Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero

That SUB-ZERO should come on the HEELS of BATMAN & ROBIN with George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell and Arnold Schwarzenegger is a blasphemy. This movie should have been released first to give Joel Schumacher an idea of how his film should have been. SUB-ZERO uses much the same plot as B&R, but with way better results. SUB-ZERO also does it without relying on heavy camp humor as the live-action film did. Like BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM, SUB-ZERO can stand alongside those Max Fleischer SUPERMAN cartoons from the Forties.

This isn't the live action Batman, but much like Mask of the Phantasm, is an amazing animated Batman! So amazing in fact, that they should've made it Batman and Robin! It is so much what the last Batmovie Batman and Robin should have been. Totally amazing.

Mr. Freeze's wife needs an organ transplant and Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, is the only acceptable blood match. So Freeze kidnaps her while she's on a date with Dick Grayson, aka Robin. Batman and Robin race against time to rescue Barbara before it's too late. Very good animated movie that's miles better than Joel Schumacher's craptacular movie that also featured Mr. Freeze and Batgirl, released not long before this. What might surprise some is that Batman is largely absent from the first half of this. It still works, though, due to the great characterizations and writing. Although this is nowhere near as strong as the award-winning "Heart of Ice" episode of Batman: The Animated Series. That episode was the best Mr. Freeze story ever told in any form of media. This is still a very enjoyable movie, hampered slightly by some sloppy animation. The story does feel like it could have been a two-part episode of the TV series but since the series was excellent I fail to see how that's a negative.

For me, "SubZero" is mostly about context. This is a Mr. Freeze story by the people behind "Batman: TAS", so you know it's top-shelf. And, coming a year after "Batman and Robin" was like a salve for Schwarzenegger's portrayal. Context also applies to the CGI use. Back in '98, it looked pretty good (at the very least, expensive). Despite its aging, it was good for the time.

The only real complaint I have is the the abbreviated running time. Shorter even than "Mask of the Phantasm", the clipped pacing doesn't allow for much in the way of character development. But the animation is strong, and so is the action; particularly the submarine opening and Dick's chase with Freeze. There's great imagery in this movie and I love that Freeze has polar bear henchmen. It's a little touch, but man, does it work.

7/10

I have nothing but respect for the 1990's Batman cartoon series. It's dark, action packed, the animation is superb and the storylines very interesting indeed.

My favourite Batman villain would probably be the Joker but in the cartoon series I think Mr Freeze is probably the best.

There have been Batman cartoon series before this in the 60's and 70's. Mr Freeze did make appearances in both series but he was portrayed as an evil villain. In actual fact, Mr Freeze is not an evil villain. He has a good heart deep down and this movie portrays that wonderfully. Rather than making him into some sinister villain who wishes to freeze everything in sight the producers portrayed him as a tragic man who became a villain through little fault of his own. This is what makes this a good cartoon-it's very thought provoking.

Besides all that, it's an action packed movie with great action scenes in it. Check it out.