Batman: Under the Red Hood

Batman: Under the Red Hood is a 2010 animated film featuring the DC Comics character Batman. It stars Bruce Greenwood, Jensen Ackles, Neil Patrick Harris and John DiMaggio. It was directed by Brandon Vietti and written by Judd Winick (who also wrote "Batman: Under the Hood", the comic storyline it's based on).

The Joker

 * [We see an Robin symbol and the camera reveals a wounded Robin as the Joker knocks him across the face with a crowbar] Wow. That looked like it really hurt. [Hits him three more times] Whoa, now, hang on. That looked like it hurt a lot more. So, let's try and clear this up, okay, pumpkin? What hurts more? A? [hits him again] Or B? [hits him again] Forehand? [hits him again] Or backhand? [hits him again, and laughs. Robin then mumbles something, and Joker leans in, imitating the noise] A little louder, lamb chop. I think you may have a collapsed lung. That always impedes the oratory. [Robin spits in his face; Joker slams his head into the ground] Now, that was rude! The first Boy Blunder had some manners. [Robin grins at him as Joker wipes the blood away] I suppose I'm going to have to teach you a lesson so you can better follow in his footsteps. [pause] Nah. I'm just gonna keep beating you with this crowbar. [Joker laughs as he continues beating Robin]


 * [after finishing beating Robin] Okay, kiddo, I gotta go. It's been fun, though, right? [silence from Robin] Well, maybe a smidge more fun for me than you. I'm just guessing since you're being awful quiet. Anyway, be a good boy, finish your homework, and be in bed by nine. And, hey, please tell the big man I said..."hello". [laughs hysterically]


 * [tossed to the floor in an apartment in Crime Alley, after being captured by Red Hood] So, what's the plan? Slumber party? Charades? A little Truth or Dare? Yes! I'll start with "dare"! [Red Hood unzips his gym bag and pulls out a crowbar] Or maybe I'll just go with "truth"...


 * [Batman, having refused to shoot either the Joker or Jason, has thrown a batarang into Jason's gun barrel, thus causing it to backfire and disarming Jason. Joker begins laughing maniacally] I can't believe you got him! You expert, rootin'-tootin', eagle-eyed, Goth-loving marksman! I love it! You managed to find a way to win, and everybody still loses! [laughs] [Jason presses a detonator that trigger a pile of explosives in the fire place. Batman spots them and rushes to disarm them.] [grabs Batman from defusing the bomb] NO! Don't spoil it! This is better! I'm the only one who's gonna to get what he wants tonight! Yes! Big bang boom! We all go out together! Don't you just love a happy ending?! [Begins laughing until Batman punches him out cold. Attempts to grab Jason and escape, but the detonator goes off. Batman fruitlessly searches for Jason but finds nothing.]
 * [Talking from afar] It's gonna be a sleepover, right?, I packed my toothbrush.

Dialogue

 * [Red Hood has just showed up at the meeting he organized between Gotham City's top drug dealers]
 * Freddie: You wanna die?! There's easier ways to kill yourself!
 * Red Hood: Yeah, like yelling at the guy who's holding the AK-47.


 * Bobo: Okay, crazy man, this is all very generous, but why the hell should we listen to you?
 * [Red Hood drops a duffel bag of human heads. Bobo opens the bag. Chi-Chi pukes.]
 * Tyler Bramford: [disgusted and frightened] Damn...
 * Red Hood: Those are the heads of all of your lieutenants. That took me two hours. You wanna see what I get done in a whole evening? Make no mistake. I'm not asking you to cut in with me. I'm telling you. [fires his machine gun at the table, then disappears]


 * Nightwing: But he's locked up, like a lot locked up. Maybe we should go for a visit. [Looks over to where Bruce was just sitting to see him gone, to his annoyance] Could you just once say "Let's get in the car"? Is that so hard?


 * [Batman and Nightwing are interrogating Joker at Arkham Asylum]
 * Joker: [to Batman] You look good. Been working out? You could probably use a little sun. Then again, who am I to talk? [laughs]
 * Batman: [showing Joker a photo of the Red Hood] He's calling himself the Red Hood. What do you know about it?
 * Joker: That he has horrible taste. When I wore that number, it was classy &mdash; more flashy maitre d' than motorcycle fetish. Oh, these kids today...
 * Nightwing: If you're behind this in any way, we will find out. You're not--
 * Joker: Oh, Bird Boy, you're so much less fun now. All grown up and in your big-boy pants. [maliciously] Still, better off than his replacement, right? Even tougher making with the yuks when you're worm food... [Angered, Batman slams him against the wall, grasping him by the throat; but Joker only smiles cruelly] You really gonna do it this time? Or are ya just gonna put me in another body cast for six months? [Batman hesitates for a moment, and finally throws him to the ground] So disappointing. But back to the matter at hand. This new Hoodie? Do you really think I would stir up so much trouble... and not make sure you knew it was me? [laughs maniacally]


 * Nightwing: [about the Red Hood] He's got some moves, huh? And as much I hate to belabor a point-
 * Alfred Pennyworth: And still that is often exactly what you do.
 * Nightwing: I'm chatty, it's part of my charm.


