Batman Hush

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Here we are with Part 2 of the Worst to Best Animated Films of 2019! We shall now dip our toes into the films that were, simply put, okay, and some that are pretty solid! Nothing wrong with that. If you have yet to see part 1, then I recommend doing so. Now then, let’s get started!

39. Reign of the Supermen

While I like the second part of the infamous Superman story arc, I still find it overall just okay. Sure, it might have better character dynamics, better jokes, and some solid action, but it’s still having to follow up a story that already had to pretzel itself into fitting the storyline, and it’s one of the last stories in the current DC animated film universe. Hopefully, they can end on a high note.

38. Batman Hush

Yet again, we have another DC adaptation of a famous comic book that decided to change things up for some reason. I love the chemistry between Batman and Catwoman, and before the reveal, I loved Hush as a villain. Even characters I don’t have the patience for, like Damian, get a good line. Sadly, the twist does undo a lot of the mystery, and I get that they wanted to probably change it, since fans already know, but still. Don’t change too much, DC and WB, or else you might end up ruining the entire point of the story.

37. The Lion King (2019)

On one hand, yes, this is quite possibly the worst animated film of the year. It was a pointless retelling of an already good film. The photo-realistic CGI is impressive, but it takes away the emotion of it all, and the fact that no one talks about it anymore, but is yet a billion-dollar maker is frustrating, when people could have gone and seen other movies. Films like this shouldn’t be rewarded. On the other hand, I find the tech highly impressive, the cast is great, and I get why people went to see it. I still prefer the original, and if I could, I would combine elements from both the remake and the original into an ultimate version, but alas, we have yet another remake that shows that the Disney remakes aren’t dying anytime soon.

36. Zombillenium

Out of all of the animated films from overseas that I was interested to see, Zombillenium was the biggest disappointment for me. It has such a fun setting and a cool art style, but the dialogue is weak and the film can’t commit to either being a family film or focused on the commentary of the workforce. It has its moments, and I love some of the darker jokes, but I can understand why this film went under the radar and got overshadowed by other films.

35. Justice League vs. The Fatal Five

For once, I can talk about a newer Bruce Timm DC animation product and not be on the back of my heels for it. Sure, it falls apart near the third act, and Miss Martian felt tacked on, but the main story and how it handled talking about traumatic events and characters was combined with some of the better action sequences of the DC animated films. I’m rooting to see them return to the so-called Justice League universe in future animated films.

34. The Addam’s Family

Out of all of the big theatrical animated features, this one was the most disappointing. It felt like they didn’t want to go far with the dark humor, the story was lopsided in giving characters satisfying arcs, and the animation was cheap-looking. It has a lot of fanservice for fans of the franchise, the casting was great, and when the dark comedy was able to breathe, it was really funny. Hopefully, they can make a sequel that’s better looking, and better told the next time we see this kooky spooky family.

33. Pachamama

Probably the most family-friendly film of the list, Pachamama was a simple, but charming film that I had the opportunity to see before it hit Netflix, and it’s such a treat. Not only does it take place in, and is a bit more faithful to the culture it’s based on, it also has a unique visual style that it can call its own. It’s more family-friendly, and it’s a fairly simple film, but nothing wrong with well-executed simplicity.

32. The Angry Birds Movie 2

Talk about one of the biggest surprises of 2019. Yes, the story isn’t the strongest, and yes, when the jokes don’t land, they fall hard, but who would have thought this was going to be one of the best comedies of last year? On top of the solid animation, the jokes go out there, and are in such an abundance of different flavors of comedy. I give the team that made this film so much credit for going out there, and making this one of the best video game animated films out there.

31. Genius Party/Genius Party Beyond

This is a wild bunch of shorts that we finally got legally, and it is one of the purest forms of what animation can do, in terms of visuals and storytelling. Some of them don’t work, and the ones that don’t work absolutely don’t work, but when they do, they are some of the most creative visuals you will see out of Japan. I hope they don’t stop doing these anthology shorts, so they can keep bringing in or showing off talented individuals in the animation industry.

30. The Case of Hana and Alice

While it is a prequel to a live-action film, the mix of roto-scope and CGI animation doesn’t fully work, and it can be a touch slow, I found myself enjoying the story of these two friends. It takes its time with the actual story that connects the events, but the chemistry of the two female leads sells you on their friendship. It might not be one of the best films out there, but I found the overall charm and small-scale story to be worth watching.

29. Another Day of Life

Based on the true events of a famous Polish journalist, Another Day of Life combines CGI roto-scope animation with live-action documentary footage in a dramatic and war-torn time of the Angolan Civil War. It also has some pretty out-there visuals, and can be a rather gripping story. I think it’s a little long, and it’s not a film I’m thinking about rewatching multiple times, but it’s an interesting story, and the visual look alone is worth checking this flick out!

28. Ne-Zha

It’s amazing how in one year, China was able to show the world that they should be taken seriously with their theatrical animation, and Ne-Zha is one of those films. While looking downright gorgeous, and telling a story about discrimination and destiny, it is also seasoned with some of the best action you will see in CGI animation. It’s a shame that while the story can be deep and the lead characters are likable, the comedy drags the story down, and it’s a lot of comedy that isn’t funny. Still, seeing this become one of China’s biggest hits, and it was one of two amazing animated films from China, it shows a bright future ahead for the industry.

