Batman: The Killing Joke (film)

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Movie
German title Batman: The Killing Joke
Original title Batman: The Killing Joke
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2016
length 76 minutes
Rod
Director Sam Liu
script Brian Azzarello
production Alan Burnett
Bruce Timm
Sam Register
music Kristopher Carter
Michael McCuistion
Lolita Ritmanis
cut Christopher D. Lozinski
synchronization

Batman: The Killing Joke ( in German, for example : The Killing Joke or The Deadly Joke ) is an American cartoon adaptation of the graphic novel Batman: Smile, please! by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland directed by Sam Liu . It was released in 2016 and is part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies .

action

Batgirl's prologue

A prologue specially developed for the film precedes the storyline of the original, which illuminates the character of Batgirl: During a nightly foray, Batgirl alias Barbara Gordon thwarted a robbery by criminal Paris Franz, who then obsessed with her and wanted to attract her attention. Batman is concerned about this development and warns Barbara not to be careless. However, she rejects him as overprotective and controlling. When Batgirl falls into Franz's trap and Batman has to save her, he pulls her off the case. Over the rooftops of Gotham City, an argument and fight breaks out between the two, which ends with the two sleeping together.

After that, the relationship between Bruce and Barbara is broken. Barbara tries to mend the relationship, but Bruce stiffens the hunt for Franz. In the process, he is ambushed at the harbor and is injured by Franz and his assistants. Batgirl comes to his aid and together they put Franz down. But even after that it's not like before. That's why Barbara returns the Batgirl costume and ends her career as a superhero.

Vengeance of the Joker

About a week later, Batman visits the Joker at Arkham Asylum to speak to him. He fears their longstanding feud will end in disaster. That is why he would like to try at least once to talk the Joker into conscience. In doing so, he discovers that the prisoner is a straw man and that the real Joker has already fled.

Meanwhile, the Joker visits an old fair and prepares his revenge on Batman. He breaks into Police Chief Jim Gordon's apartment to kidnap him. He shoots Barbara through the stomach into the spine, so that she is now paraplegic. Then he undresses her and takes photos of her. He takes Jim Gordon to his fairground and forces him to ride a ghost train, which confronts him with the pictures of his injured daughter. He wants to drive Gordon insane to prove that anyone can go crazy through a single traumatic experience. This is to show that he, Batman, and Gordon are essentially no different.

Finally, Batman arrives at the fair and a fight breaks out. Batman knocks down Joker's henchman and frees Gordon. He is still in his right mind and asks Batman to arrest the Joker strictly according to the will of the law in order to refute his thesis. In one final showdown, Batman defeats the Joker. Instead of beating him up, he offers to help him rehabilitate, just as he planned to do in Arkham. The Joker refuses because, in his opinion, it is already too late. Finally, the Joker tells a joke about two inmates of a madhouse that is a metaphor for Batman's offer. Surprisingly, Batman and the Joker laugh at his joke.

Origin of the Joker

The plot of the film is interrupted by flashbacks that explain the Joker's past. He was an unsuccessful comedian who allowed himself to be persuaded to break in to give his pregnant wife a better life. She dies in an accident shortly before the coup, but his partners forbid him to get out.

The poor comedian is supposed to lead two gangsters through a chemical factory where he used to work in order to break into the neighboring playing card factory. He should wear the disguise of the “Red Hood” to divert suspicion from the group. In the factory, however, they have a shooting with the guards, killing the two gangsters. The comedian flees, but is caught by Batman. In shock, he trips over the cloak of his Red Hood costume and falls into the factory sewer. This flushes him out to safety, but the chemicals disfigure him. Traumatized by the chain of misfortune, he eventually loses his mind.

