Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One finally brings the critically acclaimed comic series to life with some superb animation. Although there is a lot of information to sift through in the first installment, Part Two will present the fantastic conclusion to the Holiday Killer story.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided us with a free copy of this Blu-ray/DVD that we reviewed in this blog post. The opinions we share are our own.
“It’s a dark time in Gotham City. Held hostage by the powerful Falcone crime family, the city is rife with misdeeds and corruption. Adding to the chaos is the mysterious Holiday killer, who has been targeting the underworld and leaving a trail of terror…and body bags. Batman, Captain James Gordon and D.A. Harvey Dent race against the calendar as it advances toward the next ill-fated holiday. Based on the critically acclaimed graphic novel, Batman: The Long Halloween – Part One begins a twisted chain of events that will forever change the Dark Knight.”
DC’s cartoon feature films have really been impressing recently, especially the ones relating to Batman. Batman: Death in the Family, and Batman: Soul of the Dragon, to name a few, set the bar pretty high when it comes to these stand-alone films, bringing exciting storylines, impressive animation and voice acting to a genre that DC’s competitors haven’t yet cornered. The 13 issue-series of Batman: The Long Halloween is a critically acclaimed story, a perfect source material for DC’s next cartoon feature.
The draw of the story, for me anyway, is the exploration of the early years of Batman. The pact made between him, Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent to clean up the city held in a grip by the Falcone crime family is one of the main drives of the story, however, a mysterious killer looms, surfacing every holiday to take out members of crime families in Gotham. The story takes on more of a mystery, detective-type story as Batman tries to figure out who the murderer is, while tragedy continues to strike Gotham and his allies.
There’s a lot that’s different from the mainstream Batman story: Bruce’s relationship with Selena Kyle, mainly, as we explore the difficulty in having a relationship with someone who sometimes strays from the right side of the law. It’s a piece of Batman’s history that isn’t always explored in television and film media, but if this past week’s controversy between the two characters says anything, it’s that their relationship is a missed opportunity that should be featured in other mediums besides the comics.
One of the things that made Batman: The Long Halloween so incredibly memorable was the artwork by artist Tim Sale. Sadly, the animation isn’t as extreme as the artwork in the comic series, and is more in line with the traditional animation DC has used for its other Batman films. Although this does bring back memories of Batman: The Animated Series, and is quite impressive in its own rights, it would have been a lot more fun to see those characters drawn more in the line of the comics. The story itself is broken up into two parts, with the next installment due out next month. While I initially didn’t understand why they’d do two separate releases instead of one long film, after viewing it, I don’t know why they wouldn’t do something even longer, perhaps a mini-series. There is so much information crammed in to this film it’s easy to get lost on what exactly the focus is. The corruption in Gotham, the Holiday Killer, the Falcone family, Jim Gordon, Harvey Dent’s long storyline, Bruce Wayne and Selena Kyle, oh, and throw in some random Solomon Grundy. There’s so much going on, the Holiday Killer, the main storyline, is just lost in the jumble. I’m hoping the second installment can fix some of the pacing issues the first part has, and get back on track.
The last two animated Batman films had great voice actors playing the role. Jensen Ackles, however, just sounds like he’s doing a bad impression of Batman. A lot of times it doesn’t sound organic, and took me out of the moment. It may just be a personal preference, but I for one did not like this choice for the voice. That being said, all the other characters had a great sound.
Video
Batman: The Long Halloween Part One is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.78:1. The animation is excellent, and colors coming through very bright and vivid. The dark lines of the animation are well-defined. The film of course takes place in the dark for the majority, and the deep blacks look great on this Blu-ray disc, especially contrasted with some of the brilliantly bright colors in certain sequences.
Audio
The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Although the animation is impressive in its own right, the audio is where this really shines. Sound effects especially sound incredible, bouncing from speaker to speaker, immersing you entirely in the action.
Special Features
Some great extras on this release, including bonus shorts and cartoons. These include:
- DC Showcase: The Losers – The legendary ragtag team of WWII outcasts finds itself marooned on an uncharted island in the South Pacific that is overrun with dinosaurs!
- A Sneak Peek at the Next Animated DC Universe Movie, Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two
- A Preview of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1
- A Preview of Batman: Gotham by Gaslight
- From the DC Vault: Batman: The Animated Series – “Christmas with the Joker”
- From the DC Vault: Batman: The Animated Series – “It’s Never Too Late”
Personally, I didn’t quite like this as much as I did Batman: Soul of the Dragon, however, it does have a unique style and storylines that present a big mystery that will be solved in Part Two. DC is still able to present some quality storytelling for comic book characters in a medium that they’ve continued to capitalize on, and as far as I’m concerned, they are masters of. Be sure to pick this up in time for the release of Part Two, to have the epic conclusion to this fan-favorite series.
