If you're a Batman fan, such as myself, it would be a crime to miss the latest animated installment in the franchise, Batman: Under the Red Hood, which is out on DVD and Blu ray today.  Under the Red Hood is not your typical animated Batman movie, it's more violent than the original animated series, it's got a little bit of profanity in it, more action, and more drama.  It's rated PG-13 for a reason. Batman: Under the Red Hood starts off with Batman racing through icy terrain trying to get to Robin who is being held captive by the Joker in an old warehouse in the middle of nowhere and being tortuously beaten with a crowbar.  After the Joker beats Robin within an inch of his life, he leaves the warehouse only to activate explosives.  The countdown on the bomb reads ten seconds and Batman can't get there in time.  The warehouse explodes killing Robin, and leaving Batman questioning himself. The story picks up years later with a new villain taking over Gotham and the local factions of crime lords, calling himself the Red Hood.  A little back story on the "Red Hood", it was the name the Joker was calling himself before he became the Joker and fell into the pit of acid which permanently scarred his face.  This new "Red Hood" has a few run-ins with Batman and tells the Caped Crusader that he's cleaning up Gotham, the proper way.  He's a gritty, no-nonsense villain who doesn't care about life or limb as long as the job gets done.  It becomes a conflict of morals when Batman is faced with either killing the Joker or being killed himself.  He ultimately decides that after all the Joker has put him through, after all the people the Joker has killed and hurt, Bruce Wayne/Batman still can't bring himself to kill the one guy no one would miss. Under the Red Hood is a fantastic story because it brings to light the ethical decisions that Batman faces on an everyday basis, but when the gun is put into Batman's hand and he's told to pull the trigger or be killed, it's the choice he makes that ultimately makes Batman.  The movie's running time is a short one at only 76 minutes, but it never slows and it never gets caught up in dialogue.  It's action packed and well done.  Warner Bros. own animation studios handled all the artwork and it fit in well with the artwork from the Batman: Original Animated Series which ran in the 90's. The only problem I had with the movie, and it's an opinionated problem, was the voices of Batman/Bruce Wayne and the Joker.  In the original animated series Kevin Conroy voiced Bruce Wayne/Batman and he became synonymous with the character, appearing in animated movies, video games, and nearly ten years of the series.  He's a fantastic voice actor and I'm wondering why Warner Bros. didn't get him to reprise his role as Batman for this movie.  Instead, Bruce Greenwood (The Core, Star Trek) got the part for the voice, and while he's ok in it, it's just not the same as Conroy.   It's the same thing with the Joker, in the original animated series Mark Hamill (Star Wars) voiced the Joker and has is simply fantastic with the voice.  He's so good that every time I hear someone else voice the Joker, I cringe.  Not because it's bad but because it's not Hamill, he's that good.  Jensen Ackles (Smallville, My Bloody Valentine) lends his voice as the Joker this go around and he's pretty good, it's an older Joker voice which suits the film well.  But like I said, it's not Hamill.  The real surprise voice actor in the entire film is Neil Patrick Harris' voice as Night Wing, who is only in the film for a brief period.  It was still odd to hear Doogie Houser's voice as Night Wing though. If you're looking for animated Batman movie on the levels of The Dark Knight, I would highly recommend the viewing of Batman: Under the Red Hood.  While it's not going to make you stand up and say "wow!", it will however make you appreciate the Gotham universe's characters.

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