by In retrospect, the 1990’s were a creative era in media and entertainment, that balanced an old-school approach to storytelling with new trends and technologies. Countless classics resulted, that stand in the tradition of 80’s exaggeration but still found a new tone. One of the best examples of this development is arguably the greatest animated show, or cartoon, of all time: Batman: The Animated Series. Packed with so many legendary moments it’s impossible to list them all, a hand-drawn show aimed at kids achieved the impossible by attracting an adult following eagerly waiting for new episodes to air. The series put Batman back in the spotlight in the wake of the two Burton films, spawning not only a refreshed interest in the comic books, with some of the best coming out during the 90’s, but also a series of films. One of them is Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, a film for kids that would be considered much too serious and even violent by today’s standards to still air on a Wednesday afternoon.
Much of the Animated Series’ success is based on the fact that show runner Bruce Timm and his highly talented team took their audience seriously. What we see is stories that come from a grown-up world, with only excessive violence and its depiction filtered out. Deploying this approach, it manages to entertain and educate all the same. SubZero, despite coming out at the end of the decade and after the highly-controversial and much-hated Batman & Robin by Joel Schumacher as an intended tie-in, still stands in the tradition of the Animated Series. Even though all voice actors reprised their original roles and do a magnificent job, Michael Ansara voicing Mr. Freeze in particular, as he gives the character so much depth and a sinister quality without losing his human touch, its biggest quality is that the feel of the episodes is evoked when watching the film. The opening sequence that establishes Mr. Freeze and his motifs is executed with great skill and attention to visuals. And even though the sequences that look computer-animated are a sign of the times and are well-made, yet contrasting the particular style that made the series famous, look odd throughout the film, the tone is still there. Writers Boyd Kirkland, who also penned several great episodes of the Animated Series, and Randy Rogel perfectly captured the essence, making SubZero feel like a regular episode despite its runtime exceeding thrice the length.
The whole point of the tie-in films was to make room for more excessive character development that couldn’t be done within 20 minutes of a regular episode. Some may challenge Mr. Freeze as one of the less complex villains in the Batman-universe, and his hideout in the Arctic doesn’t differ much from his former home in Gotham City, yet his self-imposed solitude is not as strict as we would’ve assumed from our former experience with the character. Freeze lives with two polar bears he provides for, not because they couldn’t hold their own but to emphasize his desire for companionship that he fails to find in people. The accident that nearly killed his wife and turned him into a villain has transformed a man who is good at heart but willing to do whatever it takes to save his beloved one. Mr. Freeze makes you wonder: what is left of the man? Trying to cure his wife might as well be his reason to live, simply because nothing else is left, neither hope nor purpose, as Freeze is aware of his being an outcast and supposedly a monster. But not enough to embrace the concept. His abnormity is juxtaposed with his role as a substitute father to Koonak, an orphaned boy with nowhere else to go.
Kirkland and Rogel use juxtapositions with great skill throughout the film. Whenever we see Freeze, forced to return to Gotham after the cryogenic device that keeps his wife alive is destroyed by a submarine crashing into his hideout, and with no particular purpose that is, soon after we see Batman & Robin fighting crime and Batgirl taking part on her own. The relationship between Dick Grayson, Robin, and Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, has evolved from flirting and playing around to being serious during the story. Their love and devotion to one another mirrors that of Freeze and his wife Nora and by juxtaposing good and evil, or forced evil, we suddenly understand what Mr. Freeze has lost – and that he is willing to do anything to win it back.
Nora was the only good thing in my life, and they took her from me. I don’t care what I have to do to get her back!
Mr. Freeze
Freeze consults his former colleague Dr. Gregory Belson, a brilliant scumbag in dire straits for owing 2.5 million Dollars and willing to do the job if paid, to help save Nora. Blind with love, Freeze already killed the submarine’s crew in retaliation, and when Belson searches for a female with the same characteristics as Nora as organ donor, they find Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl. A plot device at first glance providing a framework for some action between his hostage and Mr. Freeze, it is another juxtaposition. We invariably ask ourselves what Batman would be willing to do, if he were in Mr. Freeze’s shoes. They have a similar history after all, their careers started by loss. Batman is prone to failure as well if he surrenders to his feelings. So even though SubZero is entertaining and could’ve needed a bit more exciting action, safe for the finale that sees an abandoned oil rig blowing up, it is more of a psychological/pathological film.
Koonak interacts with Barbara when she is locked up prior to the operation supposed to save Nora’s life and take hers, and when he turns on Mr. Freeze, his substitute father, for breaking his promise not to hurt her, the full extent of Mfr. Freeze’s conflict becomes evident. By contrast, Dr. Belson is merely interested in saving his neck, lying to Barbara without even breaking a sweat. It is no wonder he’s killed by sections of the oil rig crashing down on him while trying to escape during the finale when Freeze is again reformed, begging Batman to save his Nora when he’s unable to do so himself. Thought dead after his fight with Batman and Robin, that even tried to save his life as well but failing, switching their places again on an emotional level and giving Freeze the moral edge, Freeze returns to the Arctic with his two polar bears but without the son he’s also lost. Through a TV he learns that Nora was saved by an organ transplant funded by the Wayne Corporation, unaware that Batman took his request literally. We see the man behind the monster, moved to tears and grateful, at the same time fully aware that he isn’t needed anymore and returning to a solitary life. While this makes for a good ending, it would’ve been even more rewarding, at the same time potentially too poignant, to see Nora being revived as to understand what Mr. Freeze wanted to save by any means. Imagining her coming to, her first question being “Where’s Victor?” certainly would’ve moved the audience as much as Mr. Freeze, closing the cycle of juxtapositions.
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero is a good film. That said, it’s not a great film. Neither devoting itself to action nor drama to the full extent, it leaves us wanting, if not for much more. Few stories in the Batman-universe explained what turned a scientist with a heart of gold into a monster pumping ice through its veins. But then SubZero is a bold and important addition. It is not only Batman that matters but his villains. Understanding them, maybe even feeling sympathy for their fate certainly and invaluably adds to the experience. And few films or stories accomplish this feat as effectively as this animated treasure.
