Hype has been building for the Batman and Harley Quinn animated movie, and now fans finally have a look at what it will be like care of a new video. Audiences have already recently been treated to brand new incarnations of these popular characters from the comic book world of Gotham City thanks to the recent slate of movies from Warner Bros and DC Films; last year we were introduced to Ben Affleck’s Batman and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad respectively, who both firmly secured their spot in modern pop culture. WB has taken note of those two characters’ immense popularity and decided to team up the pair in their very own movie.
Batman and Harley Quinn is an upcoming animated feature from WB Animation that reunites Batman: The Animated Series’ producer Bruce Timm and iconic voice actor Kevin Conroy who is back to play Batman/Bruce Wayne. This time Batman shares top billing with Harley, who has a brand new voice courtesy of The Big Bang Theory’s Melissa Rauch. Together the two mismatched personalities go on what is described as a 48 Hours’ style adventure, where the hero is forced to team up with a crook to catch an even bigger criminal. The public first saw some of the upcoming production when a still was released in late March that featured Batman, Nightwing, and Harley taking a ride in the Batmobile. Now they can see it in action.
A new video has been released that shows scenes from the movie intercut with talking heads where the creatives and cast (including Rauch) elaborate on the production. Check it out above.
The video reveals a lot about the direction of the movie, including the oddly less-disastrous-than-expected relationship between Bats and Harley (aside from the former’s repeated and invasive approaches on Nightwing). A highlight is a scene at the end where Booster Gold calls the Batmobile to offer call and Grayson silently but aggressively says no.
What should immediately stand out to longtime fans is the animation style that directly hearkens back to the early 90’s show that first introduced Quinn; the hard edges and Art Deco architecture, which are largely hidden in shadows, have become some of the biggest visual cues in Batman lore.
WB has established the practice of priming characters with their own animated movies, before adapting them for their live-action universe. In recent years Batman: Assault on Arkham, Wonder Woman, and Justice League Dark, have been the precursors to DC Film’s Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and the in-development Dark Universe respectively. With that in mind, the two headliners in Batman and Harley Quinn have their own live-action spin-offs currently in development, with The Batman and Gotham City Sirens deep in pre-production. The movie also features Nightwing, whose own solo movie debut was recently announced. It seems that the upcoming animated feature could be a nostalgic look at Batman’s pas while subtly preparing audiences for his even more ambitious future.
Source: JTS Entertainment
