2019 animated crossover superhero film
Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
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Official cover
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Directed by
| Jake Castorena
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Written by
| Marly Halpern-Graser
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Based on
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Produced by
| Ben Jones
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Starring
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Music by
| Kevin Riepl
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Production
companies
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Distributed by
| Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
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Release dates
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Running time
| 87 minutes
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Country
| United States
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Language
| English
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Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
is an American
animated
superhero film
directed by Jake Castorena and written by Marly Halpern-Graser. Based on the comic book
miniseries
Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
by
James Tynion IV
and
Freddie Williams II
, the story focuses on
Batman
,
Robin
, and
Batgirl
teaming up with the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
in order to save
Gotham City
from chaos at the hands of both
Shredder
and
Ra's al Ghul
. Produced by
Warner Bros. Animation
in association with
DC Entertainment
and
Nickelodeon
, the film features the voices of
Troy Baker
,
Eric Bauza
,
Darren Criss
,
Kyle Mooney
, and
Baron Vaughn
.
Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
was produced for the direct-to-video market, and was released on both Blu-ray and
Digital HD
on June 4, 2019. It received positive reviews and grossed over $3.3 million from home video sales.
Plot
[
edit
]
While touring Powers Industrial,
Barbara Gordon
witnesses a power generator being stolen by the
Foot Clan
and also spots four mysterious and elusive creatures during the robbery that she refers to as Metahumans. She reports this back to Batman, who decides that if the culprits want high tech, he will set a trap with it. The Foot Clan then attacks
Wayne Enterprises
to steal an experimental
cloud seeder
machine, but are ambushed by
Batman
, who fends off the Foot and their leader,
Shredder
. Meanwhile, it is revealed that that the four 'Metahumans' Batgirl sighted are actually the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
, currently tracking the Shredder's nefarious actions to Gotham City, having learned he has allied with an unknown party. After defending Wayne Enterprises from the
Penguin
, the Turtles encounter and fight Batman, as each side believes the other is the enemy. Batman is able to overpower the Turtles, who then retreat.
Donatello
researches Batman and his sighted locations, and uses this information to figure out the location of the
Batcave
. After a brief scuffle with
Robin
, Batman and Batgirl arrive, and the Turtles introduce themselves and explain their reason for coming to Gotham. The two groups agree to work together against their common enemies, and Robin reveals that Shredder and the Foot Clan are working with
Ra's al Ghul
and the
League of Assassins
. Shredder and Ra's meet and strike a bargain: Ra's will give Shredder access to the Lazarus Pit to become immortal, in exchange for Shredder building a machine that will spray the TCRI mutagen over Gotham, transforming the citizens into monstrous mutants that will destroy the city. With Shredder's failure to steal the cloud seeder, Ra's hires the Penguin to intercept it, while he and Shredder go to
Arkham Asylum
and release the
Joker
. The two trade The Joker a vial of the TCRI mutagen for the Joker Venom formula, which combined with the mutagen will drive the mutated completely insane, and Joker uses the mutagen on Arkham's inmates.
The Bat-Family and the Turtles are alerted about an alarm at Arkham by
Commissioner Gordon
and investigate. After fighting their way through various mutated members of
Batman's rogues gallery
, (Mr Freeze has become a polar bear, Bane has become a jaguar, Scarecrow has become a crow, Poison Ivy has become a Venus Flytrap, and Two-Face has become a two-headed cat) they confront
Harley Quinn
and Joker, mutated into a
spotted hyena
and a
king cobra
. Joker injects Batman with a mixture of Joker venom and mutagen, transforming him into a deranged mutant
vampire bat
who instantly proceeds to violently maul
Mr Freeze
and attacks the others in a frenzy, throwing Two-Face out a window. The heroes are able to inject Batman with an anti-mutagen and restore him, and subdue Harley and Joker. Batgirl learns about the cloud seeder's theft by Penguin, and they realize the incident at Arkham was a distraction. Aware that Shredder and Ra's will be using Joker venom, they deduce they will be at Ace Chemicals to create it.
At Ace Chemicals, the Bat-family and the Turtles fight through the Foot Clan and the League of Assassins (many who have been mutated into manimals and even a T-Rex)) with the
Batmobile
and the Turtle Van. While Batman fights Shredder and
Leonardo
engages Ra's, Donatello and
Michelangelo
sabotage the cloud seeder as it launches. Leonardo subdues Ra's, and Batman is able to defeat the Shredder with a distraction from
Raphael
. The cloud seeder crashes into the facility and explodes, knocking the Shredder into a vat of Joker venom and destroying Ace Chemicals. At the Batcave, the Turtles prepare to return to New York until Batman reveals a surprise pizza party to celebrate their victory.
In a post-credits scene, Shredder emerges from the rubble of Ace Chemicals, now possessing a Joker-like appearance and laughing maniacally.
Voice cast
[
edit
]
Production
[
edit
]
Development
[
edit
]
In February 2019, it was announced that an animated adaptation of the miniseries
Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
was in development, as a collaboration between
Warner Bros. Animation
and
Nickelodeon
.
