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Here is my top 5 list of favorite fanmade amv’s using DC Animation
Content from either the feature films, shorts, or TV shows found on
youtube (in no particular order).
I also apologize ahead of time as some of the titles couldn't be found using blogspot's connection to youtube, so I included links.
1. "DC Comics Heroes AMV” – By Poture Bhabesh.
This creator did an excellent job utilizing content from the DC
Showcase Cinema Animation shorts, with a decent balance of appearances
Between Green Arrow, Catwomen, Specter, Shazam, and Jonah Hex.
There was some excellent uses of timing, particularly in the
beginning, and the choice of “War of Change” by Thousand Foot Crunch
works well with many of the personalities displayed, particularly
Specter, Jonah Hex and Catwomen.
This had a good focus on the more violent aspects that was inherent
in both the feature animated films and the television shows, which was
highlighted well by the choice of “Painkiller” by Three Days Grace.
The variety of focus was also a visual treat guessing game,
particularly for those who have enjoyed both the movie and television
franchises over the decades.
While the color changing can come across as unnecessary, there is just
something about the idea of the Joker singing “Are you ok Annie?” over
and over again, something i can seriously see him do. The creator also
used the more comical beaver toothed Joker from The Batman series, which was a good choice to accent the comedy of the amv.
4."Harley Quinn-Hit and Run AMV”- by Nemesis of Cupid.
This was a tightly put together AMV tribute to the Suicide Squad
animated version of Harley Quinn with the use of LOLO’s “Hit and Run” to
round out the fun of the character, something that we will all get to
enjoy (Hopefully) with the release of Suicide Squad, the feature film
version of Assault on Arkham.
5. “Justice League Flashpoint AMV”- by PinkKttsyan340.
What makes this AMV good is not so much any particular theme or
character given emphasis, but more along the lines of taking the finest
qualities of the source material, Justice League Flash Point, and highlights some of the best visuals, brutality, and tragedy that was part of the film.
“Forsaken” By Within Temptation has a music style that very
adequately highlights the style of the animated feature and it was
utilized well here with some good editing.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Movie scenes and Promotional imagery. Property of Warner Bros.
Film: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
Directed by: Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm.
Released: 1993.
Running Time: 76 min.
I am sure everyone and their monkey’s uncle has perhaps had their
ear bent over the years about the first DC Animated film based off of
the Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995) over the years. A
story about a young Bruce Wayne on the crossroads and early days of
becoming Batman told in flashbacks while his present self is on the run
from a frame up and facing down a mysterious antagonist that takes that
one step to far approach.
So what makes this worth chatter in certain fan communities?
First, for the 90’s, a film based off of an animated television
series without being just a well edited amalgamation of episodes or one
long episode was rare to find, especially within shows geared towards
the younger set, let alone one that was destined to have a theatrical
release, instead of just going straight to video.
While the film failed in the box office, mostly due in part to the
short amount of time the team was given by Warner Bros. to both make and
sell people to the release (and one of those prime examples of why we
all still tolerate trailers and promos now a days despite the
complaints), though it did receive high praise from many critics, and
has since gained cult following status.
This is everything you could want in an animated neo-noir film,
directed by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm who carried the success and
classy darker over tones of the series into the film, as well as
reaching out to a variety of Batman comics, but also made it something more than its source material.
It treats itself like a serious feature film and not just an off shoot of a television show.
The amazing and clever cinematic score by Shirley Walker, one of the
few female women score writers during the period in Hollywood and the
original composer for the animated series and set the tone for the
musical score for the DC Animated series universe franchise, greets
viewers in the opening credits with a score that had an epic feel akin
to listening to the scores of Superman (1978) and Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
It wasn’t just epic in feel and tone, but also contained some of the
playful edge of its roots by its construction of the lyrics in an
amusing inside joke that very few people caught at the time involving
the choir who were not singing Latin or some other grand language, but
instead, with all seriousness, they were singing the names of
orchestrates Lolita Ritmanis, Michael McCuistion and Peter Tomashek (and
some others) backwards.
The voice acting meanwhile of of Kevin Conroy (Bruce Wayne/Batman),
Mark Hamill (Joker), and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr (Alfred Pennyworth).
already excellent actors from the series, went all out (reprising their
roles from The Animated Series), in particular Mark Hamill working his pre-Joker and present Joker figure.
The next positive was the story.
Loosely based off of events from Batman Year One and Batman Year Two
graphic novels as well as the television series, showed a good balance
of its various source materials, while being mainly its own thing. As a
cinematic article in and of itself, accentuating its neo-noir lines, it
stands on its own without needing to lean on its inspiration and sources
to hard, but respecting the classic Batman Detective character, as well
as the genre conventions of neo-noir, fitting as there were some
moments in the flashbacks that were inspired/reminiscent of famous noir
classic Citizen Kane (1941).
So we can agree this film has many advantages going for it, but does it have any drawbacks?
Two criticisms have come to light over the years, so lets address them:
The first Criticism is that the plot is to slow, almost plodding,
with not enough action to keep audiences engaged throughout the film.
It’s a valid criticism, the pacing of the plot is slower then many
are likely accustomed to, particularly child audiences, and in
comparison to later films, its pace is a little staid. The fact of the
matter though is that noirs are often not normally fast paced
predominantly.
Its all about setting the atmosphere, building the intrigue, or at
least good noir films do this, and this is a noir film make no mistake
about that, and this film does a good job in establishing its intrigue
and mood with just the right amount of action scenes- and when they
happened, they were really good, relevant to the story, and memorable-
to satisfy. Though perhaps those who respond to higher action to story
ratios might not be as in to this film.
