Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns Animated - Part 1

[RustyCage]

Just went through the entirety of both threads, and, theMan-Bat? I need to do this:

So many dedicated, detailed analyses and comparisons. I have a lot of respect for your preferences with regard to Superman too.

 

[Venomfan]

so with all the debating i read online about batman beating superman, it was really green arrow who beat him. batman was screwed until then

 

[BatmanFanboy]

I don't think that is true at all, that situation played out exactly the way Bruce wanted it to. Did you miss the line about "it took years and cost a fortune, luckily I had both". It didn't really matter who took the shot at Superman, Bruce could've probably rigged something to fire it at that time, or just kept it concealed until the final moments of the fight. Oliver took the shot because Superman messed up his arm and forced him into retirement, it was Bruce's way of helping an old friend get some kind of retribution. He wasn't an absolute necessary part of the plan in my opinion.

 

[RustyCage]

Let's be honest though, if Superman really wanted to kill Batman in that fight, he'd have ended it right at the beginning.

Bruce knew he didn't want to kill him.

 

[The Caped Knight]

lol this is too funny not to post.

Since Darkwing Duck represents Batman, I guess Gizmoduck is suppose to be Superman lol

 

[theMan-Bat]

Just went through the entirety of both threads, and, theMan-Bat? I need to do this:

So many dedicated, detailed analyses and comparisons. I have a lot of respect for your preferences with regard to Superman too.

Thank you. I appreciate that.

Let's be honest though, if Superman really wanted to kill Batman in that fight, he'd have ended it right at the beginning.

Bruce knew he didn't want to kill him.

Yeah, Superman could easily have just fried Batman into a corpse with heat vision, he has that capability of power, but of course Superman wouldn't do that. Superman definitely wasn't trying to kill Batman. Superman was holding back, reluctant to even fight, and was trying to reason with Batman in both the comic book and the film.

Well I'd only heard Ironsides do the Mutant fight so I couldn't really get his voice in the quieter moments plus he's my voice for Darkseid. But like I say Conroy never quite fit with this, funnily enough e doesn't with Year One either but neither does Ben McKenzie.

Reading the Dark Knight Returns comics, the voices I imagined in my head were Lee Marvin as Batman. Vincent Price as Joker. John Hillerman as Alfred. Hal Linden as Jim Gordon. George Reeves as Superman. Sam Elliott as Green Arrow. Score by Lalo Schifrin.

As to Ben McKenzie's voice in Batman: Year One, if they would have gone with Peter Weller's deep, gruff, older sounding, intimidating voice it would have missed the point of Miller's Batman: Year One. People have to keep in mind that Batman: Year One exclusively features Bruce Wayne at a young age, just starting as Batman, learning the methods, in the process of developing the persona, and making a lot of mistakes. Ben McKenzie's voice had a grimness, obsessiveness, while the pitch sounded youthful, inexperienced, and unsteady, appropriate for Batman: Year One. Ben McKenzie said, "Well, he's a younger Bruce Wayne. That's an important story point in the graphic novel. He's come back to Gotham to try to get some justice in a city that has become lawless, and he's trying on this alter ego, but he doesn't have it down yet. So he's still working on becoming fully confident in that role of Batman. So the timber of his voice and the pitchness is a little unsteady initially. It isn't quiet as deep as it becomes later on when he not only becomes more comfortable as Batman, but also, I think, quite frankly, he becomes comfortable in a psychotic way with being Batman, with embracing the vigilante side that perhaps we all have inside of us. "
http://www.movieweb.com/comic-con/2...terviews-with-katee-sackhoff-and-ben-mckenzie

Here is the full Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Part 2 cast:

