4 Star

The Bat, the Wing and Harley Quinn.

Sam Liu (Batman: The Killing Joke) brings us the twenty-ninth film in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series and this time it is ecological disaster time for the caped crusader, mixing new style and classic batman and sidekick capers.

It’s late at night but all is not quiet and still at S.T.A.R. Labs as Floronic man and Poison Ivy have broken in and are searching for some specific research material. The silence is broken by the security guards open fire on the big green giant that is Floronic man, he is un-phased as the bullets hit him and his botanic body just absorbs them while Poison Ivy works furiously on the computer keyboard.

As chaos ensues Ivy finds what she is looking for, top secret research by Dr Alec Holland on his Bio-Restorative Project she downloads the level 12 clearance research and they make off with their ill-gotten gains.

Later the police arrive and so does Batman and his sidekick Nightwing, it doesn’t take long for Nightwing to find the stolen file. Before Batman looks into the research and explains that Dr Holland was a leading researcher in biology, chemistry and botany and was trying to turn deserts into forests. He had is own lab up in the lakes but a saboteur bombed his lab whilst he was working on his secret liquid. On fire and covered in his liquid he runs and jumps into the lake, the flames, the liquid and the lake water react turning the Dr into what now is called the Swamp Thing.

With this knowledge of perpetrators they have two missions 1: Find out what Poison Ivy and Floronic are up to. 2: Where are they hiding out? This is what Nightwing must do and he doesn’t like the sound of it as he must find a known associate, namely Harley Quinn, who has disappeared since being released on parole from prison. She must be somewhere and it is Nightwings task.

After much canvassing Nightwing spots a very familiar face working in a bar. He follows her at the end of her shift and after a bout of fisticuffs and other ruff and tumbles an uneasy alliance is formed. With the stolen research and a high level professor kidnapped and no ransom asked for something is afoot.

Floronic man and Poison Ivy have a dastardly plan to turn every one of the planet-destroying humans into plant forms like themselves and save the planet. Can the trio all get along and thwart the green team before they pull off their plan?

Great fun for all the family over the age of twelve.

Batman and Harley Quinn is available on DVD and Blu-ray