Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub Zero DVD: Review By Bawnian©-Dexeus

Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub Zero is a 1998 animated movie.

Directed by: Boyd Kirkland.

Featuring the voices of Kevin Conroy as Batman/ Bruce Wayne and Michael Ansara as Mr.Freeze.

The 90's cartoons were the best. Back when cartoon shows had balls and kids weren't too affected psychologically by them. Sure, some parents were protective of what their children viewed in TV, but the majority were still lenient. Today's kids can't even handle a little blood and parents find it too mature; they want their kids to stay innocent as long as possible. Do kids really go that deep into what they see on cartoons? The most they will ever get from shows like Batman is dressing up like him and fight crime in their bedrooms or the old stories where kids thought they could fly like Superman and we all know how that turned out. I guess I only speak for myself on this matter. Regardless, my children will have an epic childhood with all the knowledge I posses.

We return with Warner Bros. animated prize possession: Batman. While not a direct sequel to Mask of the Phantasm, it is yet another spin-off movie to the ever popular cartoon series. In Sub Zero, we get a very familiar villain named Mr. Freeze. Searching for a cure to save his wife Nora Freeze during her liquid state of hibernation/cryogenic sleep, an accident mutates Dr. Victor Freeze, dropping his core body temperature to impossible negative levels allowing him to survive in the harshest cold environment while being unable to live in warm climates. Going through great lengths to save his wife, Freeze reaches far enough as to kidnap Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl, medically because she fits the profile for a perfect organ donor. It's up to Batman and Robin, the boy wonder to step in and save the day.

I may not have mentioned this in my previous Batman marathon review, but this is text book Film Noir, hands down. To clarify, here are some examples that I will blend with parts from this animated classic.

-When transgressions spiral out of control for a character. Commonly know as violation of the law. Sure, Batman takes the law in his own hands, but even his actions don't snowball down the abyss. With Freeze, it's one breach after another just to acquire any possibility viable to save the woman he loves more than anything. I'm sure it was a misunderstanding when the submarine team cracked his secret hideout, but even accidents have consequences, and Freeze simbly annihilates at a polar scale the entire crew in one giant popsicle.

-Femme Fetale that drives the male character. These women embody independence, strength and desire cause a powerless attitude internally towards the opposite sex. Even in deep sleep, Nora Freeze still vexes her man's heart and melts it like a super nova. A cold man in his exterior; vicious and vengeful, but perils against his better half.

-Believe it or not, Batman is not the lead character this time around. It's all basically about Freeze and saving a life. Batman and Robin are basically the ambiguous characters that are depicted as common citizens or even detectives (see what I did there?) that often end in failed struggles. They don't fail, but they don't succeed either.

-I don't have to remind you that dark tones and dark settings are key to this genre. If it has Batman (With exception to Adam West and the current Brave and the Bold), expect darkness, sharp shadows, tilted angles and much more.

-Lastly, crime espionage. Batman is the best detective in the comic book universe with criminals to back it up ten fold.

Voiced by Michael Ansara, Mr. Freeze may not have started out as a favorite, but with later re-imaginations and dark approaches, he's one of Batman's finest adversaries. The last great interpretation would have to be in Batman Beyond, which shows a man who will never loose his past, can never be purified, and will always be cold as ice.

Overall, not a day goes by where I don't see myself revisiting these classic movies along with the show that gave birth to them. When the last time you watched this?

Written by: Bawnian©-Dexeus.