If there is one thing I can say about America in terms of other countries it is that they are behind in terms of animation. Almost every other country in the world sees animated films as equals to live-action films and treats them on the same intellectual level. I mean, look at the most prominent of examples, Japan's Anime. Ghost in the Shell is a cult classic for its adult story, deep premise and the universal question of the existance of the soul in a world where machines are becoming more prominent, Paprika goes further into philosophical ground with its premise of Dream Terrorism and how one judges their reality, and FLCL is a metaphorical acid trip that Stephen Hawking would have after reading bedtime stories with Stephen King and fingerpainting with Jackson Pollock. Whereas American Animation gets a knee-jerk "that's offensive and bad for our children" reaction whenever a cartoon bunny cross-dresses or if a character uses a gun that actually fires bullets.
I could go into the sociological and political implications that are keeping the United States from growing some cojones and getting with the program but there is some good news to be had: we're trying. The problem is so far, our idea of adult animation right now is anything Seth Macfarlene has done or some of the fleeting movies that try (9, Beowulf, Titan A.E., etc.) and fail due to that sociological thing I mentioned. On the bright side, animated movie adaptations of comic book stories by the likes of Marvel and DC are getting the idea and have given us a few great films. Marvel's best by far has to be Doctor Strange and as for DC, it has to be their newest one, Batman: Under the Red Hood. How is it done? Mindset! Both companies don't think, "let's make a good cartoon," they think, "let's tell a good story, period."
For those comic savvy Batman fans, Under the Red Hood takes place some time after the Batman event, Death in the Family, and revolves around the new crime lord, the Red Hood, and his arrival in Gotham. The strange thing about this new face of evil to confront the Batman is that since he has revealed himself, crime has plummeted. With this in mind, Batman is stuck trying to piece together the mystery of the Red Hood's intentions as either crime boss or two-faced vigilante... and that's all I'll tell you. Trust me, unless you've read the comics this is based on, you are in for some pretty emotional surprises.
The good news is the movie is good, the bad news is I know some people who probably won't give it a chance due to one thing, the voice cast. Now, I'm a fan of Kevin Conroy as the Caped Crusader as much as everyone and I still love Mark Hamill's Joker, but there's no way they're gonna do those characters forever. So, at the risk of instigating a flame war, can we just get over the Golden Age of Batman voices and move on? I say this because the new cast is actually quite good. Bruce Greenwood does a good job conveying a fatherly yet dark tone as Bruce Wayne and gives a much healthier balance between the Conroy cold anger and the Bale throat shredder in terms of pitch, Neil Patrick Harris has a bit of a phoned in but still tolerable performance as his brief role as Nightwing, and Jensen Ackles gives great scarred scorn in his role as the Red Hood. But arguably, the show stealer for Under the Red Hood has to be the voice of The Joker which is none other than John DiMaggio. The same John DiMaggio who voices Bender on Futurama (they're back, baby, whoo!) and other various parts including Baldur's Gate and X-Men Legends. Once again, I know we all love Mark Hamill in the role, but if Mark is really calling it quits, then you can't go wrong with John's performance. Watch it for yourself, you'll know what I mean.
In terms of action, Under the Red Hood is probably the most brutal Batman movie to date, second only to The Dark Knight. We're talking broken bones, immolations, people being shot, batarangs breaking skin, the list goes on but once again, trying not to spoil anything. What's also surprising is, comic book logic aside (anything the hero or villain uses has a secondary function to it), they don't exist for the sake of themselves. This isn't the, "hey, look at how hardcore I am," attempts at adult material as, oh say, Dante's Inferno was but more along the lines of the clever yet somewhat preposterous sequences in Inception, and that's just the way I like it.
The animation in Under The Red Hood reminds me vaguely of the animated style used around the final season of Batman: The Animated Series with some computer aided touch-ups. It isn't exactly handdrawn stuff but it has that feeling and is at least one step in the right direction. I mean you make someone work on something that's over 70 minutes long and has to look overy every single frame of the damn thing, they better have some passion in it or else it'll fall apart. Thankfully, it doesn't and the movie is all the better for it.
The weird thing about Under the Red Hood though is that it assumes maybe a little too much for a regular joe going into it that they know the cast. Then again, the only people who seem to give a damn about these movies are either Batman fans or animation enthusiasts so I guess it works. But what might throw even the casual comic reader is the inclusion of an animated short featuring the DC Universe's western hero, Jonah Hex. The good news is for you unfortunate yuks who had to sit through the live action pile of shit adaptation, this small ten minute short might get that taste out of your mouth for a while. Now to throw some irony into this mix. The guy voicing Hex is Thomas Jane, and he's good... yeah. Suck on that for a while.
