Batman: The Long Halloween Animated Film Voice Actors Cast!

[AmiMizuno]

I wonder if they will include the prequel of the Long Halloween movie

[Matt Parker]

So, I thought this movie was awesome. Like, maybe my 3rd favorite Batman movie after Begins and Dark Knight.

First off, I feel like this learned from Year One and (to a far lesser extent) Dark Knight Returns in that it wasn't just a direct, scene for scene, line for line adaptation of the comic. It took the story and the framework but it added to it. Plenty of new scenes with Bruce, Harvey, and Gordon were added that made their personal lives come to life a little more than they did in the book, and there were two really notable scenes with Falcone that added a lot to him and his relationships with his organization and his family. Similarly, the Joker's escape was handled differently here. In the comic, he just sort of escapes off screen, but here it's a really intense scene that had me on the edge of my seat.

Interestingly, the movie also looks at Batman Earth One somewhat in that it portrays the younger Batman as not initially a great detective (he even states that he didn't expect he'd have to be) but we see him sharpen those skills a bit as the movie goes on. This was a really cool angle that I loved. There is also an added angle to Harvey's character that I don't remember the comic having.

More to the point, this just felt more cinematic than lots of these do. Music is absent except for big moments, the scenes sometimes go on long enough to add subtext. The choice of shots and where scenes started and ended was so thoughtful. Between this and Man of Tomorrow, I think we need to have Tim Sheridan and Chris Palmer write and direct all of these, because these two are far and away the best these movies have ever been in my opinion.

So, what does everyone think? Am I crazy, or did this rock?

[AmiMizuno]

I loved it and RIP Naya.

[bat39]

So, I thought this movie was awesome. Like, maybe my 3rd favorite Batman movie after Begins and Dark Knight.

First off, I feel like this learned from Year One and (to a far lesser extent) Dark Knight Returns in that it wasn't just a direct, scene for scene, line for line adaptation of the comic. It took the story and the framework but it added to it. Plenty of new scenes with Bruce, Harvey, and Gordon were added that made their personal lives come to life a little more than they did in the book, and there were two really notable scenes with Falcone that added a lot to him and his relationships with his organization and his family. Similarly, the Joker's escape was handled differently here. In the comic, he just sort of escapes off screen, but here it's a really intense scene that had me on the edge of my seat.

Interestingly, the movie also looks at Batman Earth One somewhat in that it portrays the younger Batman as not initially a great detective (he even states that he didn't expect he'd have to be) but we see him sharpen those skills a bit as the movie goes on. This was a really cool angle that I loved. There is also an added angle to Harvey's character that I don't remember the comic having.

More to the point, this just felt more cinematic than lots of these do. Music is absent except for big moments, the scenes sometimes go on long enough to add subtext. The choice of shots and where scenes started and ended was so thoughtful. Between this and Man of Tomorrow, I think we need to have Tim Sheridan and Chris Palmer write and direct all of these, because these two are far and away the best these movies have ever been in my opinion.

So, what does everyone think? Am I crazy, or did this rock?

Totally agree with you! Especially considering the adaptation strategy compared to Year One, which I just rewatched and certainly feels a lot clunkier with all that voiceover narration (and a bit choppy in parts from being a highly faithful adaptation).

I love the visuals and the score. The opening credits are a thing of beauty. When it rains or snows against the backdrop of Gotham's skyline, its truly a work of art! The visuals and the soundtrack do a great job building the atmosphere of the film and of Gotham - and atmosphere is like 75% of what makes this film so great IMO.

The 'Year 2' era is actually one of my favorite eras of Batman's career (which is why I'm really excited for Matt Reeves' film) in that it strikes the perfect balance. You get a Batman who's pretty established, with all the iconic elements in place, but at the same time you get a Batman who's still not the infallible BatGod he'll later become...who still makes mistakes, and who can still be vulnerable in a fight. It also helps that Bruce, at this early stage, has not only already had some success as Batman, but also has genuine and justified hope that his efforts could permanently fix things in Gotham, which is of course a major theme of this particular story. And this film really capitalizes on this setting. I love how there are moments where you genuienly feel Batman could lose a fight, and where he himself admits that might not be as good a detective as he is a fighter.

