Batman: Under the Red Hood is not to be watched on Sunday morning with your kids. It's a dark drama with blood, violence, it has plenty of pain and angst. I don't normally watch animation unless I am captivated by the story or if it's super cute. And to be honest, I watch Red Hood because of Jensen Ackles, who voiced Jason Todd/ Red Hood. He did a great job. Anyone who needs an actor to play a character to channel angst and pain, Jensen Ackles is your man! I think this would have been a perfect big screen role for Jensen Ackles, obviously someone older would require to play Bruce Wayne/ Batman.
I don't know who did the Jason Todd drawing, but whoever you are, you are awesome!
Batman: Under the Red Hood is so much darker than I expected. The intensity was there from the start of the movie. When I first heard about Red Hood I had not idea who he was, except I've been told Jason Todd was the 2nd Robin and Jensen was the voice talent for this character. But after I watched it for the first time, I felt that homework was required in order to respect the character and story more.
I don't understand comic book continuity, each character seems to have so many different versions and stories, not to mention about the crossovers. Here is Jason Todd in a nut shell. After Dick Grayson aka the 1st Robin became Nightwing, Jason Todd was introduced as the new Robin. Batman was a lot mature and older when Jason Todd was introduced. Jason Todd was athletic and resembled Batman in many ways, except Jason was willing to use lethal force and weapons.
The initial concept of Jason Todd was similar to Dick Grayson. Jason was the son of circus acrobats, Joseph and Trina Todd, killed by Killer Croc. Jason was later adopted by Bruce Wayne. Jason Todd was later rewritten as a young street orphan who first encountered Batman while attempting to steal the tires off the Batmobile. This was seen in the flashbacks of Batman: Under the Red Hood. Jason was beaten to death by the Joker with a crowbar. Jason was then resurrected from the Lazarus Pit by Ra's al Ghul's daughter Talia. But in the animated film, Jason was resurrected from the Lazarus Pit by Ra's al Ghul himself. The Lazarus Pit caused a negative impact on Jason's mental instability.
Jason Todd had a number of adventures in the comic book version. He later became a murderous version of Nightwing. Jason also appeared in a number of Green Arrow's comic series as the Red Hood. Jason was seen as the Red Robin with a new suit. Jason then appeared in Battle for the Cowl, where he wore an alternate version of the Batsuit and revealed he had always wanted to replace Batman. And there was a Red Hood and Scarlett after the events in Battle for the Cowl. I think Jason Todd pretty much went cuckoo in most versions of his story.
So with all the above background information on Jason Todd, my second viewing of Batman: Under the Red Hood was more enjoyable and here is why. My knowledge of all things Batman comes from the movies. I've watched all the Batman movies in our generation, i.e those directed by Tim Burton, Joel Schumacher and Christopher Nolan. I have seen them all at least 3 times or more, even the bad ones! We have seen many iconic DC characters on the big screen with Batman, we have seen the Joker and Two-Face twice, we are familiar with the Penguin, Mr Freeze, The Riddler, Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Robin. To me, it was refreshing to see a new character I know so little about, I didn't even know Jason Todd existed until now! The back story was little overwhelming at first, because I wasn't aware of the relationship between Bruce Wayne/ Batman and Jason Todd/ Red Hood. I thought the action and the fight scenes in Batman: Under the Red Hood were awesome. My favorite action scenes were the rooftop chase scene and the Red Hood versus the Jedi scene (I mean The Fearsome Hand of Four). The end scene with Red Hood held the Joker hostage, demanding Batman to choose between him and the Joker was pretty intense. Jensen Ackles was so awesome, I almost feel that he was too good with his voice, he brought so much intensity to the scene, the animation visual couldn't level with his voice. It felt like I want to see the face of the actor, I want to see his expression. Because that scene was so good and intense, it would have been perfect if we could see the actors performance in a live action setting.
I have mentioned it on a number of occasions that I would LOVE to see Jason Todd/ Red Hood on the big screen. But it won't happen any time soon, not until the Christian Bale version of Batman has grown older (Bale is still portraying a younger version of Bruce Wayne/ Batman). We won't see Jason Todd before Dick Grayson, who is the first Robin. Jason Todd/ Red Hood appeared in a very later stage of the Batman timeline. (That makes Batman so old!) I think Jason Todd/ Red Hood is as dark as Bruce Wayne/ Batman, this character has huge potential. Jason Todd fits into the whole really dark theme of Batman very well. Again, I can see Jensen Ackles on the big screen as Red Hood.