Thanks for reading the review! I hope you all enjoyed reading it! If you would like to support my work, make sure to share it out, and if you want to become a Patreon supporter, then you can go to patreon.com/camseyeview. I will see you all next time!

If I was a writer, I would not want to be in charge of writing a mystery thriller. Not only that, but one that has to revolve around Batman and the DC universe. When I think about the process of writing a mystery thriller, you have to be a few steps ahead of the audience. You don’t want to be too complex for the viewers to not follow along, but you don’t want to be so predictable that everyone gets the twist before it happens. This sounds so stressful, and it’s even more nerve-wracking when you are then tasked with adapting a well-known Batman story and having to make it work in a film format. This is why we are talking about Batman: Hush.

Directed by Justin Copeland, and released back in July 2019, Batman: Hush is based on the famous comic of the same name, but upon release, the reviews were generally positive, but not as glowing as other animated films released under this series of DC properties. So, what do I, a casual comic book and Batman fan, think about it? Well, let’s look under the cape and find out.

Our story follows Superman. Nah, I’m kidding. It follows Batman, voiced again by Jason O’Mara, as he’s doing his usual Batman business of taking care of crime in Gotham City and going through his social life as Bruce Wayne. During an evening party, he encounters Selina Kyle, voiced by Jennifer Morrison, and his friend Thomas Elliot, voiced by Maury Sterling. After getting a call that Bane, voiced by Adam Gifford, is holding a kid hostage, Batman then runs into Selina Kyle as Catwoman, who took the ransom money that was for Bane. While on this pursuit, Batman is almost killed by a new masked antagonist, and after recovering from a near-fatal fall, learns that the villains of Gotham are being threatened by this new villain named Hush, voiced by Geoffrey Arend. Supposedly, Hush has dirt on every single villain in Gotham, and that includes Batman himself. Can Batman find out who Hush is and stop his nefarious scheme?

One of the elements about this film that stood out to me was how much time we see Batman as Bruce Wayne. Seriously, the film does take a lot of time from the mystery of who Hush is to have Bruce and Selina’s relationship be a focal point of the story. Normally, I worry when a superhero film decides to not be about the superhero elements, because then you have to work hard on the rest of the story to justify keeping the characters out of their hero suits. The chemistry between Bruce and Selina is fairly cute. I like seeing Bruce let loose of being this stone-cold stoic individual, and his sidekicks reacting to the situation at hand. Even Damian, who is consistently the worst part of this new iteration of DC films, has a few funny lines. Since I never read the original comic, I was judging how the story was told, and I was kept invested due to the script being stronger and the character dynamics being more amusing than previous films. There were even fun sequences where Batman and Catwoman travel to Metropolis and fight Superman, and an amusing sequence with the Joker. In terms of action, I mean, you have a film where Batman fights the big hitters of his rogue’s gallery, a new villain that was able to almost cripple the Batman, and a stellar Superman fight. It checks off my boxes for a superhero film to be entertaining. The fights are intense and mostly satisfying. You have to try hard and make fight sequences with Batman look bad.

Animation-wise, while I try to keep my criticisms limited to the next segment of this review, Batman: Hush looks okay. I know that due to releasing so many of these films a year, the animation takes a hit, but if you like how Young Justice or the new Harley Quinn look, then you know what to expect with these films. When the action is going, the animation is great, but when it’s not, it’s simply doable. I still think I would rather have DC stop releasing so many of these films a year, if that meant they could put a bit more of the budget into the animation. At least Batman vs. TMNT and Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans had visually distinct looks. The voice cast for Batman: Hush, while still the same as previous films, are elevated by the tighter script. Seriously, this is probably some of the best voice work done for these films in a long time.

Sadly, while the first two-thirds of this film are clunky, but charming, the third act is what drags this film down for me. From what I have read and what people have told me, the twist on who Hush was in the comics was wildly different from the film, and they changed who he is in the film, and to me, the film didn’t properly execute the new twist. It felt very last minute on who Hush was, and the film’s mystery element wasn’t as compelling during the last act of the film. It didn’t even have those nice details you see on the second time around like Knives Out did. The film felt like it forgot that this new villain was wandering around and was able to blackmail other villains into helping him out. The non-hero stuff is great, but it makes me think Bruce forgot (even with the head injury he took) what was going on. It also made Hush way less interesting when you found out who he was. It didn’t kill the entire mood of the film, but it almost did for me.

While better in many ways compared to the previous DC animated films, Batman: Hush still disappoints. I don’t know if I could fully recommend it if you were a fan of the comic, but if you need to own every one of these films, then go ahead and check it out. For now though, let’s move away from the grimy Gotham City streets to a magical realm as we jump into Netflix’s first animated feature purchase with Ni No Kuni.

Rating: Rent it.

The Other Side of Animation

Reviews of the lesser known animated classics and flops!

Worst to Best Animated Films of 2019 Part 2

The Other Side of Animation 175: Batman Hush Review