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February 9, 2018

Batman: The Animated Series – “Feat of Clay – Part I”

By Joe

Feat_of_Clay-Title_CardEpisode Number:  20

Original Air Date:  September 8, 1992

Directed by:  Dick Sebast

Written by:  Marv Wolfman and Michael Reaves

First Appearance(s):  Roland Daggett, Clayface

I don’t know what happened that caused me to miss the first few broadcast episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, but “Feat of Clay” was the first episode I ever saw. It’s possible that my memory is just fuzzy and I did see the few episodes that aired before it, but my family had also just moved from New Hampshire to Virginia so it was a pretty hectic period for us. Regardless, assuming it was my introduction to the show it’s a pretty great way to have the ice broken. Though “Feat of Clay” is a bit more procedural an episode as opposed to action packed, it’s a well constructed and satisfying viewing experience and I remember being captivated by the show’s tone which just felt so much more “adult” than what I was used to.

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Roland Daggett is a made for TV villain that proves to be a worthy addition to Batman canon.

“Feat of Clay” marks the debut of two characters we’ll see more than once over the course of the series. The first is crooked businessman Roland Daggett (Ed Asner). Rumor has it he was supposed to be Max Shreck from Batman Returns but supposedly Tim Burton wasn’t on board with that for some reason, so Daggett was created instead. He’s a businessman and slumlord who prioritizes money above human life. In this episode, he’s concerned with his chemical plant, Daggett Industries, and a certain client. Matt Hagen (Ron Perlman) is that client, a down on his luck actor once renowned for his ability to alter his appearance and mold himself for any role. Ever since an accident left his face horribly disfigured, he’s found it pretty hard to find work.

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Imposter Bruce wants that brief case.

The episode opens in confusing fashion (for an eight year old) with Bruce Wayne meeting Wayne Enterprises CEO Lucius Fox in the middle of the night at an old warehouse (Gotham is just full of these). Fox is confused, but he brought what Wayne was seeking – a briefcase containing documents which incriminate Daggett in an illegal attempt at taking over Wayne Enterprises. Wayne quickly double-crosses him and a horde of goons appear. They’re ordered to kill Fox, but lucky for him they’re a terrible shot. He’s eventually injured when one assailant is able to shoot out a rope and drop some debris on him. Apparently it’s a lot harder to shoot an adult male than it is a thin rope. Batman is also alerted to the gun fire and he shows up to clean up some of the mess, but he’s not in time to prevent Fox’s injury.

As a viewer, it was hard to believe Wayne would do anything to endanger one of his friends and the presence of Batman confirms this. Eventually we find out Wayne was none other than Matt Hagen in disguise. Hagen has found a topical cream that can cover up his scars, and more importantly, turns his face into a clay-like state which allows him to mold his own features to resemble others (no explanation given for how he alters his voice, that’s just cartoons for ya). The cream, Renuyu (pronounced Renew You), just so happens to be manufactured by Daggett Industries. As we know, Daggett wants to take over Wayne Enterprises, and the encounter with Fox was supposed to result in Fox’s death which would have been the catalyst for the takeover. With Hagen’s failure, Daggett has decided to cut-off Hagen’s supply of cream. He also orders his two primary henchman, Raymond Bell and Germs, to take Hagen out as he’s now a liability.

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Hollywood doesn’t have many roles for mugs like that one.

Unfortunately for Hagen, he needs the cream in order to keep working. It also has proven to be an addictive substance, though weather the cream is chemically addictive or just psychologically given it can erase scars is anyone’s guess and beside the point. Hagen feels like he needs it, and he is not willing to go without it.

Batman is of course trying to figure out what happened to Fox, oblivious at first that Bruce Wayne was framed for the attempted murder. Fox was able to tell the cops what happened, and naturally they want to speak with Bruce. Alfred covers for him while Bruce tries to figure out what happened back at the warehouse. Batman is able to trace Daggett back to Raymond Bell, who was there the night of Wayne’s framing. He tracks him down in the Batwing and runs Bell’s car off the road. In perhaps Batman’s finest interrogation, he uses the prongs on the front of the Batwing to impale and carry Bell’s car high above Gotham. Utilizing a mechanical arm, he extracts Bell from the car and dangles him over Gotham Harbor. He’s only able to find out that Wayne was not present the night of Fox’s attack, but Bell faints before he can fess up to who was behind it. The police show up and Batman is forced to hand over his prisoner. Now knowing that a Wayne imposter was present, he decides, against better judgement I’d say, to visit Fox in the hospital after hours which only makes Fox think he’s returned to finish the job. He’s arrested as a result.

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In order to hide his scars, Hagen is forced to rely on a cream provided by Daggett.

Not to be outdone, Hagen also decides to do some infiltrating and heads to Daggett’s lab. Using the last bit of Renuyu he possesses, Hagen is able to slip in undetected, but not for long. Daggett and his men discover him, and in a rather disturbing scene, Daggett basically drowns Hagen in the stuff by pouring it down his throat. The “murder” is only seen via shadows on the wall, but it’s effective. Hagen survives though, and his stand-in finds him later in his car where Daggett’s men had left him, but Hagen is different. We get just a brief look at him as he glances in the rear-view mirror before the episode ends with that which is oh so frustrating:  To be continued.

“Feat of Clay” is a slow moving episode of Batman, but necessarily so. The pacing allows us to really get inside Matt Hagen and sympathize with him. He’s driven to continue his life as it was before the accident that left him scarred and disfigured at all costs. He’s probably dealing with some depression, and the addictive Renuyu is probably the worst thing for him. His friend and stand-in Teddy is also the stand-in for the audience as he tries to talk Matt out of this path, but to no avail. He loves him too much to just abandon him, but we’re left to wonder if he’ll be pushed too far in the stories to come. Daggett, on the other hand, is a pretty conventional villain. He has no redeeming qualities and is easy to understand. He’s yet another gangster type who gives birth to a super-villain, following in the footsteps of Rupert Thorne and the role he played in creating Two-Face. Still, conventional as he may be, I always liked Daggett as a villain because there’s no compromise in him or an attempt to disguise his intentions. He’s not slimy like Thorne, just a cold, hard villain. Ed Asner is also perfectly cast in the role and my affection for him probably plays a role in my liking of Daggett.

