Batman Returns

Batman Returns is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton, based on the DC Comics character Batman. It is a sequel to the 1989 film Batman nd the second installment of Warner Bros. initial Batman film series, with Michael Keaton reprising the role of Bruce Wayne / Batman. The film, produced by Denise Di Novi and Burton, also stars Paul Freeman as the Penguin, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, and Bob Gunton as corrupt police commissioner Gillian B. Loeb. In Batman Returns, Batman must prevent the Penguin from infecting all the children in Gotham City.

Burton originally did not want to direct another Batman film. Warner Bros. developed a script with Sam Hamm which had the Penguin and Catwoman going after hidden treasure. Burton agreed to return after they granted him more creative control and replaced Hamm with Daniel Waters. After a falling out, Waters was removed from the project and Wesley Strick was chosen to do an uncredited rewrite shortly before filming. This included normalizing dialogue, fleshing out the Penguin's motivations and master plan and removing scenes due to budget concerns. Strick continued working as the on-set writer all through filming, an early trailer credited Strick as co-screenwriter with Waters having sole story credit but after a dispute from Hamm he received no credit whatsoever. Annette Bening was originally cast as Catwoman but became pregnant and was replaced with Pfeiffer.

Batman Returns was released on June 16, 1992. It grossed $366.8 million worldwide on a budget of $80 million and received positive reviews. Critics praised its action sequences, performances, Danny Elfman's score, effects, and villains, although its dark tone was criticized. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup, as well as two BAFTA awards.

Plot

In 1957, on Christmas eve, there was a young boy named Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, whose mother was Esther Cobblepot, an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. Oswald's father was Tucker Cobblepot, the district attorney of Gotham City who fought to keep criminals off the streets every day. Oswald was sad to have a good life due to being born in the lap of luxury, however, he was taunted mercilessly for his short stature, weight, way of walking and beak-like nose. Oswald was forced to carry an umbrella by his overprotective parents since Tucker's late father, Oswald's grandfather, died from bronchial pneumonia caused by going out in the rain without an umbrella. Oswald was mercilessly taunted by his school bully Shark and his gang of boys. They took Oswald's umbrella and Oswald pleaded to have it back. Shark even mocked Oswald by calling him a penguin. After insulting Oswald by calling him a penguin, the bullies got an idea where they first threw Oswald's umbrella into a drainage stream into the sewer and then Oswald himself. The rest of the boys were shocked thinking they killed Oswald, however, Shark just smiled announcing that Oswald will be fine since he is a penguin. Oswald and the umbrella floated into Arctic World of the Old Zoo due to buoyancy, where he was discovered by Emperor Penguins.

In 1992, again on Christmas Eve, there was a meeting going on a City Hall where police Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb, Mayor Harvey Dent, police lieutenant Eddie Bullock, and various members of the city council were having dinner. This was not a Christmas dinner party but it was a dinner party to celebrate Bullock's retirement, who was now 67, a mandatory retirement age. Commissioner Loeb made a toast for Bullock while Bullock was depressed about all this.Bullock didn't want to retire, he enjoyed being a cop, he enjoyed protecting people from criminals, such as Batman. After Loeb made his toast with wine, Dent announced to everyone in the room that he was planning on changing the city's retirement policy where Bullock will only retire when he sees fit. This pleased the city council and the grateful Bullock, but not Loeb, who went to his office and took up his glasses. After taking them off, Loeb opened his desk drawer and pulled out a broken music box with a ballerina on it. Loeb then pulled out a needle from from his pocket and began torturing the ballerina on the music box, pretending to torture an actual woman. Finally, Loeb was informed by his shy as well as timid secretary Selina Kyle that it was time to get down to the plaza for the tree lightning ceremony. Loeb then hid the music box back in his drawer, put on his glasses, and left not before being rude to Selina such as by calling her Sandra by mistake and then ordering her to clean up after the city officials in the dining room. Loeb joined the city officials and threatened Dent, warning him that he forced several police officers to sign a petition for a recall, that will happen unless Dent lets Bullock retire. However, Dent, who is arrogant to the point of being overconfident, dismissed Loeb's threat by announcing that he's invulnerable. During the press conference, Bullock was being awarded for reducing Gotham's crime rate during his time as lieutenant.

As Bullock made his speech, about how he wishes to hand world peace in a box wrapped in a huge bow, a huge present box starting arriving. Dent whispered to Bullock that it was a good idea, however, Bullock denied it was his. Suddenly, a group of of clown-like criminals known as the Red Triangle Circus Gang attacked Gotham Plaza. The police intervened only for the Strongman to pick up the police car and throw it to the ground as if it was nothing. Dent rushed over to another police car that was arriving and ordered an officer to contact Batman. The circus gang arrived demanding Loeb. Bullock valiantly defended Loeb by announcing if they want Loeb, they will have to go through him. Loeb then fled the scene while Batman arrived from the Batcave. Batman and Bullock worked together to defeat the circus gang. Bullock blamed Batman for what happened believing his existence inspired people to become criminals while Dent congratulated Batman and told him how the gang was trying to kidnap Loeb while Bullock stared at Batman with contempt. Loeb kept running and running but stopped to rest thinking he finally lost them. However, Loeb didn't look where he was going and fell down an open man hole.

