Batman: Gotham Knight (Video 2008)

A collection of key events mark Bruce Wayne's life, as he journeys from beginner to Dark Knight.

Directors:

Yasuhiro Aoki, Yuichiro Hayashi,

Writers:

Bob Kane, Jordan Goldberg (story),

Stars:

Kevin Conroy, Jason Marsden, Scott Menville

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Conroy	...	Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice)
Jason Marsden	...	Cop / Doctor / Youth 2 / Thomas Wayne (voice)
Scott Menville	...	B-Devil / Cop (voice)
George Newbern	...	Man in Black / Guido / Man / Youth 3 (voice)
Corey Padnos	...	Porkchop (voice)
Crystal Scales	...	Meesh (voice)
Alanna Ubach	...	Dander (voice)
Hynden Walch	...	Woman / Young Cassandra / Young Bruce / Female Campaign Worker (voice)
Corey Burton	...	The Russian / Marshall / Scarecrow (voice)
Gary Dourdan	...	Crispus Allen (voice)
Jim Meskimen	...	Gordon / Deadshot (voice)
Pat Musick	...	News Anchor (voice)
Ana Ortiz	...	Anna Ramirez (voice)
Rob Paulsen	...	Maroni / Mole Man / Youth 4 (voice)
Andrea Romano	...	Dispatcher / Martha Wayne (voice)

Storyline

In this 6-story anthology collection, Batman faces new villains and old ones in a time-line after Batman Begins. In "Have I Got A Story For You", 3 kids tell wildly different stories about Batman during a fight through Gotham. "Crossfire" focuses on two policemen who end up getting in the middle of a crime battle. "Field Test" has Lucius Fox creating a new technology for Batman, but is it too powerful? "In Darkness Dwells" features Killer Croc and Scarecrow, who have kidnapped a priest. "Working Through Pain" goes through flashbacks of Bruce Wayne's training while Batman finds his way through the sewers. Finally, "Deadshot" focuses on the titular sniper, who has a new target in Gotham.

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Plot Keywords:

fight | anime | villain | anthology | shootout | 

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Taglines:

Get Ready....To Rage Against Evil

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for stylized violence, including some bloody images

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace Official Facebook

Country:

USA Japan South Korea

Language:

English Japanese Spanish Portuguese Thai

Release Date:

8 July 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Batman Anime

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros. Animation, Bee Train, DC Comics

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The cover advertises this film as the first Batman animated movie to be rated PG-13. In fact, this is not true. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker was the first animated Batman film to carry the rating. Originally edited into a PG rated film, it was later released as an unedited Director's Cut with a PG-13 rating.

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Goofs

Even though this film is intended to act as a loose bridge between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, during the period when Wayne Manor is being rebuilt, the final segment, "Deadshot," shows Bruce Wayne and Alfred living in the manor.

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Quotes

[first lines]
B-Devil: Ay, yo! Where you guys been?

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Connections

Followed by The Dark Knight (2008)

User Reviews

9/10 for style and whacked-out anime panache; 5-6/10 for stories

Batman: Gotham Knight is an anthology of shorts that are different from the original WB animated series in that it's not in the usual twenty-minute animated form (1/2 hour for commercials). It's more like a collection of comic books from Batman strung together without any real association aside from it being different interpretations from the Japanese directors. A similar mode went with the Animatrix years ago, in that it's partly a weird and intriguing exploration of the world created, and partly as a cash tie-in for the upcoming new movie (in this case, of course, Dark Knight).

All of the directors, to greater or lessor degrees, have a specific vision to share with us Batman fans, and at best it's a real visual 'trip'; things move past with lightning speed, but so we can see a lot of "things" happening, and every so often, like 'Working Through Pain', the animators don't kid us anymore and show Bruce Wayne going through kung-fu training with a spiritual twist (I chuckled at seeing Bruce as now being an Asian). For the most part, however, the shorts don't have a lot going on in terms of real substance- how can they with such short amounts of time. The first, 'Have I Got a Story for You', relies on Rashomon storytelling from a bunch of skater kids on Batman; this one has some of the most creative twists on just the design of the dark knight. Then there's maybe my favorite of the whole lot, 'In Darkness Dwells', which showcases the Scarecrow and, briefly, Killer Croc (apparently a fan favorite), and has a firm handle on its very dark atmosphere and the harsh story of Crane and the bums.

Other stories like 'Dead-Shot', 'Field-Test', and especially 'Crossfire', are enjoyable on the shallowest levels, and there is only bits and piece of a story going on (Crossfire relies also on a big mob shootout to make up for a paper-thin narrative). While it's great to hear Kevin Conroy back to voice Wayne/Batman, and to see some of the twists the animators take and the distinct styles coming through with a handle on making it fierce and graphic (it'll probably get a TV-14 when finally broadcast), it doesn't come close to the dimensions found in the original 90s animated series. It's a wonderful, absorbing garnish of sorts.