Batman: Year One is a 2011 American animated superhero film based on the four-issue story arc of the same name printed in 1987. It was directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu. The film premiered at Comic-Con on July 22 and was officially released on October 18, 2011.
It is the 12th film released under the DC Universe Animated Original Movies banner and was released on DVD, Blu-ray and digital copy. The film received positive reviews upon release for its animation and faithfulness to the source material. It was also a commercial success, bringing in $6.1 million on a budget of $3.5 million.
Plot
Voice cast
Production Producer Bruce Timm noted that the adaptation of the film was relatively straightforward due to the cinematic nature of the original story arc. Bryan Cranston originally turned down the role as James Gordon because he was unfamiliar with both animation and classic comics. Cranston said: "I wasn't aware of this level of storytelling in animation."
Despite largely adapting the comic book directly, some changes were made for the animated film to achieve the demands of the rating, including the alteration of scenes involving cigarette smoking and cocaine use.
Reception Critical response Batman: Year One received positive reviews upon its release. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of based on reviews from critics, with an average rating of .
An IGN review of the film, after its Comic-Con screening, praised the voice actors and concluded with, "This is real, serious adult entertainment that should satisfy longtime fans and newcomers as well." Another review from IGN panned the film, describing it as "dead on arrival – a lifeless bore with stale voice work and a disjointed, sporadic narrative that was best kept on the pages of Frank Miller's stellar graphic novel."
Tommy Cook of Collider called the film a "faithful adaptation". The A.V. Club gave the film an A−, saying, "Batman: Year One is a stellar adaptation, copying Miller's words and Mazzucchelli's images almost verbatim at times." Concluding that, "It all recalls what it felt like to read Batman: Year One for the first time, and sense that this was a story that had always existed."
Cinemacrazed criticized the short run time of the film as its main downfall. James O'Ehley of SciFiMoviePage notes that the faithfulness to the source material works for and against the film, with voiceover and dialogue slowing down the action, and he goes on to say how the animation could be bolder, the voices gruffer and the sound more stirring but that overall the film is better than other DC animated films.
In an article for The Missing Slate, discussing the influence of the comic version of Batman: Year One on film depictions of Batman, Michael Dodd praised the casting of Bryan Cranston as James "Jim" Gordon. Referencing Cranston's famous role as Walter White on Breaking Bad, he argued that the choice of casting "truly encompassed the character's determination and downright badass attitude in the comic Year One".
Sales The film earned $6.1 million from domestic home media sales.
Home media The DVD and Blu-ray release includes a short animated film titled Catwoman. In the film, Catwoman deals with the crime boss Rough Cut (voiced by John DiMaggio) while trying to stop a cargo shipment. There is also a sneak peek for the 2012 film Justice League: Doom, two featurettes, a commentary, a digital comic book, two Batman: The Animated Series episodes ("Catwalk" and "Cult of the Cat"), a standard edition of the film, and a high definition edition of the film.
On August 11, 2015, Warner Home Video re-released the film on a combo pack (), which includes the graphic novel it was based on and a copy of DVD and Blu-ray.
In 2019, it was released as part of the Batman 80th Anniversary DVD Collection, which came with 18 animated Batman films. It released alongside Batman: Gotham Knight, Batman: Under the Red Hood, Batman vs. Robin, Batman: Bad Blood, Son of Batman, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Assault on Arkham, Batman: The Killing Joke, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, Batman Ninja, Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, and Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.
On November 9, 2021, the film got a 4K UHD Blu-ray release as part of its 10th, titled "Commemorative Edition."
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