While this didn't get a theatrical release, I figured I would review it anyways. Batman: Under the Red Hood is an adaptation of the Death of Jason Todd/Red Hood storyline from the comics, in the same vein as other DC animated features such as Superman: Doomsday, which followed the Death of Superman storyline. In short, a new vigilante rises in Gotham City, known as the Red Hood. He deals out vigilante style justice and it's up to Batman to stop him. The voice work here is really well done. Neil Patrick Harris voices Nightwing, but he feels a bit underused. He has great chemestry with Batman, yet he only appears in the first half or so of the movie (please note that I have not read the Red Hood storyline, so I'm not sure if this is completely accurate to the original story told in the comics). The real standout preformance here is, as with most Batman-related media, the Joker, voiced by John DiMaggio. Anyone who's watched Futurama or Adventure Time knows theat DiMaggio always does great work, and this is no exception. Mark Hamill is still the best animated Joker, but whereas Hamill's Joker sounds very creepy, DiMaggio's sounds more tough, like he really COULD go up against the Dark Knight hand-to-hand and actually stand a chance. There's some great moments here, the best being a meeting between the Black Mask and the Joker (but I wouldn't DARE spoil what happens here). My only real grip here is the ending. It doesn't so much end as it does stop. There's at least one MAJOR plot point that is completely ignored, which was a huge mark against an otherwise solid film. But, disregarding the abrupt ending, the animation is nice, the voice acting is great, the action is intense, and this is overall a really nice treat for any Bat-Fan.
My Rating: Check it out!
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