Batman Returns

Batman Returns
Directed by	Tim Burton
Written by	Daniel Waters (screenwriter) Daniel Waters (story) Sam Hamm (story) Bob Kane (comic book)
Produced by	Tim Burton Denise Di Novi
Starring	Michael Keaton Danny DeVito Michelle Pfeiffer Christopher Walken
Distributed by	Warner Brothers
Release dates	June 19, 1992
Running time	126 min.
Language	English
Budget	$80,000,000

Batman Returns is a 1992 motion picture based on the Batman character created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. It is the second entry into the original four-part Batman film series, the second directed by Tim Burton and the second to star Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Both Keaton and Burton left the franchise after the production of this film.

Synopsis

Chaos and a Covert Deal

The story begins during the Christmas season, where an aristocratic couple, the Cobblepots, give birth to a horribly deformed child. Embarrassed, they dump the carriage over a bridge, where it and the baby float into the sewers and ends up under the run-down Gotham Zoo surrounded by a group of penguins.

Thirty-three years later, the citizens of Gotham City are joyously preparing for Christmas. In the city center, a mammoth Christmas tree is lit by the glamorous Ice Princess in a lavish ceremony while tabloids throughout the city boast headlines of a mysterious creature roaming the sewers. Meanwhile, shrewd corrupt businessman Max Shreck, owner of Shreck Corporation, is attempting to get Mayor Hamilton Hill of Gotham to greenlight his plan to build a new power plant. His secretary, Selina Kyle, offers a suggestion, but ultimately ends up embarrassed as Shreck, his son Chip, and Hill stare at her. The three suits then head to the tree lighting ceremony, where Shreck will be speaking.

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Batman arrives to fight the Penguin's goons in Gotham Plaza

As Shreck gives his speech, a gargantuan present rolls into the plaza and explodes, revealing members of the Red Triangle Circus Gang, who proceed to wreak havoc. Commissioner Gordon, seeing the chaos, activates the Bat-Signal and, sitting in Wayne Manor on top of a hill, Bruce Wayne dons the Batsuit and makes his way to Gotham Plaza in the Batmobile.

In Gotham Plaza, Max Shreck, Chip Shreck and Mayor Hill are confronted by a number of the Red Triangle Circus Gang's members, who demand Max. Arriving just in time, Batman quickly subdues the gang's attackers, and in the process saves Selina from a taser-wielding clown. After trying to thank him, only to have Batman walk away from her, Selina takes the taser from the clown.

Max Shreck is knocked cold while trying to escape and awakes to find himself in the sewer hideout of the Red Triangle Circus Gang's leader, the Penguin who explains that the reason he took Max was because he needs his help to return to the surface and discover the truth about his past. Max is reluctant, but Penguin blackmails him with incriminating evidence about his business practices. Shreck, with no alternative, agrees to help the Penguin.

The Cat and the Penguin

Upon his return to his headquarters, Max Shreck discovers Selina has been looking into confidential files for his upcoming meeting with Bruce Wayne over the proposed power plant, and discovered that it was in fact a giant capacitor to suck power from the city and store it for future distribution. Selina offers her silence, but Shreck is unwilling to allow her to jeopardize his plan and pushes Selina out a window, supposedly killing her. A group of stray cats, however, begin to circle her body and, for reasons not entirely clear, Selina suddenly springs to life. She makes her way back to her apartment, and embarks on a destructive spree, destroying anything “girly” looking. She then takes a black biker's jacket from the back of her wardrobe and reworks it into a skintight suit.

The next day, Mayor Hill makes a speech with his wife, their infant child, and Max Shreck in attendance. As he vows to restore order to the city, a Red Triangle Circus acrobat flies into the podium, snatches the infant, and descends into the sewers. There, he feigns an encounter with a hostile Penguin, and proceeds to hand over the baby. The Penguin ascends on his duck vehicle, and is hailed as a hero, his deception undetected. All he asks in return is to be allowed to search the city's Hall of Records to find out who he really is, and Shreck convinces the media to give the Penguin his privacy. Though he finds his birth certificate, he also jots down a mysterious list of names.

