Batman: Gotham by Gaslight

[Silver Nemesis]

I've got to be honest, this sneak peak has deflated my enthusiasm.

It looks like they're mixing Gotham by Gaslight with elements from Master of the Future (the scenes with the dirigible) and some altogether new material. A straight up adaptation of the first book would have been preferable, even if it did result in a shorter runtime. I'll wait and see how well the new material mixes with the old, but I wish they hadn't tampered with it quite so drastically.

The animation looks to have captured the colour palette of Mignola's art, but not the designs. That's a pity. I was hoping it would more closely resemble his unique art style. The quality of animation here looks about the same as in The Killing Joke movie, and that's not a good sign. It might improve between now and the release date, but then we all thought that would be the case with The Killing Joke adaptation too.

I'm not keen on Selina's inclusion and all that suffragette stuff. Master of the Future is one of the few classic Batman stories to feature Julie Madison. It doesn't need Catwoman and Poison Ivy shoehorned into it. Nor does it need some Baker Street Irregulars gang comprised of the Robins. This is starting to look like a generic DCAU film that uses Victoriana as window dressing. The original comic book had a Holmesian sensibility that I'm just not sensing in this preview, despite what the filmmakers might say. Maybe it'll be there in the finished film, but I'm not holding my breath.

[thecolorsblend]

I really don't get all that suffrage/feminist stuff. Seriously, what's wrong with just showing society AS IT WAS? Why do all these period pieces always have to show an anachronistic "modern woman"? Are women in Hollywood seriously that insecure? Are men really that determined to pander?

The suffragettes were terrorists, btw.

Apart from that nonsense, the rest of the movie looks pretty interesting. Can't wait to see it.

[The Dark Knight]

Sadly, it looks like they're going to fumble another classic story just like they did with The Killing Joke. I'm so thankful TDK Returns was translated so well and was made when it was.

[thecolorsblend]

I'm determined to give this thing a shot. GBG is a kind of skimpy story when you think about it. It's one 48 (?) page comic and they have to create a 90'ish minute movie out of it. I can understand the need to be more creative.

But yes, TDKR remains the gold standard of these adaptations. Nothing else even comes close.

[Silver Nemesis]

It's one 48 (?) page comic and they have to create a 90'ish minute movie out of it. I can understand the need to be more creative.

I'd have been happy with a sixty minute film split into two halves: thirty minutes for Gotham by Gaslight, and 30 minutes for Master of the Future. Most of the DC animated films clock in at around 65-75 minutes anyway, so a one-hour runtime would be consistent with what's come before.

But yes, TDKR remains the gold standard of these adaptations. Nothing else even comes close.

Under the Red Hood is my favourite of the animated adaptations so far. But if we're counting animated films based on original stories, I still hold Mask of the Phantasm up as the gold standard.

[The Dark Knight]

I'd have been happy with a sixty minute film split into two halves: thirty minutes for Gotham by Gaslight, and 30 minutes for Master of the Future. Most of the DC animated films clock in at around 65-75 minutes anyway, so a one-hour runtime would be consistent with what's come before.

Agree. Merging stories or adding new content can't help but change the spirit of something. When you're dealing with beloved stories I don't think you take liberties. The content is already strong and admired for a reason. In many ways, you leave the cinema thinking you haven't seen the pure version and another adaption would be needed to remedy things.

[thecolorsblend]

I'll reserve final judgment after seeing the movie. But in principle, I'm not opposed to taking the odd liberty with source material if there's a good reason for it.

The liberties it appears the filmmakers are taking seem to be bows in the direction of history. Pseudo-history, to be sure. But history nonetheless. They seem to want to ground everything in history, presumably to give the story greater dramatic heft. And to be fair to them, it's easier to do that with a period piece like GBG than it would be a new story because everything is so polarized these days. Look how much grief Miller took over his depiction of President Reagan in TDKR, for example.

So the GBG filmmakers are basically taking advantages that aren't really available to creators of Batman stories set in more modern times.

I'm not saying you're wrong, TDK. I'm just saying I see a method to the madness... all of which could be completely in my imagination.

[Catwoman]

I like what I see. A straight adaptation would be nice, sure, but expanding the story and using that time period to tell a broader Gotham story is cool. I'm excited to see it.

Question, though. Does Bruce Timm look a little Max Shreck-y to anyone else there? lol

[Catwoman]

But yes, TDKR remains the gold standard of these adaptations. Nothing else even comes close.

Under the Red Hood is my favourite of the animated adaptations so far. But if we're counting animated films based on original stories, I still hold Mask of the Phantasm up as the gold standard.

This, 100%.

[The Dark Knight]

I'll reserve final judgment after seeing the movie. But in principle, I'm not opposed to taking the odd liberty with source material if there's a good reason for it.

I'm still hoping for the best, and I'm still excited.

The animated TDK Returns adaption, for instance, has a couple of scenes that weren't in the comic. For example, a scene of Batman speaking to the General before he kills himself, and an extended Batman/Superman fight sequence. I'm okay with those because they're based on what already existed in the material. They extended these things mainly because a comic panel is only a snapshot of something - especially the Batman/Superman fight. I can see what you mean about making the animated GBG a more expansive story, though. Let's see how it turns out.