Another faithful animated comic book adaptation has arrived, and I continue to be only mildly impressed by what the DC animators have cranked out. I’ve mentioned this in the last few reviews of these animated DVDs, but nobody seems to be trying very hard. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 is very ordinary. The animation style is the same as they’ve always used. The voice actors are mediocre at best, with a few clunkers. The adaptation is almost faithful to the word, and the few minor changes don’t really add anything new or interesting to the show. This DVD is basically just the same people cranking out the same product they’ve always been.

But that’s not to say we shouldn’t be eternally grateful that we now have a fully animated adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns, one of the greatest Batman stories ever written.

Movie rating: 4/5: Good.

Don’t let my nitpicking keep you away from a good adaptation of the classic Frank Miller comic. The animation is top notch, the action is very good and, like I said, the cartoon is an almost exact replication of the comic. And considering that comic book fans tend not to like change, that’s probably for the best. Could you imagine the firestorm if DC Animation had rewritten parts of this story? Sometimes minor changes to the story works, like with the Watchmen movie, but sometimes it could be terrible, like all other planned adaptations of Watchmen.

That The Dark Knight Returns has been stretched into two films is unfortunate, but for the best, considering the lengthy tale. Once both parts are out, I’m hoping it’s a better experience overall. But Part 1 has its own stories, so we’re not lacking for content by only getting the first half of the comic on film.

Though we are missing out on what could have been a powerful artistic interpretation. Anyone who has read the original comic knows that The Dark Knight Returns has a very unique and hectic art style. It’s a little jarring and confusing at first, but quickly grows on you in the reading. The animation in the new DVD is the same kind of animation DC has been cranking out since Batman: The Animated Series nearly 20 years ago, which is a shame. While it’s solid animation and looks great, it loses that unique, emotional feel that came from the original art.

Same with the voice acting. Peter Weller is a terrible Batman. The producers may have been super excited to get Robocop to do the voice, but he stinks. Weller’s performance is flat and emotionless, in a story that calls for Batman to be full of rage and power. It’s a complete failure.

Was Kevin Conroy busy that week and couldn’t do the voice? Join me after the jump for more.

The original Dark Knight Returns comic in the late 1980s single-handedly invented the modern Batman. Think about it: How did Batman go from the campy, brightly colored, Caped Crusader in the 1960s Batman TV show, to the dark, broody, growling, Dark Knight in the new Christopher Nolan film trilogy? It wasn’t overnight. For years, Batman in the comics had been moving away from the campy Silver Age style of the TV show, but it was Frank Miller’s four-issue mini-series The Dark Knight Returns in 1986 that completely refocused the character into the dark avenger of the night.

Who is on a horse

Fans have been reveling in that darkness ever since. And I am particularly fond of the dark, brooding vigilante Batman.

So it’s no surprise that The Dark Knight Returns would eventually get an animated adaptation. The DC Animation crew has probably wanted to do it for years, chomping at the bit until the stars aligned, or whatever it might take to make this new DVD a reality. Splitting the feature into two parts is their way to honor the size and scope of the source material, while sticking to their expected time frame for these DVD movies. Completely understandable.

What isn’t understandable is why DC Animation stuck with a by-the-numbers approach to this movie instead of trying something more artistic and profound. This is the Holy Grail of comic book adaptations, arguably the most popular superhero ever in his most popular story ever. Why didn’t Bruce Timm and his people try better to replicate Miller’s distinct art style? Why didn’t they try any new animation techniques? Why not hire better voice actors?

Could it be studio interference? Does Warner Bros. just want some simple, easy DVD to put on the shelves? Fans are going to buy this DVD no matter what it’s like. So was everyone going for the safe bet rather than taking an artistic risk?

If so, shame on them. The Dark Knight Returns deserves better.

We owe it to Batman, each and every one of us

The Dark Knight Returns tells the story of Bruce Wayne at the age of 55, long retired from his time as Batman. As anyone could guess, his body just can’t take it anymore. He’s not the young, world-class athlete that he was in his prime. Gotham City is still a cesspool of crime, however, and without Batman to protect its streets, the city is starting to get worse. There’s a new, violent mutant gang causing trouble, and some of Batman’s old foes are starting to pop up again, like Two-Face. So even though he’s long retired, and nowadays shares fond drinks with Commissioner Gordon, Bruce Wayne can’t ignore the pounding desire in his heart.