As a result of all of the attention paid on Hagen, this ends up being an episode that’s rather light on Batman. The framing plot is engaging, when used, even if it felt rather similar to Batman Returns. He’ll get back to doing what he does best in Part II, but it is still a some-what shocking sight to see Bruce Wayne in handcuffs.

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The “murder” of Matt Hagen and the birth of Clayface.

Since “Feat of Clay” features some rather prominent voice actors, it’s not surprising this episode feels extra special. It also helps that the episode looks great. Hagen’s face is convincingly disfigured and the morphing properties of the cream he applies are fun to look at. Of course, we’re in for a far greater treat when Clayface truly debuts. The scene of his becoming Clayface though is almost incredible considering it’s taking place in a kid’s show. It was shocking to me as a kid and I watched with some disbelief. Also worth pointing out is the subtle personality quirks we get to see within Daggett’s gang. One guy apparently has a fear of germs (hence the name Germs) and Bell is always wearing headphones tuned to police scanners. It’s a small touch, but so often the hired muscle in these episodes are nameless, faceless, men with guns.

As the introduction for a new villain, and one that wasn’t well known outside of the comics, “Feat of Clay” is probably second only to “Two-Face.” It works in tandem with its follow-up, and I might argue it’s a more satisfying set of episodes than its predecessor. I suppose I’ll wait until I do a write-up on Part II before I make up my mind, but it should go without saying that these two episodes are among the best the show produced.

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December 18, 2016

12 Films of Christmas #8: The Nightmare Before Christmas

By Joe
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The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Is it a Christmas movie? Is it a Halloween movie? Can a film be both? That seems to be the big question surrounding Tim Burton’s multi-holiday classic The Nightmare Before Christmas. Released on Disney’s Touchstone label (because the company was too scared to be directly associated with the film at first) around Halloween 1993, The Nightmare Before Christmas has been content to be accepted by both holidays, but lets not kid ourselves, it’s a Christmas movie.

It’s right there in the title! The Nightmare Before Christmas! The tale about how the fictional residents of Halloweentown usurped the Christmas holiday from Santa Claus for their very own. It’s a Christmas movie that looks like a halloween one, and it’s been charming audiences for decades now through its unique visual style and stop-motion animation. And that animation, even that screams “Christmas” thanks to holiday classics synonymous with the genre like Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The Henry Selick directed picture (which can’t be said enough since so many still mistakenly attribute the film’s direction to Tim Burton) leans heavy on its visual and theatrical elements so much that I can’t help but wonder if it was traditionally animated if it would have the same impact.

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The one and only, Jack the Pumpkin King!

The stop-motion style proves ideal in crafting a character such as Jack Skellington, the spindly skeleton suffering a severe case of seasonal depression, or midlife crisis if that’s possible for someone undead. His movements aren’t always fluid, but still seem appropriate given how we can practically see his various joints. Some creative liberties were taken with his head-sculpt which is soft, and round as opposed to resembling an actual skull. Some of the denizens of Halloweentown are rather unremarkable to behold, but all fit into the film’s visual style.

The film is a unique and visual treat, and the very Burton voice cast (featuring frequent collaborators like Paul Reubens, Catherine O’Hara, and Danny Elfman) is more than up for the challenge of bringing these characters to like. The film’s score, provided by Elfman, is fantastic and manages to capture the feeling of both Halloween and Christmas all in one. The broadway styled bits are where the film falters slightly, and what holds it back from being ranked alongside some of the Disney films from the same decade. Still, The Nightmare Before Christmas has its share of memorable tunes and can easily be sung along to.

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Everyone’s favorite trick or treaters. Or least favorite since they are little punks.

I did a full review of this film a few years ago, which is why this entry has chosen to focus on what makes the film unique among other Christmas films. Don’t fret too much over which holiday the film best aligns itself with, just use that as an excuse to watch the film around both holidays. It’s always worked in my household.

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September 7, 2015

#5 Best in TV Animation: Batman – The Animated Series

By Joe

Batman_the_Animated_Series_logoChildren of today can probably hardly imagine a world in which super heroes aren’t dominating the pop culture landscape. We’re in an era where even the Fantastic Four have received three chances at making a successful movie and less popular characters like Antman and Dr. Strange have either become mainstream or soon will. That wasn’t the case before 1990. Prior to that, only Batman and Superman had ever made a buck at the box office while The Incredible Hulk had a semi-successful television series for Marvel. When it came to cartoons, there was basically the many variations on the Super Friends and the Marvel Action Hour. The quality for these cartoons was something less than satisfactory.

When Tim Burton and Michael Keaton helped to make Batman popular once again, the powers that be at DC and Warner Bros. decided to give television another go with the caped crusader. Instead of another colorful super hero mash-up they opted to adapt the more current iteration of Batman. The resulting “Batman” (often subtitled “The Animated Series)” returned Batman to the night from which he was born. Developed chiefly by Eric Radomski, Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, the show embodied much of the recent films as well as the tone of the current comics. Robin was there, but only in a handful of episodes initially and he no longer dressed like Tinker Bell’s older brother. Villains that were popular on the older 60’s television program returned, but with a more serious take. Joining them were the more grounded villains like Roland Dagget and Rupert Thorne, mobsters who waged war from the comfort of their homes. Adding even more of a sense of realism to the program was the fact that the villains (and cops) carried and fired realistic weaponry as opposed to cartoonish laser guns that are always conveniently set to stun.

The pervasive darkness of the show is like a character by itself.

The pervasive darkness of the show is like a character by itself.

The Batman present in the animated series was not the ever-present optimist from the 60’s with the serious, but often cheerful, demeanor. This Batman, voiced exceptionally well by Kevin Conroy, was a moody, no nonsense, hero who truly embodied the term The Dark Knight. He’s driven by a quiet anger, it’s root cause being the murder of his parents he bore witness to as a child. Batman is fiercely driven and consumed by his urge to avenge his parents by cleaning up the streets of Gotham, a seemingly never ending task. His alter-ego Bruce Wayne exists only as a cover for Batman. This Batman has a lot in common with Frank Miller’s, only the delivery isn’t so heavy-handed and extreme. As usual, Batman has allies around him. By his side is his butler, Alfred Pennyworth, who is more of a sidekick in the series as opposed to a moral arbiter. That role falls to Dr. Leslie Tompkins who often counsels Batman away from his life of crime-fighting. Commissioner Gordon heads the Gotham police department and relies on Batman probably more than he should while Detective Bullock is Gordon’s foil and often mistrusts the Batman. Robin is also around with an equally tragic backstory and Batgirl eventually comes into the fold during the second “season.”

