Batty inclinations have overstuffed the market. Where the DC comics superhero Batman used to be a novelty, he's now a staple of daily commerce. There are graphic novels, toys, soundtracks and life size replicas of movie vehicles to name a few. Leaving aside Christopher Nolan's live action trilogy which was well received yet left a stone in my heart, the best and brightest examples have appeared mostly in animation. Yes, I enjoyed Tim Burton's Batman enormously. It's a personal favourite. Still, the 1990s yielded a top notch animated series where voice actor Kevin Conroy embodied the fearsome and at times extremely vulnerable Bruce Wayne, the rich orphan turned crime fighter. He met his match in Mark Hamill's Joker, the latter so iconic it's hard to imagine anyone, except Jack Nicholson, doing a finer cackle.  

The art deco style, popularised during the animated series, carried over into many of the feature films. Among the finest we have Batman: Year One, based on Frank Miller's sublime graphic novel -- which has pride of place in my collection; the two part Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, also adapted from Miller's work and several other noteworthy entries. For Batman: The Long Halloween, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's story provides the inspiration for this two part endeavour.  

Regarding Part One, a mysterious figure known as Holiday targets major criminals on special occasions such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas etc. Meanwhile, district attorney Harvey Dent (voiced by Josh Duhamel) works with Commissioner Jim Gordon (voiced by Billy Burke) and the Dark Night in order to stop Holiday. After incinerating a huge inventory of cash, Dent ends up targeted by mobster Carmine "The Roman" Falcone (voiced by Titus Welliver). He's the Godfather. One cross word in his presence enough to cause a short drop in a certain stop for the insulting party. Elsewhere, Catwoman (voiced by Naya Rivera) assists Batman in his investigation. Pretty soon, Joker (voiced by Troy Baker) flees Arkham Asylum. The latter believes that Holiday's antics might surpass his own as Gotham's public enemy number one. So he devises a special Christmas present for the city.  

Memorably, Chris Palmer's direction adds salient breathing points which reinforce the dark tone, well defined character shadings and startling colour design. It's the opposite of garish. Thus, relationships felt substantially fleshed out. For example, Dent's wife Gilda (voiced by Julie Nathanson) appears deeply unhappy. Her inability to have kids and lonely outlook given her hubby's obsessive dedication to work was well conveyed in the excellent facial animations.  

In an example of unexpected sweetness, sewer dwelling cretin Solomon Grundy -- perhaps a distant relative of the Thing from Fantastic Four gene spliced with a little Frankenstein -- ends up scoring one of the film's finest moments, almost without dialogue.    Initially, I mistook the Joker's voice for Mark Hamill because Troy Baker nails the part so seamlessly. I have enjoyed Baker's work, especially as the central villain in the game John Wick Hex. He's a standout in Batman: The Long Halloween Part One.  

On the downside, composer Michael Gatt contributes little more than droning, rinse and repeat. You'd be forgiven for thinking the film has no score at all.   Although rarely approaching the heights of the heaviest hitters, Batman: The Long Halloween left me intrigued for Part Two. Here's hoping it delivers a special occasion.  

(Released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and rated "PG-13" by MPAA.)