Unlike the "Batman Beyond" series I haven't watch a single episode of "The Batman" series but similar to "Batman Beyond" I decided to watch its movie without being an "expert" of the series. I have found all the animated Batman films at least fun to watch at so I never considered like a true risk to purchase "The Batman vs. Dracula" on DVD. It looked really interesting to me and in a way it was going to be the stuff that can make me going after "The Batman" series or just not.

First, the movie looks really great with those wonderful colors and it begins like the special stuff it is with, in the first minutes, the Penguin and the Joker once again free in Gotham. I liked a lot the design of these characters and I do like this Joker a lot. Also, the guy who has been dubbing, in Spanish but not in Spain!, the Joker in the past animated stuff ("Batman: The Animated Series" and in the movie "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker") was working on this one again (I'm not sure in the series but at least he is on this one). I usually dislike watching dubbed films however I usually prefer cartoons in their dubbed version and I don't know the name of that guy who makes the voice of the Joker but he does a terrific job. Anyway, in order to have the character Count Dracula in Gotham the writer Duane Capizzi could have make pretty bizarre theories of how in the hell Dracula's body is in Gotham but actually we have a pretty simple idea and to have Dracula in Gotham delivers pure and absolute fun for us. Basically the Penguin is the one to blame; is really funny his first meeting with Dracula and for obvious reasons the Penguin ended as the servant of the master. I liked a lot the design of Count Dracula, some blood and he is back again, some more blood and he is again the elegant Count. The story of Dracula in Gotham is quite simple but what else could have he done apart of making many citizens vampires? The story works and delivers some terrific moments with the fight of the bats; one this one Batman finds a really major enemy. We have also a love story that is simple and predictable, basically Dracula wants to "change" Bruce Wayne's new love interest for his own and dead girlfriend Carmilla. I saw this one with my cousin and both were like "damn Batman is a really great but to find the cure of vampirism?", he does success but he will need a little more for Dracula. On this one both the Joker and the Penguin delivers the funniest moments. The Penguin has a very unfortunate end, basically nobody remembers being a vampire so nobody will believe the vampire story of the Penguin. Poor Penguin!!!

This movie was more than just a decent introduction to "The Batman". It does have some flaws but also I found it as a terrific 85 minutes Batman movie.

R4 DVD: it does have some extra material; a short featurette about the facts and superstitions behind the vampires. Is narrated by Batman meanwhile he is doing his own research on the subject, is the classic stuff and for example if the superstition is that vampires are damaged by garlic the fact is that if humans eat garlic we secrete a toxin that repels blood sucking mosquitoes. Other extra is the tour to Gotham with interactive menus for 3 places of Gotham (for example if you select the Arkham Asylum and then you select the Penguin you watch a video related to him). Is a really good extra and also there are some previews (including of Season 2 of "The Batman) and a featurette with the dubbing actors. Really good DVD!

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 sat down to watch the 2005 DC animated movie "The Batman vs. Dracula" here in 2021, together with my son as he wanted to watch an animated movie. I had never seen this particular animated movie from writers Duane Capizzi and Michael Jelenic before.

Normally I am not overly keen on the superhero genre, but I do tend to watch the movies when I have the chance. And of course I sat down to watch "The Batman vs. Dracula" as well, as I hadn't already seen it before.

And I must admit that "The Batman vs. Dracula" was definitely the best animated movie in the superhero genre that I have seen thus far. This simply transcended the archetypical formula of it being a superhero that just pounds on one or more villains. How so, as there was beating and brawling in this animated movie as well? Well, because of the storyline.

The storyline concocted by the writers for "The Batman vs. Dracula" was one that definitely appealed to me, as it was a good combination of things. And it was a storyline that had a greater level of maturity to it, aimed at a more mature audience. And also it was a dark and sinister plot actually.

The events that took place in the storyline definitely helped to make "The Batman vs. Dracula" an outstanding and memorable animated movie for me. So on that account then directors definitely delivered something great.

With "The Batman vs. Dracula" being an animated movie, having a good ensemble of voice actors to deliver the dialogue is a must. And they definitely had that for this animated movie. And having Peter Stomare do the voice for Dracula was just brilliant. I will say that the voice performers delivered good performances here.

Now, the art style used in "The Batman vs. Dracula" was something of an acquired taste. The way that the characters were drawn didn't really sit well with me. But it was something I could look beyond given the rather interesting storyline. If they had opted for a more classic art style to present "The Batman vs. Dracula" in, then this would have been a stroke of brilliance.

"The Batman vs. Dracula" is a DC animated movie that is well-worth the time, money and effort. This is without a doubt the best animated superhero movie I had seen, and it was quite a pleasant surprise in terms of entertainment.

My rating of "The Batman vs. Dracula" lands on an eight our of ten stars.