While this is taking place, a skeptical Bruce Wayne looks into the Red Triangle Circus's past, convinced that a link exists between them and this "Strange Heroic Penguin". Shrugging off his butler Alfred's comments on his apparent obsession, he discovers a possible link - before they were shut down under reports of missing children in towns they had toured, the Circus had in their freak show an "Aquatic Bird-Boy". The rest of Gotham seems to be in the dark as the Penguin visits his late parents' graves. Responding to questions by reporters, he announces that his name is "Oswald Cobblepot", and he understands and forgives his parents for their decision, touching the people of Gotham even more.

A mugger is seen assaulting a woman, who calls out for Batman to save her. Instead, the mugger is confronted by Selina Kyle, attired in a (literal) catsuit. She proceeds to overcome him with ease and then turns on the helpless victim, explaining that she is "Catwoman" before backflipping away.

The Big Deal

The next day, Wayne and Shreck hold their meeting over the proposed power plant. Wayne reveals both his opposition to Shreck's power plant, and his suspicions of Oswald Cobblepot's ties to the Red Triangle Circus Gang. Shreck feigns disgust at Wayne's accusations, and is in the process of showing Wayne out when Selina Kyle, at this point assumed to be dead by Shreck, arrives accompanied by an equally surprised Chip. Selina escorts Bruce out of the building, the latter impressed by her new, strong mysterious persona.

Max makes his way to the Penguin's new headquarters in the upper floor of a building in Gotham City, where the Red Triangle Circus Gang has also taken up residence. He calls down the Penguin to show him he has greater plans for him: he intends to arrange a recall and make him the new mayor of Gotham- but he will need the Red Triangle Circus to cause further chaos. Though reluctant to abandon his yet-unknown true plans, Cobblepot eventually decides to enter the race.

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The Bat (Michael Keaton), The Cat (Michelle Pfeiffer), and The Penguin (Danny DeVito)

The Circus proceeds to cause chaos and destruction to support Oswald’s claim that the Mayor is ineffective at containing crime. Batman subdues most of the Gang, except for the Poodle Lady, who makes off with a Batarang, before encountering Cobblepot. As they are speaking, Catwoman, in the process of ransacking a Shreck department store, appears and utters a single word, "Meow," before the building explodes behind her.

The pair fight on a rooftop. Catwoman escapes after being pushed off the building into a truck filled with kitty litter, while back at the Manor, Bruce Wayne removes one of Catwoman's claws from his abdomen, pondering the new development.

The Penguin's popularity with Gotham's citizens continues to grow. After a press conference he is approached by Catwoman, who wants revenge on Batman for the previous night's events. United by hatred of the Dark Knight, the pair plot to frame him.

Framed

Oswald challenges Mayor Hill to demonstrate Gotham is safe by re-lighting the Christmas tree in Gotham Plaza. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne encounters Selina Kyle on the street and invites her to Wayne Manor for an early dinner, so they can watch the tree-lighting ceremony from a distance. She accepts. That night, the Penguin violently kidnaps the Ice Princess with the Batarang stolen from the night before.

At Wayne Manor, Bruce and Selina sit in the living room and talk. Bruce mentions that his relationship with Vicki Vale from the previous film had broken up, because she could not deal with the "two truths" to his person. Eventually the two share a passionate kiss, stopping when they realize they've nearly revealed their wounds from the previous night. They then see the news on the TV that the Ice Princess has been kidnapped, and the lovers both realize they are needed, make excuses to be relayed by Alfred, and depart for Gotham Plaza.

Arriving at the building the Ice Princess is supposedly being held, Batman attempts to rescue her but is attacked by Catwoman, who seizes the Ice Princess and deposits her on the edge of the building's roof. Batman follows, but the Penguin suddenly throws an umbrella, which opens to reveal a swarm of bats. The Ice Princess falls to her death, apparently by Batman's hands. This view is further reinforced as she falls on the button that would activate the lights on the tree, which then triggers a larger swarm of bats to fly out of the tree and terrorize the people in attendance. As Oswald Cobblepot slips out of sight, the police arrive on the roof and open fire, knocking Batman from the roof onto another building.

