Who broods more than theBatman?

That is the point of view filmmakers took withBatman Returns, aTim Burtonart-piece masquerading as blockbuster entertainment.

However, Warner Bros. and Burton had other ideas.

Further, both Hamm and Burton had a thing for Catwoman.

They really wanted the Penguin, Hamm explained in the 2005 documentaryShadows of the Bat.

Because they sort of saw the Penguin as the number two Batman villain.

We wanted to do Catwoman, so we wound up doing Penguin and Catwoman.

The villains were psychotic and violent, but they were notfreaksin that patented Tim Burton way.

However,Batman IIfurther attempted to bring the title character back to his comic book roots.

Hes also uncovering the secret history of the Waynes.

Oh, and it also introduces Robin as a 12-year-old homeless orphan kid that knows martial arts.

Still, they maintained the old Hollywood feel of the previous movie.

Burton was severely disappointed in this approach and wouldnt sign the dotted line.

Burton had been a fan of Waters work on the ultimate dark teen comedy,Heathers.

As a result Burton and Waters had a level of latitude relatively unprecedented before or since with superhero movies.

Tim and I never had a conversation about what are fans of the comic books going to think?

Waters said in theShadows of the Batdocumentary.

We never thought about them.

We were really just about the art.

As Burton himself expressed, he never really got the appeal of his main villain in the comics.

What is he?!

Burton mused in 2005.

This was only made possible by the smiling machinations of Gotham industrialist Max Shreck, a Waters invention.

I wanted to show that true villains of our world dont necessarily wear costumes, Waters said toEmpire.

Sam Hamm went back to the way comic books in general treat women, Waters toldFilm Reviewin 2008.

Like fetishy sexual fantasy.

I wanted to start off just at the lowest point in society, a very beaten down secretary.

It was a change Waters half-joked in 2005 that he was ready to lose the job over.

Other changes included distancing itself fromBatman IIsstrict no kill policy subplot.

Instead, Batman liberally murders many, many people inBatman Returns.

A lot of people complained that our Batman actually killed people, Waters said in a 2005Batman Returnsspecial feature.

Some purists would say, Batman would never kill people!

The times are darker, so you have to make your character darker.

Waters ultimately wrote five drafts, which changed aspects drastically.

Even Robin made an appearance.

Christmastime in Hell

The actual production ofBatman Returnswent relatively well after more pre-production nightmares.

Michael Keaton and I saw Sean Young dressed as Catwoman leap over my sofa and say, IamCatwoman!

We looked over at each other and went, Woah.

Burton wisely went on to finally castMichelle Pfeifferin one of her most iconic roles.

I feltBatmansuffered from a British subtext.

I loved being over there, but its such a different culture that things got filtered.

Indeed, the result was a very different movie.

In the days of theMarvel Studiosassembly line, this is a Christmas miracle.

WB wanted Penguin to have a master plan, which only added to the nastiness of Burtons reverse Moses.

This then gives way to blowing them all up with rocket-sporting penguins.

He shares the same public persona that Bruce Wayne mimics, except there is not much beyond his greed.

Shreck is also thus the true protagonist of the movie, as his proactive manipulation sets everything in motion.

Hes the reason the Penguin made good on his fiendish fantasies of bedeviling Gotham.

Batman concedes, You might be right.

Burton and Waters certainly think so.

But the crowning achievement ofBatman Returnsis Selina Kyles expressionistic arc to the edges of 1990s feminism and beyond.

Dollhouses; stuffed animals; pink furniture.

And as it so happens, Selinas boss is, of course, Max Shreck.

He instigates her transformation when he makes her admit that he is being mean to someone so meaningless.

This is her plea for mercy before he pushes her out the top floor of a skyscraper.

Having a romance with Bruce Wayne during the day leads to him trying to arrest her at night.

And with each negative encounter, her costume is further destroyed.

After each tear and rip, her visually expressed dream crumbles, as do her mental faculties.

Murnaus 1922 masterpiece,Nosferatu.

At the end of the picture, the Disney happy ending is achieved.

I just couldntlive with myself.

So dont pretend this is a happy ending.

Catwoman rejects finding redemption with Batman and does murder Max Shreck in the sewers.

This is the beating heart ofBatman Returns; Bruce Wayne loses because hes only fighting shades of himself.

The monster is carried off by mournful penguin ushers to his aquatic grave.

There are no heroes inBatman Returns.

Thats probably the greatest gift of all.

With goodwill toward men.