An entirely new way to view animated films. Batman: Death in the Family provides a thrilling story you control, ensuring multiple re-watches, a perfect way to celebrate the story.
“Immerse yourself in this interactive movie, based on the iconic DC storyline event, where your choices will shape the destinies of Gotham City’s Caped Crusaders. Trained as Batman’s protégé, Jason Todd brings a relentless sense of justice as Robin, who sets his sights on bringing down The Joker. But can Batman save Robin from a fate worse than death? Tragedy, revenge and redemption await in this groundbreaking DC film! Who will live? Who will die? Who will watch over Gotham? The choice is now yours!”
Warner Bros. has been busy as of late releasing quite a few animated DC films that have been surprisingly very entertaining. Their latest release, one of their first interactive animated films which gives the viewer a unique experience of choosing how the story progresses, much like the original 1988 comic that gave readers a chance to call in and vote whether or not Jason Todd would be killed by Joker.
A relatively short animated feature, you get three choices to make during your watch-through, ensuring that you can immediately replay the film and watch the new choice and the different outcome. After your choice is made, Batman, voiced again by Bruce Greenwood, or Jason Todd, voiced by Vincent Martella, narrate the story which is told not like a traditional animated film, but in very brief action sequences, almost like a flashback. Despite this non-traditional method of storytelling, the action, voice acting, and animation itself are all very entertaining in telling the story of Jason Todd and the aftermath of his death.
I have never followed the Batman comics that closely, nor the identities of the multiple Robins there have been over the years, so this was an interesting foray into a dark chapter of Batman’s history that originally was the cause of so much grief from the original story, which fans championed for the Boy Wonder’s death. It isn’t Batman that is necessarily darker in this story, but some of the themes it presents, such as Jason’s desire to punish criminals way more harshly than Bruce. This is interesting in itself given the typical view of Batman being so violent, to seeing a character, Robin nonetheless, wanting to go further as judge, jury and executioner. You see a different side to Batman in this animated feature, a father figure who cares deeply about the well-being of his adopted son, and a feeling of betrayal in a certain part of the story.
The ‘interactive movie’ aspect of this release does ensure you’ll have fun with multiple viewings, which all shape very differently depending on how you proceed. For the animated film version of the story, a better system couldn’t have been chosen. Just as in 1988, the viewers will get their say in how the story proceeds, but even better, you can go back and see what could have been if the choice was made differently. There is some great material for fans to sift through on this set, seeing those different choices, and how these events shaped the Batman for years to come.
Video
The video is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.78:1. The video looks exceptional, with the animation reminiscent of the old television styles from the ‘90s, with a few exceptions. Colors are vibrant when they need to be: Joker’s face and costume in relation to the cold exterior of Bosnia being one example. Lines are well established and strong, in a style very unique to Batman and versions you’ve seen in the past.
Audio
The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. A great track all around, providing a lot of substance in the form of action, explosions, maniacal laughing, etc. You’ll see that come through nicely on the surrounds, with strong and clear dialogue present through the center channel.
Special Features
Not only does this set have multiple re-watch value in choosing how the story unfolds, it contains quite a few extras to keep you busy after you’ve made all these choices.
These include:
- Includes Four Additional Sohrts
- Rock
- Adam Strange
- The Phantom Stranger
- Death
- Audio Commentary on All 5 DC Showcase Animated Shorts
I was a bit hesitant at what I thought would be a gimmick in this interactive movie, but after learning the history of the story, watching it unfold through my choices, I don’t think there is a better way to pay homage to the original concept of Death in the Family. Fans of this story will definitely want to check this out, and casual Batman fans, such as myself, will find immense enjoyment in it as well.
