Movie Info
Movie Name: Batman: Under the Red Hood
Studio: Warner Bros. Animation
Genre(s): Animated/Comic Book/Action/Adventure
Release Date(s): July 27, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG-13
You know Robin, you don’t really need to wear those short-shorts.
Batman learns that his past might finally be bad to haunt him. The Red Hood has returned to Gotham and like the times before the face lurking under the Red Hood could be another villain or something even worse. The new Red Hood seems to know intimate details about Batman and an obsession about the Joker…leading Batman to realize that someone he thought long-dead might not be dead at all!
Directed by Brandon Vietti, Batman: Under the Red Hood is a DC Universe Animated Original Movie and followed Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths also released in 2010. It adapts both Jim Starlin’s Batman: A Death in the Family story (Batman (1) #426-429) and Judd Winick’s Batman: Under the Red Hood (Batman (1) #635-641, 645-650; Annual #25). It received positive reviews upon its release.
Damn…I’m going to need a new Robin. I hear that Tim Drake is good…
I liked Batman: A Death in the Family. It was a dramatic story with a shocking ending (which readers asked for). The irritating Jason Todd was dead…time to celebrate! I wasn’t against Jason Todd returning because the idea of Todd’s return means that Batman’s old scars are torn open…I just hated how the comic did it.
In the comic, the story was tied into Infinite Crisis and Superboy-Prime’s warping of reality. Jason Todd returned from the dead. It was not very good and I don’t find Judd Winick’s writing generally inspired. This movie does a good job smoothing out the rough transition and gets to the core of the story with the focus on the “Batman Family”.
Hey, Joker…so you like using a crowbar?
The animation is rather strong for the movie. I prefer the flashback sequences with Robin and much of the imagery is taken directly from the comics. I’ve always enjoyed the animated Joker in particular and this animation is some of the creepiest Joker animation.
Jason Todd was always obnoxious, but I thought he did serve a good purpose in Batman by finally raising the question of Batman’s responsibility by putting children in danger. The idea was the thrust of Frederic Wertham’s 1954 book Seduction of Innocence which put comics in a tailspin and almost wiped them off the map, so it is good to see Batman having dealt with this. The Red Hood storyline was so-so and I wish the focus had been on Death in the Family. Batman: Under the Red Hood however is a solid comic book movie and will be enjoyed by fans. DC followed Batman: Under the Red Hood with Superman/Batman: Apocalypse in 2010 as well.
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