2
(nothing substantial)
6
(some violence, morbid suggestions, and strong language)
5
(see it at least once)
I would have to say that Joker is one of my favorite comic book villains which I'm sure has something to do with Batman being one of my favorite heroes, but lately I've been feeling like Joker is overused. It's not that I want to see him cast aside (particularly if Mark Hamil will keep voicing him), I just want to see some of the other great Batman universe rogues get a chance to show off. "Under the Red Hood" does feature Joker, but his part is relatively small. He's more like a Hannibal Lecter in a way, vital to the story but not who the hero has to defeat, not as the main story, at least.
Based on a comic book story "Under the Red Hood" relies heavily on the tale told in "A Death in the Family" the legendary death of Robin. It pays homage to the original Red Hood (who is a part of Joker's origins though in different ways depending on the particular continuity), but this one is a different kind of guy.
Red Hood moves into Gotham like a whirlwind. He's a lethal vigilante, he's a sociopathic criminal, and he's a crime boss with limits – don't sell drugs to kids or you're D-E-A-D! How can he be all these things at once? That part I'm not going to tell you. He's also particularly hard for Batman to catch. Even with Nightwing at his side Batman can't seem to get his hands on the Hood. Black Mask too is about to go insane over this guy. How's a crook supposed to make a dishonest living with this guy around?
It's a dark, violent, and interesting tale. In some ways it reminds me of "Mask of the Phantasm" though without the romance. It develops Batman's past (other than the death of his parents) along with a traumatic current story. It's one of the best Batman stories to make it to the screen.
It's not perfect, though. Despite not having any prior exposure to the Red Hood story there was no mystery here for me. Maybe the writers figured that enough of the fanbase would be familiar enough with the Hood that it wasn't worth making a big deal about trying to surprise us. Kind of like how you might not announce at first that Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same person, but you don't think you've surprised a viewer when you reveal it. Except it kind of feels to me like Hood's revelation is supposed to be more of a big deal than it is. I can't help but think that some of the revelations could have been placed differently so that the viewer doesn't immediately feel like we are ahead of the writers. A red herring might not have been a bad idea here even if it if wasn't anything major.
Another element is Joker. It seems like they tried to go for a more Heath Ledger approach but without being able to reach the same level of intensity. He doesn't have enough of a presence here. I think an Arkham Asylum (the game) version would have worked better. Either that or go all out and make him fully a Ledger Joker, but this toned-down version just doesn't pack the punch it needs to.
The acting is quite good for the most part. Bruce Greenwood is a lot like Kevin Conroy in his portrayal of Batman. Jensen Ackles (you might remember him from Smallville) makes a good Red Hood. Neil Patrick Harris (Dr. Horrible himself!) nails Nightwing. John DiMaggio (BENDER!) is not as good a Joker as I'd hoped, but I think it's more the overall approach to him than John's performance specifically. Wade Williams is maybe a bit over the top at times with Black Mask.
The animation seems to be "Batman the Animated Series" melded with "Arkham Asylum" with some of "The Batman" thrown in (mostly when we're watching young Robin in action). I don't know that it stands out as much as some of the other Batman movie designs, but it still looks good with a lot of detail and smooth animation.
The sound is mostly good. I think Christopher Drake's score is good enough that I plan to check out the soundtrack if it's available. The sound effects are immersive and make use of the 5.1 surround. I do feel like the mix is off, though. The volume for some of the elements sounds too low to me against some of the other very loud elements. It's not even a scene-to-scene thing, more like things in a scene. This includes the music; there are a few instances where I think the music really should be louder.
Morality
It's PG13 and most of that is because of violence. We get more blood and death than the usual animated Batman adventure plus the suggestion of some very brutal violence such as a bag we are told contains the heads of criminals.
There's a little more strong language than I expected.
Some of the criminals are specifically noted to be drug dealers.
There is nothing sexual or revealing, though the same can't be said for the Jonah Hex extra which includes a character who is a prostitute.
