Batman: Revenge (The Batman LEGO Film)

Batman: Revenge (The Batman LEGO Film) is a 2003, non-commercial, independent stop motion Batman LEGO Fan Film created by director and animator Jonathan Markiewitz. The film has been credited by BatmanFanFilms.Com and TheForce.Net among many spotlight web sources as the production which brought Batman fan films into the art of stop-motion animation and sparked a Batman LEGO MOC (My-Own-Creation) phenomenon. It is notable for being the first Batman LEGO fan film in history. Infuze Magazine stated "It might just be the ultimate fan made film!" Within its "opening weekend" on the Internet, the download number spiked to the multiple thousands, and according to Stop-Motion Online, "made legos cool again."

Plot

The Riddler escapes from Arkham Asylum with the sole purpose of exacting revenge on the Dark Knight, doing so by placing one of Batman's closest allies, Commissioner Gordon, in jeopardy. With the use of the Batmobile and the Batwing, the Caped Crusader must again defend the people of Gotham City against the question-marked villain and his gang of henchmen.

How it Relates to Batman and Batman Returns

The film's neo-gothic tone is largely reminiscent of Batman and Batman Returns, ranging from the design of the inner-city skyscrapers to the gritty alleyways to the look of the Batmobile, the Batwing, and Batman himself. Even the newspapers in the film read "The Gotham Globe", which is the newspaper seen most often in Batman and Batman Returns. Another example of how Batman: Revenge uses the Tim Burton style include the use of the Batman and Batman Returns music score by Danny Elfman, accompanied by a very dark tone both visually and creatively.

How it Relates to Batman Forever

Viewers will notice while watching the film that the Riddler leaves no riddles, nor does he act as his "typical" character. The director has stated that the Riddler in "Batman: Revenge" purposely acts much more classically psychotic than witty in response to the character's mental breakdown and demise during the closing sequences of the third Batman film to hit the silver screen, Batman Forever. Batman: Revenge however, was designed to visually and artistically resemble the Tim Burton Batman films and not the Batman films made by director Joel Schumacher. Although the film is not indended to act as a complete sequel to Batman Forever, it does use the character's ending in the film as a springboard for his actions.

Design of the Riddler

The design of Riddler's "costume" in Batman: Revenge seems to draw from several aspects of the character's long history in comics, radio, film, and Print Media, although the use of the top hat seems to be a personal touch by Markiewitz to add one more variant to the character. It was reported in an interview that the director gave the Riddler a top hat because no other LEGO appliance seemed to work, and the top hat gave a more classic style to the character. It should be noted as well that the typical apparel worn by the citizens of Gotham City in the film include a full suit with a top hat, so it could also have simply been the costuming style the director wanted to have.

Rating

The film was rated "E for Everyone" by BatmanFanFilms.Com, the equivalent of the MPAA rating system's "G". The director stated in an interview with Brick Journal Magazine, "Many parents have told me they appreciate having a film they can watch with their children, and I love hearing things like that."

Trivia

• It premiered nearly three years before LEGO officially announced their Batman product line.

• The first showing of the film was in Tehachapi, California, on December 12, 2003. This was also the location of the film's principal photography, although no part of the actual city is visible on screen.

• It was viewed in a class at the DAVE School by the students responsible for the very popular Minimates animated short film, Batman: New Times.

• The Batmobile and Batwing models used in the film had completely articulated cockpits, but the inside of both vehicles were not seen up close.

• The early edit of the film reportedly ran for longer than 20 minutes while the finished version (online) has a running time of 6 minutes. The first edit had a very festive theme, with Halloween undertones running in the beginning of the film and Christmas undertones near the close. It was, however, considered too long with test audiences, and was therefore edited to the version available online.

• The title originally given to the project was Batman: Revenge, though it changed to Batman: Gotham Knight during production. The title reportedly reverted to Batman: Revenge the night before the premiere.

• The custom-made LEGO batmobile used in the film became so popular among fans of the film it was featured on numerous websites devoted to Batman's famous chariot. Such websites included BatmobileHistory.Com, ChicksLovetheCar.Com, and UltimateCarPage.Com, among several others.

External links

• Batman: Revenge official download site
• Film Review by Anderson Vision
• Director Interview with BrickJournal Magazine (Issue 4)
• Director Interview with Batman: Yesterday, Today, and Beyond
• Director Interview with Fan Film Follies