|
|
| Special Features: |
Commentary by the Filmmakers
Behind-the-Scenes Documentary
Deleted Scenes
Animation Tests
Music Video Crash by Mephisto Odyssey feat. Static X
Animated Character Bios
|
| Video Format: |
Full Frame (1.33:1)
[SS-SL]
|
| Languages: |
English (Dolby Digital Surround 2.0)
|
| Subtitles: |
English, Francais
|
| Captions: |
Yes
|
| Casing: |
1-Disc Snap Case
|
Diehard Batman fans have been slow to warm to the animated series "Batman Beyond" even though it was created by the same
team responsible for the excellent "Batman: The Animated Series" (1992) cartoon.
Purists argue that the Dark Knight's prowess has been lessened by this updated, smart-aleck teen four decades in the future,
with jet packs, invisibility shields, and other sci-fi gizmos loaned him by an elderly Bruce Wayne (voiced, excellently as
always, by Kevin Conroy), now confined to hobbling about on a cane and monitoring his protégé's activities from the Batcave.
Between its respectful reexamination of the "tortured hero" mythos and its sleek, anime-inspired look, this feature-length
movie should go a long way toward quieting their complaints. Mark Hamill is thankfully back as the deranged voice of The Joker,
and the storyline of his return has a nice little twist to it. The uncut version is quite a bit darker than you'd expect for a
"kid's show," and parents may well want to preview this DVD before giving it to the young Batfans out there. Once again,
another "Batman" cartoon has outshone the more recent live-action attempts.
An absolutely loaded disc that will keep fans of the series stimulated for hours. Parents be warned though: the film
has a good deal more violence and adult-themes than you'd expect. After all, it's the Uncut Version.
Picture Quality: 8/10
A nice clean transfer from Warner Home Video. The colors are vibrant and faithful to the series. For those curious, traditional animated films seem to transfer much cleaner to DVD than live-action, simply due to the amount of color information carried in the bit-stream.
Sound Quality: 8/10
A very convincing audio track. Dialogue was crisp, despite the two-channel surround transfer.
Menu: 8/10
Slightly more cumbersome than WB's other "Batman" releases, primarily because of the disc's numerous extra features.
Extra Features: 9/10
For a cartoon series DVD, Warner Bros. has crammed just about everything you could imagine into this disc. An interesting filmmakers commentary track,
Behind-the-scenes documentary, deleted scenes, and for the animation lover in all of us, Animatics test runs.
The Final Word:
An absolutely loaded disc that will keep fans of the series stimulated for hours. Parents be warned though: the film
has a good deal more violence and adult-themes than you'd expect. Nice series, great disc.
Stephen Wong
|
American Red Cross volunteers have been deployed to the hardest hit areas of Katrina’s destruction, supplying hundreds of
thousands victims left homeless with critical necessities. By making a financial gift to Hurricane 2005 Relief, the Red
Cross can provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need.
