| Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker | |
|---|---|
Film poster |
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| Directed by | Curt Geda |
| Produced by | Alan Burnett Paul Dini Glen Murakami Bruce Timm Benjamin Melniker Michael Uslan |
| Screenplay by | Paul Dini |
| Story by | Paul Dini Glen Murakami Bruce Timm |
| Based on | Characters by Bob Kane Bill Finger |
| Starring | Will Friedle Kevin Conroy Mark Hamill Angie Harmon Dean Stockwell Teri Garr Arleen Sorkin Tara Strong Mathew Valencia Melissa Joan Hart |
| Music by | Kristopher Carter |
| Studio | Warner Bros. Animation |
| Distributed by | Warner Home Video |
| Release date(s) | December 12, 2000 |
| Running time | 76 minutes (Edited) 77 minutes (Uncut) |
| Language | English |
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (also known as Batman of the Future: Return of the Joker in Europe and Australia) is a 2000 direct-to-video animated film featuring the comic book superhero Batman and his archenemy, the Joker. It is set in the continuity of the animated series Batman Beyond, in which Bruce Wayne has retired from crimefighting and given the mantle of Batman to high school student Terry McGinnis. As in the TV series, Will Friedle and Kevin Conroy star as Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne, respectively. Mark Hamill, who played the Joker opposite Conroy in Batman: The Animated Series, returns in the title role.
Before its release, the movie was heavily edited to remove scenes of extreme violence, and some dialogue was altered, thus creating the "Not-Rated" version of the movie. The original version was subsequently released on DVD following an online petition to have the original version released. It received a PG-13 rating from the MPAA for violence, the first animated Batman film to do so.
Mephisto Odyssey and Static-X contributed the song "Crash (The Humble Brothers Remix)" on the film's soundtrack, along with a music video directed by Len Wiseman featured on the DVD.
Contents |
In the Neo-Gotham City, the Joker resurfaces after having disappeared 40 years earlier. He has taken over a faction of the Jokerz, and on his orders, they steal high-tech communications equipment. One heist happens to coincide with Bruce Wayne's formal announcement of his return to active leadership of Wayne Enterprises, revealing the Joker to the world. Despite Terry McGinnis' intervention, the Joker escapes. Bruce insists that it must be an impostor, as he claims to have witnessed the Joker's death decades before, yet all evidence suggests otherwise. Bruce, unwilling to let Terry face the Joker, impostor or not, demands that he return the Batsuit, to which Terry reluctantly complies.
Later on, Terry is attacked by the Jokerz at a nightclub he is at with his girlfriend, Dana. At the same time, the Joker ambushes and attacks Bruce in the Batcave, leaving him for dead. Terry defeats the Jokerz, and Dana is taken to the hospital for her injuries. Terry rushes to Wayne Manor, and finds Bruce near-dead from Joker venom. Terry quickly administers an antidote, and tends to Bruce with the help of Barbara Gordon.
After Terry insists on being let in on what really happened to the Joker, Barbara reluctantly tells him that many years back after Nightwing (Dick Grayson) moved to a new city to fight crime on his own, the Joker and Harley Quinn kidnapped Tim Drake, disfigured him to look like the Joker, and tortured him to the point of insanity. In the process, Tim revealed Batman's secret identity--and the secret of what drives him to be Batman. When Batman and the Joker fought their final battle, the Joker got the upper hand and subdued Batman. The Joker then tried to get Tim to kill Batman, but the boy instead turned on the Joker and killed him. Tim suffers a mental breakdown as young Barbara Gordon (then known as Batgirl) comforts him. Batman and Barbara buried the Joker's body beneath Arkham Asylum, while Harley fell into a pit and was never found. Following the incident, Tim was rehabilitated, but Bruce forbade him from being Robin again. Barbara retired as Batgirl to become police commissioner, and Tim eventually settled down with a wife and family.
Terry decides to question Tim, who denies any involvement and bitterly says he had grown sick of his past life as Robin. Terry then suspects Jordan Price, who would have taken control of the company were it not for Bruce's return. However, Terry finds the Jokerz on Price's yacht, who reveal that Price had hired them. However, the Joker has sent them to kill Price, as he is no longer needed. Terry rescues Price before a satellite laser destroys the boat, and then turns him in to the police.
