Batman : Le Retour des justiciers masqués

A 90 minute animated super-hero action/comedy film.

Gotham City is filled with diabolical villains whose master plans include locking up a stage band in a closet and gate crashing everyone's favourite TV program. They play musical instruments really badly and reveal their dastardly plot via confounded puzzles that only a genius of dubious reasoning could solve. Thank goodness for Batman is here.

Everything that made the 1960s Batman and Robin so charming and funny is here with spades on. Sorry… that should be, 'with bat-spades on.' Those inducted into Batman lore will note lots of references to other movies. For the rest just enjoy the fun.

The animation is very well done. The 2D and 3D elements are well crafted together. I particularly appreciated the camera panning homage around the bat mobile.

Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar returned to voice their roles from the classic Batman TV shows of the 1960s. There were other Batman adaptations for the movies before him (Lewis Wilson anyone?) but Adam West is the one we all remember.

Julie Newmar got her deserved place back in this movie. She played Catwoman in the original TV series but was replaced by Lee Meriwether in the 1966 Batman movie. Lee might have been prettier but that's not all you look for in Catwoman. When it comes to filling out a cat suit to the correct proportions there was none finer than Julie.

Batman, Return of the Caped Crusader was expected to go straight-to-DVD but it did get a short cinema release. One showing in the Vue was all there was in Blackpool. Our group was the first to arrive and my imagination of a horde of boisterous youths throwing popcorn at the screen did not occur. We all sat in a polite little block in the centre seats and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The pre and post film extras were fun; I hope and expect they'll find their way onto the DVD too.

I was surprised when I saw the film was PG rather than U. There is nothing in the movie that very young children will find distressing though they will not appreciate all the humour. The range of flash cards; {kpow}, {splat} here included such words as, {fracture} but that hardly counts as an increase in the level of violence.

The types of humour used in this movie include; droll, parody, farce, screwball and slapstick. All delivered with a very straight face. If you enjoy those then sign up.

Who won't enjoy this movie? Batman purists may lift their nose and turn away. The 1960s TV shows were parodies of the comics and don't take the material seriously in any way. This film does the same. If you are a critical comic fan and believe Batman should have a dignified portrayal then you will not like this.

"To the bat-(append your contraption here)."

When the 60s series first aired in Australia, the country did not yet have colour TV. I watched endless repeats of the series in colour when we moved to Texas in 1969. With my growing interest in the female gender, I was a big Julie Newmar Catwoman fan and had great admiration for her dangerous curves.

Return of the Caped Crusaders is OK, but it is hard to poke fun at something that always used to poke fun at itself. As such, I can fully understand why someone who has never had much exposure to the 60s series would not find the movie all that interesting. The series was out-of-step with the original DC character which debuted in 1939, and it took a great deal of effort on the part of movie-makers to return the character to its dark roots.

Fans of the 60s series are likely to enjoy this movie... aging character voices and all. But that is where it lives. It is not a part of either the contemporary or original Batman universe, and should not be compared to either.

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders The reason Batman is so angry nowadays is because it's illegal for him to hang out with underage boys. But as this animated-adventure depicts, back in the 1960s, men and boys were free to frolic. The caped crusader (Adam West) confounds his premature partner (Burt Ward) when he adopts a more ridged approach to crime fighting. But the Boy Wonder doesn't have time to dissect this new Batman as their vilest villains – The Joker, The Penguin, The Riddler and Catwoman (Julie Newmar) – have teamed up to take the Dynamic Duo down for good. The cartoon continuation of the campy 1960s TV show, this DC Entertainment feature finds some original cast members returning to voice their characters as best as octogenarians can. Embracing the burlesque, while welcoming the darker aspects, this beautifully rendered revisiting is ideal for older, less discerning fans. Incidentally, modern Batman fights crime by simply trolling villains online. Green Light

Batman has changed a lot since the days of Adam West came and put on the suit. It is to the point where it seems like no one even remembers that Adam West was the original Batman. However DC animation has helped bring back the old Adam West styled Batman in a major way. While also realizing those original fans have probably grew up now so is more willing to lace the film with more sexual humor and also press buttons with the whole Batman taking around a boy with tights and how strange that really is.

This movie also takes a clean shot at the new darker Batman who is more willing to be on the edge and do whatever it takes to make the villains pay for there crimes. It is quite a interesting look on what Batman was in the 60s to what Batman is today.

Catwoman also is updated to be a little more similar to the type of character she has become today. Selina Kyle has started to run that line between hero and villain and this movie easily lets us know that is trying to do that. From her working with the boy wonder to help Batman or taking on the villains she had once partnered with. The film does a great job showing us the new Catwoman.

Overall Batman Return of the Caped Crusaders is a great return to that 60s Batman world and knows how to have fun with its inclusive stories and campy aspects as well. The movie is quite a whole lot of fun to enjoy for those fans

I went to a special theater viewing of this movie and found it to be a real treat. I enjoyed it from the very beginning, It did not disappoint. The special effects were quite nice and the music with its jazzy horn sounds and sixties beats had me moving in my seat through some parts of it as well. Adam West as Batman and Julie Newmar as Catwoman were enjoyable to watch. The producers featuring their original voices in the film gave it a special uniqueness that could not be replaced.

I often laughed out loud at certain scenes and also enjoyed the storyline. It had me often wondering what would happen next. I also liked the villains. Classic Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman each had their own unique flair that seemed to captivate each scene. Riddler was great with his genius schemes and his trickery. The classic Joker was hilarious with his flamboyant laugh and his menacing actions. Penguin was crafty in his own way with his powerful gadgets, style and swagger. Catwoman was also quite captivating with her tempting seductress demeanor and deadly charms.

I also enjoyed Batman, Robin, and Alfred's characters in this film. The director has a great style of mixing humor with edginess that make the heroes and villains interesting and fun to watch. I laughed out loud at much of Batman and Robin's hilarious dialogue and chemistry. Robin really had me laughing out loud with his hysterical phrases such as "Holy Hydrogen", "Holy Shrapnel" and "Holy Hussy". I did not get bored with the heroes at all in this film and was quite excited to see this version of the characters. The fight scenes even had me laughing out loud; especially when they used the classic sixties phrases such as "Boom!", "Pow!" "Zone!"etc. while the heroes fought the villains. These scenes were funny and did not bore me even for a moment.

This movie was quite amazing and an refreshing escape from the dark undertones of the recent Batman projects. It shows that Batman is a character that can be expressed in a wide array of styles and still be entertaining. I definitely recommend DC Comic fans and Batman fans to try this film out. I am so moved by it that I plan to purchase a DVD copy of this movie and probably even the original 60's Batman show too. I also will try to read some of the Batman 66 comics to get more of this type of entertainment. I hope that the directors may even consider doing a sequel of this real soon. I definitely look forward to seeing more.