Batman has no shortage of allies but he’d be nothing without his rogue’s gallery. The usual suspects are present such as The Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill) and Penguin. They’re presented well, but the show is best remembered for its fresh approach when adapting the lesser villains. Two-Face is introduced slowly as district attorney Harvey Dent before his eventual transformation. His character is handled with care and his sympathetic nature is sort of a calling card for the series. The villain most often cited as coming out of the show for the better is Mr. Freeze. Once a fairly corny player in the comics, the depiction of Freeze in the animated series is that of a vindictive killer. Juxtaposing his cold demeanor is the origins for his madness over his wife’s apparent murder. His debut episode, “Heart of Ice,” is often mentioned among the show’s best. The show doesn’t always rely on its villain of the week (day, actually, since the program aired week days originally) as illustrated in “Beware the Grey Ghost.” In this episode, the show runners have some fun by pairing Batman with an out of work actor typecast for his work as a super hero in an old television show. His voice actor? None other than Adam West.

The rogue's gallery for the show is a clever mix of classics and unknowns, with the unknowns often shining brightest.

The rogue’s gallery for the show is a clever mix of classics and unknowns, with the unknowns often shining brightest.

The artwork in the show is heavily based off of the set designs of Eric Radomski and the character designs of Bruce Timm. If you are not familiar with Timm’s work, it’s a low-detail approach with lots of angular lines. Lots of pointy-chinned females and square-headed males populate the show. His take on the various villains is often influenced by both classic works and the Burton films. Joker and Penguin are obviously takes on Jack Nicholson’s Joker and Danny DeVito’s more monstrous Penguin. Catwoman too resembles her look from Batman Returns but with the S&M aspect toned down. There’s a minimalist approach to the details with lots of flat, muted colors. Backgrounds were even done on black paper, most noticeably the opening title sequence, with light colors painted over them. This technique is credited to Radomski and often referred to as “Dark-Deco.” The show’s biggest contribution to the world of Batman though is easily the character of Harley Quinn, who first originated on television before making the leap to comics.

Whether you like the look of the show or not is a matter of opinion. It certainly needed to grow on me, but I appreciated the style of the show. Like the Burton films, Gotham is a modern city rooted in the stylings of the 30s and 40s. Batman possesses some pretty advanced technology but for some reason also watches a black and white television half the time. The low detail approach for the show’s look is a benefit to the animation itself. Rather than the somewhat stiff X-Men, Batman animates rather smoothly. The later series, The New Batman Adventures, who further reduce the detail to boost the animation but some would suggest they went too far as certain characters came across as too cartoonish.

The show maybe fairly serious in tone, but Batman still has plenty of toys at his disposal. Just no shark repellent this time.

The show maybe fairly serious in tone, but Batman still has plenty of toys at his disposal. Just no shark repellent this time.

Batman The Animated Series is truly one of the great achievements in kid’s programming. Its serious approach to the character of Batman and his many villains really enhanced the product above what is typically expected of children’s programming. The only thing holding it back is the show’s consistency. It was originally ordered as one season of 65 episodes which is a pretty daunting task to come up with 65 well-executed episodes. The show is often one of those programs where the good episodes are really special but there’s a lot of filler to work around. The show becomes more watered-down when the short second season is added to the mix as well as The New Adventures which surfaced years later. That run produced maybe 2 or 3 worthy episodes with the rest being kid stuff, sadly.

Even so, the good produced by Batman The Animated Series is worthy enough to place it at fifth on my top ten list for animated television programs. The show also spawned some feature films, though only one was released theatrically, the fantastic Mask of the Phantasm. When the films jumped the shark with Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, it was the animated series that kept Batman relevant. It’s unlikely another super hero show could ever surpass it.

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December 1, 2013

Batman Returns

By Joe
Batman Returns (1992)

Batman Returns (1992)

It’s December 1st, and it’s time to inject a little Christmas into this blog once again.  Last year, I went pretty light on the X-Mas related topics and I intend to do a little more this year.  I’ll start off slow with a pseudo-Christmas movie in the form of Batman Returns.

Batman Returns is the 1992 sequel to the mega-successful Batman.  All of the major players return from that film including Tim Burton as director and Michael Keaton as Batman.  The only notable omissions are Billy Dee Williams as Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent; Kim Basinger’s reporter/photographer Vicki Vale, and Robert Wuhl as reporter Alexander Knox.  All three characters are absent from the film and were not re-cast.  The Vale character was presumably removed so as not to force Batman/Bruce Wayne to settle down, while the other two must have been cut for time (Williams was reportedly disappointed he never got to play Two Face).

The major additions to the cast are, of course, the villains.  Going with a “more is better” philosophy, Batman Returns includes three major villains compared to Batman’s one.  Created for the film is Max Shreck, played by Christopher Walken.  He’s a real-world villain in that he has no gimmick or special abilities, he’s just a greedy, corporate, jerk who values money more than human life and has ties to both of the other comic book based villains. Michelle Pfeiffer plays Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman.  Catwoman serves the dual role of being a foe for Batman, and a love interest for Bruce Wayne.  Also joining the part is Danny DeVito as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, a monstrous take on the old Batman villain.  The two “super” villains have a sympathetic angle to play, which I’ll get to in a few paragraphs, and in 1992 both felt like logical inclusions for the big sequel.

The red of Catwoman's lips really pop in all of her scenes due to the muted palette of the film's sets.

The red of Catwoman’s lips really pop in all of her scenes due to the muted palette of the film’s sets.

The film is virtually identical in look to its predecessor with Gotham taking on aspects of film noir.  The technology is modern, or post modern, but with the stylings of the 1930’s and 40’s dominating the landscape, with a touch of goth too.  The noir angle is played upon even further with a majority of the film’s colors being black and white.  It’s demonstrated in the film’s leads with both Catwoman and The Penguin having a near white complexion to go along with the black and white shades of their respective costumes.  This makes what little color appear really jump out, such as the crimson of Catwoman’s lipstick or the yellow of Batman’s logo.  Batman, and the other good guys, are depicted with warm, natural flesh tones while the villain Shreck is noticeably pale, but not to the same degree as the other villains.  He makes up for that with his bone white hair.  The buildings and structures around Gotham are also mostly confined to shades of black and white, as are all of Batman’s gadgets and vehicles.  Combining this stylistic choice with the setting of a snowy Christmas time and Batman Returns comes across as a very cold movie, even when compared with the already bleak feeling of the first film.

