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REVIEWS


Episode #3 - Call of the Cobblepot
Original Airdate - September 18th, 2004

"Ozzy" Cobblepot, aka Penguin, has delusions of rebuilding the lost Cobblepot fortune, via high-flying robberies employing various trained birds. Unaware of Cobblepot's criminal plans, Alfred goes to the dilapidated Cobblepot mansion where he is ensnared by Ozzy. Penguin will let his hungry birds feast upon Alfred, unless The Batman can rescue him in time.

Review by The Penguin
Media by Bird Boy
Credits
Supervising Producer Duane Capizzi
Supervising Producer Michael Goguen
Producer Linda M. Steiner, Jeff Matsuda
Associate Producer Kimberley A. Smith
Written by Duane Capizzi
Directed by Seung Eun Kim
Animation by DR MOVIE Co., LTD.
Music by Thomas Chase Jones

Voices
Rino Romano as The Batman
Alastair Duncan as Alfred
Steve Harris as Detective Ethan Bennett
Ming-Na as Detective Ellen Yin
Tom Kenny as Penguin
Grey DeLisle as Amanda/Ms. Vintrap

Screen Grabs






Additional HD Images





Pans



Review

"Please, now that all pretenses are off, call me Penguin—a flightless bird, but one with style."

I gotta say I found I really enjoyed this incarnation of The Penguin. The general attitude of the character harkens back to the Batman Returns Tim Burton version, but I loved his use of birds of all species. This the first time I have really seen "The Master of Fowl Play" live up to his name by having his fowl feathered friends to do his dirty work.

Tom Kenny slipped nicely in the spated-shoes previously worn in some manner by Burgess Meredith, Danny DeVito and Paul Williams. For his first episode, Kenny seems to fit this version perfectly, right down to his squawks and laugh.

The Kabuki Twins as Batman called them, made for solid seconds to "Ozzie." The Penguin is a villain that never seems to have the same henchpersons and they fit nicely with the "tour of the Orient" clues Batman was able to pick up on. I could see them returning in an episode with the sole purpose of eliminating The Batman, but I will be at least a little surprised if they appear at The Penguin’s side again.

In this episode we got to see The Batman working on earning his "World's Great Detective" title. From figuring out the origin of the owl to remember Penguin snatching the guest list—young Bruce is already a thinking man's super hero.

The rave at Wayne Manor might have been a bit much, especially for a fundraiser, but no doubt Alfred wanted to make sure his young employer threw one heck of a party. I doubt Bruce did much organizing for it seeing as how he couldn't even remember what day it was to take place.

I really liked the dynamic of Alfred's grandfather working for and being abused by the Cobblepots years ago. Not only did it bring out some more of the butler's character, but it brought Alfred out of the mansion as he attempted to do some "sleuthing" of his own. Now if only his hair would quit switching from brown to gray and back to brown. I would think Bruce wouldn't have given him all those gray hairs yet and it doesn't seem like it is just the way the light hits it.

The thing that bothered me about this episode was the final battle between The Batman and The Penguin. No, it wasn't the moves "picked up in the Orient" by Cobblepot, but the "laser chain" umbrella. I didn't find it implausible and its use put in motion the end, but it a bit more than I was expecting.

I liked how the end of the episode not only tied back to The Penguin and his birds, but the insecurity Bruce often feels about how much he is protecting Gotham. "Hopefully it's not The Batman who brings out the freaks."

 

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