The Second criticism would be the lead romantic role, Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany), was not a very well developed character. Andrea Beaumont, Played by Dana Delany. Screen shot, property of WB.
In this I would have to agree more with critics. For most of her
appearance, Andrea didn’t receive much development as a character
herself for a large part of the movie, but despite this she did fulfill
her role for the story, and the resolution of her character in the
climax of the film does somewhat save her character. You do believe the
chemistry between her and Bruce as well, which was vital component as
part of Bruce’s struggle in his early years as a vigilantly in making
his ultimate choice for the path he takes as Batman.
Its worth noting that her character does appear in a cameo or two within the DC Franchise, particularly in the series finale of Batman Beyond (1999-2001).
Unfortunately, Andrea did reflect a trend with how women were treated
rather stereotypically that was part and parcel in the Batman Animated
series for the most part until more interesting characters like Harley
Quinn came along. Andrea did break the mold to an extent as well, in a
way that went beyond the love interest or the sexualized villianess. she
is an interesting mix of breaking the mold and sustaining it at the
same time.
This perhaps reflects the dated nature of the film perhaps, but when
one takes into account the amazingly story, great acting, a brilliant
antagonist, the noir atmosphere, and the homage to source material with
an original twist here and there, plus the spectacular climatic ending,
it somewhat saves it from completely falling into the dated container,
perhaps why it has retained its cult status and one of the top favorite
DC Animated Film list for may fans of the franchise.
This is certainly one of my top favorites from the DC Animated
Franchise, a highly recommended watch for not only Batman fans or DC
Animations fans, but also for those who just want to watch a great
feature film.
Back from the brink of another health induced hiatus.
I apologize to all my regular readers, and I know this seems to be recurring theme, I apologize, my health has its ups and downs sometimes.
Anyhoo, with the awesome r-rated The Killing Joke based off of one of my favorite graphic novels from the DC-verse, coming out and with some of my favorite voice actors including Mark Hamill, I decided in homage to the DC Animated franchise by reviewing as many DC Animated movies, shorts, and fanmade animated content as possible until its current stated release date in July interspersed throughout my other content.
Just for the hell of it, here is a list of all the DC Animated films in chronological order by release date starting from the 1990's, and a trailer or clip for each one.
1. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993).
2. Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998).
3. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000).
4. Batman: The Mystery of the Batwoman (2003).
5. The Batman vs. Dracula (2005).
6. Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo (2006).
7. Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006).
8. Superman Doomsday (2007).
9. Justice League: The New Frontier (2008).
10. Batman: Gotham Knight (2008).
11. Wonder Woman (2009).
12. Green Lantern: First Flight (2009).
13. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009).
14. Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010).
15. Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010).
16. Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010).
17. All Star Superman (2011).
18. Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011).
19. Batman: Year One (2011).
20. Justice League: Doom (2012).
21. Superman vs. The Elite (2012).
22. The Dark Knight Returns-Part 1 (2012).
23. The Dark Knight Returns-Part 2 (2013).
24. Superman: Unbound (2013).
25. Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013).
26. JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time (2014).
27. Justice League: War (2014).
28. Son of Batman (2014).
29. Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014).
30. Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015).
31. Batman vs. Robin (2015).
32. Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts (2015).
33. Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015).
34. Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem (2015).
35. Batman: Bad Blood (2016).
36. Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016).
37. The Killing Joke (2016, coming out this July).
("Justice League Gods and Monsters." Screen Shot, Property of DC Universe Animated.)
Film: Justice League Gods and Monsters.
Directed By: Sam Liu.
Released: 2015.
Running Time: 72 min.
This direct-to-video animation presents an alternative universe in
which the Justice League is manned by its own alternative versions of
Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman who dispenses justice in a much
harsher, bloodier manner then their original counterparts.
This animation was a hail back to the style of the earlier DC
Animated series from the 90’s and early 2000’s with a bit more blood and
polish, perhaps because of Bruce Timm,
the man who was behind a lot of the character designs for DC animated
series and films, is a producer in its creation. The character designs
are nostalgically brilliant, the action sequences were slick and well
animated with attention to angle and impact, and the voice acting was
perfect for each character.
The characters themselves were an interesting roster of alters in
this alternative universe, each were well rounded, given a moment of
back story, particularly Batman and Wonder Woman. The sense of moral
ambiguity is there, and the challenge to personal belief systems,
particularly in Superman was there, but this moral ambiguity is engaged
to shallowly to be as effective overall as the narrative suggests it
should. Batman and Wonder Woman should have also been given these
moments of facing their own moral interpretations, not just Superman,
and even then it’s not so much of a struggle as a too readily done
acceptance.
Another unfortunate flaw was that the characters needed better
dialogue with each other, since they are a team. The movie would have
been stronger character-wise if the movie had taken the time to include a
flash back as to how they come together, and perhaps a bit more
interaction with each other present time outside of smashing skulls and
possible world domination shit hits the fan meets.
The plot was kept at an intensive pace for the most part from
beginning to end, with the possible potential of a sequel or a spin off
but not in your face about it, and can stand on its own if that happens
or not. The pace does work with the darker themes, and the gratuitous
violence is not to over the top (though there is a lot of it) but works
within the narrative. The battles are entertaining and the neat little
twist in the end was good. This is a decent story that perhaps could
have benefited from a bit more screen time to flesh out the story more.
This is one of the better DC Universe Animated Original movies, with a
mildly decent plot and intriguing premise, good pace, excellent
animation and character designs, good voice work, and over all something
that DC animated fans should give a gander.
