Overview:
Batman: Gotham Knight is a collection of animated shorts varying artistically from the animated level to the story writing. Artistically, the shorts vary considerably. At first the animation reminds me of FLCL, and then shifts to something more out of Cowboy Bebop in the next few shorts. From the character design to the setting they all manage to keep the film noir / German expressionism aesthetic that I have become fond of over the years. The only drawback to this is, I might think many people whom view this will find this an annoyance, as the characters will look like something out of a bad acid trip, to something borderline anime, as well with the constant costume changes batman goes throughout the main feature. As for the writing, I was amazed how each different author managed to bridge the gap between all of the shorts. This release is intended to “bridge the gap” between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Such creative inputs come from Josh Olsen (History of Violence) and the guy who wrote Batman Begins, David Goyer. When it comes to voice acting role of Batman/Bruce Wayne I couldn’t have been happier. They managed to get Kevin Conroy – The guy who was the voice of Batman in the 1992 animated series. This was a welcome treat for me (and I suppose anyone around my age) who happened to have fond memories of coming home from school, plopping down in front of the TV to watch a damn fine series.
The Main Feature
The feature is quite simply amazing. When I watched the 1990’s Batman animated series, nothing seemed to top that. I know there have been various incarnations of animated Batman Such as Batman: Beyond, but nothing has come close to surpass the feel that 90’s version had. While keeping the darkness and overall “gothic” feel of Gotham city, it was definitely accomplished. I know this set is intended to be an origin story, I felt shorthanded given the fact many of the villains were not covered, such as Batman’s arch-nemesis The Joker, but given the Dark Knight must answer that question. I suppose the focus was more on Batman’s inner psyche on how he has never gotten over the fact he witnessed his parents death (I REALLY hope this isn’t a spoiler to anyone that is the least bit familiar with Batman). Without giving too much away, the only real interesting part where we see this happening is when Bruce heads off to India and manages to seek the assistance of a shunned Hindu priestess to assist him getting through pain both physically and mentally. What’s really strange is on the front of the box it is labeled as “PG-13” but there a various scenes where there is plenty of gore, death and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Not that bothers me in the slightest, but I think some conservative parents might be apprehensive having their kids watch such material. If they were going to go this route, they should have just used cursing as well. There are times throughout the feature where we here the classic replacements for curse words that you would hear on broadcast television. “Forget” and “Dang” to just to name a few.
Special Features
Ah, this is how a DVD set should be. Provided the first disc contains special features, the DVD comes with a second disk that is nothing but special features. There’s documentaries with the writers, creators, etc. that put the set together along with various audio commentary. You won’t be disappointed with the special features.