 * [Nightwing has been injured]
 * Batman: Alfred, take him home.
 * Nightwing: I can help.
 * Batman: You already have. Thank you.
 * Nightwing: Alright, but you know where to find me if you need me. [to Alfred] He did just... thank me, didn't he?
 * Alfred: Indeed he did, sir.
 * Nightwing: Weird.


 * Black Mask: Maybe my last request was too mired in subtlety. I want this man dead. When I say "dead", I mean seriously dead! Beaten. [anger rising] Broken. [suddenly shouting] His-head-mounted-on-my-wall kind of dead!
 * Ms. Li: Understood. We'll be taking further precautions at every transaction.
 * Black Mask: [bolts up] Screw that! Time he learns that this is a contact sport. We're going on offense. Rough up his business, something big, something loud. When he shows up to shut us down, have a party waiting for him. And when I say "party", I actually mean a whole lot of people who are gonna kill him!
 * Ms. Li: [completely deadpan] I figured.
 * Black Mask: Just being clear.


 * Red Hood: What the hell took you so long?
 * Batman: Shut up and fight.


 * Red Hood: Ah, you and your gadgets.

[Red Hood cuts ropes and electrocutes Batman]
 * Batman: Aaahhh!!
 * Red Hood: You're not the only one with toys!

[Batman throws explosives at Red Hood, and the latter halts]
 * Red Hood: Crap.


 * Red Hood: Just be happy I only killed one of them. They're all assassins.
 * Batman: And what are you?
 * Red Hood: I'm cleaning up Gotham. More than you ever did.
 * Batman: You're stealing territory from Black Mask and killing anyone who gets in your way.
 * Red Hood: Black Mask is just a part of the plan.
 * Batman: Plan? You're becoming a crime lord.
 * Red Hood: Yes. You can't stop crime. That's what you never understood. I'm controlling it. You wanna rule them by fear. But what do you do with the ones who aren't afraid? I'm doing what you won't, I'm taking them out!
 * Batman: Tell me what happened to you. Let me help.
 * Red Hood: [beat] It's too late. You had your chance. And I'm just getting started.


 * Batman: [about Jason] Do you remember how he was when I found him?
 * Alfred: Of course, sir. Fearless, arrogant, brash and gifted.
 * Batman: Yes. Different than Dick in so many ways, but still full of potential and power. But I knew, even from the beginning, he was dangerous. If I hadn't made him into Robin, he would have grown to do wrong. Then I got him killed. My partner. My soldier. My fault. I own that. I'll carry that like everything else. But now there's this. He's taken everything I've ever taught him and turned it on me. It's a hell of my own making, Alfred.
 * Alfred: Sir, this is not your doing. You loved him, he knows that. It should be enough.


 * [Black Mask is holding a meeting with Joker at Arkham]
 * Black Mask: [trying not to get Joker riled up] I hope you understand the trouble I've gone through to arrange this little get-together here. A lot of money. A lot of dead meat. [Joker remains silent, munching on potato chips] Look, I've got a problem. And you are absolutely the man who possesses the gifts to take care of this problem. I need you to murder the Red Hood. Think you can handle that?
 * [Joker is quiet for a minute, then coughs]
 * Joker: May I have some water? [One of Black Mask's goons hands Joker a glass of water; Joker promptly breaks the glass and kills the goon with it. He takes the dead man's gun and shoots all but Black Mask and Ms. Li. He then points the gun at Black Mask, laughing] I'm going to need... something to wear. And a very big truck.
 * Black Mask: Sure. Anything else?
 * Joker: I'll need some guys. [pauses] Not these guys, because, well, they're kinda dead. [laughs maniacally]




 * Red Hood (Joker): God, please, no. Stay away. It's a setup. Wait! I’m not a crook, I swear! (As Batman is about to arrest Red Hood with handcuffs, the Red Hood struggles to remove his mask, but his cape gets caught under his foot, causing the railing behind him to break.) No! (Batman tries to save Red Hood, but Red Hood falls into the chemicals, with only some Joker playing cards that the Red Hood had with him floating back up).


