Trivia

In an interview for television, Stan Winston told a little anecdote about how his crew were collecting the mechanical penguins after a day's shoot, and found one of the live penguins snuggled up asleep against a mechanical one.

The first film made in Dolby Digital.

Danny DeVito was advised by friend Jack Nicholson, aware of his own financial success with Batman (1989), to take the role of The Penguin.

(at around 1h 30 mins) Danny DeVito refused a stand-in for the scene where the Penguin gets pelted with rotten food by an angry mob.

According to casting director Marion Dougherty, Tim Burton was reportedly uncomfortable with casting Christopher Walken as Max Shreck. When she asked him why, he said, "Because that man scares the hell out of me." However, the decision must have ultimately grown on Burton, as Walken was cast again in Sleepy Hollow (1999). He was also cast to play Brainiac in the aborted Superman Lives project.

Several modifications were made to the Batsuit, including the color scheme and chestplate logo. At the request of Michael Keaton, a zipper was also added to the pants.

(at around 1h 40 mins) The crew had a hard time getting the shot where the monkey delivers the letter from Batman to The Penguin. Evidently, Danny DeVito's make-up terrified the animal.

Warner Brothers had to constantly submit new Catwoman posters for various cities, as many of the bus stop ads were being stolen. It got so bad that police officers had to patrol bus stops in order to catch perpetrators before they could break the Plexiglas containers. Today, the large scale Catwoman bus ads are worth a great deal of money.

Danny DeVito spent two hours a day in make-up. He was forbidden to describe The Penguin's make-up to anyone, including his family.

Neither Tim Burton nor Michael Keaton had been signed up in advance for a sequel. Burton came on-board only after the script met all of his demands (he hadn't been entirely happy with Batman (1989)'s screenplay), while Keaton only agreed to do the second film after a serious hike in salary, and Burton's assurance that it would be mostly a stand-alone movie rather than a direct sequel.

Security was so tight on the production that even Kevin Costner was refused permission to visit the set. Warner Brothers employed a private investigator firm when some shots of Danny DeVito in costume made it into the tabloids.

The catsuit was so tight on Michelle Pfeiffer that she often had trouble hearing her own voice. Tim Burton had to tell her to lower her voice register, because she would often shout her dialogue instead of just saying it.

This is the only sequel to one of his own films that Tim Burton directed himself.

Annette Bening was cast as Catwoman, but was replaced by Michelle Pfeiffer when she became pregnant. Pfeiffer's $3 million salary was $2 million more than was offered to Bening.

(at around 1h 40 mins) The note given to The Penguin by the monkey from Batman is in Bob Kane's handwriting. Batman has used notes signed with his logo throughout his entire history.

A Penguin action figure based on his comic book counterpart was released as part of Kenner's line of figures based on the film, as Danny DeVito's image of the character was deemed too scary for kids. The figure in fact was a repaint of the Penguin action figure released in 1980s Super Powers Collection toy-line by Kenner (the original one had a blue suit, whereas the one released to promote the film has a black suit).

Danny DeVito said he read in the paper he was being considered for the role of The Penguin over a year before he was even offered the part.

This was one of the last major Hollywood films to be done "the old-fashioned way", with indoor soundstages, trompe l'oeil sets, miniatures, and various other vestiges of old-school Hollywood filmmaking.

(at around 28 mins) In order to get the cats to surround Selina when she's knocked out, the filmmakers put tuna on a dummy version of Selina, and tuna on Selina's suit.

Singer David Bowie, who had been previously considered to play the Joker in Batman (1989), was the first choice for the part of Max Shreck before Christopher Walken was cast. Bowie turned down the role in favor of one in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). In addition, the role of Max Zorin in A View to a Kill (1985), also played by Walken, was initially offered to Bowie.

When Michelle Pfeiffer moved houses in 2004, she found the whip she had used during filming. Feeling nostalgic, she went out to her yard and attempted some whip play, but according to her, she was "a bit rusty".

The set for The Penguin's decrepit underground lair, at the abandoned Gotham City Zoo, was filled with 500,000 gallons of water and a simulated ice floe island.

(at around 10 mins) One of the photographs in Max Schreck's office depicts him with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who later played Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin (1997).

For the role of Catwoman, Michelle Pfeiffer trained at the Steeleboxer kick boxing gym two hours a day for six months. She also practiced yoga, weight lifting and karate. Additionally she spent three months training with a 12-foot bullwhip. Pfeiffer called that one of her most "challenging roles" and critics called it one of her most "iconic roles" that is famous forever.

(at around 1h 8 mins) In the second scene between Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne, when they are talking about the lighting of the tree event, Selina sarcastically says, "It's gonna be a hot time in the cold town tonight." This is a subtle (or maybe not-so-subtle) reference to a line that The Joker said in Batman (1989), when he electrocuted Anton Rotelli.