64 year old Peter Weller (Dexter, Naked Lunch, RoboCop) is 55 year old Batman/Bruce Wayne.
13 year old Ariel Winter (Modern Family) is 13 year old Robin/Carrie Kelley.
Tara Strong (The Powerpuff Girls (Bubbles)) is Carrie Kelley's friend Michelle.
78 year old British Michael Jackson (Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (Ganthet)) is Alfred.
70 year old David Selby (Rich and Famous, Falcon Crest) is 70 year old Commissioner Gordon in mandatory retirement.
Maria Canals-Barrera (Wizards of Waverly Place) is Commissioner Ellen Yindel.
Danny Jacobs (Batman: Year One (Flass' Attorney)) is Police Officer Merkel.
Michael McKean (Auto Focus, X-Files) is psychiatrist Bartholomew Wolper.
58 year old Michael Emerson (Lost) is the Joker.
61 year old Tress MacNeille (Mission Hill (Dakota, Mrs. French), Rugrats (Charlotte Pickles), The Flintstones: On the Rocks (Wilma)) is Batman in disguise as an old bag lady, Bruno and Selina Kyle.
Rob Paulsen (Pinky and the Brain (Pinky)) is Bruno's henchmen Rob and Gotham Gazette Columnist Jeff Adams and a Gotham police officer.
Dee Bradley Baker (Adventure Time (Cinnamon Bun), Frankenweenie (Persephone van Helsing)) is Bruno's henchmen Don and a TV news anchor.
Mark Valley (Human Target) is Superman/Clark Kent.
Jim Meskimen (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Part 1 (General Nathan Briggs)) is President Reagan.
Robin Atkin Downes (Batman: Year One (Harvey Dent)) is Green Arrow/Oliver Queen.
James Patrick Stuart (Batman: Year One (The Roman's henchmen)) is Gotham Governor Mahoney and a voice over radio.
Frank Welker (The Garfield Show, Frankenweenie (Sparky)) is Gotham Mayor Stevenson and The David Endocrine Show announcer.
Gwendoline Yeo (Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms) is TV news anchor Lola Chong.
Maurice LaMarche (Pinky and the Brain (Brain)) is TV news anchor Tom.
Gary Anthony Williams (Dystopia) is TV news anchor Bill.
Grey DeLisle (Batman: Year One (Barbara Gordon), The Flintstones: On the Rocks (Betty)) is TV news anchor Carla.
Yuri Lowenthal (Ben 10: Alien Force) is a Sons of the Batman member and additional voices.
Sam McMurray (Raising Arizona) is TV news anchor Ted.
Gary Anthony Williams (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Part 1 (the Mutant leader)) is TV news anchor Bill.
Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds) is pro-Batman debate pundit Lana Lang.
Townsend Coleman (The Tick (1994-1996 animated TV series)) is anti-Batman debate pundit Morrie.
Conan O'Brien (late night TV host of Conan) is late night TV host David Endocrine of The David Endocrine Show.
Carlos Alazraqui (Reno 911) is congressman Noches.
Andrea Romano (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns voice director) is a TV news anchor.
Greg Eagles (The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy) is Ben Derrick.
Lex Lang (Justice League: The New Frontier (Rick Flagg)) is a rescued man.
Bruce Timm (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns producer) is a fireman.
Jason Miller (Battle Planet) is a fireman.

Kevin Smith has raved about Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Part 2 on twitter:

KevinSmith ‏@ThatKevinSmith Jan 15
"The two least super-powered heroes in the DCU - the Brave & the Bold - take on the Big Blue School-Boy! I ****ing LOVE DarkKnightReturnsPt2!"

KevinSmith ‏@ThatKevinSmith Jan 15
"Batman jumping out of the BatTank and dashing across the street for his face-off with Superman fills me with childlike bliss! I love DKRPt2!"

KevinSmith ‏@ThatKevinSmith Jan 15
"DKRpt2 composer @DrakeFilmscore brought the epic! Loved your cinematic score in both flicks but fave piece is the Two-Face helicopter scene."

KevinSmith ‏@ThatKevinSmith Jan 15
"SPOILERS! AntonFurst/TimBurton BatMobile makes a cameo! And Bruno has the nipple-covers! And ONE-ARMED OLLIE HANGS UPSIDE DOWN! #SkeetSkeet"

KevinSmith ‏@ThatKevinSmith Jan 15
"Via @SuperPRGuy "Want to moderate #TheDarkKnightReturns Pt2 premiere/panel @paleycenter LA 1/28" You kidding? YES! I wanna MARRY this movie!"