DeVito's Penguin is mostly monstrous but he's able strike a sympathetic tone at times.

DeVito’s Penguin is mostly monstrous but he’s able strike a sympathetic tone at times.

As was the case with the first film, for better or worse, the villains are meant to be the main driving force of the film.  It’s a good thing they’re well-developed as Batman Returns arguably leans even harder on its villains than Batman did with The Joker.  Shreck is meant to be the irredeemable villain and serves as a foil to both Bruce Wayne and The Penguin.  The Penguin is not a nice guy himself, but Shreck proves to be the true monster of the film when he coldly tries to murder his secretary, Selina Kyle.  Shreck is the owner of a department store and he’s seeking the approval of the mayor (and Bruce Wayne as an investor) to build a new power plant.  In a sort of goofy Tim Burton type of plot, Shreck’s new power plant will actually syphon power from Gotham and when Kyle figures this out (while working late in an effort to be a better employee) is when Shreck shoves her out of a window.  Burton’s twist on Catwoman occurs here, as the meek Selina Kyle is seemingly resurrected when a host of cats attend to her corpse.  The scatter-brained screw-up becomes the headstrong and vengeful Catwoman.  Kyle is played fairly straight, while Catwoman is intended to represent her ego gone wild which apparently has an S&M twist.  Catwoman, clothed in skin-tight leather and armed with a whip, also has the benefit of nine lives.  She’s over the top but it works for the picture.  Cobblepot, and his family’s rejection of him, is what opens the film.  He was a hideous and monstrous baby (who apparently has a taste for cats) and his upper class parents wanted nothing to do with him so they tossed his carriage into the sewer where he was apparently raised by penguins underneath an abandoned zoo.  At first his motivations seem are simply to find out his origins while his gang of circus thugs terrorize Gotham.  It’s his encounter with Shreck that changes his outlook and sets his sights on being mayor of Gotham.  Shreck, needing a new mayor to get his plant approved, thinks he can turn Cobblepot into a sympathetic figure who could win election on that alone (never mind his hideous appearance) and soon the two turn to villainy in order to make The Penguin look good in the eyes of Gotham’s voters.

Naturally, their dealings put them in conflict with Batman as everything becomes twisted and murky.  The Penguin, together with Shreck, emerges as a viable candidate for mayor while Catwoman seeks vengeance against Shreck.  She starts by attacking his department stores which puts her in conflict with Batman.  With Batman as a common foe, this pairs up Penguin and Catwoman who then concoct a plan to frame Batman and turn Gotham against him.  It’s a fairly clever pot and Burton should be commended for being able to get this trio of villains to fit together well and the framing angle makes for good drama.  Unfortunately, Burton has never been one for realism.  We don’t mind when that takes the form of a monster baby killing a cat or a man in a bat costume gliding over the entire city, but he leaves lots of loose ends in his plots and asks the audience to simply overlook them.  The framing plot, for example, is never really resolved.  Batman is made to look like he kills the Ice Princess, a mini celebrity of sorts, and by exposing The Penguin as a bad guy (but not as the person truly behind the murder) is apparently good enough for Gotham and it’s police department (to make it even more convoluted, the people don’t even know that it’s Batman that made The Penguin look like a bad guy as he hacks into a PA system while Cobblepot is making a speech, using pre-recorded taunts).

Once The Penguin is exposed, the film’s climax is put into motion where The Penguin, now abandoned by Shreck, decides to murder the first-born sons of Gotham’s wealthy elite, including Shreck’s son Chip.  He has his circus gang abduct the kids from their cribs and personally attempts to abduct Chip, but Max volunteers in his place.  Batman, of course, saves the day which just angers The Penguin even more forcing him to send his penguin army into the city to fire off a bunch of rockets and level a chunk of the city.  Catwoman, having also been betrayed and “killed” by The Penguin, is drawn out after Shreck and all three collide for a fitting resolution.

Batman and Catwoman play off each other quite well in their few scenes together.

Batman and Catwoman play off each other quite well in their few scenes together.

A great deal of the film rests on the Catwoman and Batman conflict.  With the characters in costume, their encounters become a fun bit of violent flirting, with all of the flirting basically on the part of Catwoman.  As Selina and Bruce, the two have a sometimes warms romance that develops a bit quickly with Bruce as the aggressor.  The two have a nice scene together where they both figure out each has a dual identity which is resolved during the final scene pairing Batman and Catwoman.  The film’s end suggests that Catwoman was to play a role in a future film, but perhaps because both Keaton and Pfeiffer were uninterested in continuing in their roles, this Catwoman would never surface again.

Batman Returns shares a lot of similarities with its predecessor, one of which being a rather major flaw in that sometimes each film doesn’t necessarily feel like a Batman film.  Batman Returns is even more guilty of this as the Batman character is really pushed aside in favor of the villains.  Perhaps Burton felt like he had more freedom to do this since the previous movie covered Batman’s origin, but we really learn nothing new about the main character.  In one respect, it does help to add more importance and excitement to the scenes that actually feature a costumed Batman, but it feels like their could have, or should have been, more from our hero.  The plot does mostly work though, even with the bloated cast, but it clearly had to make sacrifices somewhere and it’s debatable those sacrifices were worthwhile.

The Batmobile's ability to down-size into the Bat Missile was one of the big spectacles of Batman Returns.

The Batmobile’s ability to down-size into the Bat Missile was one of the big spectacles of Batman Returns.

The first film set a fairly high-standard for special effects and gadgets that Batman Returns is able to live up to.  The big spot occurs with the Batmobile once again, this time with it transforming into the Bat Missile.  Batman also debuts his ski boat during the closing moments of the film which serves as an interesting take on the more traditional bat boat seen in the comics and television series.  There’s also the previously mentioned gliding scene for Batman as he makes greater use of his cape.  Catwoman has some pretty spectacular death scenes as well and there’s plenty of fire and explosions throughout.  There are a few moments that scream “Tim Burton” that look kind of stupid, notably the penguin army and the final shot of a villain’s corpse at the end.  Some people are unwilling to forgive Burton for the campy penguin army, though I also kind of viewed it as Burton’s nod to the campy origins of the television show, and when viewed in that light, it doesn’t really bother me as much.  As a Christmas movie, there isn’t much here.  The film just happens to take place at Christmas, something Burton is quite fond of doing.  It does give the set designers a chance to play with snow which is kind of cool, and the only real mention of the holiday occurs during the final scene.

