One rainy night in Arkham Asylum, the Penguin hears about a
large stash of loot from another inmate, who claims to have hidden it somewhere
in the Gotham City cemetery before he got caught. He swears to split the loot
50/50 if the Penguin helps him to get out of Arkham. However, there's a little
problem: the guy already spoke to the Joker about the money (the prisoner went
to see him first, since the Joker has escaped from Arkham more times than even
the Penguin), and despite the prisoner's assurances that the Joker was so out of
it he never even heard about the money, the Penguin is annoyed to see the Clown
Prince Of Crime busting out of Arkham. In the chaos surrounding the Joker's
escape, the Penguin also makes his flight for freedom.
While the Joker tangles with the Batman in the streets of Gotham, the Penguin
tracks down the right cemetery, but the wrong crypt. In his zeal to find the
money, the Penguin inadvertently awakens the king of the vampires himself, Count
Dracula. Voiced by actor Peter Stormare (Fargo, Constantine) Dracula turns the
Penguin into his own Renfield as he prepares to put the bite on Gotham City,
creating an army of vampires to do his bidding. The news media refers to the
numerous people involved in this rash of disappearances as The Lost Ones, and
when an eyewitness claims on the evening news that he saw a giant bat seize a
person, the Batman winds up getting blamed for it (this series takes place
during the early days of Batman's career, when he was still seen as being just
another criminal by the Gotham Police). And to make matters worse,
Dracula is also putting the moves on Bruce Wayne's main squeeze, Vicky Vale.
Although I'm not a fan of the new The Batman cartoon (I mainly don't agree with
the radical re-interpretations of such major characters like The Joker and Mr.
Freeze), I still thought The Batman Vs Dracula was very enjoyable. The makers of
this film are also apparently horror fans that paid close attention to vampire
lore, as well as the basic scare tactics from such horror films as Night Of The
Living Dead--which can be seen in a startlingly scary sequence where The Batman
stops off to help a damsel in distress, only to find himself overwhelmed by a
trio of bloodsucking vamps. Another very creepy scene is a confrontation in a
blood bank, which reminds me: if you have small children, you may want to keep
them away from this one, as the blood often flows freely from scene to scene,
and the scares may be too intense for the wee ones.
Dracula is more than a worthy opponent for the Dark Knight, and their epic
battle is told with a great deal of style, as well as some healthy dashes of
humor. The special features are mainly kid friendly interactive maps, such as
with "City Of Knight", with links that lead to short interviews with the
filmmakers. Science Vs. Superstition is another feature designed for young minds
that looks at the roots of the legend of vampires. Voice In Close-Up is an
interesting clip that views the recording sessions of the talented voice actors,
who wind up voicing far more characters than they were originally hired to play
(for instance, Rino Romano, who voices Bruce Wayne/The Batman, also voices a
guard at Arkham Asylum). And so it doesn't really matter if you're a fan of the
classic Batman: The Animated Series (like me) or a fan of the new animated
series, all Batman fans should flap their leathery wings in delight at The
Batman Vs Dracula. It's good fun.
--SF
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