Batman And Harley Quinn Film Review

When we think of Batman we usually think of a character that's super serious and that isn't that much of a goofy character. Yet every so often we would get an animated film that really does remind us of just how really goofy that this character could be alot of the time with the film that i'm going to be talking to you all about today being one such a film and so then join me I review the film that sees the dark knight team up with Harley Quinn with the film in question being called simply just "Batman And Harley Quinn" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when Poison Ivy and Floronic Man embark on a scheme to change the entire human race into plants and so it's up Batman, Nightwing and Harley Quinn and track her down and stop them before it's far to late. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad as the films plot is goofy enough that it does somehow work and yet at the time it's also serious enough that we the audience to end up kind of buying into this films plot as out there as it does seem but in saying that tho this film plot does feel like it's a little bit on the weak side as while the film does give it's plot alot of screen time it doesn't spend alot of time in fully developing it's plot as alot of it is just spent with Batman , Nightwing and Harley going from one location to the next while getting into various scrapes which is fine for a scene or two but when that's the vast majority of the film with very little of those scenes actually adding anything to the plot of the film it does make you wonder why the makers of this film put those scenes in the film as they very easily could have filled the screen time just by developing the plot of the film which in turn would make this films plot feel all the more stronger then what it already is since as things stand this films plot feels more like the plot to bad episode of either the Harley Quinn animated show or Batman: The Animated Series with the plot of this film being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this film is Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne / Batman and Melissa Rauch as Dr. Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn. Also starring in this film is Loren Lester as Dick Grayson / Nightwing , Paget Brewster as Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy , Kevin Michael Richardson as Jason Woodrue / Floronic Man , John DiMaggio as Sarge Steel , Alec Holland / Swamp Thing , Eric Bauza as Wesley , Robin Atkin Downes as Charles "Rhino" Daly , Trevor Devall as Bobby Liebowitz , Rob Paulsen as Dr. Harold Goldblum , Min and Max and Anderson , Mindy Sterling as A Project Supervisor and this film co-writer and producer Bruce Timm as Michael J. Carter / Booster Gold.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With all of this films actors turning in some really good performances which is something that does make alot of sense as alot of them have been playing their respective characters for quite literally decades at this point so much so that they are the voice of these characters for alot of people myself included and so it really does make alot of sense that they would nail their characters perfectly as they would know what kind of performance would best suit there respective characters and while she does turn in a good performance is Harley Quinn it's hard not to hear her character from The Big Bang Theory every single time that Melissa Rauch as even tho she puts on a voice for The Big Bang Theory it still does sound fairly similar to the voice that she uses for Harley Quinn in this film only more lower down and less high pitched with the best actor in the whole entire film of course being Kevin Conroy as the man just simply IS Batman with him proving in this film that he can play the character not only seriously like he did in Batman: The Animated Series but also play him so seriously that you do manage to get a few laughs out of him in the process and yet it oddly doesn't feel out of character either as he's still just that good as the character and while Loren Lester does very easily step back into the role of Dick Grayson Kevin is just pitch perfect as Batman with the acting that's in this very film really being helped by he fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film. 

Doing the animation for this film is the legends and the really greats that are currently over at DR Movie. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty i inn all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good which is not really all that surprising as DR Movie do usually do some pretty solid work and are usually pretty reliable the issue is tho is that there trying replicate the style of Batman: The Animated Series and that's just something that doesn't work this film as while they are a solid animation company and are a good choice to animate this film there usually better when there not just straight up copying somebody else's style but there zippy and zany animation does at times help to make the film alot more funnier then what it really had any right to be with the films backgrounds looking oddly simplistic for a direct to DVD movie so much so that you'd be forgiven for thinking that they were backgrounds from episodes of Batman: The Animated Series but there this films animation really does truly begin to shine is in the films action as the animation really does help to make the actin that's in this film really come alive and make it look like that each punch does hurt with this main being done through the characters facial expressions all of which do feel really on point in this film when by all rights the characters facial expressions could have been left unaltered and the animation would work just as well with even the animation team finding ways to have Batman show emotion through the use of his eyes in his mask which again worked really well to sell both the films comedy and the films action as well.

For some reason both this film and The Killing Joke both came out when Bruce Timm was trying to prove that Batman can be for adults as well as little kids. The issue is tho is that he already proved that back in the nineties with Batman: The Animated Series and where as that show told mature stories that had these very mature themes running through them and both The Killing Joke and this film the only things that was mature about them is the fact that characters hooked up with each other and that that they swore like sailors and that's it which is the more childish way to tell a mature as by all rights this film should have been a more adult tale telling the story of how hard it is for a criminal like Harley Quinn to even find work with her trying to go straight with there being one or two jokes thrown in there but the film instead chose to go the opposite way and instead have it so that Harley has already found a job which yes granted she's not that happy with as it is below her interms of her intelligence but there's nothing mature being said in this film as even Poison Ivy's scheme of trying to turn the human race into plants isn't saying anything mature as it instead feels like a scheme that she would come up with in a show that's aimed at kids whereas alot of scheme in Batman: The Animated Series had these more mature themes to them and while the only thing that was holding back The Killing Joke from being an actual mature take on Batman was THAT gross scene with Batgirl and Batman it was otherwise a really mature story where as here it felt like that the makers of the film forgot how to tell a mature story and instead just made a more mature kids film bottom line if you want a more mature Batman story watch the episode of Batman: The Animated Series called Heart Of Ice as that one twenty two minuet episode is more mature then this whole movie is.