All in all, Batman Returns is an entertaining film with quite a number of flaws.  It’s pacing isn’t always ideal and the attention to detail is lacking where the plot is concerned.  The Batman character at times feels ignored, but the film is elevated by the performance of the villains and the way all of the major characters intertwine.  Pfeiffer’s Catwoman is a fun take on the character even if it isn’t that radical a departure from other portrayals.  The sexually aggressive Catwoman plays off of the more stoic, and sometimes naive, Batman rather well with the only drawback to those encounters being that they make Batman look pathetically boring.  DeVito received a Razzie nomination for his take on The Penguin which I never understood.  DeVito’s Penguin isn’t as overly campy as the character had been in the past, he has his moments but he’s mostly well done and I still enjoy this take on the character.  The makeup crew should be commended as it’s sometimes hard to believe it’s DeVito underneath all of the prosthetics.  Walken’s Shreck is perhaps the star, as he’s just so good in this role.  Shreck is hate-inducing, and he’s able to needle the audience in just about every scene he’s in.  The score, provided once again by Danny Elfman, is also adequate as are all of the other sound effects used in the film.  It’s the classic case of a flashy and big-budgeted film trying to compensate for some underlying problems, which are more obvious this time around than they were with the film before.  Batman Returns is far from being among the worst Batman films produced, but it’s also not really one of the best either.

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December 23, 2012

The Nightmare Before Christmas

By Joe
Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993)

Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993)

There was a time when I had no idea that The Nightmare Before Christmas was a Disney property.  When I first saw it around Halloween of 1993 during its original theatrical run, it was credited to Touchstone Pictures, which unknown to me at the time, was a spin-off of Disney.  Disney used Touchstone to market to older audiences and when the executives got a look at how creepy the imagery of Nightmare was they decided it was best to distance it from the Disney brand.  That’s not to say they expected failure or anything, on the contrary, Disney hoped to cash in on the Henry Selick directed picture due to its unique animation style.  That was another thing I wouldn’t become aware of for years.  The picture, often marketed as Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, was directed by Mr. Selick.  Burton crafted the story and worked on the character designs, script, and screenplay but had little involvement in the actual production.  This was due to him being a pretty hot commodity at the time and a certain Batman picture demanded a lot of his time.  Also, he had little desire in overseeing the tedious process of stop motion animation.  And who can blame him?  It’s a process that would drive many a person insane!

I remember being unsure of the film before first seeing it as a kid.  The adults taking us kids seemed more excited about it, though I’m not sure why.  Maybe it was the concept of marrying Halloween and Christmas into one film, or perhaps it was the visual style that is unique, if nothing else.  I think it was that visual style that initially put me off.  Not because it looked scary, but because Jack didn’t look like a skeleton in the traditional sense.  There’s a silliness to the look of the characters that’s lacking in true scares.  The vampires are a good example as they’re pear shaped and corny.  The look of most of the weird characters resembles that of Beetlejuice, one of Burton’s other popular films of the era.  I was way into X-Men at the time and preferred a realistic look to my characters, so I guess it’s not that surprising in hindsight why I had my reservations about the picture.

The film's protagonist, Jack The Pumpkin King, is bored and depressed over the whole Halloween thing and turns to Christmas for help.

The film’s protagonist, Jack The Pumpkin King, is bored and depressed over the whole Halloween thing and turns to Christmas for help.

Of course, they proved to be unfounded as myself and everyone I went with that day enjoyed the film immensely.  I’ve stated many times in my reviews of other properties that I care little for musicals and that was true of child me as well.  The Nightmare Before Christmas is heavy on song, more so than the traditionally animated Disney pictures of that time, and yet I still found it enjoyable.  There’s a humor to a lot of the film that’s present in the songs as well.  Most especially the “What’s This?” sequence where Jack is observing the differences between Halloween Town and Christmas Town (“The children are throwing snowballs instead of throwing heads,”).  That’s not to say they don’t get annoying, as sometimes the characters seem to break into song for the sake of doing so (such as when Jack explains Christmas Town to the rest of the gang), and I’m left wishing they’d just talk like regular folks instead.  The quality of the songs seems to vary too.  Danny Elfman was in charge of the film’s music (and also provided Jack’s singing voice) so I suppose he can be forgiven since he isn’t known as a Broadway composer.

Even though the film is a musical, it’s the visuals that make or break it.  And since the film has proven immensely popular ever since its release, it would seem to be that the visual style was accepted by the general public.  Selick has proven to be a master of the stop motion technique, and though films since have surpassed Nightmare in terms of animation quality, this film still holds up quite well today.  The characters animate very well and, for the most part, and lack the floaty quality many seem to have in the old Rankin/Bass Christmas specials.  Selick and his team don’t settle for the easy way in most scenes as characters tend to always be moving in some way as opposed to remaining still.  The only noticeable shortcut, if you will, seems to be the facial expressions of the non Jack characters.  Jack famously had over 400 heads to show various expressions while minor characters presumably had only one, save for maybe a back-up or two.  Sally had to use the same head so as not to disturb her hair, which would have caused a nightmare for the animators.  I suppose then it’s not surprising the lead character is bald.

While Halloween Town is presented in mostly black and white, Christmas Town is the exact opposite.

While Halloween Town is presented in mostly black and white, Christmas Town is the exact opposite.

The animation helps set Nightmare apart from other Disney fare, but the general look of the settings is also quite unique.  Halloween Town is very much rooted in German Expressionism.  There’s hardly a straight building in the town as everything juts out at seemingly impossible angles.  Several characters live in towers and crowded spaces.  Halloween Town seems pretty small in general, with mostly barren land surrounding it.  I suppose some would describe it as “gothic” (which would explain why so many goth girls in my high school seemed obsessed with Jack and Sally), but that seems lazy.  There’s very little color used as it’s mostly shades of gray.  And where color is present it’s often found in minor accents on the characters as opposed to the setting.  In contrast, Christmas Town is an explosion of primary colors and the objects Jack takes from it contrast nicely when they’re present in Halloween Town.  Watching the scene in Christmas Town almost makes one think a Dr. Seuss film would be a good idea for Henry Selick to oversee (as opposed to those wretched live-action films).

