Chad Burdette
DC Showcase – Batman: Death In The Family is the latest animated feature released by Warner Home Entertainment and DC. This release also includes the 2019-2020 series of shorts – which have been individually included on DC Universe Movies releases since Summer 2019 – include Sgt. Rock, Adam Strange, Death, and The Phantom Stranger
Death In The Family is produced, directed, and written by Brandon Vietti and offers an inventive take on the long-demanded story of the infamous murder of Batman protégé Jason Todd. The twist to this feature is that there is an interactive feature that will allow viewers to choose the destinies of Batman, Robin, and The Joker in shocking new ways as viewers make multiple choices to control the story.
Batman: Under the Red Hood provides a baseline, the story also branches in new directions and features several characters previously unseen in the original film. Bruce Greenwood (The Resident, Star Trek, iRobot), Vincent Martella (Phineas and Ferb), and John DiMaggio (Futurama, Adventure Time) reprise their Batman: Under The Red Hood roles of Batman, young Jason Todd, and The Joker, respectively. Other featured voices are Zehra Fazal (Young Justice) as Talia al Ghul and Gary Cole (Veep) as Two-Face and James Gordon.
Vietti, whose DC Universe Movies directing credits include Batman: Under the Red Hood and Superman: Doomsday. He is co-creator, and co-executive producer of the popular Young Justice animated television series said in a press release about the feature.
“Batman: Death in the Family is essentially a comic book come to life. We’ve paid homage to the 1988 interactive experience of DC’s ‘A Death in the Family’ comics release by giving fans a unique opportunity to craft their own story through a branching tool that can lead in multiple directions. The viewer gets to choose these characters’ paths, and each choice paves an alternate future for all of the characters and, ultimately, the story.”
The interactive Blu-ray presentation offers many different ways for viewers to tell the Batman: Death in the Family story, with numerous twists and turns in the middle, and several possible endings. Like other productions like this one, the choices along the way put greater weight on the viewers’ decisions and result in even stronger stories meaning viewers can also choose to allow the story to tell itself, as there is an option to let the Blu-ray decide its own path.
The story is also packed with Easter Eggs, the centerpiece short’s story, grounded in the original “Batman: A Death in the Family” comic run, and the acclaimed Batman: Under the Red Hood animated film, at the same time balances several integral themes within its entertainment, including fatherhood, mental health, death, rebirth, revenge, and redemption. Along the route, viewers encounter new, surprising looks at some classic DC characters.
Vietti explaining the interactive portions of the feature, said,
“From the very first navigation card, we wanted to give the audience an impression of what they’re getting into, but then also give them something unexpected – maybe even something they’ll regret, so they have to think twice about every future choice they make. Branched storytelling has to be stronger than just the gimmick of the choices – it has to be rewarding and offer new and worthwhile insights into the characters. It needs to involve you and keep you searching for the next twist. So we sought to subvert expectations and do something very different.”
Mary Ellen Thomas, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Senior Vice President, Originals, Animation, and Family Marketing, also said about the interactive features,
“Interactive storytelling offers an entirely new dimension of entertainment for DC animated movie fans and an exciting look into potential titles for the future. Brandon Vietti has crafted a uniquely involving, multi-tiered approach to captivating the audience with both popular story devices and some very unexpected plot twists.”
Check out the latest trailer:
“DC Showcase – Batman: Death in the Family” arrives on Blu-ray™ and Digital* on October 13, 2020.
*(Note: not all Digital retailers offer bonus features with purchase)
