Wikipedia

Batman: Under the Red Hood

This article is about the animated film. For the comic book that the film is based on, seeBatman: Under the Hood.

Batman: Under the Red Hoodis a 2010 American animateddirect-to-videosuperhero filmdirected byBrandon Viettiand produced byWarner Premiere,DC Entertainment&Warner Bros. Animation.It was released byWarner Home Video.[1]The film is the eighth film of theDC Universe Animated Original Movies,which is directly derived from theBatmanstoryline "Under the Hood".In the film,Batmaninvestigates the identity of a vigilante calledRed Hood.The voice cast includesBruce GreenwoodandJensen Acklesas Batman and Red Hood respectively, alongsideJohn DiMaggio,Neil Patrick Harris,Jason IsaacsandWade Williams.

Batman: Under the Red Hood
Batman stands in front of a cityscape, with the sky covered by the front profile of Red Hood.
Home video release poster
Directed byBrandon Vietti
Written byJudd Winick
Based onCharacters
byDC Comics
Produced by
Starring
Edited byMargaret Hou
Music byChristopher Drake
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Home Video
Release date
  • July 27, 2010(2010-07-27)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Batman: Under the Red Hoodwas released on July 27, 2010, and received critical acclaim from critics with praise for its storytelling and animation. It is generally considered to be one of the best in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies.[2]The film was also a commercial success, grossing over $12 million in home video sales. The two-disc special edition andBlu-rayalso includesan animated shortfeaturingJonah Hex.[3][4]An interactive shortspiritual sequel/film adaptationtitledBatman: Death in the Familywas released on October 13, 2020.[5]

Plot

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Ra's al Ghulrealizes his mistake in hiring theJokerto use him as a distraction as Joker destroyedEurope's financial districts and also capturedJason Todd,the secondRobinandBatman's partner. InSarajevo,Bosnia,Joker brutally assaults & tortures Jason in an abandoned warehouse and locks Jason in the warehouse with a bomb, which explodes and kills him before Batman arrives.

Five years later inGotham City,a mysterious vigilante calledRed Hoodassembles a meeting of the city's most prominent drug dealers, where he announces a takeover of their drug trade, taking only a quarter of the profit while offering them protection fromBlack Maskand Batman, but threatens to kill them if anyone is caught dealing drugs to children. Batman stops an attempted theft of a shipment belonged to Black Mask, which contains the advanced androidAmazo.Batman destroys Amazo with the help of Jason's predecessorDick Graysonand discovers the thieves are working for Red Hood, who later kills them. Batman chases Red Hood to Ace Chemicals, where an explosion destroys the facility. Batman and Nightwing interrogate Joker atArkham Asylumabout Red Hood, but he denies any involvement.

An infuriated Black Mask puts a hit on Red Hood for Amazo's destruction. Batman and Nightwing prevent Red Hood from hijacking Black Mask's next weapon shipment. They chase Red Hood to a train station, where he escapes after detonating a bomb, which injures Nightwing. AsAlfred Pennyworthtends to Nightwing, Batman realizes that the Red Hood is trained and has knowledge of Batman's tactics, gear and his secret identity. Batman recalls Jason performing the same maneuvers as Robin and that Jason grew more violent and bloodthirsty as he aged.

Black Mask sends the Fearsome Hand of Four to lure Red Hood. They nearly overpower him until Batman helps incapacitate three of them and Red Hood kills the fourth, horrifying Batman. Red Hood explains that he is doing what Batman will not: killing criminals who are not afraid. Batman analyzes a blood sample of Red Hood drawn from the battle and it matches to Jason. After discovering that Jason's corpse is fake, Batman confronts Ra's al Ghul and demands to know the truth. Ra's al Ghul explains that he felt responsible for Jason's death and, as a peace offering, swapped Jason's body for a fake and revived him in the Lazarus Pit, but following his resurrection, Jason was driven insane and escaped.

After surviving an assassination attempt by Red Hood, Black Mask sets the Joker free, tasking him with killing Red Hood. However, The Joker instead abducts Black Mask and the drug dealers and plans to set them on fire. Red Hood appears and reveals his real target is the Joker. Batman saves the hostages and Red Hood takes Joker. Red Hood brutally beats Joker in revenge and confronts Batman. Batman and Red Hood fight and Red Hood reveals himself as Jason. Their fight makes its way to the dilapidated building, where Jason is keeping the Joker and ends with Jason holding Batman at gunpoint.

Though having forgiven Batman for not saving him, Jason is upset and angry that Joker is still alive after killing him. Batman admits that he has thought constantly about torturing and killing the Joker but will not, fearing he will not stop if he kills even once. Jason tosses Batman a gun and gives him an ultimatum – he will execute the Joker unless Batman shoots him. Batman refuses and drops the gun, causing Jason to shoot at Batman. Batman dodges the bullet, throws aBatarang,which jams and destroys Jason's pistol. Jason sets off a time bomb and Batman subdues Joker before attempting to save Jason.

The bomb explodes; Batman and Joker survive, but Jason is gone. Subsequently, Joker is returned to Arkham and Black Mask is arrested. At the Batcave, Alfred offers to remove the glass case display of Jason's Robin costume, but Bruce refuses, claiming it does not change anything. A final flashback shows Jason's first day as Robin, which he cheerfully declares is the best day of his life.