(at around 1h 30 mins) Penguin's cry of "I am not a human being! I am an animal!" near the end of the film is a nod to David Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980), whose protagonist John Merrick cries out "I am not an animal! I am a human being!" when overwhelmed by curious city goers.

It was intended that the character of Robin be introduced in this film. Reportedly, Tim Burton collaborated with DC Comics artist Norm Breyfogle to redesign the Robin costume for the introduction of a new Robin, Tim Drake, so that it would convincingly fit into The Dark Knight's gritty, dangerous world in the film. The winning costume was one designed by Neal Adams, but the new Robin's "R" symbol and bow staff was influenced Breyfogle's presentation. Kenner Toys even produced a corresponding action figure, but when Robin was eventually written out of the script, Kenner released the toy anyway, as the character newly rendered in the comic books.

Max Schreck (Christopher Walken) is a reference to the star of Nosferatu (1922).

Christopher Walken, remembering a film he'd seen previously, requested from Tim Burton cufflinks made from human molars for his character, Max Shreck. The movie in question is The Great Gatsby (1974), in which an unsavory friend of the title character, who had been involved in the 1919 World Series Black Sox scandal, sports a pair of molar cufflinks.

Brooke Shields was considered for the role of Catwoman, but Tim Burton turned her down, because he believed she was no longer a bankable star.

During his appearance on the WTF Podcast with Marc Maron, Michael Keaton stated that he has never watched the completed movie. He went on to explain that he only took the role because he needed money for a real-estate deal.

Michelle Pfeiffer shared a video of herself performing several whip tricks on social media, after she posted that she had uncovered the prop.

Susan Sarandon showed great interest in the role of Catwoman, but eventually opted to take a leading role in Lorenzo's Oil (1992), a role that was vacated by Michelle Pfeiffer.

Because of the criticism from parents regarding the dark, violent, and sexual overtones of the film, there had been speculation that this movie was about to receive an R-rating from the MPAA, making this the first Batman film to receive a higher rating than PG-13, which was the rating Batman (1989) received, but finally decided to give this movie the same rating as the previous film.

Although superstars like Madonna, Cher and Demi Moore wanted the role of Catwoman, director Tim Burton cast the well-respected but substantially less famous Annette Bening instead. Soon after getting the part Bening found out that she was pregnant by Warren Beatty. The actress decided the best thing to do was to drop out of the film.

The film's sole full theatrical trailer debuted in front of prints of Wayne's World (1992) in February 1992, and was attached to subsequent releases that year. An alternate teaser trailer, unavailable on any DVD and Blu-ray releases, appeared on selected Warner Home Video releases prior to its June 19 release date.

There was talk of having Jack Nicholson return as The Joker, even though he appeared to die at the end of Batman (1989). All of this was thrown out once Tim Burton agreed to return as director, because he didn't want to make a direct sequel for whatever reason, though the film did still reference the previous film's events by mentioning Vicki Vale.

On Prisoners of Gravity: Projects (1991), Bob Kane named Cher and Michael J. Fox as potential candidates for the roles of Catwoman and Robin, respectively.

Dustin Hoffman was originally the first choice to play The Penguin, but he declined. Dudley Moore, Marlon Brando, John Candy, Bob Hoskins, Ralph Waite, Dean Martin, Alan Rickman, Phil Collins, Charles Grodin, Ben Kingsley, John Goodman, Christopher Lee, Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Rocco and Christopher Lloyd were all considered for the role before Danny DeVito got it.

The near casting of Marlon Wayans as Robin, became a point of controversy for some. Many questioned the appropriateness of Robin being African-American, while others were wary of Wayans in the part, as he was known exclusively as a comedic actor, indicating the film would veer to a campy nature.

Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Keaton as Adrian Toomes (The Vulture) in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne (The Wasp) in Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018).

Christopher Walken's character is named for German horror actor Max Schreck, best known for playing Count Orlock in Nosferatu (1922).

Tim Burton used a heavy animal motif throughout the film. There are several scenes involving bats, cats, and penguins which symbolize Batman, Catwoman, and The Penguin, respectively (as evidenced by the film's tagline "The Bat, the Cat, the Penguin"). Also, some of the Penguin's goons have their own pets (Organ Grinder has a monkey, and the Poodle Lady a dog).