This films co-writer Jim Krieg himself has said that he considers this film to be the strange red haired nephew to Batman: The Animated series. Which doesn't really make sense as not only do that show and this movie share the same two leading actors but the designs of all the characters are very similar to how they were in The New Batman Adventures as well with the only thing that separates that show from this film being the fact that the show was made for kids and that's really it with this film basically serving as the next episode of that show but at the same time tho this could also be because of the fact that the film was just using Bruce Timm's own art style and the fact that the show and this movie shared very similar looking character designs was just coincidental but if that is the case that Harley's fourth wall break when she mentions Nightwings mullet now makes no sense however this was to just be a nostalgia grab for the people that grew up watching that show then fair enough but at least have the courage to set it in the same continuity as it would have been more fun to see more of the world that we knew and loved thank to Batman: The Animated Series but thanks to the makers of this films own comments it does mean that this film both is and is not apart of that main series continuity which given that they have Harley dress up in her classic outfit throughout the whole film should be more then enough to make this part of the main series continuity however it does seem like Bruce Timm is ashamed of Batman: The Animated Series as he refuses to do anything related to Batman in that world despite the fact that there tons of stories in a feature film that could be told in that world.

While he is meant to be a main character in this film Floronic Man actually doesn't actually do all that much in the film. With him instead being more of a bodyguard to Poison Ivy and heck it's even hinted at that it's she that came up with there plan in this film with her being more a driving force when it comes to getting there plan down with Floronic Man only really doing something that's relevant to the plot when Harley in the most Harley way possible manages to convince Ivy not to go through with it as it could possibly mean that all of the human race could die if things are off by even a fraction but for alot of the time it's Ivy that's doing alot of the heavy lifting and for a plan that's this average really doesn't do her character any kind of favors as this films plan just feels like a waste of both characters as the plan really does hinge on Ivy acting out of the character as while she would want plants to rule the world she wouldn't want it at the expense of the human race as she would want herself to remain alive with Jason Woodrue coming more across as the typical high school bully type of character which fair enough does work well enough for his character but given that the two characters hated each other in Batman & Robin it does feel weird seeing them team up in this film and while there plan does work well with each others character it still doesn't change the fact that the plan as goofy as it is does work oddly well enough for this film as it is a goofy plan but it's also one that could have been alot more better then what it is in this film which to be fair having a more a goofy plan does work for this more goofy film but it would have worked even more f there scheme was a bit more well thought out.

Now then his films has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and fourteen minuets and thirteen seconds. Which to be fair to this film is pretty much the exact running time that you'd expect this kind of film to have with this film even having the right amount of plot there cover that amount of running time however tho this film really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely tho as the plot of this film isn't that well developed and the plot moves at a really fast pace as well with the only thing that could gave helped this films plot out quite alot was if the fact that the film actually took the time that it really did need to fully develop it's plot instead of having things happen in the film that don't really effect the plot of the film as then the films plot would be allowed to be developed more and have alot more thought and effort put into it as well with this even effecting the films characters as well as none of them are given that much time to get across what there personality is meant to be apart from oddly enough Harley Quinn who comes across as bein the best written character in the film where as characters like Nightwing for example doesn't really get anything this is despite the fact that the character did appear in The New Batman Adventures and while it's understand as to why Batman didn't get all that much either as he's the most well known character in this film at the same time tho it still would have been nice if the film did showcase just what it is that made him a great character in the first place but for whatever reason the makers of this film thought that having more comedy was better then having actual character development but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho. 

So now then as this is an action film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With alot of this films action being alot more better then what you'd expect from a film that's abasically an action comedy where the film puts alot more focus on it's comedy aspect then it does it's action aspect but even so this films action is more better then what it should have been as by all rights this films action should have been really bad but for whatever reason the action in this film came out alot more better then what it should have been with the films best action being when Batman , Nightwing and Harley Quinn first attack Floronic Man and Poison Ivy as we get to see just what it is that all three heroes bring to the team and how they all act together in a fight which is something that will always be a cool thing to see but the film does also have another really good action scene as well with that being the fight between Harley and Nightwing as we get to see just how smart Harley is when it comes to being in a fight with her using her environment to her advantage which is something that does make her a more smarter character then what people really do give her credit for with this film having alot of really fun filled action scenes all of which really do come alive thanks to this films animation with this film being a perfect example of the animation actually helping the action come across as being alot more better then what it really should have been in it in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 

Overall this film is not alot of people seem to loo back on really fondly and for good reason as the film does gave alot of bad things in it but in saying that tho this film does have just as many good things working for it as well all of which do make this film a really fun film to watch in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 6 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official DC Movies fandom wiki page , the official Batman: The Animated Series fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very film that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very film with alot of them being better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.