He is Batman. And he has to save the citizens of Gotham.

So the aging Bruce dons his costume once again, despite the wear and tear in his bones and his body. He starts taking names and kicking ass again, while the city, the media and soon the U.S. Government start to take notice to this violent vigilante. Even as Batman stops Two-Face, uncovers a military general selling weapons to criminals, and defeats the new gang, there are even greater dangers waiting for him in Part 2.

And somewhere in the wings, a young girl named Carrie Kelly is inspired. Enough so to buy a Robin costume at the store and declare herself the Dark Knight’s new sidekick.

Robin is awesome, so at least there’s that

The story of The Dark Knight Returns is a lot of fun. It’s an exciting tale of Batman, a very popular superhero, picking himself back up and making a difference in his city once again, even as he struggles with the real human problems of age and exhaustion. His internal drive won’t let him stop, no matter how much of a beating his old bones take. He finds a way, and he saves the day. And coupled with Frank Miller’s bombastic narration, the comic was simply awesome.

Remember the movie Sin City a few years ago, with its stylized black & white cinematography and gritty, street-level violence?  That too was based on a Frank Miller comic. And remember how the characters talked and narrated Sin City, with rough, graveling statements and a thick noir mood? That’s how Batman talks and narrates in The Dark Knight Returns. So imagine if the Sin City movie had a chapter about Batman. That’s what The Dark Knight Returns cartoon should have been.

Batman vs. Sin City should be the next cartoon

Instead, this may as well have just been a special episode of Batman: The Animated Series. No attempt is made to match the gritty style of Frank Miller’s original work. Plus there’s simply no narration in this cartoon. Some of it was turned into spoken dialogue, but it loses some of its intensity when it’s not narration.

And it loses a lot of its intensity when spoken by Peter Weller, best known for playing Robocop in the 80s. Weller is a terrible Batman. He’s flat and emotionless. Even lines that in the comic were specifically written as anger-filled shouting become just dull, monotone grunts courtesy of Weller. I realize that Batman is like that sometimes, but not all the time. Did anyone else get chills when Christian Bale shouted “Swear to me!” in Batman Begins? Yeah, there is absolutely none of that in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1. Here’s an example of Weller as Batman. He speaks at the end:

When your main character is that lifeless, the whole rest of the movie follows.

The rest of the voice-acting is fine. The Mutant Leader is evil and menacing, Commissioner Gordon and Alfred sound like themselves, and Carrie Kelly’s Robin is young and spirited, just like she should be. So everyone other than Weller is fine.

Which leads me to wonder, what was Kevin Conroy doing when they made this film?

Conroy has been the definitive voice actor for Batman since the hugely popular Batman: The Animated Series. And DC Animation has used Conroy again and again when making these DVDs. The fans love Conroy as Batman, and DC Animation clearly loves using him. So why not use him all the time? Do they not want Batman to be so closely connected with one actor? Why nitpick about something like that? When you’re making the definitive Batman animated adaptation, the dream project, you’ve got to give it 110%! And Weller was a bad, bad choice.

Even if he’s old enough

Here’s a question I’ve been asking for some time now: what is the point of these animated DVDs anymore?

Marvel Comics used to make them too, but they were generally terrible, and Marvel bowed out a few years ago – right around the time their actual movies became a huge hit. DC doesn’t have that kind of track record in the theaters, but surely they can’t be relying on these DVDs for any special kind of income. They may be good DVD movies, but who really buys straight-to-DVD movies anymore? Or DVDs in general, for that matter? DC has already got an awesome animation block on Saturday mornings. Why not focus more on those? Why not make DVD movies about Young Justice or Green Lantern? Or the Super Best Friends Forever?

It seems to me that this DVD animation department is kept around to crank out a by-the-numbers superhero comic adaptation roughly twice a year. The fans will eat this kind of thing up, and I know I haven’t missed a single release. But these are very talented people making a very mediocre product. They aren’t pushing themselves, and that leads to complacency…but I think we’re already there.

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Well that’s my opinion. What did you guys think of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1? Are you excited for Part 2?