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Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders

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Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders Home Entertainment Release
Studio: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Release Date:October 11th - Digital; November 1st, 2016 - Blu-ray, DVD

Synopsis: It’s back to the 1960s as Batman and Robin spring into action when Gotham City is threatened by a quartet of Batman’s most fiendish foes – Penguin, The Joker, Riddler and Catwoman. The four Super-Villains have combined their wicked talents to hatch a plot so nefarious that the Dynamic Duo will need to go to outer space (and back) to foil their arch enemies and restore order in Gotham City. It’s a truly fantastic adventure that will pit good against evil, good against good, evil against evil … and feature two words that exponentially raise the stakes for both sides: Replicator Ray. Holy Multiplication Tables!

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders Blu-ray/Digital HD Enhanced Content includes:
-“Those Dastardly Desperados” featurette – Joker, Catwoman, Penguin and Riddler are impossible not to watch! Those Dastardly Desperados explores how these fiends became more than just antagonists in a Batman story; they became icons in American pop culture.
-“A Classic Cadre of Voices” featurette – A new talented cast of actors join Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar in Batman: Return of The Caped Crusaders. Go behind the scenes and witness the vocal techniques and timing needed to deliver a classic Bat-Comedy!





Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders Blu-ray/Digital Home Entertainment Release Review:
by James Harvey

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment included bonus features with the home video release of Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, both on the physical Blu-ray release and the Digital HD release.

The Blu-ray release for Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders features a solid audio/video transfers, along the same line of what we've come to expect from this DC Comics-based animated titles from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. The video transfer is solid, lacking any serious compression issues, though some noticeable colorbanding which seems to be more a result of the source material than the Blu-ray itself. Detail is crisp and clear, with the black nice and deep and the colors bright and poppy. The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is front heavy, with the majority of the sound coming from the center speakers. There are some sound effects that trickle through the other channels, but the center outlet gets the brunt of the sound (likely intentional, given the Mono sound origins of the origins of the original Batman TV series). Everything sounds crisp and clear, with dialogue coming in full and the big action sequences hitting hard.

In terms of bonus content, Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders receives two new brief featurettes centered around the villains and the voice-work in the animated movie. "Those Dastardly Desperado" gives a look at the four big-name bad guys in the movie - The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin and Catwoman - with input from the film's creative team, the character's respective voice actors and a handful of other notable names from the annals of DC Comics. It's a basic talking-head featurette where the interview subjects talk about what makes these bad guys so good, their appeal, and what's so fun about playing them and righting them, especially the boisterous 1960s versions. "A Classic Cadre of Voices" takes a closer look at the actual animated film as the film's voice actors and creative team discuss voicing this specific iteration of the classics DC Comics characters, including the specific ticks and boxes that needed to be checked in order to make sure the voices in Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders matched up with the original deliveries and style of the 1960s Batman live-action TV series. Both featurettes, available on the Digital and Blu-ray releases, are definitely worth a watch but are unfortunately far too short. A closer look at the source material and the work that went into it really seems warranted for this particular movie.

The other bonus features for the Digital release include a closer look at the previously released Son of Batman and Batman vs. Robin and a gallery of screenshots from Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders. The Blu-ray release is wrapped up with a series of trailers (including one for the Wonder Woman feature film and the Wonder Woman 2009 animated film), the repeated 'First Look' featurettes, a DVD edition of the movie and a digital copy.

It's a small selection extras, but what's here is worth watching, but it feels like there could've been some more bonus content thrown in. Why not some episodes from the original 1960s Batman series, or at least Batman: The Brave and The Bold. Maybe include some episodes from the Batman cartoons where Adam West guest-starred, such as Batman: The Animated Series "Beware the Gray Ghost or Batman: The Brave and The Bold's "Chill of the Night!", or even the odd episode of The Batman where Mayor Hill, whom he voiced, played a key role. It definitely feels like there should've been more bonus content included, so it is slightly disappointing to see such a light selection of bonus content given the weight of this release. That said, don't let that deter your from picking up this fantastic movie. Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders belongs on the shelves of every Bat-fan young and old. Recommended to Own.

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