Despite Mask of the Phantasm’s eventual financial success on home video, Warner Brothers was not in a hurry to produce another animated Batman feature. Mask of the Phantasm was released in 1993 while the Animated Series was continuing to go strong. Even in the face of flawed live-action films from Burton and Schumacher, another animated Batman film would eventually be produced. This is Batman: Subzero!
Subzero was released in March, 1998, five years after the previous Batman film, Mask of the Phantasm. This film was directed by Boyd Kirkland and written by Kirkland and Randy Rogel. The score was produced by Michael Mcuistion, and features the voice talents of Kevin Conroy, Michael Ansara, Mary Kay Bergman, and Bob Hastings, along with an uncredited performance by Frank Welker. The film focuses on Victor Fries (a.k.a. Mr. Freeze) abducting Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) in a desperate attempt to save his dying wife. Batman and Robin must find a way to rescue Batgirl before it is too late! Subzero was initially conceived in production as a tie-in animated feature with Schumacher’s Batman & Robin. However, the overwhelmingly negative response to the film led to the feature being completely rewritten and repurposed to fit within the Animated Series. The plot of the film is easily magnitudes better than what was presented in Batman & Robin. Despite his role as an antagonist, Freeze comes off as very sympathetic. He is very accurate to the comic portrayals of the character in the sense that the love he feels for his wife is what drove him to such extreme measures to save her.
Despite being titled as a Batman movie we spend most of our time with Barbara Gordon and our main villain, Freeze. And as such they receive more development. Fans of the Animated Series will recognize this iteration of Mr. Freeze, which the writers are counting on as this film kind of assumes that you’ve at least seen the Animated Series. Subzero does dive into Freeze’s background in greater detail, but not as an introduction to the character, merely the next chapter. The film may have been developed as a direct-to-video product, but the story is engaging and interesting while wasting no time establishing the major pieces.
The presentation of Subzero is mixed. The voice work is top notch and exactly what I would expect from the voices behind the Animated Series. Kevin Conroy couldn’t turn in a bad performance as the Dark Knight if he tried. Ansara’s performance as Freeze hits the notes that it needs to, by coming across hardened, desperate, and frigid, which is exactly in line with Freeze’s character. So, I have no complaints there. The score was not written by the Animated Series composer Shirley Walker, but rather by Mcuistion, whose music helps set the tone of frigid ambience while also being very memorable.
As much as it hurts to admit this, the animation is probably the most flawed part of the production. Mask of the Phantasm had a larger production budget for animation due to its planned theatrical release and thus the animation there looks more polished than it does in this film. I don’t intend to directly compare them, but for something having been released five years after Phantasm I expected a little more. Subzero also makes use of more computer-generated animation than the prior film, a fact that dates this film a touch when compared to the traditionally animated film that came before. The CGI shots are used moderately, so they don’t make up the entire run time, but it is more frequent than in the prior film.
Subzero was initially slated for release in 1997, but the negative response from Batman & Robin convinced Warner Brothers to push back the release a year and distance it from the then current live- action lineup of Batman films. I can honestly say that this was a very smart move. This film understands Mr. Freeze as a character much better than the Batman & Robin filmcould ever hope to achieve. As a result of this distance, they were able to tell a much more polished and nuanced story and the writing is easily the best part of this movie.
Subzero would mark the second animated Batman feature to be produced in the wake of the Animated Series and the first to be released for home video within the continuity. It is a strong film that is worthy of your time and attention if you are a fan of DC Comics. I’ve even partnered with Amazon to bring you a customized purchase link for Batman: Subzero. This link helps support my reviews at no additional cost to you. I very much recommend checking out the film if you have not done so already!