On the DC calender, Jason Todd will star in Red Hood: The Lost Days written by Judd Winick, a six issue miniseries to coincide with the release of the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood. The story will concentrate on Jason's Todd's lost years of globe-trotting and training after his death and resurrection before his return to Gotham. Look out for it! On something completely random, just before I started composing for this blog post I read an article on 'concepts, not big-name actors, now real stars of films'. Thank you!! Finally someone gets it! That's what movies should be about. Fans are smarter these days, and we are critical and hard to please. Take Inception for example. Yes we have Leonard DiCaprio starring in the movie, but the concept of the film was so brilliant and engaging, I was watching a movie, not a celebrity and I have so much respect for Christopher Nolan as a director. He doesn't treat his audience like idiots, he is not some studio puppets who would grab any scripts and cast big names to star in the movie, thinking audience would watch anything with big name celebrities. I pay to watch a movie for good content, originality and creativity. I respect someone who can act, does his/ her homework, does justice to the character, I don't care if you are big name celebrities, previous award winners or no name talents.
OK so... here are a few panels I will be keep an eye on. I will be on Twitter following live tweets. These are of course in San Diego time.
Friday 23 July
12:45 pm – 1:45 pm The Big Bang Theory Screening and Q&A
Guests: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons,Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar with executive producers Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady.
Moderator: Wil Wheaton 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm World Premiere: Batman: Under the Red Hood Not sure which cast members will appear in the post-screen panel.
Saturday 24 July
6pm Thor & Captain America (and it's really Captain America I semi-care about) Not sure if Chris Evans and others will make it as they are in London filming at the moment.
Sunday 25 July
10:00 am – 11:00 am Smallville Screening and Q&A
Guests: Tom Welling, Erica Durance, Cassidy Freeman and Justin Hartley with Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson.
Moderator: Geoff Johns 11:15 am – 12:15 pm Supernatural Screening and Q&A
Guests: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padelicki, Misha Collins and Jim Beaver, plus Eric Kripke, Ben Edlund, and new show-runner Sera Gamble.
There were three Jensen Ackles in my dream last night. One represented the present, the second one represented the past and the third one represented the future. It was kindly creepy.
I think they were trying to kill each other. And in the end, the winner (I forgot who), put a mask on the dead ones and walked away. Or something like that.
Yeah it was creepy!
Speaking of the man, this is another attempt to campaign Jensen to be cast as Red Hood/ Jason Todd in Christopher Nolan's third Batman movie.
Batman: Under the Red Hood DVD releases July 27. For another clip from the DVD featuring Jensen, check it out on YouTube.
Jensen Ackles is getting good review from his voice role in Batman: Under the Red Hood animation. I can't wait to get hold of it!!! Again.. Christopher Nolan, you NEED to cast Jensen as Jason Todd/ Red Hood in Batman III.
Not only Jensen is getting some fangirl love, he is now getting more fanboy love too! Here is a review on Batman: Under the Red Hood from ComicBookMovie & here & here.
"The appearance of Red Hood, voiced by the fan-loved Jensen Ackles, makes me ill that I haven’t seen him on-screen as a villain, as his voice commanded the fear and anonymity that Hood desired. This was a brilliant casting choice…perfect."
Creation Con has announced the 2011 Supernatural calender. There are 3 types of calenders of per previous year. A Dean solo, a Sam solo and a Dean/ Sam calender. HOT! There are other cool merchandise too. Details here!
I cannot wait to watch Batman: Under theRed Hood! The DVD releases on 27 July.
Bruce Timm, the Executive Producer of the animation talked about Jensen Ackles and Red Hood here.. Again, WB, if you are reading this, please put Red Hood into the new Batman movie and cast Jensen Ackles for the role. Anyway, read the full interview here.
So, it's the hellatus. Don't expect too much news on the actors of Supernatural, they are just having a break, doing the convention tours and whatever the pie they want.
As blogged, Jensen Ackles will be on the Batman: Under the Red Hood, the Blue-Ray and DVD will release on July 27. Here is a little something from the director Andrea Romano on Jensen's performance. Read the full article at ComicBookMovie.
Fans are be surprised how good an actor Jensen is. But I think industry people are surprised to know he really is one of the best actors from his generation and he can really act and nailed everything that was given to him. Don't shut me up, I vote Red Hood/ Jason Todd to be in the Batman III.
Marvel has big things lined up for the next few years with The Avengers stuff. I am surprised DC hasn't done much. Green Lantern is good, I guess, but for this to be at the front line for DC, that's just weak. You won't see a new Superman movie for awhile, I don't think they will do a Justice League movie, which they should! They have Flash and Aquaman in the works but I think Marvel will win this race.
I have heard some good stuff in recent days about the season six of Supernatural. Also, I've heard Jensen will be directing the 4th episode. I'll do a big update later when I have more details. Until then, know this: Supernatural season six is in good hands. In Gamble, I trust.
Also, I've been catching up with my Lost podcast with Jay and Jack. It makes me realise one thing: FANS ARE HARD TO PLEASE. THEY ARE NEVER HAPPY.
[Updated] Further to my recent post, the Collider has posted more details on the DVD and the Blueray release of Batman: Under the Red Hood.
The DVD release will have more than two hours of bonus features; while the Blueray will be more than three hours of bonus features as well as digital copy. Humm.... Details can be found on the Collider website. Watch the trailer for the release of Batman: Under the Red Hood, in which the mighty Jensen Ackles provides the voice for Jason Todd/ Red Hood is here. They so should make this into a live action movie!
