'Batman and Harley Quinn' Is Batty

Animated in the same style as Batman: The Animated Series.  Helmed by Sam Liu, the director behind some of the best superhero animated films ever made, like All-Star Superman, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Hulk Vs., Justice League: Gods and Monsters, and the recent Teen Titans: The Judas Contract.  Bruce Timm, mastermind of the beloved “Timmverse”, doing the story.  Legendary Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy returning to his iconic role.  As well as Loren Lester as Nightwing.  And the adorable Melissa Rauch voicing Harley Quinn – which is seemingly perfect, especially if you’re familiar with her work as Bernadette in The Big Bang Theory.

These are the cool elements at play in the latest DC Universe Animated Original Movie Batman and Harley Quinn.  Thus, on paper, it has the potential of being great.  Unfortunately, it’s not.  Oh, it’s entertaining, I’ll give it that.  But it isn’t the even, delightful, well-crafted animated film I thought it could be.  In fact, I understand if others would think of it as a bad movie.

The plot involves Floronic Man and Poison Ivy working together to develop and spread a chemical that will transform everyone on Earth into plant hybrids.  In need to find them before they can execute their scheme, Batman and Nightwing seek the help of Harley Quinn (since she’s Poison Ivy’s BFF).  It should be a pretty straightforward narrative, but it goes to some crazy places.

In several ways, the script is quite awkward.  There are some clash of tones, and some out-of-character characterizations.  The story doesn’t make sense a couple of times and has a ton of coincidences.  And it makes some weird choices for humor.

It does make an attempt to do a character study on Harley Quinn.  But its thoughtfulness is more or less off-set by the cheap sexualisation of the character.  It’s not that Harley Quinn can’t be sexy.  There’s Margot Robbie after all.  But this movie isn’t concerned with tackling whatever sexual nuances the character has, but by just flaunting her butt and boobs.  And that’s awfully sleazy and gratuitous.

But if one gets over the fact that this isn’t going to be the next Justice League: Gods and Monsters or Batman: Under the Red Hood, the flaws can be momentarily pushed aside that it can get fun, too.  And the positives are noticed.

For starters, it’s immaculately animated, and there’s also a bit of nostalgic charm to be had from the animation style.

Also, there’s amusement and even laughs to be had from its bizarre moments – some of which are whimsical, some of which are cringy.  Here are the most notable ones on top of my head (SPOILERS):

• It has a Pink Panther-esque opening credits sequence.
• A tied-up Nightwing gets aroused when Harley Quinn strips to her underwear in front of him. Then the two have some, er, “naughty time” before Batman finds them.
• Harley repeatedly farts and stinks up the Batmobile.
• The trio visits a tavern for Batman villains’ henchmen.  Harley Quinn shakes her booty during most of their time there.

• There are musical numbers!  First is from Two-Face’s twin henchmen.  This is followed by Harley singing “Hanging on the Telephone” by the Nerves.  The performance is apparently so catchy that it has even compelled Batman to tap his finger on the bar table.  Later, Nightwing even begins dancing with a random chick.
• There’s a point where Harley made an exasperated Batman sigh, “God help us.”
• Harley learns that Batman has – gasp! – no bug spray in his utility belt.
• After failing to convince Poison Ivy to stop her plans, Harley opts to use the “nuclear option”, that is, making a crying, sad face at Ivy.  It works.
• Right from the start, it’s foreshadowed that Swamp Thing is going to make an appearance somewhere in the movie.  Indeed, he does, in all his plant god splendor.  But it’s hilariously pointless.  As Harley describes it, it’s “a bigass bucket of nothin’.”
• Batman and Nightwing sandwich Harley with kisses.

In the end, I admit that I really enjoyed Batman and Harley Quinn.  But I’m not sure in what way – whether due to its own overall merits or because it’s just so bad, that it’s good.  It’s hard to definitively determine with all its insanity.

But maybe that’s simply the intention.  After all, it’s a Batman and Harley Quinn movie.  Maybe the whole point was to be batty.