Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman is a 2003 American animated superhero film based on the animated series The New Batman Adventures. Released in the U.S. in October 2003, the film was produced by Warner Bros. Animation[2] and is the fourth film in the DC Animated Universe, taking place between the events of Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero and the flashback sequence as depicted in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
| Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Curt Geda |
| Written by | Michael Reaves |
| Story by | Alan Burnett |
| Based on | Batman created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane |
| Produced by | Margaret M. Dean |
| Starring | |
| Edited by | Margaret Hou[1] |
| Music by | Lolita Ritmanis |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Home Video |
Release date |
|
Running time | 74 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
A new heroine, Batwoman has arrived in Gotham whose identity is a mystery—even to Batman. While she claims to fight for justice, Batwoman forsakes Batman's code to never take a life. Batman must figure out who she is, while stopping the Penguin and Rupert Thorne from selling illegal weapons to the fictional nation of Kasnia. The two villains employ Carlton Duquesne, a gangster, to provide protection.
Batman, with Robin, sets out to stop Batwoman from making mistakes as she tries to take out the villains and as he encounters numerous twists, setbacks, and apparent false leads in determining her true identity. The newest gadget on display is a wind glider used by Batwoman that utilizes some of the most advanced technology ever seen in Gotham City. Bruce Wayne, Batman's alter ego, also becomes romantically involved with Kathy Duquesne, the crime boss' daughter.
In addition to Kathy, Bruce is introduced to two other women who, as his investigation into the Batwoman's true identity continues, seem to fall well into suspicion: Dr. Roxanne "Rocky" Ballantine, a new employee of Wayne Tech, who seemingly but briefly forms a bond with Robin's alter-ego, Tim Drake and whose technology development is used by the Batwoman against the Penguin; and Detective Harvey Bullock's new partner Sonia Alcana, who seems to know too much about the weapons being smuggled by the Penguin and Carlton Dunquesne. With Carlton unable to stop Batwoman's raids on the facilities used to hold the various weapons, the Penguin calls Bane for additional support to ensure that there are no more losses as a result of the Batwoman.
Not long after Bane's arrival in Gotham, it is revealed that there is not one, but three Batwomen, all of whom were the women suspected by Batman; Kathy and Sonia met taking art classes at college and Sonia and Rocky were roommates. They all harbor grudges against the Penguin, Thorne, and Carleton Duquesne; the Penguin had framed Roxanne's fiancé Kevin, Thorne had bankrupted Sonia's family, and Carlton Duquesne's war with a rival gang got his wife (and Kathy's mother) killed. They had taken turns posing as Batwoman to remove suspicion on any one of the three. Sonia invented the Batwoman persona as a tribute to Batman, who had saved her life nine years earlier and inspired her to become a police officer.
Kathy plants a bomb in the ship taking the weapons into international waters for the exchange - but not before Bane unmasks her. Kathy and Batman narrowly escape as the bomb goes off, while Carlton forsakes his ties to Thorne and the Penguin to save his daughter's life, and Bane falls into the Gotham River. Sonia takes the fall for the Batwoman operation, resigns from the GCPD, and decides to leave Gotham. Batman gives Sonia evidence that he discovered which helps clear Rocky's fiancé. Carlton agrees to testify against Thorne and the Penguin. After she reconciles with her father, Kathy drives off with Bruce.
Voice cast
- Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne / Batman
- Kimberly Brooks as Kathleen "Kathy" Duquesne
- Kelly Ripa as Dr. Roxanne "Rocky" Ballantine
- Elisa Gabrielli as Detective Sonia Alcana
- Kyra Sedgwick as Batwoman
- David Ogden Stiers as Penguin
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Carlton Duquesne
- Héctor Elizondo as Bane
- Robert Costanzo as Detective Harvey Bullock
- Tim Dang as Kevin (uncredited)
- Bob Hastings as Commissioner James Gordon
- Eli Marienthal as Tim Drake / Robin
- Tara Strong as Barbara Gordon
- John Vernon as Rupert Thorne
- Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred Pennyworth
Cherie performs the single "Betcha Never" in the Iceberg Lounge as herself. This is the only time in the DC animated universe that Paul Williams and Henry Silva did not voice the Penguin and Bane, respectively. This film marked the final performances of Bob Hastings and John Vernon as Commissioner James Gordon and Rupert Thorne before their deaths in 2014 and 2005 respectively as well as being the final film for Hastings. It additionally marked the final film appearance of Efrem Zimbalist Jr. before his death in 2014 (He would reprise Alfred one more time in the Justice League three-parter episode "Starcrossed" in 2004)
Production design
Despite that the majority of returning characters retain the same designs from The New Batman Adventures era, the character animation is considerably brighter and more lively than from the series. Rupert Thorne was featured in the original show Batman: The Animated Series, but not in The New Batman Adventures. As such, the animators had to create a new appearance for him specifically for this film; he is streamlined and seems to have lost some weight compared to his previous appearance. the animation was outsourced to DR Movie.[3]
Series writers Alan Burnett and Michael Reaves wrote the script, and Kevin Conroy reprises the voice of Batman. The film also shows further continuity with previous Bruce Timm-developed Batman shows: Barbara Gordon's romantic relationship with Bruce Wayne (as mentioned in Batman Beyond) is coming to an end, Dick Grayson has left Gotham to fight crime in Blüdhaven as Nightwing (as mentioned in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and later making a fleeting cameo in an episode of the later released Justice League Unlimited titled "Grudge Match" which is set in the city of Blüdhaven), hence his absence in the film although it's not explicitly stated, and Robin and Batgirl are much older than their depictions in The New Batman Adventures, but have not yet been forced to quit in the wake of the flashback events in Return of the Joker as this film is set before those events.