Its been literally a decade or more since I last read the TLH comic so I don't know how faithful (or not) this film is to the source material. Though there were a couple of things that stood out.

spoilers:

It was nice seeing Barbara and James Jr. as kids. The scene with Barbara dressed as a cop and saluting Jim, who gives her his detective badge, was sweet! It did get me thinking though...Barbara seems a lot younger here than she should be at this point in time. Comic-book timelines are, well, whatever they are, but shouldn't Barbara at least be a pre-teen by this point? Anyway its a different continuity, so it doesn't matter, but I guess this means we're unlikely to see a Batgirl in this 'verse...since it'd have to be a good 10-12 years at least before this Barbara could put on a cowl... Also, the part which really stunned me was Bruce and Selina knowing each other's identities and kinda working together as Batman and Catwoman...which is jarring for a Year 2 story. But again, new continuity, so... They seem to be driving home the point that Alberto Falcone died for real...though that doesn't preclude him having committed any of the previous murders (again, its been a while since I read the comic). But is Gilda the other killer, and the one who kills him? They seem to be implying that Alberto might have had a relationship with Gilda in the past, which I have a feeling wasn't in the original story...

end of spoilers

On the whole, definitely one of the best Batman movies in the DCAMO line...in fact I'd say its second only to The Dark Knight Returns and maybe Under the Red Hood.

[godisawesome]

I’m watching it and liking ti so far, but one major difference I noticed is they’ve clearly included a lot more hints and set-ups to address some of the original story’s logical inconsistencies, and to hint at the reveals not just from the story but also from Dark Victory. Like Gilda not being incapacitated at points she was in the book, or the way that both Selina and Albert give Falcone a look when he starts talking about family and the son he wishes he had.

The one thing I really miss was the greater number of Bruce and Selina scenes; I would have kept all of them and then incorporated some form Dark Victory as well, particularly with the little change they made to their knowledge about each other here as well.

[Micael]

The movie just like the comic still has the weird logic where some characters for whatever reason blames Dent for the holiday killings despite there being no clear evidence pointing to him.

[godisawesome]

The movie just like the comic still has the weird logic where some characters for whatever reason blames Dent for the holiday killings despite there being no clear evidence pointing to him.

I think the movie is trying to make a clearer case for it, though mostly through the “mystery suspect” scene where Bruce rattles off a bunch of personal details that he and Gordon must know, and making sure that Dent acting out is brought to people’s attention. Johnny Vitti’s death is the big one that doesn’t really fit him at all… but the film doesn’t start acting like he’s a serious suspect from anyone until the third murder.

Ideally, the incongruity of some of the deaths will be brought up explicitly as a reason for someone to suggest multiple killers later.

[Micael]

I think the movie is trying to make a clearer case for it, though mostly through the “mystery suspect” scene where Bruce rattles off a bunch of personal details that he and Gordon must know, and making sure that Dent acting out is brought to people’s attention.

I always found it strange how the mob is like "Some of our men are getting killed by a serial killer with a Holyday motif. Must be that new D.A who's been working cases against us". In the comic and in the movie I don't where the hell do they come to that conclusion.

Another thing that the movie did that was interesting is that their version of Batman is not a great detective and even admits he's out of his depth for this one. Although I do find it strange that he has all those villains in Arkham and only now he's needing to be a detective. How in the hell did he capture any of those guys without being a detective? He would certainly struggle with people like the joker and Calendar man.

[Frontier]

I always found it strange how the mob is like "Some of our men are getting killed by a serial killer with a Holyday motif. Must be that new D.A who's been working cases against us". In the comic and in the movie I don't where the hell do they come to that conclusion.

Another thing that the movie did that was interesting is that their version of Batman is not a great detective and even admits he's out of his depth for this one. Although I do find it strange that he has all those villains in Arkham and only now he's needing to be a detective. How in the hell did he capture any of those guys without being a detective? He would certainly struggle with people like the joker and Calendar man.

I guess because they know how passionately Dent hates them?

