Meanwhile, Shreck introduces
the city to the revolting penguin-man rumored to live in the sewers
of Gotham. Claiming to desire only the truth about his parents and
the reason behind his miserable existence, Oswald Cobblepot (Danny
DeVito), a hideously deformed man with a penchant for umbrellas
and control over armies of sewer penguins, runs for mayor. Using
a strong sympathy vote devised with the help of Shreck, the Penguin
eventually teams with Catwoman to frame Batman, who continually
gets in the way of their goals to destroy Gotham City. It’s
up to Batman to protect the frightened and gritty townsfolk from
the Penguin’s army of machinegun-toting clowns (how Joker-esque)
and from utter annihilation at the hand’s of the two new unbalanced
villains.
The familiar theme song by Danny Elfman, gothic opera music,
and glisteningly dark sets return in this second Batman feature
– the last film that spends time on the origins of the villains.
Batman Returns certainly proves that a hero is only as good as
the villain – both Catwoman and The Penguin are unique,
brilliantly costumed and perfectly morbid; however, their motives
and dialogue frequently disrupt the naturalness of their existences.
They are ultimately more difficult to accept. Realism is not a
strong point with any of the Batman films, but Catwoman’s
unexpected martial arts skills, her mastery of a whip, and The
Penguin’s influence over penguins (who knew that one of
their natural habitats was the sewer?) reminds us just how comic
book-based this episode really is. Catwoman and The Penguin could
have used a larger dose of sinister. But even the characters aren’t
as nonsensical as the ideas – including killing the first-born
children of everyone in Gotham City, and unleashing a legion of
penguins armed with dynamite.
Batman Returns perfectly matches the original tone and design
of the Batman Tim Burton envisioned. However, his constant need
to make his characters a little too uncanny and visually scurrilous,
caused Warner Brothers to abandon him for the comically bright
colors Joel Schumacher would eventually paint the new Batman with.
Burton’s direction may not have been ideal, but what a mistake.
- Mike Massie
