Catwoman: Hunted

Last updated
Catwoman: Hunted
Catwoman Hunted BD cover.jpg
Promotional poster
Directed byShinsuke Terasawa
Written by Greg Weisman
Based on
Catwoman
by
Produced by
Starring
Edited byRobert Ehrenreich
Music by Yutaka Yamada
Production
companies
Distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Release date
  • February 8, 2022 (2022-02-08)
Running time
78 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • Japan
LanguageEnglish

Catwoman: Hunted is a 2022 American-Japanese animated superhero film based on the DC Comics character Catwoman by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation for DC Entertainment. It was released on February 8, 2022, by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. It is the 47th installment in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line. The film is directed by Shinsuke Terasawa from a script by Greg Weisman. It stars the voices of Elizabeth Gillies and Stephanie Beatriz. OLM, a Japanese studio behind the Pokémon anime series, provided their animation services for the film with their Team Inoue. The film follows Catwoman as she attempts to steal a priceless jewel. The heist puts her squarely in the crosshairs of both a powerful consortium of criminals and villains and the ever-resourceful Interpol as well as Batwoman.

Contents

Plot

Catwoman infiltrates a gangster costume party hosted by Barbara Minerva in Spain, which is also attended by Gotham City mobster Black Mask who is seeking to join Leviathan, the crime cartel which Minerva leads. As his entrance fee, Black Mask delivers the Cat's Eye Emerald. Catwoman promptly steals the gem and shakes off most of the pursuing gangsters in a furious car chase. Just then, Batwoman blocks her way, causing Catwoman to crash her car, and Minerva's aide Tobias Whale recovers the emerald. In revenge for this theft, Minerva has Catwoman marked for liquidation.

Catwoman regains consciousness aboard a jet plane bound for Shanghai in the custody of Batwoman and Interpol agents Julia Pennyworth and King Faraday. Batwoman and the agents explain that the emerald was rigged as a tracking beacon to find and take down Leviathan's entire leadership cadre in one strike. In exchange for Catwoman's cooperation in this case, they offer her complete amnesty for her past crimes. Catwoman agrees, but in between she makes telephonic contact with her friend Holly asking about the status of a group of girls in her care. After the exact location is found, Catwoman and Batwoman infiltrate the meeting place, but are forced to battle hired assassins Cheshire and Nosferata [lower-alpha 1] which results in the Leviathan bosses Black Mask, Doctor Tzin-Tzin, Mister Yakuza, La Dama, her demonic auxiliaries Abaddon and Morax, and Moxie Mannheim joining the fight. The cartel bosses and Whale are defeated and arrested, but Minerva manages to get away. Catwoman receives her pardon and walks away, seemingly shrugging off the threat Minerva still poses to her life.

Some time later, Catwoman is still active, but constantly harried by ninjas from the League of Assassins sent by Minerva's associate Talia al Ghul, Leviathan's true leader. After Batwoman helps her defeat the latest assassin detachment in Paris, Minerva unleashes Solomon Grundy on them. Batwoman is knocked out, but Catwoman defeats Grundy by stuffing his mouth with lit dynamite sticks from a construction site. Forced to take matters into her own hands, Minerva appears before Catwoman, changes into her werecheetah form, and chases after her quarry. Catwoman retreats onto the boom of a construction crane, where she taunts Cheetah by revealing that she was responsible for recently breaking up one of Leviathan's human trafficking operations in Sochi, freeing a group of girls slated for underage prostitution and taking them under her care. When Cheetah attacks, Catwoman outdodges her and strangles her into submission. A subsequent lightning strike throws Cheetah off the crane and into the steel bars of a reinforced concrete column, impaling her, although her superhuman physiology enables her to survive.

As Interpol takes Cheetah and Grundy into custody, Catwoman takes her leave after warning Faraday that Leviathan is far from being finished and revealing that she had deliberately targeted the cartel with the theft of the Cat's Eye Emerald, in vengeance for the trafficked girls' plight. After secretly nabbing the jewel from the jet's safe as well, she next travels to London to "pick up a few things at the Tower".

Voice cast

Production

The film was announced on August 17, 2021, alongside its voice cast. The film had an anime-style production with Shinsuke Terasawa directing and written by Greg Weisman while Ethan Spaulding is attached as producer, along with Colin A.B.V. Lewis, who worked on The Simpsons , and Sam Register, who produced multiple DC Animated projects, as executive producers. [1] An exclusive sneak peek was released during the DC FanDome's 2021 Warner Bros. Animation panel.