Back in the Batcave, Terry deduces that Tim must be working with the Joker when he discovers that the high-tech equipment the Jokerz have been stealing can be combined to form a machine that take control of any satellite, thus explaining what happened on the yacht. Bruce is skeptical, but nonetheless sends Terry to question Tim again. Terry tries to confront Tim, but is lured into a trap by the Joker, who confirms that he and Tim are indeed working together. Escaping in the Batmobile, he is then chased through Gotham by the laser-armed satellite.
Terry tracks the Joker to the abandoned Jolly Jack candy factory. After fighting off the Jokerz, he finds Tim, who transforms into the Joker before his eyes. The Joker explains that when he kidnapped Tim, he implanted a microchip in the boy that carries the Joker's consciousness and personality, allowing him to physically and mentally transform Tim into a clone of himself. The Joker prepares to fire the satellite again, but before he can, Terry sets Bruce's dog, Ace, on him. Terry knocks the Joker's joy buzzer into the controls, destroying the beam's guidance system, causing it to head to the factory.
The Joker attempts to escape, but Terry seals the factory. Unable to directly overcome the Joker, who knows every trick and move that the original Batman and Robin knew. Terry instead throws the Joker off-guard by using his expertise in dirty street fighting moves and mocking his obsession with Batman. An enraged Joker throws a handful of grenades at Terry, sending him crashing to the floor. The Joker then pins him to the ground and begins to strangle him. Having retrieved the joy buzzer, Terry shocks the microchip, destroying it and putting an end to the Joker once and for all. Tim reverts to his old self, and Terry escapes with him and Ace before the satellite destroys the factory. The satellite gets deactivated and floats to outer space away from Earth forever.
In the city jail, two of the female Jokerz, Deidre and Delia Dennis, are bailed out by their grandmother, an elderly Harley Quinn, who laments what disappointments they are. Meanwhile, Terry and Barbara meet Tim in the hospital. Bruce arrives just as Terry leaves, telling him that it is not being Batman that makes him a worthwhile person, but the other way around. Bruce then joins Barbara and Tim in the hospital room.
The film ends with Terry donning the Batsuit and flying off into the heart of the city.
The movie was initially released amid the backlash against violence in movies and video games aimed at children that followed the Columbine High School massacre of 1999; as a result, the movie was substantially re-edited shortly before release to tone down the violence. Many of the changes were controversial, particularly those made to a key scene in which the Joker is killed. The original unedited version has been released as "The Original Uncut Version."
The following are scenes that were changed in the edited-for-content (PG) version:
| Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by various artists | |
| Released | October 17, 2000 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Label | Rhino Records |
Released on October 17, 2000, the soundtrack to Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker contains music composed by Kristopher Carter as well as two tracks of music featured in the direct-to-video film.
Return of the Joker has received mostly positive reviews from critics. It currently holds an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the fifth highest for any Batman movie (behind Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, The Dark Knight, and Batman: Under the Red Hood).[4]
Nisha Gopalan of Entertainment Weekly praised the uncut version of the film, in particular how it "sheds light on the dark, obsessive relationship between the villain and his vigilante counterpart."[5] Gerry Shamray of Sun Newspapers said that Return of the Joker "would have made a great live-action Batman movie."[6] Ryan Cracknell of Apollo Guide called the film "an animated masterpiece."[7]
Peter Canavese of Groucho Reviews called it an "energetic and unsettling Batman adventure," adding that it "provides a memorable showcase for Hamill's celebrated take on the Joker, and allows both McGinnis and Wayne to see action and face emotional challenges."[8] Michael Stailey of DVD Verdict gave the uncut version a score of 92 out of 100, calling it "a taut, high-impact film" and "a must-buy to Bat-fans and animation lovers alike."[9]
Garth Franklin of Dark Horizons had a mixed response when reviewing the uncut version, saying that "the script is pretty solid, the animation superb, and the voice performances all work well," but added that "the Terry character's personal scenes aren't anywhere near as engaging [as the scenes featuring the Joker or Bruce Wayne], and the investigative subplot doesn't work as well as it should."[10]
While the comic based on the movie was largely uncensored, the page depicting the Joker's death had to be redone to match the movie. The rest of the comic, however, was not altered. As a result, the rest of the story refers to the Joker being shot as opposed to electrocuted and killed.
The comic includes several scenes that did not make it to either versions of the film, such as:
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