 * Red Hood: [Batman angrily looks up to see Jason Todd red hood] Hard to forget that night, huh? In a way, Batman, this was the site of your first great failure. Maybe your greatest, but certainiy not your last, right? Ah! Memories. [Red Hood shoots the car and Batman and Red Hood escape]


 * [In the middle of traffic on the Gotham Bay Bridge, police helicopters shining their spotlights on him, Joker stands atop a toppled truck trailer, bowing theatrically to the SWAT teams surrounding him. Inside the trailer are the former drug dealers intimidated by Red Hood.]
 * Joker: [singing; sadistically] I'm a little teapot, short and stout... [pours gasoline into the trailer] Here is my handle, here is my spout...
 * [Joker drops the remainder of the gas can inside the trailer, revealing that both Black Mask and Ms. Li are both inside as well.]
 * Black Mask: [scared to death] This wasn't part of the damn deal, you freak! Get me outta here! Right now!
 * Joker: I thought you'd enjoy seeing some old faces. After all, most of these guys used to work for you.
 * [As Joker pulls out a lighter and tries to light it, something catches the attention of the police.]
 * Cop: Who's that? Get a light on him.
 * Commissioner Gordon: Up there!
 * [Joker looks up to see the lights shining on the Red Hood, standing on one of the bridge's towers.]
 * Joker: Heeeey, look at you! Mr. Hood! Or do you prefer Red? You know, I used to wear an outfit a lot like that. Mine was more flashy maitre d' than motorcycle fetish. You kids today... [flicks the lighter] I'm sorry, could you hold on? I was just in the middle of setting fire to your gang.
 * Red Hood: Go ahead. You think I care if that scum dies?
 * Joker: Don't know. I just wanted your attention.
 * Red Hood: You've always had my attention. But what I really wanted... was an audience with you.
 * Joker: [realizing something] I'm sorry, that seems to imply that you organized this little clambake.
 * Red Hood: I did. Sure, I had lots of plans, but the endgame was getting Black Mask so desperate that he'd cut a deal. He was the only one with the connections to get into Arkham... and get you out.
 * Black Mask: [to himself; as he listens to the exchange above, embarrassed] You can't. Trust. Anybody.
 * Joker: So I've been bamboozled. [deadpan] Oh, my.
 * Red Hood: I wouldn't undersell it. It took a lot of work to bring about our reunion.
 * Joker: [confused] "Reunion"? Have we met before?
 * Red Hood: Yes. We have.
 * Joker: Well, here's to warm memories. [finally ignites the lighter and tosses it into the trailer, setting it ablaze]


 * Red Hood: [knocks Joker with a crowbar] Tell me, how does that feel?
 * Joker: [coughing painfully] You know, it only hurts when I laugh. But hey... I gotta know. Who are you? You said we knew one another. You do seem really familiar. We double at the prom? Or maybe blow up a school bus together?
 * Red Hood: No. I'm just something you helped make.
 * Joker: That's pretty cryptic... but interesting. Tell me more.
 * Red Hood: Sure. Listen up. [continues beating Joker with the crowbar, hoping that it jogs Joker's memory]