Batman is then accosted by Catwoman, who comments that she still has seven lives left after his knocking her from the roof. She again attacks him, but Batman fights her off and escapes in a special bat-styled glider. The Penguin then meets with Catwoman on another rooftop, where she expresses her disapproval of his lethal methods. He then makes a comment suggesting they "consummate" their "fiendish union", an idea which Catwoman angrily rejects. Angered, Cobblepot straps his umbrella-copter to her neck, intent on hanging her on it. She eventually removes it, and plummets into a greenhouse.

The Penguin retreats to his campaign bus, where he assumes control of the Batmobile, as it had been hacked by the Red Triangle Circus Gang while he had attempted to save the Ice Princess. He goes on a rampage through the town, intent on destroying what little remains of Batman's good name before destroying Batman himself. Thinking quickly, Batman records the Penguin's ranting on a compact disc before disabling the beacon rod the Penguin used to control the Batmobile and fleeing the pursuing police cruisers.

Vengeance

The next day, Oswald gives a speech at the "Recall the Mayor" rally. Bruce and Alfred monitor the speech in the Batcave and activate a large array of radio equipment. Using this technology, they jam the signal from the microphone to the sound equipment, and play in its place comments from the CD recorded earlier, in which the Penguin insults the city. Defeated, and seeing Shreck sneaking out the back, the Penguin loses his cool and fires the machine gun hidden in his umbrella into the incensed crowd before fleeing into the sewer.

Returned to his lair, the Penguin meets with the Red Triangle Circus Gang, apparently forced into hiding again. There, he renounces his humanity and hands the gang members’ copies of the lists he made in the Hall of Records. They are revealed to be names of the firstborn sons of Gotham's wealthiest, and he intends to have them kidnapped and drowned in the contaminated water in his hideout. When one of his clowns objects to the murder, the Penguin shoots him dead and dumps his body in the water.

Meanwhile, Alfred interrupts Bruce Wayne's repairs on the Batmobile to ask if he will be going to the annual masked ball Max Shreck is hosting. Wayne is skeptical, but ultimately shows up in hope of seeing Selina Kyle. Selina does arrive, and the two share a dance. During this, Selina reveals she came with the intention of killing Shreck, but Bruce manages to stop her from doing so. Shortly afterwards, they repeat a series of comments made earlier in the film, and realize the secret identities of the other.

Before they can leave, Penguin crashes through the floor, intent on personally kidnapping Chip Shreck in his campaign of vengeance. Max begs Penguin to take him instead and, still bitter about his manipulation and betrayal by the elder Shreck, he agrees. Bruce and Selina then flee to assume their respective alter-egos. Batman proceeds to stop the Red Triangle Circus Gang's train-esque vehicle and apprehend the criminals driving it. He alerts Penguin of this development with a note he sends via the monkey of the Red Triangle Circus' Organ Grinder. Outfoxed again, the Penguin quickly launches his backup plan, dispatching remote-controlled rocket-armed penguins into Gotham Plaza.

Endgame

While the Penguin is dispatching his armies of penguins, Batman approaches the Penguin's lair through the sewers in a new vehicle, the "Batskiboat". At Wayne Manor, Alfred waits for him to find the signal controlling the penguin army so he can jam it with the radio equipment used to ruin the Penguin's speech earlier that day. Dodging two penguin-fired rockets, he finds the signal and Alfred jams it, confusing the army of penguins and scattering them back towards the zoo.

As the Penguin watches his plans fall apart, he is informed of the arrival of the Batskiboat. The remaining members of the Red Triangle Gang desert him, and he is forced to grab an umbrella and flee in his duck vehicle. Batman, however, drives his Batskiboat into the duck to stop his escape. The two fight briefly before Penguin draws a sword umbrella. Batman responds by pulling out a small radio device, apparently controlling the penguin army. Penguin furiously attacks, relieving him of the control and activating it. This triggers the penguin army to launch their missiles, which land on Penguin's lair. It also sends a flock of bats hiding in the wreckage of the Batskiboat flying at Penguin, driving him through a window and into the contaminated water surrounding his lair.

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Batman reveals his identity to Selina Kyle

Shreck succeeds in escaping from his cage, but is then thrown into the water by Catwoman's whip. He grabs the gun of the clown the Penguin killed earlier before he is dragged back above water, where he encounters the furious woman. He offers her anything she wants in return for his safety, but it soon becomes clear that all she wants is his life.