Kind of reminds me of Earth One where the second volume was all about him having to learn to be a detective. I guess the implication was that he underestimated the criminal element and the Supervillains were so overt that it didn't require more in-depth detective skills. Which also begs the question if that was, like, the one part of his training he skipped .

[Micael]

I guess because they know how passionately Dent hates them?

Kind of reminds me of Earth One where the second volume was all about him having to learn to be a detective. I guess the implication was that he underestimated the criminal element and the Supervillains were so overt that it didn't require more in-depth detective skills. Which also begs the question if that was, like, the one part of his training he skipped .

Sure Dent is passionate about taking them down but I think the leap of logic in thinking that he would resort to murder is a little too big.

I find it a little off-putting the fact that Bruce never considered that in his crusade against crime he would have to do some detective work. And unless the villains M.O changed drastically from what we usually see in Batman stories they would all force Batman to do some detective work. No way he catches Penguin without that?

[godisawesome]

It could be argued that if Bruce was confident that publicly known criminals and an inside line from the police could point him towards the biggest threats, or that if all the theatrical villains aren’t trying very hard to cover their involvement, he could rely on tracking skills and “knowing the lay of the land” to get by. An actual post-crime investigation by a criminal concealing their ID is different.

It’s probably a bit of a story crutch right now to try and give them some elasticity for the weak spots in Loeb’s original storyline - make it so this is a young Batman capable of making mistakes in a story that might very well require mistakes in order to progress.

I am mildly disappointed it took to the last night to finally have Selina and Bruce in a scene together as civilians, especially given the way the story ends up working off the premise they know each their secret IDs and are already in a working relationship. Maybe I’ll get lucky, and Bruce will review that in Part 2.

[Frontier]

Sure Dent is passionate about taking them down but I think the leap of logic in thinking that he would resort to murder is a little too big.

I guess if you don't know how mentally unstable Dent really is, yeah, but in a world with Batman maybe it doesn't take that much to leap to the idea of a public crusader taking the law into their own hands. Well, that and they hate his guts.

I find it a little off-putting the fact that Bruce never considered that in his crusade against crime he would have to do some detective work. And unless the villains M.O changed drastically from what we usually see in Batman stories they would all force Batman to do some detective work. No way he catches Penguin without that?

Maybe it's a difference in the degree to which it's required? Gotham Supervillains are a little more overt and attention-grabbing by comparison.

[bat39]

I guess if you don't know how mentally unstable Dent really is, yeah, but in a world with Batman maybe it doesn't take that much to leap to the idea of a public crusader taking the law into their own hands. Well, that and they hate his guts.

Maybe it's a difference in the degree to which it's required? Gotham Supervillains are a little more overt and attention-grabbing by comparison.

As a vigilante himself, Batman understands all too well how Dent might be tempted to become one as well, albeit of a more lethal variety. And the research he no doubt does on Dent's psychiatric issues no doubt raise his suspicions as well.

With regards to the 'detective' thing - yes it is a bit jarring to hear Batman say he didn't expect to be a detective, but I think its actually a clever bit of commentary on how TLH differs from the kind of Batman stories that usually get adapted. Most Batman stories that wider audiences are familiar with involve Batman going up against some big-name villain. The 'detective work' required is usually pretty minimal, and its mostly a matter of chasing and fighting villains and taking them down. Batman having to be involved in a months-long investigation to identify a serial killer who wants to stay anonymous isn't the kind of story we usually see, outside the comics at any rate, so I think Bruce claiming that he didn't expect Batman to be a detective is a nod to that.

Interestingly Matt Reeves has also said that The Batman (which is also inspired by TLH and set in the same general time period) is a kind of 'origin story' for Batman being a detective, and his goal was to do a more noir-ish crime story involving detective work - something which we've seldom seen in previous films.

[Micael]

Batman not expecting to do extensive detective work when he's going against organized crime is funny any way you put it. I understand what they were trying to do with the rookie Batman to justify him struggling with this specific murder case and needing the help of Gordon and Dent but they could've done it better. Just say he's still learning the ropes on detective work not that he never expected to do it.

[godisawesome]

Just to check… everyone knows there’s a post-credits scene, right?