Loeb woke up to where he saw the same gang who tried to abduct him and Oswald, who was now their leader, prompting a shocked Loeb to realize that the rumors about Oswald Cobblepot, the owner of a successful nightclub called Iceberg Lounge, being the leader of a gang, is true. Oswald, calling himself Penguin, demanded Loeb endorse his candidacy for mayor. Loeb at first refused, the Penguin blackmailed him with incriminating evidence of Loeb's past crimes. The first piece of evidence that Loeb had was a a batch of toxic waste that Loeb had the police dump into the sewers. Loeb denied this by pointing that the toxic waste could have came from anywhere. Penguin asked about the bank records that proved Loeb was accepting payoffs from the mob over the years. Loeb announced that he is not admitting to anything, but he would have seen to it that the records were shredded only for Penguin to reveal that he actually taped everything back together. Penguin asked Loeb how the late police commissioner Jack Grorgan was doing. Loeb said Grorgan was well, moved to Jamaica because of some girl. Penguin then it was a coincidence that Grorgan disappeared while investigating corruption in the department and revealed he saw Loeb kill his boss, chop off his body parts, and then flush them in the toilet. Loeb denied that by claiming Jackson quit and he is not a murderer, however, Penguin had Grorgan's human remains to prove it. Penguin told Loeb that he had studied him for a while. Loeb then agreed to help Penguin on condition that Penguin help him out as well, which Penguin accepted.

Loeb then returned to his office, where he found his timid and shy ↵secretary, Selina Kyle, doing a last-minute check-up for his meeting the↵ next day with Bruce Wayne about a charity ball. Selina accidentally ↵revealed that she found out about Loeb accepting bribes from his computer. Loeb, fearing that Selina might let it slip, took off his glasses and pushed her through a window to her death. Loeb's subordinate, Sergeant Arnold Flass, saw what happened while going up to visit Loeb. Loeb, after putting on his glasses, saw Flass and began to panic. Loeb claimed it was an accident, and that he didn't mean to push her out. Flass however declared that Selina jumped. Loeb was confused at first and then went along with it, asking if it was due to boyfriend trouble, however, Flass gravely said that being a police officer can be a very stressful career. Unknown to the two men, Selina was revived in an alleyway due to being licked by several cats. Selina then went home trying to calm down only to find her television left on by her. After the news about the Governor of New Jersey planning to decorate Loeb for bravery, Selina smashed her television, went through a breakdown, and began trashing her apartment. Selina fashioned a black vinyl costume and whip, deciding to call herself Cat-Woman.

The next day, during a speech, where Mayor Dent was promising that the Red Triangle gang would be defeated, councilman Hamilton Hill's baby son Jordan was kidnapped by a Red Triangle Gang member, who fled into the sewer, where he was "attacked" by the Penguin, who then "rescued" Jordan, brought him to the surface, and became a public hero. Loeb witnessed that and demanded that Penguin run for mayor since Dent failed to keep his promise in protecting Gotham. Later on, Loeb met with Bruce at his office, discussing plans for the charity ball to raise funds for the department. Bruce and Loeb were visited by the heavily plastered but "amnesia-suffering" Selina, who displayed a more confident attitude and even impressed Loeb, who vowed to kill her only if she tried to blackmail him. However, Loeb said to Flass, who was shocked that Selina was alive, that Selina's "change" didn't surprise him.

In order to sabotage Bullock, Loeb urged Penguin to coordinate the Red Triangle Gang's attacks in the neighborhood that Bullock's precinct is at. For some reason, Loeb wanted Bullock gone. Penguin was confused as to why Loeb couldn't just get Flass to eliminate Bullock only for Loeb to tell Penguin that it's complicated. As Penguin's goons terrorized Bullock's neighborhood, Batman confronted Penguin after subding his gang members. Meanwhile, Catwoman arrived to the kitchen in City Hall, put chemicals in a microwave, and opened a gas tank to release oxygen knowing that would increase the concentration causing an explosion. She also did this because of kinetic collision theory: when two particles collide at the correct orientation with sufficient enough energy. Concentration has been known to increase the collision frequency and that was what resulted in an explosion. After City Hall is destroyed, Penguin escaped with his helicopter umbrella. Batman went after Cat-Woman, who was climbing a wall to escape. Batman climbed a ladder to the rooftop and fought Cat-Woman. Batman pushed Cat-Woman to the ground and Cat-Woman screamed how he could hit a woman. Batman walked over to help her after apologizing only for Cat-Woman to kick him to the ground. The two continued to fight until Cat-Woman almost fell off the roof until Batman caught her. Catwoman then seduced Batman and stabbed him, resulting in Batman knocking her off a building. Catwoman survived by landing in a dump truck carrying kitty litter.

The next morning, Selina went to Bullock's precinct to deliver some papers from Loeb. Bruce TBA

Cast

• Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman
• Eddie Murphy as Dick Grayson/Robin
• Paul Freeman as Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin
• Bob Gunton as Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb
• Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle/Catwoman
• Martin Sheen as General Jacob Kane
• Billy Dee Williams as Mayor Harvey Dent
• Vincent Schiavelli as The Organ Grinder
• Pat Hingle as Lieutenant Eddie Bullock
• Cristi Conaway as The Ice Princess
• Anna Katarina as The Poodle Lady
• Paul Reubens as Tucker Cobblepot
• Diane Salinger as Esther Cobblepot
• Andrew Bynarski as Sergeant Arnold Flass