Before she can kill him, Batman arrives from the surface via a grappling hook. Shreck attempts to suck up to Batman, but Batman simply kicks him into an electrical generator and tries to persuade Selina to take Shreck to the proper authorities so they can go home together. As a further attempt to win her trust, he even takes off his mask. Selina admits that she is tempted, but if she did so she wouldn’t be able to live with herself.

Shreck then pulls out the gun he took from the dead clown and shoots at Batman, grazing him on the neck. He then turns the gun on Selina. She tears off her mask and begins walking toward Shreck, goading him into shooting. Shreck fires four bullets into Selina's body, but somehow she manages to reach him as she counts away four of her nine lives. Out of bullets, Shreck is violently electrocuted after Selina uses her body to connect the taser she found earlier to the generator.

Meanwhile, The Penguin emerges from the water and reaches for an umbrella, but draws one that is completely harmless. He falls to the floor, dead on impact, and his body is carried into in the water by a group of emperor penguins.

In the film's final scene, Bruce Wayne and Alfred are driving through Gotham's quiet winter streets, when the former sees the shadow of Catwoman. He goes out to investigate, but finds only another stray cat. He ultimately decides to take it home, and gets back in the car. The final shot shows the bat-signal lighting up in the sky, with the figure of Catwoman, who has apparently survived the night's events, rising in response. Template:Endspoiler

Production

The film was scripted by Daniel Waters and Sam Hamm, originally as a direct sequel to the original Batman film from 1989. Neither Michael Keaton nor Tim Burton were signed on to do the film, and were not approached until after the studio had approved a draft of the screenplay. Both expressed interest, but Keaton demanded a higher salary and that Burton be signed as director first. In turn, Burton agreed tentatively on the grounds that Keaton be signed as Bruce Wayne/Batman and that he be allowed to re-write the script to his liking.

The studio granted the wishes of both sides, although there was reportedly a great deal of friction between Burton and the executives at Warner Brothers, who were concerned over the fact that Burton's re-write was much darker than they had anticipated, that much of the story had changed and that it was no longer written as a direct sequel to the first film. Burton cited that he had not been entirely happy with the first film's script and that the re-write was part of his new contract.

Cast

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Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman

Starring

• Michael Keaton as Batman/Bruce Wayne. Batman, having defeated the Joker, continues to serve and protect Gotham City. Bruce Wayne, however, is having trouble dealing with business magnate, Max Shreck. Michael Keaton is an American actor who had worked with Burton on Beetlejuice, before accepting the role of Batman. This was Keaton's second and final performance as Batman.
• Danny DeVito as the Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot. Cobblepot was born into a rich family, though, due to his physical deformities, he was abandoned, and banished to the sewers. There, he grew up, and adopted the mantle of "Penguin". Cobblepot now plans to wreak havoc in Gotham City.
• Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman/Selina Kyle. Selina Kyle is the shy secretary of Max Shreck. After accidentally reading his confidential files, Selina incurs the wrath of Shreck, and is pushed out of a window, brought mystically back to life by alley cats, transforming her into Catwoman.
• Christopher Walken as Max Shreck. Shreck is a wealthy, corrupt business man with lofty ambitions.

Also Starring

• Michael Gough as Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred is the level-headed butler and friend of Bruce Wayne.
• Pat Hingle as Commissioner James T. Gordon. Gordon was one of the only honest policemen in Gotham in the original film, and he allies himself with Batman in his fight against crime.
• Michael Murphy as Mayor Hamilton Hill. Gotham's Mayor struggles to keep the city together in the face of criminal violence and political manuverings against his position.
• Vincent Schiavelli as the Organ Grinder. The Organ Grinder is one of the Penguin's henchmen.

Co-Starring

• Andrew Bryniarski as Charles "Chip" Shreck: Max Shreck's son, and one of the few people the cold businessman holds any affection for.
• Cristi Conaway as the Ice Princess. The Ice Princess is a model who has been selected to light up the tree in Gotham Square.