The Joker tells the flashbacks from his point of view. At the end, however, he mentions that sometimes he remembers how it was made and sometimes differently. This makes him an unreliable narrator , and his true origins remain a mystery.

production

Project development

Several years before Batman: The Killing Joke went into production, there were plans to batman: Smile, please! to be filmed as a cartoon. Right from the start, however, the filmmakers recognized that because of the content, an age rating R of the Motion Picture Association of America had to be available in order to be able to film faithfully. This means that in the United States, the recommended age is 17 or older or with parenting. For this reason, Warner Bros. considered reducing the film budget, as they expected correspondingly low sales by the classification. After the movie Watchmen could not achieve the hoped-for box-office result, the film adaptation of The Killing Joke was put on hold because Warner Bros. assumed that an R-rated superhero movie was too early.

When, a few years later plans for a film adaptation of the graphic novel The Killing Joke were made, there were in Aurora for a movie showing the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises at a rampage . Since gun violence was associated with Batman for this reason , the film project was postponed again, although preproduction and character design were already taking place.

On July 10, 2015, on the same day that Justice League: Gods and Monsters premiered, Warner Bros. announced three more animated films for the 2016 DC Universe Animated Original Movies at San Diego Comic-Con : Batman: Bad Blood , Justice League vs. Teen Titans and Batman: The Killing Joke .

In November 2015, Warner Bros. announced that the Batman: The Killing Joke could have an R rating . So the producer James Tucker and the creative team have the freedom to show the actions of the Joker completely and without censorship. That would make Batman: The Killing Joke, together with the extended version of the film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the first Batman film with this rating. In April 2016, the Motion Picture Association had known the film with R to be seen. Especially the story about Batgirl added to the template is intended to justify the rating. Sam Liu acts as the director , while Bruce Timm acts as a producer in addition to Tucker . Mike Carlin is the creative director of the cartoon .

script

The plot is based on the graphic novel Batman: Smile, Please! and illuminates the genesis of the Joker, with the film version appearing 75 years after its first comic appearance.

Since the template does not offer enough material for a movie, Warner Bros. decided to add a prologue that should shed more light on the character of Batgirl and thus reinforce the emotional impact of the main plot. Barbara Gordon played a controversial victim role in the original, which was decisive for the plot, but small. So Timm, Burnett and Azzarello came up with the idea to incorporate a sex scene with Batman and Batgirl. They were aware of the risk, but they wanted to show that both characters were making big mistakes. According to screenwriter Azzarello, they countered the controversy by "adding more controversy". He explained that it made Batgirl stronger than the men in the story and ended up developing an even stronger character. Director Liu agrees that Batgirl and Batman make mistakes, but Batgirl makes decisions with emotional strength.

synchronization

Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill re-synchronize their regular roles as Batman and the Joker. You have given the two characters their voices in numerous animated films, series and video games since the 1990s. Hamill is also the singer of the song I Go Looney from the soundtrack.

role Original voice German speaker
Batman / Bruce Wayne Kevin Conroy Eberhard Haar
Batgirl / Barbara Gordon Tara Strong Manja Doering
joker Mark Hamill Torsten Michaelis
James Gordon Ray Wise Fred Maire

marketing

In mid-March 2016, Mark Hamill posted the first picture from the cartoon on Twitter . For the release of the film Justice League vs. Teen Titans featured a 12-minute teaser video for The Killing Joke with staff and voice actor interviews in bonus footage . On April 26, 2016, Warner Bros. released the first official trailer for the film. The following month a picture was released showing Batgirl from the movie Batman: The Killing Joke for the first time . In an interview on YouTube channel DC All Access with Tiffany Smith , the voice actress for Batgirl, additional footage from the film and the production was shown.

The YouTube channel Plan-Making Mammals revised the first trailer so that it looks more like Brian Bolland's drawings.

publication

The film premiered on July 22, 2016 at San Diego Comic-Con International . It first appeared in theaters on July 23 in Taiwan, about a week before Suicide Squad . In the USA, the film was shown in selected cinemas on July 25th and 26th. A documentary film about the cast of Mark Hamill for the role of Joker was shown as a supporting act. After the main program there was a look behind the scenes, where various moments with the Joker are shown.

The film was released on the Internet on July 26th and was available on Blu-ray and DVD in the United States on August 2nd . In Germany it was released on DVD on August 4th. A so-called Deluxe Edition is also available on Blu-ray , which also contains a limited figure of the Joker.