In the spectacular climax where the Penguin summons his army of penguins to march on Gotham, Twelve King penguins and twenty-four Black-foot penguins were used. The penguin army was multiplied optically to make it appear that there were many more penguins. The penguins wore specially fitted harnesses, to which they had become gradually accustomed to wearing. Fake rockets were attached to the harnesses. The helmets were light weight and had elastic bands attached to them to hold them on. There were rubber tips on the rockets to protect the birds against being harmed by any sharp points. The penguins would be released by one group of trainers and called from Point A to Point B by another group of trainers. Puppy pens were used to keep them in a specific area. The trainers kept a bucket of fish and would continually feed the penguins in order to coax them to move to certain positions. Trainers, of course, were always out of camera range. At one point 30 penguins swam across their special pool wearing their harnesses. They had been properly prepped for this action and were comfortable with it. The flooring of the various other surfaces that the penguins walked across had all been carefully prepared for them. The sound effects of gunfire and explosions were added in post production and no explosions were close to any real birds.

Many fans regard Michelle Pfeiffer's version of the character among their favorites.

(at around 57 mins) When confronting the Penguin's henchmen for the second time, Batman snatches a time bomb off a clown and puts it in the Tattooed Strongman's pants, then throws him down a pipe as an explosion occurs, which killed him. An act which is rarely ever done by Batman.

Bruce Wayne remarks sarcastically to Alfred at one point, "Security? Who led Vicky Vale into the Batcave?" This is a reference to an event in the previous Batman (1989) film that many fans criticised as out of character for Alfred.

In other animal action in the film, bats which appear on camera were not real, but computer generated special- effects bats. A dead fish that Max holds up to the Penguin was actually a fake prop.

The giant rubber-duck boat Penguin uses was actually first seen in the The New Adventures of Batman (1977) episode The New Adventures of Batman: Reading, Writing & Wronging (1977) two decades earlier.

Wesley Strick was primarily brought in to come up with a solution with "Penguin's lack of a master plan" and "normalize" the dialogue. Strick claimed that he was presented with "the usual boring ideas to do with warming the city, or freezing the city" (the latter ended up in Batman & Robin (1997)). Strick pitched an alternative approach, that was inspired by the Moses parallels of Daniel Waters' prologue, in which the infant Oswald Cobblepot was bundled in a basket and thrown in the river where he floated helplessly until he's saved (and subsequently raised) by Gotham's sewer denizens. He then came up with Penguin's "master plan" to kill the firstborn sons of Gotham. Both the studio and Tim Burton were impressed with the idea, though Strick claimed that the toy manufacturers were worried.

The skeleton goon on the motorcycle can be spotted in A Cinderella Story (2004) during the costume ball scene.

(at around 37 mins) When The Penguin is in the Hall of Records searching through birth certificates, the second one seen is that of property master William A. Petrotta.

The Penguin also tried to become the mayor of Gotham City in the TV serial Batman: Hizzonner the Penguin (1966)/Batman: Dizzoner the Penguin (1966).

Oswald Cobblepot (the baby who will grow up to become the Penguin) picks a fight with a cat in one of the film's opening scenes, foreshadowing his later adversarial relationship with Catwoman.

The masked ball at Shreck's department store features a replica of the "Red Death" costume from The Phantom of the Opera (1925). The wearer is even standing on a staircase, where the Phantom famously descends when he's revealed in the costume.

"Our mechanical puppets were slightly larger than real penguins," explained Stan Winston Studio team member Chris Swift, who sculpted the suit-and-head version. "There were 3 sizes of penguin puppets for the film;" added fellow team member Andy Schoneberg, "18-inch black-footed, 32-inch king, and 36-inch emperor penguins." "Then we had even larger versions," said Swift, "which were little people in suits, with mechanical heads. The heads and the flapping wings were puppeteered, but the walking was done by the little people in the suits."

Key SWS concept artist Mark 'Crash' McCreery rendered Penguin features over sketches of Danny DeVito; then, working from those drawn concepts, 25-year Stan Winston Studio supervisors and co-founders of Legacy Effects, John Rosengrant and Shane Mahan, experimented with a variety of nose shapes, applying them to a shell made from a lifecast of the actor. Winston sculpted a more complex Penguin look in clay. "The initial concept was just a pointy nose," Winston said, "but I wasn't really happy with that. So I got my hands back in the clay, which I love, and started playing with the look myself. Years ago, for The Wiz, I had created crow characters with enormous beak faces, which involved whole forehead and brow appliances. I'd always loved that design; and, although crows had nothing to do with penguins, I felt that I could use a similar concept for the Penguin. That turned out to be the look that was selected." John Rosengrant and Shane Mahan oversaw the building of the final makeup, which, as with Edward Scissorhands (1990), was applied on set by Ve Neill. The Penguin makeup included a T-shaped nose-lip-and-brow appliance, rotten, crooked teeth, white skin and dark-circled eyes. "I remember the night that Shane, Ve Neill and I first tested the makeup on Danny DeVito," Rosengrant said. "It was such a blast to watch Danny transform into the Penguin. We could just see it happening, right before our eyes."