Cast

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Crew

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Music

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Batman: Under The Red Hood – Soundtrack to The Animated Original Movie
Film scoreby
Christopher Drake
ReleasedJuly 27, 2010(July 27, 2010)
Length57:24
LabelWaterTower Music

The score forBatman: Under the Red Hoodwas composed byChristopher Drake,[9]who had previously scored several animated films set in theDC Universe.It was inspired by the soundtracks ofBatman: Mask of the Phantasmwhich features a traditional orchestral score andThe Dark Knightwhich features a computer generated, electronic score.[10]Drake said that sinceUnder the Red Hoodhas a darker tone than previous DC Universe animated films, he chose not to use the music as epic and melodramatic instead opting for a more intimate, minimal and restrained tone.[10]He added that this is the first DC film he has scored that didn't rely on using a largechoirto make the fight scenes sound bigger. Drake scored the film as a reference to modern minimalist electronic scores because the film's directorBrandon Viettifelt thatUnder the Red Hoodneeded to go in a different, more modern direction to separate it from previous DC animation scores. At that point, Drake introduced more electronic and ambient elements, like synthesized and processed electronicguitar,while retaining orchestral elements.[10]

Batman: Under The Red Hood – Soundtrack to The Animated Original Moviewas released byWaterTower Musicon July 27, 2010 and features 18 tracks composed for the film.[11]

Batman: Under The Red Hood – Soundtrack to The Animated Original Movie
No.TitleLength
1."A Death In The Family"4:51
2."Main Titles"2:42
3."Mob Boss Meeting"1:47
4."Amazo"4:21
5."Batwing"3:15
6."Batmobile To Arkham"0:50
7."Interrogation"1:19
8."Rooftop Chase"4:21
9."Flashback"2:19
10."Black Mask Strikes Back"1:17
11."Techno Ninjas"5:41
12."Break Out"2:14
13."Deal With The Devil"0:48
14."Ra's Story"5:47
15."The Bridge"5:12
16."Final Confrontation"4:44
17."The Choice"2:16
18."End Titles"3:34
Total length:57:24

Commercial performance

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The film grossed over $12 million in domestic home video sales, making it one of the highest grossingDCanimated films.[12]

Critical reception

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Batman: Under the Red Hoodreceived critical acclaim from critics with praise for the film's direction, animation, emotional weight and voice acting (particularly forJensen Ackles).

OnRotten Tomatoes,the film has an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from seven critics, with an average rating of a 7.3/10.[2] Demeter's review forThe World's Fineststated: "I have to say this really was a damn good film". James Harvey's review on the same website was even more positive, calling it "a mature and faithful take on the Batman lore".[13]IGNgave 8/10, calling it "An interesting peek inside the psyche of Batman and the fine line between good and evil".[14]It was the highest rated direct-to-videoBatmanfilm until the release ofThe Dark Knight Returns.

Continuation

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A follow-up film titledBatman: Death in the Familywas released on October 13, 2020, a decade afterUnder the Red Hood[15]with Greenwood, Martella, and DiMaggio reprising their roles.Zehra FazalplaysTalia al GhulandGary Coleplays bothTwo-FaceandCommissioner Gordon.It is aninteractivenarrative where the viewer chooses what happens in the story.[16]

References

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  1. ^"Batman: Under the Red Hood".Amazon.RetrievedAugust 7,2014.
  2. ^ab"Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)".Rotten Tomatoes.Fandango.RetrievedOctober 7,2021.
  3. ^""Batman: Under the Red Hood" Trailer ".Comic Book Resources. April 27, 2010.RetrievedJune 20,2010.
  4. ^"Warner Premiere Formally Announces 'Batman: Under the Red Hood' - ComicMix news".Comicmix. April 27, 2010.Archivedfrom the original on June 29, 2010.RetrievedJune 20,2010.
  5. ^"Batman: Death In The Family – Every Choice In The Interactive Movie".CBR.November 29, 2020.RetrievedDecember 3,2020.
  6. ^abcdefghijklmnoHarvey, James (July 9, 2010)."Complete Cast And Crew, Features Details For" Batman: Under The Red Hood "".worldsfinestonline.RetrievedJuly 11,2010.
  7. ^"The World's Finest - New Cast Details For Upcoming" Batman: Under The Red Hood "".Worldsfinestonline. March 11, 2010.RetrievedDecember 29,2010.
  8. ^"The World's Finest - New Cast Details For Upcoming" Batman: Under The Red Hood "Animated Feature".Worldsfinestonline.RetrievedJanuary 2,2011.
  9. ^"Christopher Drake".IMDb.RetrievedOctober 15,2014.
  10. ^abc"Backstage - Christopher Drake Interview (WF Conducted)".The World's Finest.RetrievedAugust 16,2014.
  11. ^"Batman: Under the Red Hood - Soundtrack to The Animated Original Movie".iTunes.July 27, 2010.RetrievedAugust 16,2010.
  12. ^"Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010) - Financial Information".The Numbers.RetrievedOctober 4,2019.
  13. ^"Batman: Under the Red Hood Film Review".The World's Finest.RetrievedApril 3,2013.
  14. ^White, Cindy (July 8, 2010)."Batman: Under the Red Hood Blu-ray Review".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on July 12, 2010.RetrievedJuly 9,2010.
  15. ^Latchem, John (July 30, 2020)."Warner Releasing Animated 'Batman: Death in the Family' Interactive Movie Oct. 13".Media Play News.RetrievedJuly 30,2020.
  16. ^"DC Showcase - Batman: Death in the Family: Exclusive Official Trailer".IGN.RetrievedJuly 29,2020.
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