2010-09-01 - HOODWINKED

Okay, granted, I'm a little late on this one, but I figure better late than never.

BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD? The new direct-to-DVD animated feature from Warner Animation?

It's outstanding. Go buy it.

This one snuck up on me, I have to admit. I'd heard it was coming, but wasn't particularly excited about it. I'm a big fan of screenwriter Judd Winick's humor work, but have never really enjoyed his superhero stuff; just not to my tastes, I suppose. And the BATMAN comics in particular that resurrected Jason Todd and recast him as the vigilante known as the Red Hood haven't really worked for me, either. Combine that with an all-new voice cast (and me being a huge fan of the BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES vocal ensemble), and it all added up to a big bowl of "whatever." Still, I dutifully bought the DVD when it came out, and it sat with a stack of other unwatched DVDS for a few weeks.

Always a pleasure to be proven wrong on something like this. UNDER THE RED HOOD is a gripping action piece that gets your attention right from the opening moments, with a brutal scene reprising the famous moment from A DEATH IN THE FAMILY in which the Joker bludgeons Robin almost to death with a crowbar, just before blowing up the building with Robin inside it. In a clever decision, the producers have altered the scene slightly, making Jason Todd a little older than he was in the comics, and more to the point, putting him in the current darker costume worn by the current Robin, instead of the yellow cape and green shorts, a much more innocent symbol of a happier time, and one that might have been far too unsettling to see brutalized on screen.

From there, we jump ahead several years to Batman and Nightwing, and their investigation that leads them on the trail of the mysterious Red Hood, a new crimelord making a name for himself by targeting other gangleaders and taking over their operations.

As they pursue him and learn more about him, Batman recognizes several troubling traits until he finally realizes who is in fact under the Red Hood, in a really well put-together sequence taking place in an elevated skyscraper train station. (One of those architectural breakthroughs that only seem to get approved in Gotham City.)





I don't think it's giving away any trade secrets to reveal that the Red Hood is actually Batman's onetime partner Jason Todd, mysteriously returned from the dead. What I won't reveal, and where this film succeeds where the comics failed, is just how Jason Todd's return takes place. The actual revelation seemed secondary in the comics, little more than an afterthought after months of Jason Todd running around with little explanation. When they got around to explaining it, it was one of the least satisfying reveals I can remember, with Superboy-Prime essentially punching reality until Jason Tood came back to life. I wish I could explain it better than that.

Here, screenwriter Winick finds a much more logical and plausible means to return Jason Todd to the land of the living, one which fits perfectly with the "rules" and established parameters of Batman's world. If the comics had been done this well, I'd have been on board for the whole storyline. Things come to head in an emotional climax between Batman, Jason Todd and the Joker, a tense standoff that perfectly crystallizes Todd's motivations, and puts his relationship with Batman in the forefront where it belongs. Sure, there's plenty of action here (well animated and cleverly staged, with the main characters each being given a trademark fighting style and movement that work really well on screen), but there's no mistaking what the movie is really about: Batman's greatest failure, and how Jason Todd and Bruce Wayne see that failure as two entirely different things.

There's plenty more to like about UNDER THE RED HOOD: a first-rate voice cast (with Bruce Greenwood's Batman and John DiMaggio's new take on the Joker being standouts), the film's willingness to embrace Batman's history (such as a great flashback scene involving a pre-adolescent Jason Todd Robin and a very Frank Gorshinesque Riddler), a surprising sense of humor in the Red Hood character, and plenty more. But don't take my word for it. Go see it for yourself. Highly recommended.

Scott Tipton was pleasantly surprised to see Amazo in UNDER THE RED HOOD, even if the did pronounce his name wrong. If you have questions about Batman or comics in general, send 'em here.

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