For the scene that took place between Max and the Penguin in the Penguin's lair, 30 penguins were used. Each day that the penguins worked, a path was cleared for them to walk from their holding area to the set. Four handlers were in care of the penguins in order to insure their safety. The crew and actors were asked to refrain from touching or crowding the penguins and special ramps were built for the penguins that had a non-slip surface. Two trainers remained in the water, out of camera range, with the penguins. In addition to the real penguins, fifty fake mechanical penguins were used in numerous scenes. In order to get the penguins to follow an actor around, the penguins were fed fish rewards.

The Snakewoman was portrayed by a real life circus performer called "Flame" who went uncredited in the final film. The Snake Charmer had a much more important role in the original Daniel Waters script, the first member of the gang shown to the audience. She dramatically turned her head revealing a red triangle drawn over her eye with lipstick, before sending her snakes to attack two police officers. Her role is the most minimal of all the gang hierarchy in the final cut.

There is nice black and white symbolism with the baby carriages when Penguin's parents go to toss their unwanted child in the black carriage in the river and they pass the happy parents with the white carriage.

At the time of filming, Danny DeVito was 46 playing the 33 year old Penguin.

The Batman film franchise has attracted the longest list of actors and actresses who have Oscar and Golden Globe wins or nominations. Twenty Oscars and thirty-four Golden Globes.

The Penguin wears his signature monocle in three brief scenes, and in one scene, somebody sticks a cigarette holder in his mouth (although he immediately spits it out a second later). The film's promotional material and in-universe political campaign posters do, however, show him with his top hat, monocle, and cigarette holder in the classic Penguin style.

Stan Winston Studio mechanical effects designers Richard J. Landon and Craig Caton-Largent oversaw the engineering of the cable-operated and radio-controlled mechanical penguins, with Alan Scott assisting. Each of the thirty penguin puppets required nearly 200 mechanical parts to achieve head and neck movement, plus movement of the eyes, beaks, and wings.

Max Shreck was created specifically for the film.

Vincent Schiavelli also starred in Batman: The Animated Series: Zatanna (1993) as John Zatara.

Michelle Pfeiffers stunt double wears boots with a collapsible heel.

Selina Kyle gets pushed out of the window by Max Schreck. His character got his name from the German actor Max Schreck who played the title vampire in Nosferatu (1922) when she lands on the ground you can see that she has two red dots under her chin, given the impression that she was bitten by a vampire.

When Bruce and Selina are dancing together during the masquerade ball Selina suggests they find a more private spot. Bruce's response is "You mean take off our costumes?" Selina's reply is "I guess I'm tried of wearing masks." At this masquerade ball everyone else is actually wearing masks and costumes. Bruce and Selina are not. They look like a typical couple dressed for a high society function. This touches on how they view themselves and everyone else.

When Batman knocks Catwoman off the roof into the van of kitty litter during their first encounter, the single-second shot of her falling downwards shows her drop past a pair of Gotham citizens sitting on the patio of their apartment, with one getting up to look at her as she falls past them.

Vincent Schiavelli later co-starred with Danny DeVito again in Man on the Moon (1999), which starred Jim Carrey, who portrayed the Riddler in Batman Forever (1995). DeVito and Schiavelli also costarred in Death to Smoochy (2002) with Robin Williams, who had been considered for the Riddler before Carrey was cast.

The reason Bruce was keeping a bat in a cage, according to the novelization, it had injured its wing and he was nursing it back to health.

Michael Keaton and Vincent Schiavelli had both appeared in Night Shift, although they shared no scenes together.

In this film, Christopher Walken is the aggressor whereas Michelle Pfeiffer is the submissive. The two also appear together in Hairspray (2007), the 2007 movie-musical, where Pfeiffer is now the aggressor and Walken is the submissive.

(at around 45 mins) Shreck's line about going "fifteen rounds with Muhammad Shreck" is a reference to world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali.

(at around 53 mins) After Penguin has initially turned down Shreck's suggestion that he run for mayor of Gotham City, he starts to retreat back upstairs to his office. Shreck tails him, catching up with him at the foot of the stairs and whispering three temptations into his ear. Penguin responds with: "You drive a hard bargain, Maxie. Alright, I'll be Mayor." The two then look out the window over the city: Penguin cries "Burn, baby, burn!" and Max gets a glittery, avaricious look in his eyes. The parallels with the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 4, are eerie. There's also the Moses in the Bulrushes stuff going on in the opening, along with "33 Years Later..." and the Penguin's ultimate plan to kidnap all of Gotham's first born sons and baptize/drown them in a pool of toxic waste.