Reviews

Overall, the film received mixed reviews. Above all, the performance of the speakers and the faithfulness of the main part to the original are praised. On the other hand, critics complain that the prologue and other deviations are mainly of a sexual nature. The main problem is that Batman's actions contradict his established role as a father figure.

In addition, the goal was not to give Batgirl its own story, as her character is only defined by the men in her life. Her opponent Franz is a narcissist with a Batgirl fetish, whose entire involvement is sexually laden. Her romantic relationship with Batman may not be new to the DC Universe, but was hinted at in Batman Beyond . However, this relationship completely consumes its prologue. After all, the Joker's sexual assault on Barbara, as in the original, is a decisive event in her life.

Christoph Petersen writes at Filmstarts.de that it is “brave to re-explore the relationship between the two heroes”, but “the implementation leaves a rather ambivalent impression”, as it “reduces Barbara Gordon too much to her desire for Batman”. So he draws the conclusion: "After an at least ambiguous prologue, one of the best DC comic adaptations ever follows."

The ironic YouTube channel Screen Junkies also dedicated an episode of their Honest Trailers to the film . Instead of freshening up Barbara's character with a modern storyline, Warner Bros. tackles "fire with gasoline" by adding a number of sexist clichés.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Ed Gross: Batman: The Killing Joke - exclusive inside look. In: Empire. June 1, 2016, accessed January 31, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b Tim Beedle: Batman: The Killing Joke Gets an Animated Adaptation. In: DC Comics. dccomics.com, July 10, 2015, accessed July 4, 2016 .
  3. ↑ a b c Andrew Steinbeiser: Mark Hamill Reportedly Voicing The Joker In Batman: The Killing Joke. In: Comicbook.com. comicbook.com, July 27, 2015, accessed July 4, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Julia Alexander: The Killing Joke may be first Batman movie to secure R-rating. In: polygon. polygon.com, October 10, 2015, accessed July 4, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Oliver Gettell: Batman: The Killing Joke animated movie receives R rating - exclusive. In: Entertainment Weekly . ew.com, April 14, 2016, accessed July 4, 2016 .
  6. ↑ a b c Anthony Couto: Watch: 12-Minute Sneak Peek of “Batman: The Killing Joke” Animated Movie. In: Comic Book Resources. comicbookresources.com, April 3, 2016, accessed July 4, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Bruce Timm On Origins of 'Risky' Batman-Batgirl Sex Scene in "The Killing Joke". In: cbr.com. July 25, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2016 .
  8. ↑ "Batman: The Killing Joke" screenwriter explains the Controversial Sex Scene. In: cbr.com. July 23, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016 .
  9. ↑ Jacob Bryant: Mark Hamill, Kevin Conroy to Star in Animated Film 'Batman: The Killing Joke'. In: Variety. variety.com, March 14, 2016, accessed July 4, 2016 .
  10. ↑ Aaron Couch: 'Batman: The Killing Joke': See Mark Hamill in the Studio Ready to Sing as The Joker (Exclusive). In: The Hollywood Reporter . hollywoodreporter.com, July 15, 2016, accessed July 20, 2016 .
  11. Jump up ↑ Batman: The Killing Joke. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 2, 2017 .
  12. ↑ Anthony Couto: Batman and Joker Face Off in First Animated “Killing Joke” Image. In: Comic Book Resources. comicbookresources.com, March 14, 2016, accessed July 4, 2016 .
  13. ↑ Anthony Couto: First "Batman: The Killing Joke" Trailer Is No Laughing Matter. In: Comic Book Resources. comicbookresources.com, April 26, 2016, accessed July 4, 2016 .
  14. ↑ Jay Jayson: New Batman: The Killing Joke Image Shows Batgirl. In: Comicbook.com. comicbook.com, May 21, 2016, accessed July 4, 2016 .
  15. ↑ a b Jay Jayson: New Batgirl Footage From Batman: The Killing Joke. In: Comicbook.com. comicbook.com, July 15, 2016, accessed July 20, 2016 .
  16. ↑ Russ Burlingame: Batman: The Killing Joke Trailer Redrawn To Look Like the Comic. In: Comicbook.com. comicbook.com, May 7, 2016, accessed November 25, 2016 .
  17. ↑ Megan Peters: Batman: The Killing Joke Theatrical Tickets Now On Sale. In: Comicbook.com. comicbook.com, June 17, 2016, accessed July 4, 2016 .
  18. ↑ Chris Arrant: Second Date Added to 'Record-Breaking' Batman: The Killing Joke Theatrical Release. newsarama.com, July 7, 2016, accessed November 16, 2016 .
  19. ↑ Anthony Couto, "Batman: The Killing Joke" to Screen in Select Theaters Ahead of the Official Release. In: Comic Book Resources. comicbookresources.com, June 8, 2016, accessed July 4, 2016 .
  20. ↑ Ben Travers: Review: 'The Killing Joke' Turns Batman Into a Bad Boyfriend And Might Wreck Your Childhood. In: IndieWire. July 23, 2016, accessed November 14, 2016 .
  21. ^ William Hughes: Batman: The Killing Joke somehow manages to get even more controversial. July 23, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016 .
  22. ↑ a b Batman and Batgirl Have A Sexual Relationship In BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE. In: screengeek.net. Retrieved November 16, 2016 .
  23. ↑ How “Batman: The Killing Joke” could have avoided objectifying batgirl in all-new ways. In: cbr.com. Retrieved November 16, 2016 .
  24. ↑ Christoph Petersen: Batman: The Killing Joke. Retrieved November 11, 2016 .
  25. ↑ Batman: The Killing Joke gets the honest trailer treatment. In: cbr.com. Retrieved November 16, 2016 .
Batman - film and television