Jack playing Santa.

Jack playing Santa.

Tim Burton may get too much credit for Nightmare’s success, but one thing that can’t be taken away from him is the success of the film’s plot.  Dreaming up a world where each holiday has its own world separate from reality is pretty neat, but then taking the next step of having one wage war on the other is quite clever indeed.  Though Halloween Town doesn’t wage war on Christmas Town, they do seek to take over its holiday for at least one year.  Jack is a character of good intentions, but he lies to himself about what it is he’s doing without thinking about the implications this will have on Christmas Town, and Santa Claus to be specific.  He, for example, sees nothing wrong with sending off Boogie’s henchmen to kidnap Santa.  This makes him selfish, as he’s only thinking about curing his own seasonal depression, and short-sighted since he fails to predict the villainous Oogie Boogie’s eventual involvement.  And yet, we as the viewer know that he’s inherently good and he does set things right in the end.  The romance between Jack and Sally feels a bit forced, but I guess expecting for more development in that area out of a children’s moving may be asking too much.

The film settles in at 76 minutes, which is not uncommon for stop motion.  It doesn’t feel that short to me, maybe that’s due to my tepid response to the musical pieces, but it doesn’t feel long or anything.  And I give credit to all involved with the property that no stupid sequels exist such as Jack visits Easter Land or Valentine Town.  There are some spin-off video games and such, though I’ve never experienced any of them.  The unique dual holiday format of the film makes it extremely marketable for Disney, so perhaps that’s good enough for them to not seek out a sequel.

I watched The Nightmare Before Christmas this year for the first time in many years.  I was curious how I would respond to it after so long.  Despite being almost shunned by Disney for most of its life, it very much feels like a Disney picture, though Burton’s involvement is obvious as well.  Some of the songs made my eyes roll, but the visual effects are too charming to resist.  I enjoy the film’s humor and the fact that it separates itself from other holiday films and specials, but also makes sure to harken back to them at times with tongue firmly planted in cheek (“My what a brilliant nose you have!”).  While I don’t disagree with Disney’s decision to originally release the film through Touchstone, I don’t think it’s overly scary for young kids.  Most will recognize the film for what it is, but as always, parents know their kids best and might prefer to watch it first before showing it to the really young.  The film probably doesn’t rank as one of Disney’s best, but it is a fun film to revisit during this time of year, and I regret not purchasing it sooner.

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July 19, 2012

Batman’s Top 10 Feature Length Films

By Joe

No other super hero has taken to the big screen as well as The Dark Knight.

I didn’t do an official count, but I am going to go out on a limb and say that Batman has had more movies made featuring him than any other comic book superhero.  Over the years he’s been featured in both live action and animated films, wide release and direct to home video.  Some of these films have been among the handful of movies I’ve enjoyed above all others, while others have been truly dreadful.  When a character has been around as long as Batman, that’s bound to happen.  He’s not only had great and terrible films made about him, but he’s also had great comic book stories and poor ones, fantastic television moments and truly embarrassing ones.

Recently though, it’s been mostly good films that have found their way to audiences worldwide.  And I’m not just talking about the much praised Christopher Nolan directed projects, but also some of the smaller ones that never made it to theaters.  Today we are on the eve of the release for the third and final film in the Nolan trilogy.  You may have heard of it, it’s called The Dark Knight Rises and it figures to take in money hand over fist for the next several weeks and make the executives at Warner Bros. very happy, and even more wealthy than they already are.  It probably doesn’t even have to be a good movie for it to be a cash cow, just look at the much maligned Spider-Man 3, which made more money than either of its two superior predecessors.  Hype is a powerful thing.

As most are looking forward to The Dark Knight Rises I am looking back.  I started to reflect on the films that came before it to feature Batman and decided it would be fun to make a top 10 list.  For some only familiar with the live-action stuff, it may be surprising to know that there have been more than 10 Batman films made, but that man gets around.  Truth be told, there are even a couple I haven’t seen such as the Batman Vs Dracula one that was taken from the The Batman universe.  I just never got into that show as it was geared towards a younger audience but if someone thinks I’m really missing out on something special feel free to let me know in the comments section.  Otherwise, let’s take a look at number 10…

Batman: The Movie (1966)

10.  Batman:  The Movie

It was actually a tough call between this and Batman Forever.  Batman Forever tends to get lumped in with Batman & Robin since they both share the same director.  While Batman & Robin is one of the worst movies I’ve had the misfortune of seeing, Batman Forever is merely average.  It’s quite different in tone from the Burton directed pictures, and whether that’s a good thing or not is a matter of taste.  I’m not really a fan and I don’t think anyone who skips Batman Forever is really missing out, but it does contain an entertaining performance from Jim Carrey as The Riddler, even if he’s just playing the same screwball he was playing in every other movie at the time.

Batman The Movie, on the other hand, is a truly unique entry among the Batman films.  Based on the television series starring Adam West, it’s basically the definition of camp.  It exists purely to entertain movie-goers of all ages and never takes itself all that seriously (with the exception of Burt Ward’s rather intense portrayal of Robin, which is kind of an in-joke in and of itself).  For fans of the show, this was like the ultimate as the best of Batman’s rogue’s galleries team up to take down the caped crusader.  The plot is rather hokey, but the film isn’t short on laughs.  Fans who take their Batman stories very seriously probably find this one off-putting, but this was more or less Batman in the 1960’s.  The comics were geared towards six-year-olds and at least the television show made an attempt to appeal to adults as well which actually helped keep Batman relevant.  This one’s a guilty pleasure and is placed here for nostalgic value, if nothing else.

