Batman Returns

Batman Returns is a 1992 feature film directed and produced by Tim Burton and written by Daniel Waters, and sequel to the 1989 Tim Burton film Batman. It stars Michael Keaton reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman, a superhero vigilante fighting crime in his home of Gotham City. One Christmas season, the city is suddenly and unexpectedly plagued with a new rise in crime headed by the vile Penguin, aided by the mysterious Catwoman and the corrupt Max Schreck.

Plot Synopsis
The film opens on the mansion of the wealthy Cobblepot couple during Christmastime. Esther Cobblepot gives birth, but to a deformed child. The Cobblepots regarded their child as a monster, and locked the child in a cage until finally, on Christmas Eve, the Cobblepots took the child to a park and threw the child's bassinet into the river to be swept away and flushed down into the sewers. The sewer exit finally leads to underneath the Gotham Zoo's penguin exhibit, where the infant is found by a flock of penguins.

Thirty three years later, it is revealed that the child was raised by the penguins and lived in the sewer, and was now existing as a sort of crypid beast to the inhabitants of Gotham City. As the Mayor and his assistants light the in Gotham Square, businessman Max Shreck proposes his ideas for a new power plant to his board of directors, while verbally abusing his clumsy secretary Selenia Kyle. He goes down to join in the tree lighting ceremony, only for the Penguin to send in a crime syndicate known as the Red Triangle Circus gang to cause anarchy. Batman is summoned, and Bruce Wayne suits up and rides out.

Batman arrives and fights off the gang. However, Shreck is whisked to the sewer, where he is met by the Penguin and the Red Triangle Circus Gang. The Penguin proceeds to request Shreck help reintroduce him into society. Shreck refuses at first, but the Penguin blackmails him with knowledge of Shreck's criminal actions.

Shreck returns to his office to find Selina Kyle discovering the secret to his proposed power plant: that it will suck energy away from the city instead of provide it, raising costs and putting the city under Shreck's control. Shreck, in turn, pushes Selina out of a window to kill and silence her. Selina, however, survives, but finally snaps. she returns to her apartment and destroys the remains of her past self, swearing justice and revenge on Shreck by becoming the violent criminal vigilante Catwoman.

The Penguin finally makes his presence known by "saving" the Mayor's baby in a staged kidnapping attempt, and requests access to the Hall of Records to find out who his birth parents are. However, Bruce Wayne suspects that the Penguin is up to no good.

Meanwhile, Bruce meets Selina, and the two feel an immediate attraction to each other.

Shreck then convinces the Penguin to use his gang to wreck havoc across the city, discrediting the Mayor and running for mayor himself. Penguin agrees, but all of his gang's violence is put to an end by Batman's intervention. During one attempt, the Penguin finally comes face-to-face with Batman, and the two realize that the other is bigger threat than previously thought. During this time, Catwoman attacks and destroys one of Shreck's department stores, causing Batman to go after her. The two fight, with Batman noting the hanging above them. He notes that mistletoe can be deadly if eaten, to which Catwoman responds that a kiss can be deadlier. They finish the fight and Catwoman loses, though she gets away.

Catwoman, knowing of Penguin's criminal actions and wanting revenge on Batman, suggests they team up to defame and discredit Batman so that the Mayor will not be able to rely on him anymore. The Penguin challenges the Mayor to relight the Christmas Tree, but kidnaps the "Ice Princess" model who was set to flip the switch. As Batman searches for her, the Penguin kills her and makes it look as if Batman did it. Meanwhile, the Circus Gang hack into the Batmobile, putting it under the Penguin's control. As Batman flees from the scene of the crime, the Penguin forces his Batmobile to wreck havoc across the city. Batman fixes the issue and escapes, recording some of Penguin's taunts about the people of Gotham. However, the Penguin meets with Catwoman and romantically advances on her. When she denies him, he betrays and tries to kill her, though both escape.

The next day, Batman manages to sabotage one of Penguin's mayoral campaign speeches by playing the villain's incriminating thoughts on the cityfolk over the loudspeakers. With his public image now destroyed, the Penguin fires on the citizens and flees to his lair in the sewers. He then instructs his gang to engage in their new mission that he planned from the beginning: kidnap all the first born male sons of Gotham and bring them back to the sewer for him to kill, exacting his revenge for his abandonment as a child.

At one of Shreck's Christmas balls, Bruce and Selina meet and end up under mistletoe, where Selina notes that it can be deadly if eaten, and Bruce responds that a kiss can be deadlier. Realizing each others' secret identities, the two attempt to leave, but the Penguin arrives to kidnap Shreck's son. Shreck offers himself in his son's place, and the Penguin agrees and takes him instead.

