All-Star Superman (2011)

All-Star Superman (2011)

Dir. Sam Liu

An animation based on DC's twelve-issue comic book series of the same name. In both instances it features a change in Superman (James Denton) after he rescues a crew of fearful scientists on a space vessel that's plummeting towards Earth's Sun. It relies on elements and lore from the series past, but is itself separate from the wider Superman continuity.

Character designs are faithful to Frank Quitely's work on the original comic. It's admirable that they weren't made more cartoony, but, strangely, they're not as pleasing to look at onscreen as they are on the page.

The story feels episodic, with obvious breaks where events in one comic issue would've ended and weeks later another began. That unevenness isn't helped by some intrusive wild science that sometimes feels like a teenager has taken over the writing duties.

Scooby-Doo Meets Batman (2002)

Scooby-Doo Meets Batman (2002)

Dir. William Hanna + Joseph Barbera

Oh, dear. The Bat-barrel has a bottom and it's been thoroughly Scooby-scraped. It's a pair of Hanna-Barbera's The New Scooby-Doo movies released on one disc, namely 1972's The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair and The Caped Crusader Caper. Admittedly, the two franchises have something in common, with both parties concerned with solving crimes in their own respective titles, but it's still an odd pairing.

Batman enlists the help of the Scooby gang in apprehending The Joker and Penguin because he's too incompetent to do it himself. While the talking dog and his human get up to their usual antics on the ground, Batman's bum-crack chin and disappearing pants flaff around in the Batplane with Boy Wonder.

It's one for Scooby fans more than Batman fans. I don't belong to that club, so can't comment further.