The DVD is released on July 27 2010! Amazon now has a page for the DVD & Blueray, it is not available for pre-order yet, but I imagine it will be soon.
"Texan actor and one of the CW’s biggest stars Jensen Ackles of the TV series Supernatural has been working on his latest movie role in Batman: Under the Red Hood....."
Batman: Under the Red Hood is due to release July 27th 2010 according to Right Cinema.They should write: The hottest and most talented Jensen Ackles, who should be Captain America. Update
Writer, Judd Winick talked to Comic Book Resources about the the project Red Hood, upcoming DVD release and also Jensen Ackles as Jason Todd/ Red Hood.
I say, this story has the potential to be on the big screen! Make Batman: Under the Red Hood into a live action movie and get Jensen Ackles to play the role!!! At Salute to Supernatural on the weekend, Jensen mentioned that he spent 3 hours yesterday [Saturday] doing final voice over for Red Hood. And he got voice over job because a WB project and studio said why not use him. [Note to WB, invest in Jensen on more live action movies PLEASE!!!] Jensen also did a VO job for Tron the video game. (Pictured: The Comic "Red Hood: Lost Days" debuts June 2. Does this not scream Jensen to you??)
OK.. you may have seen this already, but I don't care. Here they are! New interview with Jim Beaver and Mark Pellegrino. Both will appear on stage at this weekend's Salute to Supernatural in LA.
Jim Beaver talked to MovieWeb about tonight's episode and season finale. Be ware of spoilers.
Mark Pellegrino talked to TV Guide about Supernatural and Lost. Seriously! I love Jacob.
Geeky is sexy. ComicBookMovie has this feature on Batman: Under the Red Hood. Hear what fans of Batman and Red Hood or DC or whatever have to say about this. The DVD is due to be released in Summer 2010. Stay turned for more details on this.
The official description of the story: Batman faces his ultimate challenge as the mysterious Red Hood takes Gotham City by firestorm. One part vigilante, one part criminal kingpin, Red Hood (Jensen Ackles) begins cleaning up Gotham City with the efficiency of Batman, but without following the same ethical code. Killing is an option. And when The Joker falls in the balance between the two, hard truths emerge and old wounds reopen. Don't forget to watch Supernatural shortly on the CW!
Thanks to Winchester Bros for the heads up!! ENJOY!!!! This is the first look at the animation Batman: Under the Red Hood. I can't wait to see the actual DVD!
See Jensen doing the voice-action in the studio, there is also a short interview. AWESOME!!!! I am so going to buy this! And also you see Mr Neil Patrick Harris in voice-action too!
Holy Jensen Red Hood Batman! Jensen talks about Red Hood on ComicBookMovie.
"The other newcomer to animation acting is Jensen Ackles, who voices the villain of the piece, the Red Hood. Ackles, of course, is best known for his portrayal of Dean Winchester on The CW series, Supernatural.
“There really wasn’t any heavy acting choices to make,” says Ackles regarding Red Hood. “It pretty much just bounced off the page, and I just tried to do it justice. With working in this medium, once you get clear on all the specific pronunciations and how the tone of the voice needs to rise and fall, it was really about focusing on the more emotional elements of the script, especially in the intense moments and trying to envision the scene with the characters. And envisioning yourself in that scenario. A lot of times if you can do that, if you can put yourself there, I think the voice follows suit.”
Between his work on Supernatural and now the world of Batman, Ackles obviously has had some experience working in what has affectionately been called the “fan boy genre.”
“The positives of working in this genre are that the fans are extremely devoted,” he offers. “People really invest themselves in these stories and characters, and the mythology behind them. To be a part of something that so many people really get behind and want more of is extremely gratifying.”
Batman: Under The Red Hood will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in October."
Batman: Under the Red Hood is not to be watched on Sunday morning with your kids. It's a dark drama with blood, violence, it has plenty of pain and angst. I don't normally watch animation unless I am captivated by the story or if it's super cute. And to be honest, I watch Red Hood because of Jensen Ackles, who voiced Jason Todd/ Red Hood. He did a great job. Anyone who needs an actor to play a character to channel angst and pain, Jensen Ackles is your man! I think this would have been a perfect big screen role for Jensen Ackles, obviously someone older would require to play Bruce Wayne/ Batman.
I don't know who did the Jason Todd drawing, but whoever you are, you are awesome!
I thought the action and the fight scenes in Batman: Under the Red Hood were awesome. My favorite action scenes were the rooftop chase scene and the Red Hood versus the Jedi scene (I mean The Fearsome Hand of Four). The end scene with Red Hood held the Joker hostage, demanding Batman to choose between him and the Joker was pretty intense. Jensen Ackles was so awesome, I almost feel that he was too good with his voice, he brought so much intensity to the scene, the animation visual couldn't level with his voice. It felt like I want to see the face of the actor, I want to see his expression. Because that scene was so good and intense, it would have been perfect if we could see the actors performance in a live action setting. 
