DC Showcase: Jonah Hex

It is hard to believe that the down and dirty wild west adventure envisioned in this 12 minute feature manages to be more gritty, more realistic and more focused than the flop that was the Jonah Hex live action production back in June 2010.

The Jonah Hex animated short follows the titular badass bounty hunter on the trail of a wanted man named "Red". Unknown to Hex, Red had stumbled into a seedy saloon, drunk, and ended up on the wrong side of a gun, courtesy of one Madame Lorraine. You see, Lorraine earns a little extra cash on the side by seducing and murdering rich drunks. Hex tracks his quarry to that Saloon and receives a tipoff from a bar girl about Madame Lorraine knowing the whereabouts of Red. In order to to get that information, Hex would need some "private time" with Lorraine. But "private time" is when this black widow and her armed thugs strike.

If the previous DC Showcase animated short, The Spectre, was a tribute to 1970s film noir and supernatural thrillers, Jonah Hex pays homage to all those old gritty Clint Eastwood westerns about a badass stranger with no name riding into town seeking out a quarry. More of a character focused piece than a plot driven narrative, the short story puts Hex in a variety of situations that lends insight into his true personality under that deformed face of his. He is cold, merciless and brutal, not to mention a expert gunslinger, but he does have a conscience.

Action is a little sparse, but when it comes, it comes like a charging steed. Directed once again by Joaquim Dos Santos, the action is visceral and actually more violent than what one might expect. The entire set up is also a lot more "adult" than the usual animated film, featuring some sexual tension, hot ladies, and a good deal of bloodletting. This is definitely not your grandpa's Cowboy Cartoon.

The animation is fluid and the artwork intricately beautiful featuring an orange-ish sun drenched "Washed out" look to enhance the "old west" feel. Technically, this short film is awesome which is a pity that a more epic story did not accompany the great animation. For pity sake Warner, let Mr Dos Santos do a full length animated feature. Here is a bright talent just waiting to be tapped. If he can produce this kind of excellent work on short films, imagine how great a full length movie would be.

Anyway, once again this here is a story that both fans of animation and viewers who do not usually watch animation would enjoy. Featuring an all star cast headed by Tomas Jane (The Punisher) and Linda Hamilton (yes, its Sarah Connor), here is one show that has all the potential to be 100% better than its live action counterpart. Its only shortcoming would be that the story serves only as a sort of "a day in the life of...." tale as opposed to an origin story or some big pivotal event. Therefore, it is recommended for the viewer to have some basic knowledge of the Jonah Hex character.

Do not miss it. Watch "DC Showcase: Jonah Hex" now in the 2 disc DVD or blu-ray edition of "Batman: Under the Red Hood" or on the "DC Showcase animated shorts" DVD and blu ray slated for November 2010 release.

I do not know anything about Jonah Hex at all, so this was more like a cowboy animated short film to me, and I have to say, it was really great! First off, the voice of Jonah Hex, dayum! Straight away makes him very intriguing and it's very appropriate for the character and his overall look. The way the dialogue is set up and the way the character of Jonah Hex is characterized is done brilliantly I feel. And more on the dialogue, when Hex does speak, it's always really wow and badass and awesome. The action was pretty good too and the characters other than Hex were just as well done as Hex himself. I give it a 10 because I had a really good time and this is a very memorable short for me. I also feel like this should get it's own short animated series (like 13 or so episodes) because I feel like there's a lot that can be done here.

The one of the best showcase Dc ever had. A very nice plot with a great ending with a great character. Loved it.

Jonah Hex has never been on my radar, when the live action film appeared I didn't even know it was DC until I watched it and alike most viewers I was far from impressed.

These little DC Showcase shorts are great for introducing people to new characters/ones they aren't familiar with and this is a great concept.

This runs for slightly over ten minutes and manages to tell a story. It's about Jonah rolling into town seeking his bounty but upon learning he's dead he sets about getting revenge on the brothel madam responsible.

This was enjoyable, this was on another level than the live action movie.

The creators of this need to be handed a budget and allowed to make a feature length movie because based on this it could be really good.

The Good:

Well written

Beautifully animated

Original plot

Great voice cast

The Bad:

Still not keen on the character

Things I Learnt From This Short:

Michael Rooker needs to do more voice work

i liked the raw,unpolished gritty feel of this animated short and i thought the voice acting was pitch perfect.each voice suited their character to a tee.the sound people did a great job bring every little sound to life.if your not familiar with the title character,this short gives you bit of an idea of what kind of person he is,but it doesn't tell his origin story.speaking of the story,i thought that particular aspect was a bit mundane,ordinary.the story could have had a bit more zip in my opinion.still it wasn't horrible,by any means.nor was it boring.i just think they could have done a bit more with it.when i first watched the short,the way it ended bothered me.i thought it was way too abrupt,and there should have been an extra scene or two to tie things up better.but then thinking back on it,i realize,the way it ended was the perfect ending,and it didn't need anything else.all in all,worth watching.this animated short is included as a bonus with the animated film Batman: Under The Red Hood.for me,DC Showcase: Jonah Hex is a 6/10