At the masquerade ball, when Selina is dancing with Bruce she pulls out a American Derringer Model 1.

Producer Michael E. Uslan has stated that Tim Burton drew much of his inspiration for Batman Returns (1992) from the comics of the early 1990s. Many Batman comics of the early nineties displayed a common preoccupation with dark, supernatural narratives that blurred the line between mystery stories and full-on horror.

Stories like Grant Morrison's Batman: Gothic (1990) and Peter Milligan's Batman: Dark Knight, Dark City (1990) displayed gothic sensibilities in common with those in Burton's movie. Meanwhile, the early nineties also saw the publication of several gothic horror themed Elseworld stories, such as Doug Moench's Batman and Dracula: Red Rain (1991).

Screenwriter Daniel Waters has cited Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns (1986) as having left a strong impression on him

While Selina Kyle is in more recent times, portrayed as a brunette, her hair color was not always consistent in the Pre-Crisis comics. And during the Golden Age in particular she was sometimes drawn as having fair hair like the movie version.

Even when she was drawn with dark hair, Selina would often wear blonde wigs in order to disguise herself as was the case in Wonder Woman #201 (August 1972).

Bruce Wayne's middle name according to the comics is Thomas, named after his father Dr. Thomas Wayne.

Paul Reubens, Diane Salinger: Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) stars reunite briefly at the beginning of the film as The Penguin's parents Tucker and Esther.

Benny Urquidez: One of the clowns slapping the man on the head before Batman grabs him is Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, legendary karate pioneer and kickboxing champion. He helped train the eight other clowns who battle Batman hand to hand in the street.

Tim Burton: [title sequence] The opening credits "follow" the baby carrier down the river.

The final shot of the film, in which Catwoman is seen looking at the Bat-signal, was added as an afterthought, literally a few weeks before the film opened. The shot had to be filmed on a weekend, less than a day after conception, with a double for Michelle Pfeiffer. That single shot cost $250,000.

The character of Max Shreck was a re-write of District Attorney Harvey Dent. Accordingly, most of his plot points would have perhaps made more sense if Shreck were District Attorney instead of a corrupt businessman. The explosion at the end of the film was a means to injure Dent, and produce the scars that would lead to his transformation into Two-Face for the third movie in the franchise. Reportedly, Billy Dee Williams took the role of Harvey Dent in Batman (1989), because he knew that the character would eventually become Two-Face. Williams' contract to appear in the sequel is rumored to have been bought out by Warner Brothers at a heavy price. Tommy Lee Jones played Harvey Dent (Two-Face) in Batman Forever (1995). Williams wouldn't get the chance to play Two-Face until The Lego Batman Movie (2017).

Daniel Waters' original script originally had the Bat-Signal blinking on and off at the end of the film, as a sign that Selina's electrocution of Max had disrupted the power supply of the city. Tim Burton instead opted to end the film with Catwoman looking out at the signal over a snowy sky, hinting at her survival and possible appearance in a future film.

Originally, the script had many plot points to set up for the unmade third Tim Burton Batman film. One of these was an introduction to Dick Grayson/Robin. Marlon Wayans had even signed on to play the role, and had gone through a costume test. When the character was cut from the script, it was decided that Wayans would make his first appearance in the third film. However, when Joel Schumacher took over as director, he bought out Wayans' contract, and hired Chris O'Donnell to play the role. The original script also didn't include Max Schreck, and had Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent in his place. At the end of the film, when kissed by Catwoman, Dent would have become Two-Face rather than dying, setting him up to be the third film's villain. However, this was cut, and Tommy Lee Jones was cast as the role for the third film, and Williams never played Two-Face after Batman (1989).

Paul Reubens reprised his role as Oswald's (Penguin's) biological father on Gotham (2014). In this movie, the credits list Reubens only as "Penguin's Father", though his grave stone reads Tucker Cobblepot. On the TV show, his name is Elijah Van Dahl, and his back story is wholly different.