Chase Me
The US DVD release of Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (October 21, 2003) included the bonus short silent film Chase Me. Chase Me is a 2003 American direct-to-video animated short film also based on the animated series The New Batman Adventures. The silent film was produced by Warner Bros. Animation, and follows Batman as he chases Catwoman across Gotham City. The chase sequences are accompanied by a soundtrack mix of a quiet piano score, and jazz style score that plays up the chase.
The film was written by Paul Dini and Alan Burnett and was directed by Curt Geda. It was co-produced by Geda, Burnett, Margaret M. Dean, Benjamin Melniker, and Batman-producer Michael Uslan. The score is by Lolita Ritmanis.
Chase Me is also included as part of the main feature on video streaming sites such as Amazon Video.[4]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack album, composed by Lolita Ritmanis, produced by John Takis and mastered by James Nelson was released on March 29, 2016 by La-La Land Records. Bonus tracks and the score to the animated short "Chase Me" were also included.[5][6]
- Track list
- Main Title (2:02)
- Opening* (4:26)
- He's Been Waiting / Weapons Factory (1:12)
- Start Flexing (1:19)
- The Reason I Called / Rocky Ballantine (1:52)
- Bat-Signal* (0:42)
- I'll Get Back to You / Factory / After the Explosion (4:47)
- Chase Through Store / Rear-View Mirror (2:12)
- Bruce and Kathy (2:01)
- Real Muscle / Get Out! (1:54)
- Paint the Town (1:05)
- Revolving Door / Time to Burn a Bat (3:59)
- I Was Wrong About You (0:37)
- Subway / Identified (0:45)
- I Don't Want to See You / High Stakes (1:27)
- The Ship Sails Tonight / Batwoman in Flight (1:49)
- Close to Our Goal (1:36)
- This Is It / Ship Leaves the Harbor (2:22)
- Penguin Gets a Call / Trouble (2:22)
- Bon Voyage, Señor Batman* (1:21)
- Close Look / It Has to End / Explosions (3:18)
- Ship Is Going Down (5:17)
- Bane's Demise (1:25)
- Bullock Sees Sonia / The Badge (1:32)
- I Missed You (1:26)
- Mystery End Credits (1:25)
- Total Score Time: 54:13
Chase Me
- Chase Me (5:55)
- Chase Me End Credits (0:33)
- Total Score Time: 6:28
Bonus tracks
- News Source (0:38)
- Piano Source (0:40)
- Department Store (0:44)
- Rude Interruption (0:14)
- Main Title (film version)* (2:13)
Reception
The film holds a 60% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[7] DVD Talk rated the film as 3.5 stars of 5 stars as "Recommended".[8]
References
- ^ "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman". The World's Finest. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ Pirrello, Phil; Schedeen, Jesse (February 23, 2010). "Ranking the DC Animated Universe". IGN. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
- ^ The World's Finest - The New Batman Adventures.
- ^ "Batman - Mystery of the Batwoman". Amazon Video. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
- ^ "Releases - CD - Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman Music from the DC Universe Animated Original Movie". Worldsfinest.com.
- ^ "Lolita Ritmanis – Batman: Mystery Of The Batwoman (Music From The DC Universe Animated Original Movie)". Discogs.
- ^ "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
- ^ Tyner, Adam (October 19, 2003). "Batman - Mystery of the Batwoman". DVD Talk. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
External links
- at the Wayback Machine (archived 9 September 2006)
- DC page
- Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman at IMDb
- CW Seed