Batman: Under the Red Hood

If you're not a particular fan of the Batman comic books, the name Jason Todd probably doesn't mean much to you.

But if you read Batman in the '80s, when you hear that name associated with a movie, you're probably geeking out like Steve Urkel.

The erstwhile "second" Robin, the successor to Dick Grayson, is finally realized in animated form, and memorably so, in DC Animated's latest picture "Batman: Under the Red Hood."

For those not in the know, when Dick Grayson set out on his own as Nightwing, Batman found a replacement in the slightly more thuggish Todd, whom he caught trying to steal the tires off of the Batmobile. He took the troubled young Jason under his, er, wing, and found a talented but rebellious protege whose tendency to leap before he looked finally cost him dearly when the Joker captured him and beat him to death.

"Red Hood" begins there, in a vicious scene (remember these animated DC films are rated PG-13), with the Clown Prince of Crime (John DiMaggio) mercilessly beating Jason (Jensen Ackles) while Batman (the gravelly voice of Bruce Greenwood) races to his rescue. Bats arrives just in time to see the building Jason is in explode.

Cut to a few years later, Batman is still haunted by Jason's death. The Joker is safely tucked away at Arkham Asylum, but someone using Joker's old alias, the Red Hood, is quickly gaining a foothold in Gotham's underworld.

Batman finds a new old ally in Nightwing (Neil Patrick Harris), but even the Dynamic Duo can't seem to pin down this Red Hood.

The story such as it is is relatively layered and complex, but still simple enough. There's a character called Black Mask (who resembles Captain America's nemesis Red Skull, but with a black head instead of a red one) who feels threatened by Red Hood's invasion of his territory, and the memory of Jason figures into the plot.

There's a terrific flashback sequence that sees a cameo from the Riddler (and when, by the way, does he get to be the heavy in an animated film?), and Ra's Al Ghul (Jason Isaacs) drops by as well.

But this fight is ultimately Batman vs. Red Hood, and fans should not be at all disappointed in what they get: thrilling, extended fight sequences, touching, personal emotional issues, and enough comic nostalgia to keep the fanboys dancing with delight, but without losing the somewhat less casual fans.

Of course, fans of the comics and the graphic novel the film is based on won't be surprised at all, and even someone new to the Batman universe won't be shocked at the film's resolution, but "Red Hood" is one crackling fanboy ride that you won't soon forget.

The voice acting is routinely strong all the way around. In some alternate universe Christopher Nolan is putting together a "The Dark Knight Returns" live action film with Greenwood in the title role, but for now this will have to do. I'm not the biggest fan of Harris as Nightwing, but his part was relatively small and he did okay.

The Blu-ray extras are robust, with a digital copy, a "Jonah Hex" animated short, a couple of looks at Robin (both Dick and Jason), a nice first look at DC Animated's next film, "Superman/Batman Apocalypse"), 4 classic "Batman: the Animated Series" episodes, and looks at previous DC Animated entries.

DC fans, you've got something else to get excited about with this slate of animated films, which, after a bumpy beginning (I'm talking to you, "Superman Doomsday") has been on a pretty decent run of late. If you are a fan of the Dark Knight, don't forget to put this one in the queue.

Film: 4.5 Yaps

Extras: 4.5 Yaps