; these could
have been encoded as standard bios with less button pushing. Next
we have Bat Trivia, and the music video by Mephisto
Odyssey called "Crash." Last but not least we have the
obligatory trailers which promo everything from Batman
Beyond episodes on tape to Pokemon 2000. I have to reiterate this,
who is this disc aimed at? Batman fans, or 2-year-olds?
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop
the disc in your PC?
No ROM extras have been included.
Parting Thoughts
Overall, this disc is a decent package for a direct-to-video
feature. I wish Warner had the gumption to release this film unedited.
(Then again, if Kubrick can't even get away with it...) Batman
fans will love this disc, plus it will make the yearn for more
episodes of the television series (good luck!) I will say the
$24.98 price tag is a bit steep, then again it's better than Disney's
habit of pricing their direct-to-video fare at $29.99...
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