Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem
Studio: Warner Bros. Animation
Release Date: August 4th, 2015 - Digital; August 18th, 2015 - Blu-ray, DVD

Synopsis: It's Halloween night in Gotham City and Scarecrow, Clayface, Silver Banshee and Solomon Grundy have hit the streets to stir up trouble! Batman is on the trail of the city's spookiest villains while, further complicating matters, the clown prince of crime himself, The Joker, is ruling over this mysterious crew of misfit criminals. It's up to the Dark Knight to stop this gruesome gang before they unleash "digital laughter," a computer virus that's part of a diabolical plan to jeopardize all of Gotham City's vital technology. Batman, Green Arrow, Cyborg, Nightwing and Red Robin must combine forces to battle these baddies and save the city.

The stellar voice cast features Roger Craig Smith (Batman: Arkham Origins) as Batman, Troy Baker (Batman: Assault on Arkham) as Joker, Khary Payton (Teen Titans Go!) as Cyborg, Chris Diamantopoulos (Episodes, Silicon Valley) as Green Arrow, Will Friedle (Batman Beyond, Boy Meets World) as Nightwing, Yuri Lowenthal (Ben 10) as Red Robin, Kari Wuhrer (Sharknado 2, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths) as Silver Banshee, Fred Tatasciore (Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham) as Solomon Grundy, Brian T. Delaney (Mad, Halo) as Scarecrow, Dave B. Mitchell (World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor) as Clayface, Noel Fisher (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2) as Gogo Shoto, and Alastair Duncan (Mass Effect games, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) reprising his The Batman TV series role as Alfred.

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Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem Feature Review
By James Harvey

The stakes are high in Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem, the follow-up to Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts. With technology basically useless thanks to a computer virus, Batman and his partners-in-crime fighting find themselves squaring off against the Joker and a collection of ne'er-do-wells for the fate of Gotham and, ultimately, the world. It's light, fun, fluffy stuff and, if you liked that last one, there's a good chance this one will also tickle your fancy.

Your enjoyment of this movie likely depends on just how open you are to different interpretations of Batman. This futuristic spin on the Batman mythos basically takes the standard Batman tropes and jams them into the future. It's not too far into the future, but just futuristic enough to have flying cars and crazy computer tech. It works quite well, too. It's an accessible take on Batman that serves as a fun entry point for potential new fans, giving the basics of the character while adding on some fancy toys and trinkets.

And to give an idea of just how fun Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem gets, this is a movie where Batman rides a mechanical dinosaur and shoots pterodactyl Jokers out of the sky with a lazer cannon that comes out of said dino's back in a virtual world. And this follows a scene where Batman becomes overweight and tries to outrun a crowd of Jokers chasing after him, which of course happens before Batman, in the real world, tries to shoot down a big robot Joker with a World War II fighter plane. That alone should give you an idea of just how nutty this film can get. It never gets as gleefully wacky as Batman: The Brave and The Bold, but there are a couple scenes that feel like a nice nod to that light-hearted animated series. It's a fun romp adventure, written by Heath Corson, that's well put-together and plenty enjoyable, even if it does drag just a shade in its protracted final moments.

Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem features another round of notable DC Comics villains facing off against Batman and his team, all of whom get a slight costume tweaks, but no major drastic design changes. All are instantly recognizable and actually appear far more traditional than the more tech-y looking costumes sported by most of our heroes. Cyborg's design here, by the way, is straight out of the current comics and he looks fantastic. No massive shoulder pads or massive gauntlets - he looks pretty streamlined but clearly inspired by the The New 52 design from the comics. In fact, the only characters to really get any type of major makeover are The Scarecrow and Clayface, and those are minor at best. Scarecrow gets buffed up and Clayface gets a more humanoid looking body (and more extensive shape-shifting abilities), that's it. Meanwhile, Silver Banshee and the Joker's classic looks are fairly intact. The designs look good across the board, though I find the heroes look a bit too busy at times, especially Nightwing and Arrow, whose costumes are covered in armor lines and seams.

The film's main plot follows the same basic beats as Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts. Bad guys and heroes fight, the plot and threat is introduced, they fight again, another layer is added, they fight again, the fight gets extended, then the big finale. Stretched out over 80 minutes, it can feel a bit long in the tooth, but it actually manages to flow quite well. Some scenes seem to last a few beats longer than they should and could've easily be trimmed, but the relaxed pace does help some of the film's jokes land a little better.

In terms of character work, there's no real deep exploration of the characters, but we get enough to understand who's who and what they bring to the table. The bad guys likely get the shortest end of the stick, especially since some of them have no real reason to team with the Joker. That said, I don’t think that’s a major selling point for a film like this. This is definitely meant to be a lighter type of movie and that’s what we get. Bad guys versus good guys – that’s it. But thankfully, here, it’s a pretty fun trip and some of the bad guys get some legitimately hilarious moments. Grundy definitely steals the show, including a hilarious moment where he blushes and another where he's convinced no one can see through a fairly obvious disguise. On the good guy side, Nightwing gets some of the film's best material, including a nice scene where he faces some of his fears while up against the Scarecrow.

Another thing Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem has going for it is its stellar animation, especially during the feature’s middle portion. The animation throughout is solid through and through, save for the odd bits where the animators have some difficulties keeping the suits on model – nothing new, really. But, when Batman and his team go after the Joker and his crew at an abandoned amusement park (is there any other kind?), the animation quality noticeably improves. Watch the scene of Batman versus Solomon Grundy in the Tunnel of Love, for example. There is some fantastic boarding and animation going on there. It’s really great looking stuff, combining some reliable directing, by Butch Lukic, with some top-quality animation.

The voice cast performs admirably. Smith is solid as a straight-laced, serious Batman, while Baker gets to have a little fun as the Joker, and does a spectacular job at it. Friedle continues to shine as Nightwing, probably one of my favorite casting choices in the Batman Unlimited series so far. Tatasciore as Grundy is another great casting choice, one that pays off well and provides some of the film’s more successful comedic moments. Continuing, Delaney does an excellent job giving Scarecrow a gruff, intimidating demeanor and Payton brings an instantly likable charm to Cyborg (and it’s always good to hear him in that role). It’s also great to hear Duncan reprise his role as Alfred (from both the first Batman Unlimited movie and the underrated The Batman animated series), who brings a wry charm to Batman’s steadfast butler.

Just to note, the movie's also a bit of a boy's club. There's a very noticeable lack of female characters, just like in Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts. Ideally, in future installments, the creators can make the cast can be a bit more diverse.

Still, as I said, it's a cool little movie, even if it does start to overstay its welcome a bit with its long-ish finale. Still, once that wraps up, there are a couple good gags before the closing credits that help end things on a positive note, underscored by a nice ominous beat that viewers of the first Batman Unlimited movie will find familiar.

Overall, Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem is a solid installment in the Batman Unlimited series that features some legitimately gorgeous animation married to a fun, light story that will easily reel in viewers for the duration. It's not something that breaks new ground, but it does deliver an enjoyable 80-minute romp that, despite running maybe a little too long, definitely entertains. Batman goes up against some absolutely bonkers stuff that just has to be seen. These all-ages-type adventures nicely balance the more adult-skwering PG-13 DC Comics-based animated movies and, I believe, are just as important and relevant as those. We need these younger-skewering titles so younger fans can get swept up in Batman's world. And thankfully, animated movies like this one fit the bill nicely and are quality programs to boot. Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem is definitely Highly Recommended and worth checking out.

[ Continue on to the Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem Blu-ray review ]

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