Customer Reviews

Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero / Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While initially thought to be a two-disc release of the previous releases for the films, Warner Home Video has pressed a whole new flipper disc for this DVD release, putting SubZero on one side and Mask of the Phantasm on the other (featuring the films fullscreen transfer). Also confusing is the DVDs packaging that puts SubZero before Mask of the Phantasm in nearly every respect.

The two sides of the discs are complete duplicates of the original releases and contain nothing new. Exact same menus and exact same video transfers. They could've taken the time to hunt down that 5.1 surround track for SubZero that was released on LaserDisc and tossed it on here, but that's not what this release was meant for. A quick cash in on the ever growing popularity of one of comic books most famous heroes. Here's hoping we'll see a more worthy release for Mask of the Phantasm come it's twentieth anniversary.

For those that don't already own these two films, it's a cheap alternative to buying two different DVD releases, but for those that already have these two releases it's a definite downgrade. Not only do you have to still deal with a flipper disc, you lose the widescreen transfer of Mask of the Phantasm. Not a huge loss considering the film was animated in fullscreen, but still. This is really just a cash cow release that, one can hope, was just released to check the interest in these two films to see if future special editions are warranted. Let's all hope for a Phantasm special edition to coincide with The Dark Knight DVD release, shall we?

Those that don't own the films: Recommended.
Already Own the Films: Skip It.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is one of the best Batman movies ever (including the live-action). It tracks the mythos of Batman's very early days of crime-fighting. You'll enjoy his mishaps and blunders. At the same time, it tracks his older days (perhaps mid-30's) where he's such a well-oiled machine of a superhero that he almost gives you the creeps.

The plot revolves around romantic relationships and murder. I would not recommend this movie for children under 13.


Batman: Subzero is fairly standard Batman fair. It's not a bad movie at all, but it's a dim cousin to the Mask of the Phantasm. The animators tried to insert 3d computer graphics into the movie, which lost a lot of its luster. But the story is very human and you'll have a difficult time not feeling sympathetic for the villain -- which is the best kind.

Both movies are quite good. If you've never seen them and you like Batman, then you are completely in the dark. Buy them right now!

If you've seen them before or you own one or the other, you might do better to pick up a different collection. In my opinion, Sub-Zero just wasn't worth owning as much as Mask of the Phantasm.

"Mask of the Phantasm" and "Subzero" are two fine animated Batman films (two of the best animated films in general). But it's too bad that none of the DVD's, including this "Double Feature", have any interesting special features. There is lack of audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, etc. And the quality of the movies themselves are only mediocre: none of them have been digitally remastered. I'm hoping there will be Special Editions of these two movies soon. But until then, I'll enjoy these for what they are.

SubZero was a good end to the original Batman: The Animated Series. It's like watching a long episode. Mask of the Phantasm is just one of the best comic book cartoon movies ever. One thing that I always liked about the 90's DC Animated Universe is that it really wasn't just for kids. They made it more accessible to adults. Both of these probably shouldn't be watched with very young kids alone. Get these for your collection if you like DC Animated.

This is the only movie on IMDB that is higher than the Dark Knight, and while I'm not sure that I agree, I don't exactly disagree either. I love the Dark Knight and what Christopher Nolan has done in creating the Batman Universe into the real world with a lot of psychology and modern day references to terrorists and polotics, and its an amazing piece of work, but what it fails to do is to take into account all the childhood batman myths that comic fans have loved for generations, and the fox animated series did. It was what Tim Burton wanted to do in the movies, and all the big enemies were treated without kid gloves, and given full backstories, and the art direction is just amazing. I am not really a comic book fan, and I probably wouldn't know about so many of these characters had that series not existed. Mak of the Phantasm is the best movie to come from that show, and is included in this set, and is the cheapest way to obtain it, and they throw in another pretty good movie along with it. Sub Zero is about average fair for what the tv show was, having Mr. Freeze trying to bring his frozen wife back to life, and they found that Bat girl has matching DNA that would allow this to happen, and MR. Freeze has paid off the hospital to see that this happens. The show spends plenty of time making the Mr. Freeze character sympathetic, but I think with the amount of time he was on the show, this whole movie just seems plaid out and better left for a show miniseries. Mask is almost just as good at asking all the moral questions about justice and vigilante means in a corrupt society, and the psychology of law enforcement as almost any movie ever made, and like Dark Knight, it takes all of the complex ideas and manages to be able to explain them all to the smallest child. I think that kind of story telling should definately be rewarded, but while as a stand alone it might not be as strong as the live action movie in question, where is succeeds is that it takes the character of Batman that you see over five seasons on the show and builds on him and his relationshps. Plenty of unexpected twists and turns, and definately the best animated Batman project ever, though I stronly encourage batman fans to get the fox animated series, you don't "need" to have seen it to appreciate this awsome set.

It's the animated series batman so I luv that anyway so this was A good deal I saw one of the movies at wal mart for the price of both

Both of these movies are great movies and arnt on the complete series pack putting them together was a great idea. Perfect all around. Perfect for any Batman fan. Two thumbs up.

Really enjoyed watching these Batman Cartoon movies. It brougt memories when I watched them with my 20 year old Grandson when he was 8-9 years old. My Grandson loves Batman in movies and cartoons. I myself really liked Mask of the Phantasm, for a cartoon, cute love story. Both movies really were enjoyable. pac

I bought it for my Batman obsess Godson. He wants every Batman movie there is; so why not buy two in one! He loves the fact that it has two different movies and he watches them both every time it goes in!

I got this because of the Mask of Phantasm and when I saw I could get the other one I jumped at the chance. I really like both of the movie but of course I am a Batman fan.