In a scene between the Penguin and Catwoman that takes place in the Penguin's bedroom, a small bird is in a cage. Catwoman threatens the Penguin by putting the Penguin's pet bird in her mouth, threatening to eat it. The Penguin in turn holds a knife to Catwoman's cat which is sitting on the bed, so Catwoman spits out the bird and it flies out and away. To accomplish the scene with the bird in Catwoman's mouth, the bird was gradually and carefully prepped for the scene, starting with teaching the bird to fly out of closed, cupped hands and then fly from the hands to his cage. Gradually the bird was placed into the open mouth of the trainer. Eventually the trainer closed his lips for a second, then opened his mouth and the bird flew to his cage. The trainer did not close his lips tightly but kept them open slightly. When the scene was done with the star actress, the scene was shot in cuts. With the cameras rolling, the trainers backed the bird into the actress' mouth. The bird was in her mouth for one or two seconds, then she opened her mouth and the bird flew to his cage. The bird had been well-trained by this point and the action did not bother him. The bird that was used was a finch. A fake bird had also been used in part of the scene prior to the point where Catwoman places the bird in her mouth. When Catwoman first reaches into the cage to take out the bird, a fake bird was used. She pulled out the fake bird and popped it into her mouth. Then the camera cut to the part where the real bird was placed in the actress' mouth. The cat that was present laying on the bed during this scene was tethered to the bed by a soft cotton string that was tied like a belt around the lower waist of the cat. This was not seen by the camera. The cat was also filmed separately without any tether. The Penguin pressed a button on his umbrella and a knife came out of the point. This was a fake knife which he held to the cat. The cat was not released until after the bird was safely in it's cage.

Singer Vance Joy names this as the film best showcasing Michelle Pfeiffer's talents, inspiring a line in his song "Riptide": "I swear she's destined for the screen, Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen." He has said he's especially impressed by the scene where Selina vandalizes her own apartment after surviving a murder attempt.

1992 was a year with a unifying theme for Steve Witting, that of getting assaulted and removed from scenes by characters played by Danny DeVito. First, in Hoffa (1992), he appears in a single scene as a representative of the federal government investigating in Jimmy Hoffa's office, where he is promptly shoved and kicked out by Danny Devito's Bobby Ciaro. Then, in his only other movie that year, he has the unfortunate distinction of a slightly meatier role, in which his nose is nearly bitten off by DeVito's Penguin in a more memorable scene of this movie.

The six Emperor penguins that act as pallbearers for the Penguin's body at the end of the film, were little people dressed as Emperor penguins. Monkeys and poodles also appeared in the climactic scenes. At one point Max, who is locked in a cage, calls to a monkey who has the key to his cage and the money goes to the cage with the keys. The keys were actually tied to the monkey and the monkey was tossed by one trainer to another trainer a distance of about one half foot. Where the monkey carries a note down a flight of stairs to the Penguin, the monkey was simply coached by his trainer with verbal cues.

Bruce and Selina discovered their dual personalities, and exhibiting focus on one of Tim Burton's main themes, duality in the film.

Max Shreck is similar to another Christopher Walken character, Max Zorin the James Bond film A View to a Kill (1985). Like Shreck, Zorin sought to make colossal wealth through a monopoly, in that case the destruction of Silicon Valley, which gave his electronics firm a monopoly on the world market for a long time. Also, like Shreck, Zorin resorted to defenestration after someone refused to go along with his plans; an investor was thrown out of a blimp after he refused to endorse Zorin's plans to destroy Silicon Valley. (Unlike Selina, who considered it unethical, the investor said the investment amount was too expensive.)

An early idea was to have the very large penguin birds who carry The Penguin to his watery grave at the end of the movie be 'The Elders', H.P. Lovecraftian beings whom The Penguin and the circus group worshiped like gods.

The beginning of the film depicts young Oswald snatching his family's cat into his "crib" and killing it. By the end of the film, Catwoman leaves her pet Miss Kitty in Bruce's care, to make him aware that she's survived.

(at around 1h 55 mins) Before killing him, Selina calls Shreck "Anti Claus", in a nod to how the Mayor introduced him at the tree lighting.

The Penguin's age of death - 33 years - is the same as the traditionally given age of Jesus' death.

When Bruce Wayne first seen in Batman Returns he is sitting in a darkened room, alone, meditating. This depiction of Wayne as an introverted loner is very much in keeping with the early Batman comics, before the introduction of Robin or Alfred. Back then, Batman would often be shown sitting up late at night, deeply immersed in thought. The character became less introverted as the years went on. And it wasn't until the 1970s and 1980s that the classic depiction of Bruce as an uncommunicative loner would be revived. Writer Frank Miller in particular was instrumental in popularizing this darker take on the character during the eighties.

A classic moment from Detective Comics #33 (1939) is the scene where Bruce Wayne is sitting up late at night and a bat suddenly flies in through his window. This omen inspires him to adopt the image of the bat to strike fear into the hearts of criminals.

Frank Miller wrote a new variation of this scene in The Dark Knight Returns, where the old retired Bruce Wayne is inspired to resume his crusade after another bat smashes through his window. The image of the Bat-Signal shining in through the window in the movie can be seen as Tim Burton's reinterpretation of this classic moment.

Wayne Manor in the movie is shown to be a large gothic mansion situated several miles outside the city.

