Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (Blu-ray)

I vaguely remember this movie when it first came out, and didn't have any interest in it - which is a shame, because this was a fun little part of the Batman Animated Series. It definitely has the styling of the "Batman - Superman Adventures" from the late 90s, and really comes across more as an extended episode from that series as opposed to a movie. It's a fun little mystery (that has nothing to do with the comics Batwoman) that has an interesting twist (no spoilers here), but I also wouldn't say that this ranks among one of the best episodes of the animated series. Still, for what it's worth, it's a fun watch, and it's always great to hear Kevin Conroy's Batman.

I am happy to have high quality movie to watch.

"Batman: The Mystery of the Batwoman" is the first new straight-to-DVD Batman animated project since "Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker." It was worth the wait. Even if it doesn't match the manic, violent heights of "The Return of the Joker," it's a welcome, more lightweight adventure that's full of action and drama and also a very enjoyable mystery. There's a slew of villains: The Penguin, Bane, and gangser Rupert Thorne. And there's the fascinating new character of Batwoman herself, with her unique abilities and unusual arsenal of gadgets. It's also quite a sexy, steamy Batman story (but don't worry, parents, not THAT steamy), with a strong romantic subplot that gives Bruce Wayne plenty to do when he's not hunting through the night as Batman. Like all of the animated D.C. Comics projects to come out of Warner Bros. since the early 90s, it's enjoyable, smart entertainment for both children and adults. If it doesn't quite attain the level of some of the previous Batman animated adventures, it nonetheless delivers a fun, exciting time in Gotham city.Directed by Kurt Geda (who also directed "Return of the Joker") and Tim Maltby, and written by frequent writers of the various D.C. TV shows, Michael Reaves and Alan Burnett, the movie takes us back to the days of "The New Batman Adventures" (which means the look and style of the movie matches the more stylized look of the last few seasons of the show). Batman and Robin (the younger Tim Drake version of Robin) are still together fighting crime, but Batgirl has left Gotham City to go to college (no mention is made of Nightwing, the former Robin). But a new vigilante has suddenly appeared in Gotham: Batwoman (voice of Kyra Sedgewick), who wields bizarre technology and seems to have a grudge against the Penguin and Rupert Thorne's weapons-dealing operation. Batman sets out to find out the truth behind Batwoman and also stop the Penguin, Thorne, and their cronies.There are plenty of suspects who could be beneath Batwoman's mask: scientist Roxanne "Roxy" Ballantine (voice of Kelly Ripa), mobster Carlton Duquesne's beautiful daughter Kathy (voice of Kimberly Brooks, although the character is clearly modeled on Halle Berry), and police detective Sonia Alcana (voice of Elisa Pensler-Gabrielli). Each one, Batman discovers, has a reason for revenge against the Penguin or Rupert Thorne. Things become more complicated when Bruce Wayne becomes romantically involved with Kathy Duquesne.The animation is, as usual, fantastic. It's limited by budget, but nonetheless is far ahead of most of what appears on television, and the animators use the minimalist, art-deco look to great advantage. The set-pieces are stunning: Penguin's icy-night club, the truck chase action opening, Batwoman's hyper-kinetic fight with Penguin's female goons, the cruise boat slam-bang finale, and a beautiful sunset romance scene. It's sequences like these that make me wish Warner Bros. would give the animated Batman another shot at the movie theaters. (Only "Mask of the Phantasm" has shown up on movie screens.) The voice work is impeccable: Kevin Conroy is always a terrific Batman, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. is still the perfect Alfred, and Hector Elizondo has fun with villain Bane. All the various female actresses mentioned above do great jobs with their characters. The only disconcerting casting choice is David Ogden-Stiers (a frequent voice-over artist) as the Penguin. He gives a good performance, but it's hard to better Paul Williams in the role, who had played the character throughout the TV series. The jazz-oriented score is also a nice change and adds to the steamier and mysterious aspects of the story.The DVD contains a number of extras, but the best is a short animated film called "Chase Me." It is done completely in pantomime -- no dialogue -- as Batman chases Catwoman across Gotham City after she robs a jewelry safe at a ritzy party. It's a stunning piece of animation, and if it had been released in theaters would probably have easily snatched up the Oscar for Best Animated Short. It's one of the best explorations of the strange Batman-Catwoman-Bruce Wayne-Selina Kyle relationship, and the jazz score is hypnotic. It's a great bonus feature to have along with this extremely enjoyable Batman film. Buy this DVD! It will encourage more animated Batman features in the future, and maybe, just maybe, get one of them released to the theaters!

WB didn't really promote this movie much, but I finally bought it and it was worth every penny.While it didn't have the 3d-renders of Justice League Unlimited, the Mystery of the Batwoman had smooth, consistent, high quality animation, an awesome voice cast, and a solid storyline. This was one of the best things I'd seen out of this continuity of Batman in a looong time.Don't get me wrong, I loved JL and JLU, as well as Batman Beyond, Batman:TAS, etc. However, this was the best production to date.I wish it could have saved us from "The Batman" and "Braniac Attacks." Those were utter crap.Waaaaaait. I know, it wasn't being driven by Bruce Timm. In the interviews on JL and JLU, I got the idea that he'd abandoned the people who made Batman Beyond and Batman TAS such good projects in favor of his whiny ego.Perhaps this movie can give someone else the ammo to keep Kevin Conroy as Batman. His voice is the single best one I've ever heard for Batman and if someone ever resurrects Batman Beyond, I'd love to see him play the elder Batman, whether live action, CGI, animation, whatever.

The movie arrived on the day it was expected to! Its a really great movie with a cool twist if you've never seen it. As far as the remastering is concerned, this is NOT full widescreen!!! The ratio is 1:78:1, which means basically 4:3 with double black bars. Even so, the video quality is stellar as to be expected from a remastered WB animated release. Audio quality was also amazing, especially when listening though the stereo!This is definitely a must-have for any Batman collector and fan!

In the words of Supervising Producer Alan Burnett, "I didn't want to do anything definitive. I wanted to do a fun story." A bit of a breath of fresh air. Batman is lightened up a little in this movie. A good plot, engaging characters and voice work. Good to hear the old voices from the 90s animated series again.

The art direction was reminiscent of batman the animated series, so I was in my heyday. I'm going to start this off by saying I put this on near the end of Thanksgiving lunch, so our bellies were full. My children watched about 45 minutes, then just stopped caring and left to dance around and do kid stuff so this movie didn't meet their batman movie standards. Me on the other hand enjoyed it up until I passed out from the food, waking up to ask what I missed and then 10 seconds later I see the credits roll. But from what I did watch, which was most of it, I really enjoyed the film and will watch the end a little bit later. I would give what I saw 4 stars but I'm factoring in my children and what I didn't see to average out the final rating to 3 stars. I enjoyed it though

A oft forgotten entry in the batman the animated series and great way to commorate the legacy of batwoman while honoring the legacy of Mr Conroy! Rest well sweet angel and thank you for the memories!