Bottom Line I have to say if you're a fan of Batman, Under the Red Hood is a buy. It has everything and an animated short of a scarred cowboy, what more could you want?
See you again this Saturday everybody, and yes, I do take requests!
I could go into the sociological and political implications that are keeping the United States from growing some cojones and getting with the program but there is some good news to be had: we're trying. The problem is so far, our idea of adult animation right now is anything Seth Macfarlene has done or some of the fleeting movies that try (9, Beowulf, Titan A.E., etc.) and fail due to that sociological thing I mentioned. On the bright side, animated movie adaptations of comic book stories by the likes of Marvel and DC are getting the idea and have given us a few great films. Marvel's best by far has to be Doctor Strange and as for DC, it has to be their newest one, Batman: Under the Red Hood. How is it done? Mindset! Both companies don't think, "let's make a good cartoon," they think, "let's tell a good story, period."
<img src=http://winchesterbros.com/gallery/albums/jensen%20other%20filmography/movies/batmanredhood/cover/normal_batmanredhoodcover.jpg>
For those comic savvy Batman fans, Under the Red Hood takes place some time after the Batman event, Death in the Family, and revolves around the new crime lord, the Red Hood, and his arrival in Gotham. The strange thing about this new face of evil to confront the Batman is that since he has revealed himself, crime has plummeted. With this in mind, Batman is stuck trying to piece together the mystery of the Red Hood's intentions as either crime boss or two-faced vigilante... and that's all I'll tell you. Trust me, unless you've read the comics this is based on, you are in for some pretty emotional surprises.
The good news is the movie is good, the bad news is I know some people who probably won't give it a chance due to one thing, the voice cast. Now, I'm a fan of Kevin Conroy as the Caped Crusader as much as everyone and I still love Mark Hamill's Joker, but there's no way they're gonna do those characters forever. So, at the risk of instigating a flame war, can we just get over the Golden Age of Batman voices and move on? I say this because the new cast is actually quite good. Bruce Greenwood does a good job conveying a fatherly yet dark tone as Bruce Wayne and gives a much healthier balance between the Conroy cold anger and the Bale throat shredder in terms of pitch, Neil Patrick Harris has a bit of a phoned in but still tolerable performance as his brief role as Nightwing, and Jensen Ackles gives great scarred scorn in his role as the Red Hood. But arguably, the show stealer for Under the Red Hood has to be the voice of The Joker which is none other than John DiMaggio. The same John DiMaggio who voices Bender on Futurama (they're back, baby, whoo!) and other various parts including Baldur's Gate and X-Men Legends. Once again, I know we all love Mark Hamill in the role, but if Mark is really calling it quits, then you can't go wrong with John's performance. Watch it for yourself, you'll know what I mean.
In terms of action, Under the Red Hood is probably the most brutal Batman movie to date, second only to The Dark Knight. We're talking broken bones, immolations, people being shot, batarangs breaking skin, the list goes on but once again, trying not to spoil anything. What's also surprising is, comic book logic aside (anything the hero or villain uses has a secondary function to it), they don't exist for the sake of themselves. This isn't the, "hey, look at how hardcore I am," attempts at adult material as, oh say, Dante's Inferno was but more along the lines of the clever yet somewhat preposterous sequences in Inception, and that's just the way I like it.
<img src=http://www.titanstower.com/monitor/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/6a00d8341c630a53ef01287785ae8e970c-550wi.jpg>
Batman Badguy 101: If he has a gun, he means business...
The animation in Under The Red Hood reminds me vaguely of the animated style used around the final season of Batman: The Animated Series with some computer aided touch-ups. It isn't exactly handdrawn stuff but it has that feeling and is at least one step in the right direction. I mean you make someone work on something that's over 70 minutes long and has to look overy every single frame of the damn thing, they better have some passion in it or else it'll fall apart. Thankfully, it doesn't and the movie is all the better for it.
The weird thing about Under the Red Hood though is that it assumes maybe a little too much for a regular joe going into it that they know the cast. Then again, the only people who seem to give a damn about these movies are either Batman fans or animation enthusiasts so I guess it works. But what might throw even the casual comic reader is the inclusion of an animated short featuring the DC Universe's western hero, Jonah Hex. The good news is for you unfortunate yuks who had to sit through the live action pile of shit adaptation, this small ten minute short might get that taste out of your mouth for a while. Now to throw some irony into this mix. The guy voicing Hex is Thomas Jane, and he's good... yeah. Suck on that for a while.
Bottom Line I have to say if you're a fan of Batman, Under the Red Hood is a buy. It has everything and an animated short of a scarred cowboy, what more could you want?
See you again this Saturday everybody, and yes, I do take requests!
