This Saturday is Batman Day around the globe, the annual celebration of The Dark Knight is our chance to wear our fandom with pride. Either by attending special events, making use of some cheeky discounts or just by pulling on our favourite Batman tee and kicking back to watch our favourite DC movies.
Batman has a long and successful career not just in comics but also in animation. So I wanted to go back through the archives and find a selection of animated gems you may not have seen. Or films that you saw when they were released but aren’t always first choice to revisit. So arm yourselves with popcorn and get ready to rifle through your DVD collection because we’re having a Batman movie night!
Take a look at each of my picks below, along with links to grab a copy if you don’t own them already. Make sure to let me know in the comments if there are other animated gems you’d like to pick.
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998)
Mr Freeze kidnaps Barbara Gordon to use her plasma to rejuvenate his dying wife. Leaving Batman and Robin to race against time to save Barbara and stop Freeze’s desperate scheme.
When looking back to the era of Batman: The Animated Series most fans are likely to reach for their copy of Mask of the Phantasm. It’s arguably one of the greatest Batman movies of all-time, not just the best animated movie. But that means its sequel, Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero is often overlooked. Not only does the film star the vocal talents of Kevin Conroy. But it follows up one of the greatest BTAS episodes of all time, “Heart of Ice”.
Michael Ansara, a prolific actor in Westerns, returns to voice Mr. Freeze who still longs to return his wife Nora to full health. His stoic approach to Victor Fries revolutionised the character and is often cited as help take the character from gimmicky foil to fully-fledged Bat-villain. The film also marks the only appearance of Mary Kay Bergman as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl who becomes a central character to Freeze’s plans.
Clocking at a cool 66 minutes it isn’t quite as sprawling as the Snyder Cut. But it’s still a fun slice of Bat-action which deserves your full attention.
Grab your copy of Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero on DVD or Blu-ray from Amazon.
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
In this action-packed adventure, the sleeker, more dangerous and seemingly immortal Clown Prince of Crime is back to terrorise Gotham, Batman and the ageing Bruce Wayne.
You’re probably going to tell me “but Neil, I’ve seen this one already!” But have you seen the uncut edition of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. The 2000 release sought to connect the final episodes of Batman: The Animated Series with its successor, finding a way to pit the new Batman against the Clown Prince of Crime. It uses the story of poor Tim Drake who falls victim to Joker (Mark Hamill) and Harley Quinn’s (Arleen Sorkin) plans as a method to resurrect to ultimate Bat-villain in future Neo Gotham.
But the uncut version of the film takes things a step further. On the surface is raises the stakes by putting back some of the more violent scenes which were removed from the initial release. But in putting back scenes which had been cut it also makes some key changes to the story which make Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker a much more adult and compelling story.
If you’re a fan of the original cut or just curious how grown up an animated Batman movie can be. Then Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker deserves a watch this Batman Day.
Grab your copy of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker on DVD or Blu-ray from Amazon.
Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)
In an alternate DC Universe, Superman is the son of General Zod, Batman is a Man-Bat vampire, and Wonder Woman is a vengeful New God.
An underrated gem from DC’s long line of direct-to-video titles, Justice League: Gods and Monsters falls squarely in to the series Elseworlds category. Michael C. Hall stars in the role of Kirklangstrom, this darker interpretation of the DC Universe’s Batman. He’s joined by Benjamin Bratt as Hernan Guerra aka Superman and Tamara Taylor as Bekka aka Wonder Woman. When scientists Victor Fries, Ray Palmer, and Silas Stone, along with his young son Victor, are killed by methods similar to the Justice League. President Amanda Waller (Penny Johnson Jerald) asks they cooperate with the government’s investigation. But all is not what it seems…
The film premiered at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2015 shortly before release. Though it received mostly positive reviews from critics its Elseworlds status means it is ofter overlooked by casual viewers, earning itself a spot on our list of must-watch movies for Batman Day 2025.
We so often reach for the classics, all those wonderful moments when our beloved Kevin Conroy voiced the role. This was a prime slice of Warner Bros. Animation showing us that a glimpse into a different version of the DCU could still make for a fun movie. If you’ve never see Gods & Monsters now is the time to change that.
Grab your copy of Justice League: Gods and Monsters on DVD or Blu-ray from Amazon.
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016)
Batman and Robin have their hands full when Penguin, The Joker, Riddler and Catwoman combine their nefarious talents to threaten Gotham City.
Almost four-decades after the final episode of the classic Batman TV series aired, Adam West and Burt Ward returned to the role for two animated releases. The first, Return of the Caped Crusaders, also marked the return of Julie Newmar in the role of Catwoman. They’re joined by Jeff Bergman as Joker, William Salyers as Penguin and Wally Wingert as Riddler.
The film aimed the recapture the magic of the 60’s television show with all of its kitschy catchphrases and bonkers set pieces. With the near limitless capability of animation the team was able to pull of a caper which really honoured the legacy of West and Ward. It spawned a sequel, Batman vs. Two-Face, which was released shortly after Adam West’s passing.
If like me you grew up watching Batman ’66 then this 78 minute slice of nostalgia is a perfect way to pay in some animated Batman-action alongside all the goofiness which reminds us of our childhoods.
Grab your copy of Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders on DVD or Blu-ray from Amazon.
Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019)
Batman and his allies must team up with the turtles to battle Shredder, Ra’s Al Ghul, and The League of Assassins.
Need I say more that Batman crosses over with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Okay, you want to hear why I think you should be watching this one. Well firstly there has been a number of very cool crossovers between Team TMNT and Team Batman in the comics. So it was a very cool prospect to hear that they were finally going to share the screen together for an entire movie. Then we learned that Troy Baker, another legend of Batman animation would be voicing the Dark Knight.
Baker is joined by four new actors taking on the voices of the Heroes in a Half-Shell, Eric Bauza as Leonardo, Darren Criss as Raphael, Baron Vaughn as Donatello and Kyle Mooney as Michelangelo.
These films always offer up a fun chance to mash-up different worlds, finding fun ways to draw comparison between characters in each. For this film is pairing the Turtle’s legendary villain Shredder (Andrew Kishino) with Batman’s own League of Shadow’s leader Ra’s al Ghul (Cas Anvar).
Grab your copy of Batman vs. Tennage Mutant Ninja Turtles on DVD or Blu-ray from Amazon.
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