It has mirrors on the roof, specially designed to detect and relay the Bat-Signal to Bruce's study. This was invented for the movie, but several later comics have shown the roof of Wayne Manor to feature a similar system of mirrors.

Shreck, too, was one in the shooting script and official comic adaptation. At one point, he jokes that there might be carnivorous reindeer roaming the city streets after dark. There's still a trace left in the film: His response to Batman's unmasking, after all, is "Bruce Wayne... Why are you dressed up like Batman?"

Tim Burton has cited Alan Moore's The Killing Joke (1988) as his all-time favorite Batman comic. In this story the Joker employs a group of sideshow performers to do his evil bidding. The scene in Batman Returns where Shreck awakens after being kidnapped, only to find himself surrounded by circus performers, is likely a nod to the scene in The Killing Joke where Gordon awakens to find himself in an equally nightmarish situation.

Members of the False Face Society have also been known to wear masks resembling clowns, devils, skeletons and other carnival-themed designs. So while the Red Triangle Gang may have been an original creation, they are nevertheless fairly typical of the type of gangs populating Batman's world.

The trouble kicks off when a giant red and green parcel is wheeled into Gotham Plaza and the Red Triangle Gang members emerge from within. This could be a nod to a scene in 'The Penguin Goes A-Hunting' (Batman #17, June 1943), where the Penguin has a trap delivered to a party disguised as a giant red and green gift-wrapped present.

The ensuing riot scene may have been influenced by 'Without Fear of Consequence' (Batman #456, November 1990), in which criminals wearing skeleton masks launch a citywide attack against Christmas shoppers on Christmas Eve.

The political storyline in the movie is also indebted to a couple of episodes of Batman (1966) - 'Hizzoner the Penguin' and 'Dizzoner the Penguin' - in which the Penguin attempts, unsuccessfully, to become mayor of Gotham City.

The Cobblepot family has developed additional ties to the mayor's office in more recent comics. Oswald's great-grandfather, Theodore Cobblepot, is said to have served one of the longest and most successful terms as mayor of Gotham during the late 19th century. Theodore is first mentioned in Gotham Underground (2008) and later features more prominently in Batman: Gates of Gotham (2011). Oswald himself becomes mayor of Gotham during an ongoing story arc in Batman Adventures #1-13 (2003-2004). He is also depicted as the mayor in Geoff Johns's Batman: Earth One (2012).

The second major villain Batman Returns is Max Shreck. This character is essentially Tim Burton's version of the comic villain Rupert Thorne.

During Thorne's first appearance in 'By Death's Eerie Light' (Detective Comics #469, May 1977), he's in a meeting with some of the city councilmen, negotiating tax incentives to facilitate the construction of a new power plant. The first time Shreck is seen in Batman Returns has him in a similar meeting, also proposing the construction of a new power plant.

In both stories the power plant meets serious opposition. Thorne and Shreck both resort to underhanded electioneering to try and win favor with the public and allow their plans to go ahead. However, their efforts are not entirely successful in either story. Thorne's power plant is eventually built, but he is forced to construct it outside the city limits, three miles offshore. And it ends up proving to be a financial disaster. Meanwhile, Shreck's power plant is never built at all.

Thorne's second big storyline in Strange Apparitions (1977-1978) sees him having Hugo Strange killed, only for his victim to return from the grave to vengefully haunt him. This is somewhat similar to the storyline between Shreck and Selina in the movie. Shreck thinks he has killed Selina, but like Hugo Strange, she turns out to have survived the attack and subsequently hounds him in search of revenge.

Thorne's next big scheme, starting in 'The Ghost of Wayne Mansion' (Batman #341, November 1981), sees him trying to gain political power by backing a corrupt candidate in the mayoral elections. He successfully campaigns to get one of his stooges, Hamilton Hill, elected as mayor of Gotham City. Thorne is then able to control Hill's administration to serve his own agenda. Shreck attempts the same strategy in Batman Returns, putting Cobblepot forward as a candidate to supplant the current mayor. Both Thorne and Shreck engineer smear campaigns against Batman as part of their political strategy.

Thanks to the machinations of Thorne, Hamilton Hill becomes mayor of Gotham in 'The "I" of the Beholder' (Detective Comics #511, February 1982). Cobblepot comes close to being mayor, but is ousted in the final stage of his campaign.

Hill, like Cobblepot, tries to frame Batman for a crime in order to turn public opinion against him. In 'Hill's Descent' (Detective Comics #546, January 1985), Hill uses a replica of Batman's glove to incriminate him. In the movie, Cobblepot uses one of the Dark Knight's batarangs to set him up.

Ultimately, Batman is able to end both Hill and Cobblepot's political careers by exposing their corrupt nature to the public. Rupert Thorne is imprisoned in the comics, while Max Shreck meets his demise at the hands of Catwoman.

