The Batman Double Feature

Warner Bros. Animation has just released two of their better full-length made-for-TV animated movies on a new DVD with a nice set of bonus features. Both of these films have been previously released on their own but this package pulls together the movies and their extra features onto one double sided disc.

"Batman Vs. Dracula" (2005) is an extension of 'The Batman' animated series and pits Bruce Wayne against the renown vampire who is unwittingly awakened from the dead when the Penguin accidentally spills a drop of blood on an unmarked corpse he finds while hiding out in the Gotham Cemetery. Penguin and The Joker are both escapees from Arkham Asylum and bent on a new crime spree when Dracula is awakened and unleashes his army of the walking dead upon Gotham. Luckily Bruce is able to isolate the blood anomaly that is causing the citizens of Gotham to turn into vampires and saves the day with an antidote vaccine that also sends Dracula back to the unknown beyond. The story is dark and done in a beautiful film noir style with all the action taking place as night falls in Gotham. This is an impressive addition to the Saturday morning series and really gave the writers, actors and animators a chance to spread their creative wings and produce a spooky and memorable animated cartoon feature film.

This side of the DVD also includes a set of extra features including a making-of segment, a tour of Gotham at night, Science vs. superstition and the Dracula myth and a look at the voices behind the characters.

The flip side of the DVD has the 1998 feature "The Batman Superman Movie" which was done as an extension of the popular Batman and Superman animated TV series from the 90s and has the two superheroes meeting up for the first time. When the Joker takes a trip to Metropolis he steals a kryptonite dragon sculpture that he plans to use to kill Superman. He then manages to traps Lex Luthor in a plot that goes very wrong when Batman and Superman team up to stop them both. When Lois Lane falls in love with the visiting Bruce Wayne she becomes an unwitting hostage in the ensuing battle to stop the Joker and save Metropolis from losing it's guardian. Most of the fun of this movie is watching Batman and Superman's male egos collide over the battle tactics to save the city as well as their feelings for Lois. The visual style of the series works well for this feature length film and its easy to see why these animated versions of Batman and Superman remain so popular.

This side of the DVD features extra features including how to draw the characters, a conversation with producer Bruce Timm, a Joker game and a music montage.