Spirituality
I didn't pick up on anything religious or spiritual in this at all. However, parallels can be drawn between the way Red Hood straddles the fence of morality and the way we frequently do the same with God. Hood sometimes acts like a violent criminal and sometimes like a force of justice with blurred lines. This, of course, is not good enough for Batman. It doesn't matter to Bats that this guy has moral limits, he still needs to be stopped.
How many times do we send out mixed signals? We claim to be on the side of one who tells us to “go and sin no more” while we act in ways that are more befitting of the opposition. I recently read a comment about a person who was condemning a convenience store clerk as a sinner while at the same time inquiring about porno mags for sale. Talk about a conflicting message!
Hood ends up being ineffectual as a force for good no matter how much other criminals fear him or are hindered by him. Despite there being ground he doesn't want to tread which he uses to justify his deeds, he is still a force of evil that needs to be stopped by Bats. Don't be that person. It's one thing to be Batman or Nightwing – true heroes who are human and sometimes mess up or fail; it's another thing to be like Red Hood trying to justify doing evil by mixing in some arguably good deeds.
Final Thoughts
This is a good, dark, comic book-style story. If you like action animation definitely check it out. It's less kid-friendly than most Batman cartoons, but it's a very interesting story for older audiences.
Buying Guide
"Batman Under The Red Hood" offers the typical array of release options plus a few not so typical.
There's a single disc, bare-bones DVD that is very cheap. You can also get a 2 disc version and a Blu-ray that are essentially the same release on different formats.
In addition to that are a few exclusives. I have the Target one which comes with a couple of extra cartoon episodes (I'll give you details shortly). I haven't for sale since I originally got mine (though it's hard to tell for sure since nothing on the case lists the inclusion of the extra episodes), but I'll give all the gory details about it anyway since it's the one I have my bat-hands on. I've also seen a listing for an Amazon exclusive with a litho cel on DVD and Blu, but it currently has a status of “unavailable.” Lastly is a special package with a Red Hood figurine which is offered with the DVD and the Blu (that one is too far out of my price range).
The specs appear to be exactly the same across all the releases (with the exception of the Blu offering the high-def quality, of course).
This movie appears to be offered in widescreen only. Sorry, all you “full screen” lovers. I don't understand you guys, anyway. The audio is 5.1 DTS surround sound for all releases.
I'm unsure about exactly which cartoon episodes are available in which release, but essentially you get 2 with the DVD, an additional 2 with the Blu, and another 2 more with the Target Blu. Jonah Hex is it's own feature and is included with all versions of the release. Otherwise the DVD extras should be the same as what is listed below except where noted.
Final Recommendation:
If you can't find the Target exclusive release you're really only missing out on those last 2 cartoon episodes which I'm sure are available elsewhere. The downside of this release, no matter which version you get, is that if you're a big enough Batman fan to own the animated series you already own the bulk of the bonus features offered here (though I suppose if you're that big a fan you'll want to own this on its own merits anyway). The Jonah Hex extra is entertaining although it's rather short, and I recommend the Jason Todd documentary if you have Blu capabilities. All in all a decent release to have for comic book fans.
The Special Edition Blu has 2 discs. One is the Blu-ray. The other is a regular DVD which contains the Target exclusive content and some of the other extras including some of the same features that are on the Blu-ray disc. The release may appear to include a little more than it really does because of the replicated content. Why the repeat? I can only speculate, but so can you so I won't bother.
Video
1.85 widescreen at 1080p:
It looks great on a big screen TV. This is probably one of the highest-quality animated Batman releases I own currently. The image is sharp with nice use of colors.
Audio
5.1 DTS HD:
It sounds strong and clear. The surround sound does not create a strong sense of immersion but isn't completely lacking.
Packaging
The packaging is pretty typical: shiny slip case over a standard plastic case. There is nothing special for the Target exclusive, not even a mention of the extra episodes.
The Blu interface is rather plain, and the design in general doesn't really take advantage of Blu capabilities. You get a static image, a music loop, and a menu bar.
An ad plays before the interface.
