Particularly when contrasted against the gloomier incarnations of the character via Christopher Nolan‘s films, it’s accurate to say that Tim Burton‘s "Batman" movies are decidedly quirkier, more lighthearted affairs. But at the time, those films were widely seen as very risky alterations to a franchise that had enormous licensing agreements. So Burton’s movies could not get too dark, should they diminish the chances of pushing various toys, underwear and other items emblazoned with the Bat-signal onto children. According to Burton, he wasn’t invited back to Gotham after "Batman Returns" because he couldn’t be trusted with four-quadrant blockbusters.
”I think I upset McDonalds," Burton told Yahoo! about why he didn’t do a third Batman movie. "[They asked] ‘What’s that black stuff coming out of the Penguin’s mouth. We can’t sell Happy Meals with that!’ It was a weird reaction to ‘Batman Returns,’ because half the people thought it was lighter than the first one, and half the people thought it was darker. I think the studio just thought it was too weird —they wanted to go with something more child- or family- friendly. In other words, they didn’t want me to do another one.”
And at least initially, Warner Bros.’ desire to embrace a bigger audience worked. 1995’s "Batman Forever" had a the biggest opening weekend in history at that point, outgrossing "Batman Returns," and was considered a big success even if critics didn’t get on board. But the fans weren’t happy with the result, "Batman & Robin" followed in 1998, and was quite simply a disaster.
But it’s had to imagine that there is alternate, different future where Batman movies are more…Burton-esque. For the moment, grim faced seriousness is in vogue for the genre, but things change, and this era will end too.
To this day, Batman Returns might be my favorite Batman movie. I though the screenplay was original and the various villain were all really great. Plus, I tough it had poetry in it, which you don\’t see often in the genre.
I can\’t stand Batman Returns. It has no internal logic, it\’s lazy, it\’s messy, it dwells far too much on the Penguin, the whole Max Schreck subplot is a waste of time, and the Catwoman parts are the only parts that work. Not to mention that Batman doesn\’t act like Batman at all. I know many people think it\’s a great movie, more power to them, but it is a terrible Batman film.
The truth is; Burton had Batman down to a T. No different to what Bob Kane had envisioned. As dark and perfectly gothic as Batman Returns was, the only thing that has ever come close to it is Mask of the Phantasm… And that was a cartoon!
Nolan\’s Batman movies were great, albeit with too much of an industrial feel to them. Burton was a perfect choice to helm the Batman movies, and Heath Ledgers portrayal of the joker was the quintessential embodiment of the clown prince of gotham.
Question is, should they have left Batman in Dawn of Justice in more capable hands?
Or it could be they just thought it sucked, which was my verdict.
Joel Schumacher\’s "Batman Forever" was quite mediocre and over the top also. Not to mention it had a lot of references to the campy tv show of the 60s.