It was stated by Weisman to be "adjacent" to his animated series Young Justice , meaning that some version of the film's events occurred in the universe of the cartoon but not necessarily with all details exactly the same.

Release

Catwoman: Hunted was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD in the US and Canada on February 8, 2022.

Reception

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 78% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. [2]

Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave the film 9 out of 10 stars, saying "Catwoman: Hunted is a fun, anime-flavored superhero adventure that ranks among the best of the DC Universe Movies line". [3]

Dillon Gonzales, writing for Geek Vibes Nation, gave the film a positive review, saying "Catwoman: Hunted marks a very welcome step from the DCAU towards putting a spotlight on women who are not called Wonder Woman. The effort is not the most vital, but it is one that embraces its sleek sense of fun that makes it very transfixing. The vocal performances capture the allure of these characters quite deftly". [4]

The film earned $404,924 from domestic Blu-ray sales. [5]

Notes

  1. Nosferata is a vampiric enemy of Kon-El, the second Superboy, who debuted in Superboy Vol. 4 #50, April 1998.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legion of Doom</span> Group of super villains in the DC universe

The Legion of Doom is a group of supervillains who originated in Challenge of the Superfriends, an animated series from Hanna-Barbera based on DC Comics' Justice League. The Legion of Doom has since been incorporated into the main DC Universe, appearing in comics, as well as further animated and live-action adaptations, and also video games.

<i>Batman: The Animated Series</i> American animated television series by DC Comics

Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated superhero television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. Developed by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation, it originally aired on Fox Kids from September 5, 1992, to September 15, 1995, with a total of 85 episodes.

<i>Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman</i> 2003 film by Curt Geda

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman is a 2003 American animated superhero film based on The New Batman Adventures (1997-1999). Released in the U.S. in October 2003, the film was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and is the fourth film in the DC Animated Universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheetah (character)</span> DC Comics supervillain

The Cheetah is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as a major recurring adversary of the superhero Wonder Woman. Like her nemesis, she was created by William Moulton Marston & H. G. Peter, debuting in the autumn of 1943 in Wonder Woman #6. With her distinctive sleek, spotted appearance, she is recognized as "one of Wonder Woman's most iconic enemies" and has been a persistent foe throughout every era of the hero's comic book adventures.

Talia al Ghul is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman. The character was created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Bob Brown, and first appeared in Detective Comics #411. Talia is most commonly known as being the daughter of the supervillain Ra's al Ghul as well as the on-and-off lover of the superhero Batman and the mother of their son Damian Wayne who was born either during a brief marriage or as the result of a sexual assault. Over the years, she has alternately been depicted as an anti-heroine who is constantly torn between being an ally and an enemy of Batman due to her loyalty to both him and her environmentalist father, with whom she shares the same vision when it comes to saving the planet and nature, but not the means he uses to achieve that goal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Mask (character)</span> Comic book supervillain

Black Mask is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Doug Moench and Tom Mandrake, the character debuted in Batman #386. He is commonly depicted as a brutal and ruthless crime lord in Gotham City who has a fixation with masks and derives sadistic pleasure from the act of torture. Black Mask is one of the most enduring enemies of the superhero Batman and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">League of Assassins</span> Fictional villain group by DC Comics

The League of Assassins is a group of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The group is depicted as a collective of assassins who work for Ra's al Ghul, an enemy of the superhero Batman. The group appeared in Strange Adventures #215, but did not become officially known as the League of Assassins until Detective Comics #405.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobias Whale</span> Fictional character

Tobias Whale is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Black Lightning.

<i>Batman: Year One</i> (film) 2011 film directed by Lauren Montgomery, Sam Liu

Batman: Year One is a 2011 American animated superhero film based on the four-issue story arc of the same name printed in 1987. It was directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu. The film premiered at Comic-Con on July 22 and was officially released on October 18, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhunter (Mark Shaw)</span> Comics character

Manhunter (Mark Shaw) is a fictional character and antihero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the third featured character called Manhunter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batman Incorporated</span> American comic book series by DC Comics

Batman Incorporated is an ongoing American comic book series published by DC Comics, featuring the superhero Batman. Written by Grant Morrison, the series debuted following the events of Batman R.I.P, Final Crisis, Batman and Robin, and The Return of Bruce Wayne where, after being stranded in the distant past and believed dead, Bruce Wayne has returned to the present day DC Universe. Now, he is prepared to take his war on crime to the next level by essentially "franchising" it and drafting, training and commanding a global team of heroes who will answer to Batman himself, known as Batman Incorporated.