Serial

Batman and Robin (1943) • Batman and Robin (1949)

Movies
Batman (from 1966)

Batman keeps the world in suspense (1966) • Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016) • Batman vs. Two-Face (2017)

Batman (from 1989)

Batman (1989) • Batman Returns (1992) • Batman Forever (1995) • Batman & Robin (1997)

DC Animated Universe

Batman and the Phantom (1993) • Batman & Mr. Freeze - Ice Age (1998) • The Batman / Superman Movie (1998) • Batman of the Future - The Movie (1999) • Batman of the Future - The Joker Comes Back (2000 ) • The Mystery of Batwoman (2003)

The Dark Knight Trilogy

Batman Begins (2005) • The Dark Knight (2008) • The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

DC Universe Animated
Original Movies

Gotham Knight (2008) • Superman / Batman: Public Enemies (2009) • Under the Red Hood (2010) • Superman / Batman: Apocalypse (2010) • Year One (2011) • The Dark Knight Returns (2012/13) • Son of Batman (2014) • Assault on Arkham (2014) • Batman vs. Robin (2015) • Bad Blood (2016) • The Killing Joke (2016) • Batman and Harley Quinn (2017) • Gotham by Gaslight (2018) • Hush (2019)

"LEGO movies"

The LEGO Movie (2014) • The LEGO Batman Movie (2017) • The LEGO Movie 2 (2019)

Batman Unlimited

Animal Instincts (2015) • Monster Chaos (2015) • Mech vs. Mutants (2016)

DC Extended Universe

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) • Suicide Squad (2016)

Further

The Batman vs. Dracula (2006) • LEGO Batman: The Movie - The DC Super Heroes Association (2013) • Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018) • Ninja (2018) • Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019) • Joker (2019) • The Batman (2021)

Series

Batman (1966–1968) • Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder (1968–1969) • A Case for Batman (1977–1978) • Batman (1992–1995) • Batman & Robin (1997–1999) • Batman of the Future ( 1999–2001) • Birds of Prey (2002–2003) • The Batman (2004–2008) • The Brave and the Bold (2008–2011) • Beware the Batman (2013–2014) • Gotham (2014–2019) • Pennyworth (since 2019) • Batwoman (since 2019) • Harley Quinn (since 2019)

Note: Other films and series in which Batman appears are included in the navigation bars for Justice League or Teen Titans and are not included in this list.