KevinSmith ‏@ThatKevinSmith Jan 15
"I know WarnerBros just won a Globe for ARGO, but it's not overstating it to say they deserve a Nobel Prize for the DARK KNIGHT RETURNS PT 2."

KevinSmith ‏@ThatKevinSmith Jan 15
"The score for DarkKnightReturnsPt2 is excellent as well, as is Peter Weller's Batman bellowing "NO MORE!" at the Joker in the TunnelOfLove."

KevinSmith ‏@ThatKevinSmith Jan 15
"The DARK KNIGHT RETURNS Pt2 has the highest body count of any cartoon since WATERSHIP DOWN. The Joker shoots 12 people in the Tunnel alone."

KevinSmith ‏@ThatKevinSmith Jan 15
"Joker's "Are you out of your mind?!" was perfect - as was the manic, repeated stabbing in the Tunnel of Love. (Which only sounds dirty...)"

KevinSmith ‏@ThatKevinSmith Jan 15
"Can't wait to commentate on DKR Pt2 with @marcbernardin again on FAT MAN ON BATMAN! I'm gonna suck this movie OFF! Pt1:"
http://smodcast.com/episodes/dark-knight-returns-pt-1-commentary-track-with-marc-bernardin/

KevinSmith ‏@ThatKevinSmith Jan 15
"Every BAT fan needs to lay hands on THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS Pt2! So fulla ****-kicking awesome, I nutted without help!"

KevinSmith ‏@ThatKevinSmith Jan 15
"BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS Pt2 is available on @iTunesMovies RIGHT NOW! @JayOliva1 CRUSHED it! Joker and Batman/Superman fight SUBLIME!"

https://***********/ThatKevinSmith

 

[BH/HHH]

@ManBat: I never said I would've wanted Weller to do Year One I just don't think McKenzie was that great in it but that's just me, I actually liked his Batman voice but not his Bruce Wayne.

The pics you've posted that one of Superman after he's stopped that Nuke was such a beautifully done scene in the film it was my 2nd favourite right after Superman stops the train n takes out Bruno.

 

[BH/HHH]

I never said I would've wanted Weller to do Year One I just don't think McKenzie was that great in it but that's just me, I actually liked his Batman voice but not his Bruce Wayne.

 

[rogue trooper]

Thank you. I appreciate that.

Great stills!! Can't wait!!

 

[Travesty]

lol this is too funny not to post.

Since Darkwing Duck represents Batman, I guess Gizmoduck is suppose to be Superman lol

Heh, I love Darkwing Duck. I was actually playing the old NES game a few weeks ago. Pretty fun, actually.

 

[RustyCage]

"Vincent Price as Joker."

Duuuude. That will forever improve how I read the book.

For some reason I was never able to put a voice to TDKR's Joker before, but that idea is so clever.

 

[The Caped Knight]

Heh, I love Darkwing Duck. I was actually playing the old NES game a few weeks ago. Pretty fun, actually.

I have the first 2 volumes of the series on dvd. I actually watched a couple of episodes recently and my tradepaper back copy of "The Duck Knight Returns" came in and well it just brought me back full circle. lol

 

[Visceral]

Let's be honest though, if Superman really wanted to kill Batman in that fight, he'd have ended it right at the beginning.

Bruce knew he didn't want to kill him.

I try to look at the conflict between the characters on a more ideological level. Resistance vs. conformity, Maturity vs. Naivete, the idea that power belongs to the elite of a nation rather than its people.

I don't know who said it but there was somebody that said Superman is how America see itself and Batman is how the world sees America. That statement probably finds its roots in this book. Through Miller's writing and through the Nolan films the Dark Knight is shown to be a mixture of Roosevelt and Howard Hughes, he is a larger than life embodiment of the American Spirit. His resistance without power probably makes him a better hero in Miller's mind than Superman.

I like the part in which Clark tells Bruce that its "their world" as if Bruce is somehow above and not apart of it. In the end, the human spirit triumphs over a weapon of mass destruction.

Sorry just thinking out loud.

EDIT:

Also remember there was the direct scene in which Gordon related batman to Roosevelt. Stating its possible that's what got them into the war, though it was the very next president who was the first to unleash the nuclear weapons on the world, what many thought was the power of god. Sort of makes me think about the fixer.