In the Pre-Crisis comics Catwoman's methods varied from story to story. Sometimes she was depicted as a femme fatale, other times as a morally ambiguous ally for Batman. Sometimes she went after money and jewels, other times she simply pulled off novelty crimes themed around cats. Sometimes she was depicted as a gang leader who sent minions to do her work, other times she was depicted as a hands-on criminal who operated alone.

While cat burglary doesn't play an important part in the objectives of Burton's Catwoman, she does nevertheless display thievish skills throughout the film. Early in the movie Selina is able to access Shreck's protected files without his permission. Later, she manages to break into Shreck's department store without triggering the alarm, seeing off a pair of inept security guards in a manner typical of her comic counterpart.

The scene with the security guards in Shreck's department store is also very similar to a scene from Batman: Shaman (1989-1990). In this story Batman is caught intruding at night time by a pair of security guards. He casually disarms the two men, cracks a joke about their wages and then allows them to run away unharmed.

In the movie Batman punches Catwoman off a ledge, only for her to land in a truck full of kitty litter. The exact same thing happened in 'The Mad Hatter Goes Straight!' (Batman #297, March 1978), when Batman punched a criminal off a cliff, only for him to land in a truck full of sand and be carried safely away.

The Batmobile is based on Anton Furst's Academy Award winning designs for Batman (1989). It has occasionally appeared in the Batman comics, as seen here in the Red Hood: The Lost Days (2010-2011) miniseries.

This Batmobile has the ability to transform into the Batmissile, a slender torpedo-shaped vehicle capable of advanced speeds and manoeuvrability. The Bat-Missile in the comics was a similar looking craft, equally suited to advanced speeds and manoeuvrability. It was sent backwards in time by the Batman of the future to aid his present-day counterpart, as depicted in the Silver Age story 'The Mysterious Bat-Missile' (Batman #105, February 1957). In this story, Batman converts the Bat-Missile into a Batmobile by adding "wheels and a little trim" to its sides. At the end of the story he disengages the Bat-Missile portion from the rest of the Batmobile. The Batmissile in the movie can also be connected or disconnected from the rest of the Batmobile.

The Bat-Missile in the comics was capable of travelling through solid objects, including buildings. The scene in the movie where the Batmissile passes through the narrow alley between two buildings is possibly an oblique reference to that function.

Batman's cape transforms into a glider, which he then uses to make a quick descent from the rooftop down to street level. Batman has used gliders many times in the comics, one example being Batman: Year One. He's also used his cape as a glider in some stories, as seen here in 'Batman Versus Eclipso' (Brave and the Bold #64, March 1966).

The penguin commandos in the film are regular penguins with explosive weapons strapped to their backs. In the Pre-Crisis comics in particular, Cobblepot would frequently use penguins in a similar manner. Sometimes they were real penguins with explosives strapped to their backs, as seen here in 'The Penguin on Parole' (Batman #38, December 1946).

In other stories, he used robotic penguins primed to explode upon reaching their target, as seen here in 'Pieces of Penguin!' (Batman #374, August 1984).

After dealing with the Penguin, Batman then has to confront Catwoman and try to prevent her from killing Shreck. This scene seems to have been inspired by the finale of Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper, where Batman has to prevent Catwoman from killing Captain Strunk, a corrupt policeman who assaulted her friend, Holly.

In both the comic and the movie, Batman tells Catwoman her prey must be dealt with by the law. And in both stories Selina replies that the law won't bring him to justice.

Batman proceeds to unmask himself in the movie. This echoes a similar scene from the end of 'The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne' (Brave and the Bold #197, April 1983), where Batman removes his mask to reveal his true identity to Selina. In both stories, a third character is present at the time. In the comic it's Scarecrow, in the film it's Shreck.

Batman ventures into the sewers in the Batskiboat to try and track down the Penguin's hidden base. The Batskiboat is Tim Burton's version of the Batboat. Its hydrofoil design is similar to the Batboat seen in Strange Apparitions.

Some later comics have featured Batboats more closely resembling the one in the movie.

Batman is able to track down the whereabouts of the Penguin's secret hideout in the film by tracing the source of the signal Cobblepot uses to control the birds. This is the same method the Batman in the comics uses to locate the Penguin's hidden base in The Penguin Affair.

At the end of Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper Batman succeeds in preventing Selina from killing Captain Strunk. He is not so successful in the movie, and the film ends on a downbeat note with Alfred chauffeuring Bruce back to Wayne Manor in his Rolls-Royce. The one consolation at the end of the film is that Bruce still has his trusty butler to look out for him, just as he's always done in the comics.