Bruce changes to Batman, and stops all of the Circus Gang's kidnappings. Enraged, the Penguin attempts one last attack, where weaponized penguins will attack Gotham with missiles and destroy the city. Batman manages to reach the sewers and jam the signal controlling the penguins, causing them to turn back. Batman confronts the Penguin, and the ensuing fight throws the Penguin into the sewer's toxic water. Shreck is confronted by Catwoman, who intends to kill him. Batman tries to talk her out of it, but she denies him. She then electrocutes both herself and Shreck with a live wire and a taser. Batman finds Shreck's remains, but is unable to find Selina's. The Penguin tries to kill Batman again, but succumbs to his injuries and the toxic water and dies.

Following the fight, Bruce is being driven home by his butler Alfred when he thinks he sees Catwoman's silhouette. However, he only finds her cat, whom he adopts. Alfred wishes his master a Merry Christmas right before the Bat-Signal flashes in the sky, and a still-alive Catwoman looks on.

Cast

 * as Bruce Wayne/Batman: The protector of Gotham City and the Caped Crusader. Bruce struggles with his dual identity as a crime fighter, becoming romantically involved with Selina Kyle, alias Catwoman. Keaton earned $11 million for reprising his role as the Caped Crusader as director Tim Burton thought that Keaton deserved it.
 * as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin: A psychopathic, deformed man born as Oswald Cobblepot who was abandoned by his parents when he was a baby. Raised by penguins of an abandoned zoo, he returns for revenge thirty-three years later as leader of the Red Triangle Circus Gang after being cheated by businessman Max Shreck.
 * as Selina Kyle/Catwoman: A normal woman who becomes a criminal after being almost killed by her boss Max Shreck, who later decides to try everything to kill her. She is held as a femme fatale in the most of the film.
 * as Max Shreck: A wealthy businessman and industrialist known as "The Santa Claus of Gotham". He is obsessed with building a power chemical plant in Gotham City, but when both Bruce Wayne and the Mayor of Gotham City deny his idea, he decides to help Oswald Cobblepot to become the new mayor of Gotham City for his plans. Apart from being the father of Chip Shreck and presumably killing his wife to gain her money, Shreck is also the former employer of Selina Kyle, who wants to kill him following his attempt to kill her.
 * as Alfred Pennyworth: The Wayne family's butler and Batman's accomplice, who has helped and raised him since his parents' death. Along with Pat Hingle, Gough was one of the few actors who appeared in all four films of the initial Batman film series.
 * as Commissioner James Gordon: Commissioner of the Police Department of Gotham City. Along with Michael Gough, Hingle was one of the few actors who appeared in all four films of the initial Batman film series.
 * as The Mayor: The unnamed mayor of Gotham City. He doesn't like Max Shreck's idea to build a nuclear power plant in Gotham City. His son is later kidnapped by the Red Triangle Circus Gang, only to be "saved" by the Penguin.
 * Vincent Schiavelli as The Organ Grinder: A member of the Red Triangle Circus Gang and the Penguin's right-hand man. He carries an organ grinder as his main weapon. He survives all three attacks on Gotham City, but is captured and presumably interrogated by Batman during the Penguin's final attempt to take over Gotham City.
 * Andrew Bryniarski as Charles "Chip" Shreck: Son of Max Shreck and his late wife. Apart from being the heir of Max's business, he is brave enough to do everything he can to defend his father, such as ordering him to flee as he helps other Gotham City residents to retain members of the Red Triangle Circus Gang.
 * Cristi Conaway as The Ice Princess: A Christmas-themed beauty queen and model of Gotham City.

Production
After the success of Batman, Warner Bros. was hoping for a sequel to start filming in May 1990 at Pinewood Studios. They spent $250,000 storing the sets from the first film. Tim Burton originally did not want to direct another film in the franchise. "I will return if the sequel offers something new and exciting", he said in 1989. "Otherwise it's a most-dumbfounded idea." Burton decided to direct Edward Scissorhands for 20th Century Fox. Meanwhile, Sam Hamm from the previous film delivered the first two drafts of the script, while Bob Kane was brought back as a creative consultant. Hamm's script had the Penguin and Catwoman going after hidden treasure.

Burton was impressed with Daniel Waters' work on Heathers; Burton originally brought Waters aboard on a sequel to Beetlejuice. Warner Bros. then granted Burton a large amount of creative control. Denise Di Novi and Burton became the film's producers. The first film's producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber became executive producers, joining Benjamin Melniker and Michael E. Uslan. Dissatisfied with the Hamm script, Burton commissioned a rewrite from Waters. Waters "came up with a social satire that had an evil mogul backing a bid for the Mayor's office by the Penguin", Waters reported. "I wanted to show that the true villains of our world don't necessarily wear costumes." The subplot of The Penguin running for Mayor came from the 1960s TV series episodes "Hizzoner the Penguin" and "Dizzoner the Penguin". Waters wrote a total of five drafts.