 * Jason Todd: Is that what you think this is about?! That you let me die?!  I don't know what clouds your judgement worse, your guilt or your antiquated sense of morality. Bruce, I forgive you for not saving me. But why, why on God's Earth... [smashes the closet door open to reveal Joker, bloodied and tied to a chair] ...is he still alive?!
 * [Joker awakens and looks at both Jason and Batman, and then starts to laugh as he bounces over in the chair]
 * Joker: Gotta give the boy points! He came all the way back from the dead to make this shindig happen! So, who's got a camera? Ooh, ooh! Get one of me and the kid first! Then you and me, then the three of us, and then one with the crowbar, then-
 * Jason Todd: [knocking the Joker down and holding a gun to his head] You'll be as quiet as possible, or I'll put one in your lap first.
 * Joker: Party pooper. No cake for you.
 * Jason Todd: [to Batman] Ignoring what he's done in the past - blindly, stupidly disregarding the entire graveyards he's filled, the thousands who have suffered, the friends he's crippled...! You know, I thought... I thought I'd be the last person you'd ever let him hurt. If it had been you that he beat to a bloody pulp, if he had taken you from this world, I would've done nothing but search the planet for this pathetic pile of evil, death-worshiping garbage... and send him off to hell!
 * Batman: You don't understand. I don't think you've ever understood.
 * Jason Todd: What? What, your moral code just won't allow for that? It's too hard to cross that line?
 * Batman: No! God Almighty, no. It'd be too damned easy. All I've ever wanted to do is kill him. A day doesn't go by when I don't think about subjecting him to every horrendous torture he's dealt out to others, and then... [glares at Joker] end him.
 * Joker: Awwww. So you do think about me.
 * Batman: But if I do that... if I allow myself to go down into that place... I'll never come back.
 * Jason Todd: Why? I'm not talking about killing Penguin or Scarecrow or Dent. I'm talking about him. Just him. And doing it because... because he took me away from you.
 * Batman: I can't. I'm sorry.
 * Joker: That is so sweet!
 * Jason: Well, you won't have any choice. [throws Batman a second gun]
 * Batman: I won't--
 * Jason: This is what it's all been about. This! You and me and him! Now is the time you decide! [smashes the chair the Joker is bound to and lifts him up] If you won't kill this psychotic piece of filth, I will! [aims his gun at the Joker's head] If you want to stop me, you're going to have to kill me!
 * Batman: You know I won't--
 * Jason: I'm going to blow his deranged brains out! And if you want to stop it, you are going to have to shoot me, right in my face!
 * Joker: This is turning out even better than I'd hoped.
 * [Batman drops the gun, turns around and starts to leave.]
 * Jason: It's him or me! You have to decide! Decide, now! [aims at Batman] DO IT! HIM, OR ME! DECIDE!


 * [Batman stares sadly at Jason's old Robin uniform]
 * Alfred: Sir, in light of all the recent events, would like me to remove that?
 * Batman: No. This doesn't change anything. [quietly, to himself] It doesn't change anything at all.

About

 * Take note of the PG-13 rating. This is not a film for children. It starts out showing the Joker beating Robin to death with a crowbar, then ultimately blowing him up and killing him. This is straight out of the classic "Death in the Family" comics right down to the imagery. The violence continues as we see the Red Hood deliver a bag full of severed heads to mob leaders, characters getting shot point blank by Joker, red blood spatters on walls as people’s heads are shot, and more. It’s nothing you don’t see in the movies, but it’s kind of surprising if all you’ve ever seen of animated Batman is Timm’s revered TV series.
 * The movie has some spectacular action scenes. It seems like there’s an explosion every 10 minutes. We see great chases between Batman and Red Hood, a great pursuit joined by Nightwing, and a fantastic fight scene with some cybernetic bounty hunters. But it’s not all batarangs and kung fu fighting. There’s a surprisingly strong character drama here. We see Batman tortured by the loss of Jason Todd and the appearance of Red Hood making matters even worse. I was also quite impressed by the final showdown between Red Hood and Batman. In it, Batman is confronted with the ultimate question – why did he never kill the Joker? His answer is emotional, dramatic, and perfectly defines the character. Bat-Fans will enjoy it.
 * Scott Chitwood, "Batman: under the Red Hood Review", Super Hero Hype, (Jul 12, 2010)


 * Jason Isaacs: This role is a bit unusual for Ra's al Ghul as he's been Batman's nemesis a lot in the past. But this time he is actually full of regret for a mistake that he has made, and his inability to control the Joker. A lot of what happens for Ra's in this story is him explaining to Batman how things went so badly awry, and how Robin ended up quite so dead.
 * Jason Isaacs in "Jason Isaacs Discusses Batman: Under the Red Hood" by Brian Gallagher, Movie Web, (July 1st, 2010).


 * Under the Red Hood finds Batman caught up in an underworld mystery; the ruthless Black Mask has murdered his way to the top of Gotham City's underworld and reigns as king - that is until a mysterious (and even more ruthless) vigilante called Red Hood shows up and starts taking apart Black Mask's empire, piece by piece.
 * Red Hood is as smart and well-trained as Batman himself - the only difference is that Red Hood has no qualms whatsoever about killing "underworld scum." The Red Hood mantle is something of a tradition in Gotham's underworld, so Batman's first guess is that this is just another crook looking to make a name for himself. However, after each subsequent encounter with Red Hood, Batman begins to suspect that the murderous vigilante may have a direct connection to a dark chapter in the Batman and Robin Legacy.
 * And because this is a PG-13 animated feature, the DCU team isn't afraid to keep things a little more adult in tone - good decision when you have villains like Black Mask, Red Hood and The Joker all in one film. You just know some blood is going to be shed, and the filmmakers manage to get in the adult themes without the cartoon being too scary for youngsters to enjoy as well.
 * Kofi Outlaw, "Batman: Under The Red Hood' DVD Review", Screen Rant, (Jul 11, 2010).