Reaction

The reaction to the film was largely mixed, although the critical consensus was somewhat negative. Although many lauded the film's dark atmosphere and intense characters as being the perfect translation of Frank Miller's Batman comics, many others found the film to be overly dark and sadistic and criticized it as inappropriate for children; McDonald's cancelled a planned marketing tie-in with the film after advocate groups protested it. Film critic Leonard Maltin immediately wrote Batman Returns off as a "nasty, nihilistic, nightmare movie" with a dark, mean-spirited, and often incoherent screenplay.

In addition to criticisms of the film's tone and demeanor, some found Burton's interpretation of the central characters problematic, arguing that the Penguin's physical deformity and homicidal tendencies, Catwoman's schizophrenia and Batman's brooding melancholy simply added to the somber and unsettling nature of the film.

The initially negative reaction to Batman Returns, however, prompted Warner Brothers to re-think their approach to the franchise, and the series was handed to director Joel Schumacher, who adopted a much more lighthearted and camp approach to the characters. However, the generally very negative critical and fan reaction to the Joel Schumacher films in the franchise, particularly 1997's Batman & Robin, sparked a critical re-evaluation of Tim Burton's dark, gloomy and expressionistic first sequel in the franchise.

DVD

The film was first released to DVD in 1997, shortly after the format debuted; it was a single disc release featuring the ability to watch the film either in widescreen or in fullscreen but not featuring any bonus materials.

To coincide with the release of Batman Begins on DVD in 2005, Warner Brothers decided to give all four of the original Batman films new DVD treatments and special edition versions of all four films were created. The special edition DVDs feature newly restored audio and video, a re-mastered Dolby Digital audio track, a new DTS audio track and a second disc filled with bonus materials. Each title is available both individually and as part of a pack featuring the special editions of all four films in the franchise. The Region 2 DVD is missing the directors commentary although this is still listed on the box as a special feature, and is also censored. Although it restores the nunchaku sequence, the scene in which Catwoman places aerosal cans in the microwave is cut. The DVD also suffers from a very noticeable audio glitch.

Soundtrack

The Batman Returns score was composed and performed by Danny Elfman. The soundtrack also includes "Face to Face", preformed by Siouxsie & the Banshees, used to promote the movie prior to its release. Two versions of the music video were made (the other added shots from the movie), and a club version, remixed by 808 State, was released.

Trivia

• "Red Triangle", the name of the circus of which The Penguin was part of, is the symbol and flag of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

• Marlon Wayans was actually cast as Robin, before the script was rewritten.

• Sean Young was so upset about not getting the part of Catwoman that she went to the studio in a Catwoman costume to prove that she was a better choice.

• Madonna was reportedly considered to play Catwoman.

• Dustin Hoffman was considered to play the Penguin in Batman Returns.

• Annette Bening was replaced by Michelle Pfeiffer for the role of Catwoman, after becoming pregnant. Pfeiffer's $3 million salary was $2 million more than was offered to Bening.

• The Batman costume weighed 55 lbs. at a cost of $100,000.

• Billy Dee Williams was contractually entitled to play Harvey Dent, and an early draft of Batman Returns included the role. That character was later renamed Max Shreck and all of Dent's lines were given to him, and all Two-Face elements were removed.

• Michelle Pfeiffer got through 60 catsuits during the 6 month shoot, at a cost of $1,000 a time.

• In the U.S., McDonald's were forced to cancel a Happy Meals promotion with the film, after parents protested about its violent and sexual nature being inappropriate for young children.

• In another version of the script, Max Shreck was discovered to be the Penguin's older brother.

• The only Batman film in which the Wilhelm scream appears.

See also

• Batman Returns (video game)

Online Clips

• NBC News interviews Michelle Pfieffer

• Inside the Music Studio: The Music of Batman Returns - featuring Danny Elfman

• Batman/Penguin/Catwoman (2 min 4 sec)

• Bruce Wayne/Alfred (2 min 2 sec)

External links

• Batman Returns at IMDb
• Remembering Batman Returns, by Greg Bray (Batman-On-Film.com)
• Batman Returns - A Critical Analysis by Jett (Batman-On-Film.com)
• Batman Returns score by Danny Elfman
• BATMAN-ON-FILM.COM - "The Burton/Schumacher Series," Part 1
• Batman Returns screenplay, final draft