9. Batman:  Mystery of the Batwoman

Mystery of the Batwoman is the third feature length film based on Batman:  The Animated Series and the second that was direct-to-video.  It was the only one based on the relaunched version of the animated series which featured new character designs and improved animation.  I prefer the style of the first three seasons as opposed to this one, but it’s not too off-putting.  Mystery of the Batwoman is exactly what the title implies; a mystery story.  There’s a new vigilante in town and Batman has to deduce the identity of this female who has borrowed his image.  The film features a few “names” in prominent roles such as Kelly Ripa and Kyra Sedgwick while the usual cast is excellent, as always.  The villains featured in the film include The Penguin and Bane and this mysterious Batwoman apparently has a bone to pick with them, among others.  Not surprisingly, her methods are more ruthless than Batman’s which is what drives Batman to try and figure out her identity and put a stop to her activity.  The film’s mystery proves to be pretty satisfying, and as a whole it’s an entertaining story.  The minimalist production values tend to make it feel more like an extended episode of the show though which is why it doesn’t place higher.

I’m still amazed at how awesome (cool?) Bruce Timm and Co. were able to make Mr. Freeze.

8.  Batman & Mr. Freeze:  SubZero

SubZero is the second film based on The Animated Series and was the first to go direct-to-video.  Unlike Mystery of the Batwoman, it’s production values are more on par with Mask of the Phantasm, the only animated Batman film to receive a true theatrical release.  Mr. Freeze was a surprise star in the television show and it was clear that the writers really enjoyed working with him so it’s no surprise to see him receive the movie treatment.  As was the case in the excellent episode “Heart of Ice,” Freeze is driven to crime in an effort to save his beloved wife, Nora, whom he has cryogenically frozen until he can find a way to cure her of the illness that threatens her life.  Once again, the writing crew prove they’re up to the task of creating a worthwhile Mr. Freeze story but unfortunately the film sort of feels like an extended version of the “Heart of Ice” episode, and an inferior take.  Despite feeling like a retread, it’s still an engaging film and I’d love to see more from Freeze in a future feature film.

7. Batman Returns

Tim Burton’s Batman was a huge success with movie goers when it was released in 1989, so a sequel was pretty much a foregone conclusion.  Burton’s Batman brought the caped crusader back to his roots.  The work of writers such as Neal Adams started to bring some semblance of maturity back to the character in the 70’s, while the work of Frank Miller in the 80’s really drove it home.  This Batman, portrayed by popular comic actor Michael Keaton, was the strong silent type not interested in bantering with his foes.  The first film featured an iconic performance from Jack Nicholson as The Joker, and the feeling going into Returns must have been more is better as the sequel featured three prominent villains.  Fans were used to both The Penguin and Catwoman, but created for the film was Christopher Walken’s Max Shreck who is perhaps the film’s true villain.  In keeping with the style of the first film, both Catwoman and Penguin feature unique designs that represented quite the departure from what fans were used to.  Catwoman comes across as a cat-obsessed dominatrix while The Penguin is a truly hideous creature.

Perhaps Burton felt like the Batman character was explored and developed enough in the first film, because he’s kind of brushed aside here.  The focus of the film is placed squarely on the villains as we learn what brought them to this state.  Burton is also more comfortable here interjecting his brand of humor into the franchise, more so than he did with the first.  Both The Penguin and Catwoman are pretty ridiculous, but the film plays them straight.  It starts to fail though in the final act as even the most forgiving members of the audience will find it hard to accept an army of penguins packing serious heat.  DeVitio (who actually received an undeserved Razzie nomination) and Pfeiffer are both memorable in their roles, but even they can’t carry a Batman movie that’s light on Batman.  A fun, but ultimately flawed experience.

This one’s not for the kids.

6. Batman:  Under the Red Hood

I was pretty surprised to see Warner Bros. was releasing an animated Batman film that did not feature Kevin Conroy in the leading role, or would include The Joker but no Mark Hamill.  To me, so long as neither actor is demanding an absurd wage for their services, Conroy and Hamill should be the voice of Batman and Joker, respectively, until they can no longer do it.  That said, both Bruce Greenwood and John DiMaggio do an acceptable job as Batman and The Joker in Under the Red Hood, an animated film that adapts parts of popular comic plots such as “A Death in the Family,” “Hush,” and “Under the Hood.”

It’s that first story that attracted me to this direct-to-video feature and the one that made it most interesting.  For those not in the know, “A Death in the Family” is the iconic story where Robin is murdered by The Joker.  It was one of those rare stories where comics crossed over into the mainstream as it was a pretty big deal to see Robin go down.  Under the Red Hood starts off like a mystery, but it’s one that is solved almost immediately.  Batman and Nightwing (Neil Patrick Harris) both encounter the new vigilante/villain Red Hood and are unsure of his motives.  He appears to be positioning himself as an adversary for crime boss Black Mask, and doing a good job of it.  As I said, the mystery is revealed fairly early in the film, and the second act deals with Batman confronting this new foe.  The animation is fluid and quite enjoyable to behold, and the opening scene featuring the murder of Robin is appropriately disturbing and graphic.  The film’s signature scene though is not the death of the boy wonder, but the climax which features Batman, Red Hood, and The Joker in a memorable stand-off.  The true motivation for the Red Hood is revealed and it serves as a believable and some-what heartbreaking reveal.  It’s really that climax that pushes this one up to the position of number 6 on this list.

5. Batman Beyond:  The Return of the Joker

I’ve mentioned before how I wasn’t a believer when I first heard about Batman Beyond.  It seemed too gimmicky and totally unnecessary; a cheap way to go after the younger crowd.  Were there really no stories left to tell for Bruce Wayne?  I was proven wrong though and Batman Beyond, while not as good as the series it followed, proved to be a worthwhile entry into the Batman canon.  The Return of the Joker though, ended up being one of the best Batman stories every brought to animation which is something I don’t think anyone could have predicted.

One of Batman Beyond’s major weaknesses as a series was the absence the classic rogue’s gallery.  A few good villains would be created to battle this new Batman, and even Mr. Freeze would make an appearance, but few could hold a candle to some of Batman’s most memorable foes.  One who was missed perhaps the most was The Joker.  How can you have Batman without The Joker?  I think most fans suspected his presence would one day be felt, but as the actual Joker who terrorized Bruce Wayne’s Batman so long ago?  That seemed crazy, but The Return of the Joker proved it could be done.  Sure there was a sci-fi explanation for how The Joker could still be around and the film took some liberties in getting the audience to buy into the explanation, but at the end of the day, we were willing to believe anything if it meant the return of perhaps Batman’s greatest foe.  And this Joker, once again played by Mark Hamill, is an even darker take on the character.  He’s even more sadistic than before and kind of pissed off to boot.  The production values are no better than an episode of the television series, but no one cares when the plot is this well executed.  If I have one complaint with the film it’s that the final encounter between Batman and The Joker isn’t quite as satisfying as it probably should have been, but the film makes up for it by showing us the final confrontation between the original Batman and Joker which was just as excellent as it should have been.

