Written by Duane Capizzi
Directed by Michael Goguen
Dracula: "Go ahead and run! You cannot escape me, Batman! I am evil incarnate! I am the Prince of .... Darkness?"
Batman: "Rise and shine."
I have to admit that while The Batman (2004-2008) might not have been as iconic a series as Batman: The Animated Series and the shows that continuity, there was something rather charming about it as a show nonetheless. Also this show managed to last five seasons and got at least one movie, the subject of this review.
Appropriately for the Halloween season, The Batman vs. Dracula had the Dark Knight (Rino Romano) and the Count (Peter Stormare) face off and its a delughtful confrontation that utilised two of Batman's biggest villains as well as one of his other familiar love interests but likely not the one you'd expect. However it's one who did make sense for this particular movie.
First of all, the baddies. The movie started off at Bingo night at Arkham Asylum. The thought of hidden treasure was so tempting that both the Joker (Kevin Michael Richardson) and the Penguin (Tom Kenny) managed to escape from Arkham before things took a different turn for each villain.
For the Joker, a confrontation with Batman led to a seeming demise for the former while for Penguin, he ended up becoming the Renfield for Dracula, guarding his crypt during the day while certain citizens became Dracula's minions/other vampires. One of those Lost Ones ended up being the Joker halfway through the movie.
As for Vicki Vale (Tara Strong), her role varied between being Bruce's love interest for the movie, suspecting Batman to be behind the missing citizens and almost being sacrificed to resurrect Dracula's bride, Camilla. It's a fairly generic role for the character, not too dissimilar to the way she had been used in live action but she does get some decent moments.
As for Batman, he did cure everyone (including Joker) and he certainly had help besting Dracula courtesy of Alfred (Alastair Duncan). There's another look into his origins and some cool action sequences. Overall, this universe does have a very underrated depiction of the character.
- Other encounters that Batman and Dracula have include the Elseworlds comic Batman & Dracula: Red Rain as well as the unauthorized movies Batman Dracula and Batman Fights Dracula.
- A sequel titled The Batman vs. Hush was planned but was later cancelled.
- Dracula, when posing as a civilian did go under the pseudonym Dr Alucard.
- Chronology: Set between the second and third seasons of The Batman.
The Batman vs. Dracula turned out to be a fun romp for both characters. Both Joker and Penguin had good supporting roles, as did Vicki Vale and Alfred. Overall, I enjoyed this and it felt mostly standalone from the show itself.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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