[2]
In May 2019, Jake Casterona was announced to be directing from a screenplay by Marly Halpern-Graser, with Ben Jones producing; he previously worked on both
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
(2008-11) and
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
(2012-17).
[3]
Writing
[
edit
]
Early during production, Jones wanted to omit the interdimensional aspect of the original comics, due to both his love for crossovers such as
Superman vs. Spider-Man
that established both properties as existing in the same reality, as well as simplifying the story.
[4]
Due to this, Halpern-Graser sought to instead stay faithful to the comic's tone and structure while incorporating these changes to the story, with multiple lines and panels being adapted verbatim to the film.
[4]
Regarding the portrayals of Batman and the Turtles, Casterona wanted to contrast them by portraying Batman as more serious and the Turtles being more lighthearted and fun-loving. However, he wanted to avoid portraying them in a goofy light similar to the
1980s series
, so he and the crew instead drew inspiration from the
1990 film
and how it portrayed the Turtles in a lighthearted manner while still being serious in tone.
[4]
Casting
[
edit
]
The initial announcement revealed
Troy Baker
would reprise his roles as both
Batman
from
Batman: The Telltale Series
video game and various
Lego
video games and films, and the
Joker
from
Batman: Arkham Origins
,
Batman: Assault on Arkham
, and the
Batman Unlimited
series, making Baker the first actor to portray both characters in the same property. The film also features
Darren Criss
and
Eric Bauza
reprising their roles as
Raphael
and
Leonardo
, while
Kyle Mooney
and
Baron Vaughn
voice
Michelangelo
and
Donatello
, respectively.
Rachel Bloom
voices
Batgirl
and
Cas Anvar
voices
Ra's al Ghul
. In addition,
Tom Kenny
,
John DiMaggio
,
Carlos Alazraqui
and
Tara Strong
reprise their roles as the
Penguin
,
Mr. Freeze
,
Bane
,
Harley Quinn
and
Poison Ivy
from various DC properties.
[5]
Other key cast members of the film were revealed a month later, which consists of
Ben Giroux
as
Robin
,
Andrew Kishino
as the
Shredder
,
Keith Ferguson
as both
Baxter Stockman
and
Two-Face
,
Brian George
reprising his role as
Alfred Pennyworth
from
Batman: The Killing Joke
, and
Jim Meskimen
as both
Commissioner James Gordon
and the
Scarecrow
.
[3]
Voice recording had begun by the time the film was announced.
[2]
Both Warner and Nickelodeon were involved in the casting process, while Gene Vassilaros serves as casting director, after working on that role in previous animated TMNT media.
[4]
According to producer Ben Jones, Nickelodeon executives mandated for none of the cast members from the then-current series
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
to be brought back to reprise their roles.
[4]
Release
[
edit
]
Marketing
[
edit
]
The first trailer was released on March 12, 2019.
[3]
The film had its world premiere at
WonderCon
Anaheim 2019 on March 31.
[6]
Home media
[
edit
]
The film was later released to Digital on May 14 on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack and Blu-ray Combo Pack on June 4, 2019.
[7]
The film earned $609,769 from domestic DVD sales and $2,723,251 from domestic Blu-ray sales, bringing its total domestic home video earnings to $3,333,020.
[8]
Reception
[
edit
]
Critical response
[
edit
]
Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
was released to positive reviews. Based on 14 reviews collected on
Rotten Tomatoes
, the film has an
approval rating of 100%
with an average rating of a 7.5/10.
[9]
Future
[
edit
]
Producer Ben Jones and screenwriter Mary Halpern-Graser expressed interest in a sequel that centers on Batman interacting with elements from the
TMNT
franchise, expressing particular interest in featuring characters such as
Krang
and
Bebop and Rocksteady
.
[4]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Official Trailer
- ^
a
b
Jackson, Matthew (13 February 2019).
"Exclusive: Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meet in first animated movie crossover"
.
Syfy
.
Archived
from the original on 9 March 2023
. Retrieved
18 March
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
Romano, Nick (March 12, 2019).
"Animated worlds collide in exclusive 'Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' trailer"
.
Entertainment Weekly
.
Archived
from the original on February 6, 2023.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Dar, Taimur (April 30, 2019).
"Striking Hard and Fading into the Night with the Cast & Crew of BATMAN VS. TMNT"
.
The Beat
.
Archived
from the original on February 3, 2023
. Retrieved
July 4,
2023
.
- ^
"SYFY WIRE"
.
SYFY
. Archived from
the original
on 27 March 2019
. Retrieved
18 March
2019
.
- ^
"NickALive!: Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Meet in First Animated Crossover Movie [Updated]"
.
NickAlive!
. 9 March 2019.
Archived
from the original on April 17, 2023
. Retrieved
18 March
2019
.
- ^
McGloin, Matt (2019-03-14).
"Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Release Date Announced"
.
Cosmic Book News
.
Archived
from the original on 2022-11-18
. Retrieved
2022-11-18
.
- ^
"Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Numbers Listing"
.
The Numbers
.
Archived
from the original on April 18, 2023
. Retrieved
October 20,
2020
.
- ^
"
Batman Vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
"
.
Rotten Tomatoes
.
Fandango Media
. Retrieved
January 20,
2024
.
External links
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