Now there’s a dynamic duo.

4. Batman (1989)

I’ve already done a full review for this one, so I won’t get into too much detail here.  Simply stated, this was the film that proved Batman could be a box office juggernaut and appeal to both kids and adults.  Perhaps more so adults with this dark and gritty take on the caped crusader.  The choice of Michael Keaton as Batman was much maligned at the time, but he easily won crowds over.  The look of the film was particularly striking and would go on to influence The Animated Series in a major way.  Jack Nicholson’s Joker was so good that, as hard as it may be to believe now, many people felt like no one could ever come close to matching it.  This one may not hold up as well today when compared with the Nolan films, but this Batman is still pretty unique and the one most like the Dark Knight featured in Frank Miller’s work.

3. Batman:  Mask of the Phantasm

Last year I dubbed Mask of the Phantasm as the definitive take on the character to make it to film.  I also said that is not to be confused with best film to feature Batman.  Mask of the Phantasm, quite simply, fully captures the essence of the character in a way that not even Christopher Nolan’s works can match.  The film focuses on the early challenges faced by Bruce Wayne as he struggles with keeping to the promise he made to his deceased parents and the graveyard scene is the most memorable scene, for me, from any Batman film.  I love this movie, so much that I made a full entry on it last year shortly after my verdict on the definitive Batman film.  If you like Batman, you absolutely owe it to yourself to track this one down.

Well done, Mr. Ledger.

2. The Dark Knight

Considering the work done by the other directors and actors featured on this list, it’s pretty high praise to award the top two spots (yeah, that’s right, hope I didn’t ruin the surprise) to the team of Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale.  Of course, The Dark Knight owes a great deal of its success to the late Heath Ledger who’s turn as The Joker is already one of the most memorable performances in a comic book movie to date.  Batman Begins was a successful movie, but it wasn’t the massive hit The Dark Knight turned out to be.  A great deal of that probably is due to the aura the film garnered after Ledger’s demise and word of mouth of the actor’s fantastic performance.  It cannot be understated;  Heath Ledger’s Joker is phenomenol!

That said, The Dark Knight is not a perfect movie.  It’s certainly very good, excellent even, but Batman has seen better.  Part of that is due to the same thing that harmed Batman Returns, which is a de-emphasis of the Batman character.  Nolan explored Batman in great depth in Batman Begins, so he probably felt like that afforded him a lot of freedom with this picture.  Nolan also approached this one as a crime drama and often cited the popular heist film Heat when discussing the picture.  Batman still has a strong presence, as both himself and his alter ego Bruce Wayne, but the scenes with The Joker are just so good, so memorable, that they over-shadow the rest of the film.

I do find Bale’s performance to be noticeably worse in this one than the previous film.  Some of that is some quentionable dialogue in the script, but a big piece of it is the dreaded bat voice.  In Batman Begins, Bale uses a lower and slightly throaty voice when speaking as Batman.  In The Dark Knight, the voice is almost distorted and Batman sounds like he’s auditioning for a death metal band.  It doesn’t work, especially when Batman is asked to have full conversations with characters, and really detracts from many of the film’s most critical scenes.  I also feel like the Two-Face part of the story was rushed and the resolution still leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Criticisms aside, you can’t be number 2 on this list and be a bad film.  The Dark Knight is an engrossing crime flick and is tremendously entertaining.  Its faults are forgivable, and its biggest fault is that it’s just not as good as the number one film on this list.

There’s just no topping this.

1. Batman Begins

When Christopher Nolan was brought on to reboot the Batman franchise many people had no idea what to expect.  Nolan, at that time, was best known for Memento, a really cool and engaging film but not one that could easily be applied to the Batman franchise.  The often rumored to be in development Batman 5 never got off the ground, and Warner Bros. wisely decided to distance itself from the catastrophe that was Batman & Robin.

A fresh start is really what the doctor ordered, and by doing so it gave Nolan a chance to do what no director had really done before:  tell a complete origin story.  Batman Begins is exactly what Batman needed.  The film goes into meticulous detail to explain to the audience how Batman came to be and what truly motivates him.  His morals and methods are fully defined for the first time and the film is focused fully on Batman with no villain to steal the spotlight.  Nolan’s universe is grounded and absent of most of the characters we’re used to seeing which gives the film it’s own sense of authenticity.  Christian Bale proves to be worthy of dawning the cape and cowl, but some of the supporting cast really steal the show.  Michael Caine is perfectly cast as Alfred, the closest thing to a maternal figure Bruce has, and Gary Oldman is easily my favorite actor to portray Jim Gordon.  Rachel Dawes, an assistant to Gotham’s D.A. and childhood friend to Bruce, is created to help the Bruce Wayne character feel more real.  Played by Katie Holmes, she’s a strong female type that actually works pretty well in that role.  My only major complaint with the film is when they try to force a romantic undertone to Rachel and Bruce’s relationship which just lacks any chemistry and feels unnecessary.

Batman Begins is the best Batman film created thus far.  It just hits all of the right notes and I still get chills when I watch the film’s final scene.  Will it remain the best?  As I sit and type this up we are just over 3 hours away from the release of The Dark Knight Rises.  I have intentionally avoided all press related to the film.  I do not know how it has been received by critics, I do not intend to speak to anyone tomorrow about it as I want to experience it in a pure way to form my own opinions. I’ve never taken a film this serious, and I’m not sure why I am now.  I think it’s because I just haven’t been excited by the few trailers I’ve seen or the concepts I’ve heard that the film is supposed to contain.  I fear I’m already approaching it with too much of an opinion, and I want to distance myself from that.  I have tickets to see it in IMAX this Sunday, and I’ll try to post a review that night for anyone who is interested.  Regardless, I fully expect this trilogy of Batman movies to be among the best trilogies comic book fans, or movie fans in general, have ever received.  I doubt very much it will top Batman Begins as a stand-alone experience, but so long as it’s on par that’s all anyone can ask for.

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