<i>DC Showcase: Catwoman</i> 2011 film directed by Lauren Montgomery

DC Showcase: Catwoman, also titled as simply Catwoman, is a 2011 short animated superhero film, directed by Lauren Montgomery and written by Paul Dini. The film features Eliza Dushku as Catwoman / Selina Kyle in her first solo tale, as she attempts to bring both a Gotham City crime boss called Rough Cut and his smuggling ring to an end, stumbling upon a mysterious cargo shipment far worse than just smuggled diamonds. DC Showcase: Catwoman was released on October 18, 2011, as a bonus feature and continuation of the Catwoman story line on Batman: Year One Blu-ray and DVD. It is the fifth installment in the DC Showcase series.

Leviathan is a fictional criminal organization in DC Comics, later revealed to be a schism of the League of Assassins under the leadership of Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul.

Catwoman is a fictional character first appearing in issue 1 of the Batman comic book. After her debut she would appear in many forms of media including live-action and animated film, radio, live-action and animated television, records, video games, web series, live performance, and podcasts. The character has made live-action appearances in the Batman television series (1966–68), its film adaptation Batman (1966), Batman Returns (1992), Catwoman (2004),The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Gotham (2014–19), and The Batman (2022). The character has also appeared in numerous animated television series and movies, most notably Batman: The Animated Series (1992–95) and The Lego Batman Movie (2017), as well as video games such as the Batman: Arkham series.

<i>Batman: Bad Blood</i> 2016 animated superhero film directed by Jay Oliva

Batman: Bad Blood is a 2016 American animated superhero film which is the 25th film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies and the sixth film in the DC Animated Movie Universe. It serves as a sequel to the 2015 film Batman vs. Robin. The film was released on January 20, 2016 for iTunes and the Google Play Store, and on DVD and Blu-ray on February 2. While not a direct adaptation of a particular storyline, it derived from Grant Morrison's run on Batman, primarily the Leviathan story arcs.

<i>Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders</i> 2016 American film

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders is a 2016 American animated superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Based on the 1960s Batman TV series, the film stars the voices of Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar reprising their roles of Batman, Robin, and Catwoman from the series. In the film, Batman and Robin set out to defeat the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Catwoman, who have teamed up. Matters are further complicated when Batman gradually becomes more hostile.

<i>Lego DC Batman: Family Matters</i> 2019 American film

Lego DC Batman: Family Matters is a 2019 American animated superhero comedy film. It is a superhero action-adventure comedy based on the DC Comics and Lego brands produced by DC Entertainment, The Lego Group and Warner Bros. Animation, and distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, it premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 21, 2019 and was released on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital on August 20, 2019. It is the ninth Lego DC Comics film. The DVD release includes a free 84-piece LEGO set. The film received positive reviews, with praise for the humor and action, although the consumerism was criticized.

<i>Batman: The Long Halloween</i> (film) 2021 American film

Batman: The Long Halloween is a 2021 American two-part animated direct-to-video superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment, based on the DC Comics storyline of the same name. Part 1 is the 44th film, and Part 2 is the 45th film, of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies, with both parts serving as the third and fourth installments of the Tomorrowverse. The film is directed by Chris Palmer and stars the voices of Jensen Ackles, Josh Duhamel and Naya Rivera in her final film role. The film is dedicated to Rivera following her death the year prior. In both parts of the film, Batman attempts to unravel the mystery of murders committed on holidays throughout the year, and uncover the true identity of the serial killer Holiday.

References

  1. "'Catwoman: Hunted' Sets Voice Cast (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 2021-08-17. Archived from the original on 2021-08-17. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  2. Catwoman: Hunted, Rotten Tomatoes, archived from the original on 2023-01-06, retrieved 2023-05-19
  3. Schedeen, Jesse (2 February 2022). "Catwoman: Hunted Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  4. "'Catwoman: Hunted' 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review – A Sleek And Transfixing Adventure With An Underutilized DC Icon". geekvibesnation.com. February 19, 2022. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  5. "Catwoman: Hunted (2022) The Numbers Listing". The Numbers. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.