 

[Destructus86]

So, I hear the movie is REALLY amazing. Can't wait to see it myself...

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

"Vincent Price as Joker."

YES!!

 

[Anno_Domini]

Kevin Smith sounded like he got a massive chubby while watching DKR Part 2, lol.

 

[Matt Mortem]

Kevin Smith sounded like he got a massive chubby while watching DKR Part 2, lol.

Yeah he clogged up my twitter feed with his gushing. He loves his Batman.

 

[Darkness Falls]

Heh, I love Darkwing Duck. I was actually playing the old NES game a few weeks ago. Pretty fun, actually.

love that game

 

[Snow Queen]

Kevin Smith wrote one of my most hated Batman scenes ever (even counting B&R, The Dark Knight Strikes Again and All Star Batman & Robin), I don't think he's a good director or writer and I often disagree with his opinions. However, I have to agree with him 100% when it comes to this movie. It's fantastic.

 

[LostSon88]

^^ Which scene do you speak of?

 

[Venomfan]

I don't think that is true at all, that situation played out exactly the way Bruce wanted it to. Did you miss the line about "it took years and cost a fortune, luckily I had both". It didn't really matter who took the shot at Superman, Bruce could've probably rigged something to fire it at that time, or just kept it concealed until the final moments of the fight. Oliver took the shot because Superman messed up his arm and forced him into retirement, it was Bruce's way of helping an old friend get some kind of retribution. He wasn't an absolute necessary part of the plan in my opinion.

thats true he probably could have come up with some other way of doing it, but the way it is portrayed is that Batman with friends can beat superman, not on his own. thats what it seems most of the fights are like, its never just batman on his own fighting superman

 

[Mr.LethalWeapon]

thats true he probably could have come up with some other way of doing it, but the way it is portrayed is that Batman with friends can beat superman, not on his own. thats what it seems most of the fights are like, its never just batman on his own fighting superman

Superman wasn't there on his own either. The Army had snipers all over the place, ready to gun down Batman at any time. Bruce needed Robin and Ollie to distract the soldiers more than he needed them to fight Superman.

I used to be on the 'it wasn't a fair fight' bandwagon, but the truth is:
it wouldn't have mattered if their fight was truly one on one.

To be fair, a Superman intent on killing is all-but unstoppable; there'd be nothing Batman could do. That's not with what Batman was dealing though. He knew Superman would do everything he could to reason with him first.

Batman threw numerous weapons at Superman during the fight, in addition to the many punches and kicks he managed to land. The rockets, hyper-sonics, electro-shock attack, grenade and corrosive fluid all found their target when he used them. What makes you think a kryptonite weapon would have missed had Batman chosen to deploy it himself, when all those other attacks landed?

He could have just as easily put kryptonite in one (or more) of those missiles he launched while Superman was flying toward crime ally.

Remember, Batman was holding back too. He didn't want to kill Superman, but as he said, it was well within his power to synthesize much more powerful kryptonite.

 

[theMan-Bat]

Last night New York City’s Paley Center for Media hosted the premiere for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Part 2. The event featured a red carpet arrival and questions and answers after the premiere with director Jay Oliva, voice director Andrea Romano and producer Michael Uslan, hosted by Warner Brothers Animation Director of Publicity Gary Miereanu.
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[theMan-Bat]

Frank Miller confirmed at the New York Comic Con in 2011, "I have endless admiration for Bruce Timm, I requested him on Batman: Year One and on Dark Knight, and I'm waiting to see what he does. When something of mine is adapted and I'm not directly involved with it, I just want it to be as good as possible, and I want people to, as they say, get the joke, when they approach my material."
http://www.mtv.com/videos/interview/704017/nycc-2011-frank-miller-talks-batman-year-one.jhtml#id=1672961

 

[Doc Ock]

I loved Part 2, I love the slow reveal of Superman and how his name really isn't used at all(minus Clark)! I can't remember if the book did it in the same way its been about five years since I last read it.

Part 2 definitely was better than Part 1 I never really cared for the mutant stuff. Both are excellent films though. Joker was fantastic.