Prepare for a one-two punch of Gotham City vigilantism. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is bringing the 2003 Warner Bros. Animation original movie Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman to Blu-ray on March 12, 2013. Technical specifications have yet to be detailed, but the arrival of Batwoman suggests other classic Batman: The Animated Series direct-to-video films may be seeing Blu-ray releases in the near future.
The Dark Knight is back in this feature-length thriller featuring the voices of fan-favorite Batman Kevin Conroy, Kelly Ripa, Kyra Sedgwick, David Ogden Stiers, Hector Elizondo and John Vernon. The Penguin (Stiers) and Rupert Thorn (Vernon) are criminal cohorts with a scheme to sell illegal weapons. But there's a new super hero in Gotham City who has other plans for the evil entrepreneurs: the mysterious Batwoman (Sedgwick). With high-tech gadgets and powerful punches, Batwoman proves to be a formidable crimefighter - the only problem is that the Dark Knight (Conroy) has no clue who she is. And when Batwoman crosses the criminal line, Batman must identify whether or not this new player is really an ally. Join the world's greatest detective in this exciting new adventure that will keep you guessing until the mask is pulled off.
The previously released DVD included "Chase Me," an animated short from Emmy Award-winning writers Alan Burnett and Paul Dini. It isn't entirely clear whether "Chase Me" will make its way onto the upcoming Blu-ray, but early indications suggest it most likely will.
Well, any vintage Batman: TAS on BD means good news for the rest of its incarnations. Would love BD releases of the actual TV series and Mask of the Phantasm someday.
Mask of the Phantasm and Sub-Zero would really round this out. Seeing the series come to Blu-ray would be nice but I've been pretty content with my DVDs over the years. Still, I'd love to see how they translate to the format before I make any decisions. Looking forward to scooping this up!
Mask Of The Phantasm is LONG overdue. Give us a new special edition with a retrospective featurette, feature commentary with Kevin Conroy & Mark Hamill, a bonus CD of Shirley Walker's incredible score and a glossy embossed slipcover. Book it, done.
I'd buy that Day 1! Along with The Iron Giant, Mask of the Phantasm is my most anticipated Blu Ray animation release from Warner Bros... Hell, i still think it's better than any of the Nolan films!
@insomniac013, agreed, though, given WB's track record with older animated releases, it will probably just be a port over of the DVD, features and all. Which is sad given that MOTP was one of the first Batman releases to get it right. It would be nice to see WB treat it like a Disney Diamond Edition, but that's slim hope, at best
It's not that it's better than the Nolan films, it's just a different beast altogether. Burton made Batman his own while trying to adhere to the darkness of the character, Schumacher made him hokey, Nolan made him real and relatable. Mask Of The Phantasm was one of the first times we got to see the character brought to life as seen in the comics (the darker ones, anyway. Some people don't realize that as grotesque as some find Schumacher's movies, they're actually closer in spirit to Bob Kane's original creation than anything Burton put on screen). It had/has a gothic flair, a good story, spot on voice casting, a great soundtrack and a tight running time. Batman has become the comic book version of James Bond. Many interpretations, same character.
Never seen this one, but as a Batfan I'll grab it. I agree that I would love to see "Sub-Zero" and "Mask of the Phantasm" get BD releases. The DVD I just recently purchased of MotP has really awful early DVD quality, although I'm happy they gave it an anamorphic release. Wish they would release the first two Pokemon movies in their original widescreen ratios too. But that's a whole 'nother story. Anyway, more animated Batman on Blu-ray is a great thing!
Easily the weakest of the Timm-verse animated films. How this can be out on blu-ray, but Mask of the Phantasm has yet to see a proper DVD release is absolutely ridiculous.
Hopefully, the folks at WB are waiting for next year in order to promote a 20th anniversary edition.
