The Batman vs. Dracula (TV PG)
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Set between the second and third seasons of the TV series The Batman. I definitely enjoyed this more than the average episode of the series. It was released on DVD in October 2005, and the same month aired on Toonami, which is where I saw it. Anyway, there are some lame bits in the movie, and some just average bits, but there are also some pretty decent bits.
A random inmate at Arkham Asylum is telling the Penguin about this treasure he stole years ago, and wants the Penguin to break him out so they can split it 50/50. But then he says he asked the Joker first. And then the Joker breaks out to go find the treasure for himself, and Penguin takes advantage of the confusion to escape, himself. Leaving the other guy behind, of course. On the outside, the Batman battles the Joker, who ends up falling to his apparent death. Meanwhile, Penguin heads to the cemetery, where the treasure is supposed to be hidden. There, he unwittingly awakens Dracula, who later hypnotizes Penguin to be his servant and guard his tomb during the day.
Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is being interviewed over dinner by Vicky Vale. He has to leave early, of course, but he makes a date with her for later. And later, at a party, they both meet Dr. Alucard, who they'll later discover is the famous Count Dracula. But that's later. Meanwhile, in passing Bruce mentions this new bit of technology his company's been developing that stores sunlight or whatever, and it's painfully obvious this'll be put to good use later. But meanwhile, it comes to seem Dracula wants to make Vicky his new bride, but it's actually more complicated than that. Anyway, the police have been investigating the disappearance of an increasing number of citizens, who they call the Lost Ones, and at some point they start blaming the Batman. The Lost Ones, of course, are Dracula's growing army of vampires. Eventually the Joker returns, still looking for treasure, but instead he finds Dracula, and gets turned into a vampire, himself.
Batman faces Dracula, who is stronger and faster than he is. Batman only manages to escape when the sun comes up. Some time later he captures Joker, which is convenient, as he'd been wanting a test subject. He figures these vampires have a disease, so he wants to test Joker's blood and try to develop a cure. Which he eventually does. It'll cure all the people who've been turned into vampires, but not Dracula himself. Will Batman find a way to defeat Dracula, then? Dude, c'mon. How could there even be any question? Will the general public remember or believe anything that happened? Well... c'mon, do they ever? Batman's semi-good name will be restored, just settle for that and move on. Okay?