On the characterization of Catwoman, Waters explained "Sam Hamm went back to the way comic books in general treat women, like fetishy sexual fantasy. I wanted to start off just at the lowest point in society, a very beaten down secretary." Harvey Dent appeared in early drafts of the script, but was deleted. His disfiguring appearance of Two-Face would have appeared in the climax when Catwoman kisses him with a taser to the face, which was replaced with Max Shreck. Waters quoted, "Sam Hamm definitely planned that. I flirted with it, having Harvey start to come back and have one scene of him where he flips a coin and it's the good side of the coin, deciding not to do anything, so you had to wait for the next movie." In early scripts Max Shreck was the "golden boy" of the Cobblepot family, whereas The Penguin was the deformed outsider. It turned out that Shreck would be the Penguin's long-lost brother. Max Shreck was also a reference to actor Max Schreck, known for his role as Count Orlok in Nosferatu.

Release
Batman Returns was released in America on June 19, 1992, earning $45.69 million in 2,644 theaters on its opening weekend. This was the highest opening weekend in 1992 and the highest opening weekend of any film up to that point. The film went on to gross $162.83 million in North America, and $104 million in foreign countries, coming to a worldwide total of $266.83 million. Batman Returns was the third highest-grossing film in America of 1992, and sixth highest in worldwide totals.

Batman Returns: Original Motion Picture Score
Released by Warner Brothers Entertainment in 1992, the soundtrack contained two disks and a total of 17tracks consisting of the original score composed by Danny Elfman and songs used in promotional material for the film.


 * 1) "Birth of a Penguin/Main Title" – 5:38
 * 2) "Penguin Spies"* – 1:09
 * 3) "Shadow of Doom*/Clown Attack*/Introducing the Bat**" – 5:01
 * 4) "Intro*/The Zoo**/The Lair" – 6:00
 * 5) "Caught in the Act*/Uh-Oh Max*" – 1:58
 * 6) "Kitty Party*/Selina Transforms**" – 5:30
 * 7) "Penguin's Grand Deed"* – 1:50
 * 8) "The List Begins"* – 0:45
 * 9) "The Cemetery" – 2:56
 * 10) "Catwoman Saves Joan*/The New Woman*" – 2:03
 * 11) "Penguin's Surprise" – 1:43
 * 12) "Bad, Bad Dog**/Batman vs. Circus/Selina's Shopping Spree**" – 5:42
 * 13) "Cat Chase"** – 2:12
 * 14) "Candidate Cobblepot"* – 0:58
 * 15) "The Plan*/Kidnapping*" – 2:32)
 * 16) "Sore Spots/Batman's Closet*" – 3:22
 * 17) "The Plot Unfolds"* – 1:15
 * 18) "Roof Top Encounters"** – 4:49
 * 19) "Batman's Wild Ride"** – 4:19
 * 20) "Fall from Grace"** – 4:17
 * 21) "Revealed*/Party Crasher*" – 3:18
 * 22) "Umbrella Source/The Children's Hour/War**" – 7:53
 * 23) "Final Confrontation**/Finale" – 9:15
 * 24) "A Shadow of Doubt**/End Credits**" – 6:15
 * 25) "Face to Face" by  – 4:18
 * 26) "Super Freak" – 3:23

Reception
Batman Returns was criticized by some for being too dark and violent, but nonetheless received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 81% based on 72 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Director Tim Burton's dark, brooding atmosphere, Michael Keaton's work as the tormented hero, and the flawless casting of Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Christopher Walken make the sequel better than the first." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

A "parental backlash" criticized Batman Returns with violence and sexual references that were inappropriate for children despite being rated PG-13. McDonald's shut down their Happy Meal promotion for the film. Burton responded, "I like Batman Returns better than the first one. There was this big backlash that it was too dark, but I found this movie much less dark."

Trivia

 * Batman Returns was listed on Time magazine's 11 Christmas Movies You Didn't Know Were Christmas Movies (along with films like Die Hard, Gremlins, and Edward Scissorhands, explaining how many audiences miss the heavy ties to Christmas under the film's dark and brooding mood.
 * Christmas actually is involved in several major plot points in the film, such as the lighting of the Christmas Tree, the Penguin's challenge, and the significance of the mistletoe in Batman and Catwon's relationship.