Chapter breaks are few, and there is no chapter menu. In fact, there's no indication of any kind where the chapter breaks might be. You'll just have to guess and hope you can get close to where you want to be. That is a little annoying. So the tech design in that area is lacking.
Extras
-TV Episodes: Most of the extra content consists of TV episodes. You get 4 episodes of "Batman the Animated Series" (2 if you get the regular DVD according to the listing, but I'm not sure which 2, probably "Robin's Reckoning"). Some of these might actually be during the "New Batman Adventures" period, but there really isn't much distinction between them. If you get the Target special you get a 5th episode plus one of "The Batman." Since there are so many I'll list them all in the episodes section rather than here.
-Jonah Hex: (11:53) This is an original animated story. I'll talk more about it in the Episodes section.
-Digital Copy: The DVD includes a digital copy (hurry! They've given you less than a year to take advantage of this).
-The Story of Dick Grayson (24:13) A documentary about Robin with lots of shots of old comic book panels which is cool: why create him, where did the inspiration come from, the relationship between the characters, comparisons to other literary pairings, costume influences, and growing up (which is a rare thing with comic book characters) into Nightwing.
-The Tale of Jason Todd (20:58) Another documentary about the replacement Robin: why have a new Robin, similarities to Grayson, changing him during “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” what happened with Jason – reader input and reaction, and the Red Hood story. This one is available only on the Blu-ray release.
-A First Look at Superman Batman Apocalypse (12:12) A look at the upcoming movie revolving around Supergirl. It's a peek at the story and where it came from with some of the comic panels and storyboards for visuals.
-Previews: We get a good set of interesting previews (offered in a menu) including a Jonah Hex motion comic, and a few different movies. The Gotham Knight preview is 10 minutes long and is more like a behind the scenes feature. The Superman Doomsday preview is also more behind the scenes but only a couple of minutes long.
Episodes
-Jonah Hex: Jonah is a gun slinging bounty hunter missing part of his face. He wants the bounty on a loudmouth crook who just rode into town, but he's going to have to face off against a lethal madam and her henchmen first. It's a comic book style Old West tale that is definitely intended for more mature audiences. It's far, far better than the live action Jonah Hex movie.
-Batman The Animated Series: Robin's Reckoning Pt 1: Batman and Robin as a duo are in full swing. Batman gets a lead on the guy that killed Dick's parents years ago. He won't let Robin join him on this mission. Flashback to see exactly what happened to the Graysons.
-Batman TAS: Robin's Reckoning Pt 2: Batman has tracked down the killer of the Graysons, but Dick wants his revenge and won't let Batman take away his opportunity. Flash back and we see how Dick became Robin along with his first encounter with his family's murderer years ago. As Robin he has to decide how far he's willing to go for vengeance.
-Batman TAS: Mad Love: After having his plans thwarted by old Bats yet again Joker is desperate for a good gag against him, and Harley is desperate to get some attention out of Joker. Flashback to find out how she and Joker met. She thinks the only way to have Joker for herself is to take out Bats, and sets a plan in motion to do so. (According to IMDB this is the very last animated series episode).
-Batman TAS: The Laughing Fish: Joker is terrorizing the fishing industry by giving fish big smiles. He wants to.... copyright fish? Joker tries to strongarm the city into granting him rights to make money off the fish by going after various people in devious ways.
-Batman TAS: Joker's Millions: Batman is working with Batgirl now. Joker and Harley are so strapped for cash they can't even pull off a decent caper. A dead rival has left him a huge sum of money. What good timing! This time Joker is the target of the criminals with Batgirl and Nightwing coming to his rescue! Joker loves the good life and seems to have even given up crime for it. When the IRS comes knocking not even Joker wants to take them on. But there's more to come. This is only included with the Target exclusive.
-The Batman: A Matter of Family: This is The Batman continuity's telling of the death of the Graysons and the origins of Robin. This time it's not a flashback, though. Dick dons his circus costume to follow Batman to his family's killer. But the villain is too much for Robin, and Bats is incapacitated. This is also only included with the Target exclusive.