 * The big thing about the story is that it's a sequel to a big event in the history of DC comics - the death of Robin that happened back in the 1980s - and I didn't see how we could set that up, because it all hinges on being a sequel to that story. Furthermore, the way the pitch was arranged, we were in a room in Burbank and Judd was in San Francisco and had to pitch over the speakerphone. But amazingly, every single problem I thought we'd have trouble making into a movie, Judd had fixed in the pitch. Judd had already clearly put a lot of thought into the entire film - how to stay focused on the main story, how to clean up the death of Robin thing, and how to eliminate all the extra baggage. He pitched for about 45 minutes and when he was done, Alan and I looked at each other and said, "Yeah, that's a movie. Let's do it." And away we meant.
 * Seeing that this was going to be our first full-length Batman movie in the DC Universe line, we thought we really needed to have a strong story that wasn't just another adventure story or a caper that Batman foils. We wanted it to be something that truly needed to be told in a PG-13 venue that had a fair amount of, for lack of a better term, adult content that you couldn't normally do on television. And this story is loaded with it. It's also a personal story to Batman - it does have an adventure plot and a crime plot, but the emotional arc of the story is rooted in Batman's messed up history with family relations. And especially in our animated universe, Batman always had a kind of dysfunctional family dynamic going on. He's famously an orphan, he's got Alfred as his surrogate mother/father, he's always bringing in surrogate sons to mentor, and it always kind of goes badly.
 * Bruce Timm in "Bruce Timm Takes Us Inside Batman: Under the Red Hood", by Brian Gallagher, Movie Web, (June 25th, 2010).


 * In Batman: Under the Red Hood, Batman faces his ultimate challenge as the mysterious Red Hood takes Gotham City by firestorm. One part vigilante, one part criminal kingpin, Red Hood begins cleaning up Gotham with the efficiency of Batman, but without following the same ethical code. Killing is an option. And when The Joker falls in the balance between the two, hard truths are revealed and old wounds are reopened.
 * “Judd Winick’s and Doug Mahnke’s story of a Robin gone wrong introduced Batman’s most personal enemy to date. It’s unbelievably cool to see it brought to life like this,” said Geoff Johns, Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment.
 * Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub, http://collider.com/batman-under-the-red-hood-trailer-and-images/ "Batman: Under the Red Hood"], Collider, (April 27, 2010).


 * “This is absolutely a Batman story,” he emphasises. “It’s about Batman facing his greatest fear, and it’s a fear he was unaware of: failure. All Batman is trying to do is win a war. All he’s trying to do is right wrongs, beginning with the death of his parents and followed by another seminal event in his life, the loss of his partner, Jason Todd [who replaced Dick Grayson as his sidekick,  Robin].  It was a major mistake in his life, bringing another kid into this war. So for Batman, it seems like one horrible mistake after another.”
 * Judd Winnick in "Interview: Batman - Under The Red Hood", by Edward Gross, SciFiNow, (08-09-10).

Cast

 * Bruce Greenwood as Bruce Wayne/Batman
 * Jensen Ackles as Jason Todd/Red Hood
 * John DiMaggio as The Joker
 * Neil Patrick Harris as Dick Grayson/Nightwing
 * Jason Isaacs as Ra's al Ghul
 * Wade Williams as Roman Sionis/Black Mask
 * Jim Piddock as Alfred Pennyworth
 * Gary Cole as Commissioner James Gordon, Bobo, Shot
 * Kelly Hu as Ms. Li
 * Carlos Alazraqui as Chi-Chi, Thug 1, Baton
 * Robert Clotworthy as Leon
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as Tyler Bramford
 * Alexander Martella as Young Jason Todd/Robin
 * Vincent Martella as Teen Jason Todd/Robin
 * Brian George as Ra's al Ghul's Assistant
 * Phil LaMarr as Rick, Bulk
 * Andrea Romano as Reporter 1
 * Dwight Schultz as Freddie, Yurp
 * Esteban Matos as Sexy Guy 1
 * Fred Tatasciore as Amazo, Mercenary 1, Guard
 * Bruce Timm as The Riddler
 * Keri Tombazian as Reporter 2, Fearsome Hand Leader
 * Michael Villani as Reporter 3