ridiculous rating

Disappointment for a huge fan!

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

And this is not anything to do with not liking Batman. I happen to love Batman, right from the 60s series(camp but compulsively colourful fun) to the animated DC movies with Batman:The Animated Series being the real jewel in the crown. This said, I happen to not be a fan of the The Batman show. It is not a terrible show, it has its good moments, but I do prefer more darkness and Gothic pathos when it comes to Batman and there are elements that take some getting used to. I happen to think The Batman vs. Dracula is much better. It is not perfect, Joker's character design like the show does take a lot of getting used to, in all honesty I never really warmed to it, and Peter Stormare while voicing Dracula with just the right smooth menace has an accent that is very inconsistent. However, the animation is really great, much smoother than the show's and has much more atmosphere. There is also a haunting music score, smart intelligent writing that has a much mature tone than the show and some exciting action sequences, though there perhaps could have been more. The story is very dark and compelling, with some both intense and moving moments and perfectly paced. I would have liked to have seen the Vampyric lore element further explored but that wasn't enough to harm the story. The characters are great, Batman is much darker and more brooding, Penguin as always is great fun, he was a bright spot of the show always, and Joker is more menacing and twisted than ever before. Dracula in design may be more Ras Al'Ghul than Dracula, but is still a more than worthy adversary to Batman. The voice acting is very good too, Rino Romano sounds more comfortable and brooding, Tara Strong is a likable Vicki Vale. Tom Kenny voices Penguin with great enthusiasm without ever overdoing it while Kevin Michael Richardson's voice for Joker is in keeping with the character's more twisted personality here, it didn't work in the show for me because that psyche wasn't really explored. All in all, a very good movie and much better than The Batman show. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I was pretty wary of this film due to the title alone. However, I read enough positive reviews by fans that I thought I'd check it out.I was right to be wary. This film, while as effective at some horror elements as it'll ever be in a kid-friendly animated movie, had a hokey concept. Dracula is actually buried in Gotham City. The Batman is likened to Dracula. The Penguin is Dracula's new Renfield.It's like fanfic; it may sound kinda cool at first, but when you see it played out, you discover it really isn't. Crossing Batman with a literary character is a ridiculous idea to begin with - not to mention a supernatural character like Dracula. Those characters in Batman's rogues gallery who are fantastical have some science behind how they are what they are. They try that approach here, but are inconsistent and the execution fails.Serious Batman fans should probably stay away. But if you don't really care about how good a movie is and just want some light entertainment, you might enjoy this. Either way, it certainly isn't among the best Batman animated films.

This review comes from a fan of Gothic vampire stories like Dracula, and someone who has sporadically enjoyed Batman in comic books but never cared about the film series - including Dark Knight. Batman VS Dracula: The Animated movie (2005) is refreshingly old-fashioned and successfully atmospheric story where Dracula has his Gothic style, including preference for eeriely beautiful graveyards. This is not some trashy upstart like vampires from cooler-than-thou garbage Blade - and to put it bluntly, the word "cool" makes me think sleazy bully who tortures fat nerds and sleeps in his own filth when drunk. One typical mistake - Dracula burns in sunlight, unnecessary twist added by movie makers in 1922 - is used in the film, but that does not affect the atmosphere, of course. Animated or not, this is one of the best vampire films of the decade, which has been full of trash.

While not at the level of its predecessors, this is a worthwhile film that reminds viewers what they enjoy about Batman. This incarnation of Bruce Wayne shows him in his earliest years as the Dark Knight. Something particularly laudable about the film is how it accurately portrays Bruce's expected difficulty in defeating Dracula given his lack of experience. Fans of the comics may recognize the concept from the early 1990's story where Batman becomes a vampire. While not a representation of the comic (nor is it intended to be), the film still gives fans a depiction of a dream fans have had given the dark nature of both characters. Who hasn't sometime pondered what it would be like for Batman to fight vampires? The animation is cell-shaded which gives it a much clearer look. The darker areas appear darker than they usually would. This is one way that The Batman vs. Dracula is better than its famous precursor Return of the Joker. The animation is more fluid. As well as appearing darker, the storyline is much darker than "The Batman" cartoon show is. I haven't seen all of the series (only a few episodes from seasons one and two) but I found the series to be very childish and repetitive. It lacked a darkness that would entice an older audience. That's why this film really surprised me. It has blood (although it isn't red), and Batman actually has difficulty defeating Dracula. Batman must work like a detective to defeat Dracula and has to capture a vampired Joker to use for this purpose. As for vampire lore, the film is a bit lacking. It depicts Dracula as married to Carmilla from the La Fanu story. It also violates vampire lore in stipulating that a vampire can be resurrected after it is killed via exposure to sunlight. However, it does follow the plot of several vampire movies. Dracula visits Bruce Wayne's manor for a party and gives him his name backwards, as Dracula does to other protagonists in several film adaptations. Also Dracula's fixation with Vicki Vale is similar to Stoker's Dracula's fixation with Mina Harker. I was very surprised and pleased with this homage to previous work. However, the film does make a few inconsistencies, but they're ultimately inconsequential. The only gripe I have is the screen play. There are several immature lines and situations, from the joker belching after drinking blood from the blood bank to Vicki Vale stating that she likes her meat cooked. The intensity of each situation with such dialog is ruined, but the corny speech is designed to appeal to the child audience. I found this film to be caught between its goal of entertaining children and its desire to appeal to an adult audience. The scene in the blood bank is very frightening, too much so for children. however, the Joker's belch when drinking blood is perfect for children's humour. So, while the film isn't great, it's far better than you would expect, and it's worth a viewing.