‘Catwoman: Hunted’ Blu-ray Review

Features the voices of: Elizabeth Gillies, Stephanie Beatriz, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Kelly Hu, Jonathan Banks, Keith David, Lauren Cohan, Jacqueline Obradors, Zehra Fazal, Jonathan Frakes, Steve Blum, Andrew Kishino | Written by Greg Weisman | Directed by Shinsuke Terasawa

Catwoman: Hunted is the latest film in the rebooted DC Animated Movie slate and is, like Batman: Soul of the Dragon, heavily influenced by films of another era. In …Dragon it was 70s kung-fu cinema and here it’s 60s spy and crime thrillers – films like Danger: Diabolik and shows like The Saint, with an opening title sequence that screamed the work of Seijun Suzuki, the man responsible for a swathe of 60s crime films in Japan. Which is apt given the plot of the film, one that sees Catwoman attempt to steal a priceless jewel puts her squarely in the crosshairs of both a powerful consortium of villains called Leviathan, Batwoman and Interpol… It’s been a long time since Interpol have been a “thing” in cinema (it’s usually the CIA noir FBI these days), which harkens back to the aforementioned era of filmmaking.

What’s also interesting about Catwoman: Hunted is how female-centric it is. Not only do we have Catwoman (voiced by Elizabeth Gillies) in the lead role but there’s no Batman this time around. Instead, we get Kate Kane, aka Batwoman, as voiced by Brooklyn Nine Nine‘s Stephanie Beatriz; League of Shadows assassin Cheshire, voiced by Kelly Hu; Barbara Minerva, leader of Leviathan, voiced by Kirby Howell-Baptiste; Lauren Cohan as Julia Pennyworth – which is an interesting character choice given that the Pennyworth TV show is set in the very era this animated movie harkens back to; Jacqueline Obradors as La Dama, one of my favourite characters from the Jamie Reyes era of DC’s Blue Beetle; and then we have Zehra Fazal returning to voice not only Talia al Ghul but also vampire Nosferata.

That’s not to say there aren’t some great male performers in Catwoman: Hunted, in fact the male voice cast is stacked! Icons Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad, Community) and Keith David (They Live, Night School) voice Black Mask and Tobias Whale respectively. Then there’s ST:TNG‘s Jonathan Frakes as the voice of King Faraday / Boss Moxie; whilst voice actors Steve Blum (Young Justice) and Andrew Kishino (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) voice Solomon Grundy and Mr Yakuza.

The animation of Catwoman: Hunted is very much in the anime style, though it sits firmly in the TV show variety of animation, which is understandable given that the film’s director is Shinsuke Terasawa has worked on a LOT of anime shows in his career. In fact Catwoman: Hunted is Terasawa’s first animated feature, having previously only worked in TV animation as a director (though he’s worked as an animator on a lot of features prior to this). The anime influence extends to the film plot too. Writer Greg Weisman has explicitly stated that his script was inspired by 1979’s The Castle of Cagliostro, one of MANY animated films to feature the legendary thief Lupin III, a character who’s been around in manga and anime since the 60s. Everything comes full circle doesn’t it…

Catwoman: Hunted is also grounded in the supernatural – which is given seen as the film features the likes of Nosferata and La Dama. The film also features a very different version of Cheetah, especially if you’re only familiar with the version in Wonder Woman 84. This version of Barbara Minerva’s alter-ego is a lot more beast-like; very much more the literal cheetah – although the facial animation reminded me very much of Go Nagai’s Devil Lady, which is apt given the transformative nature of both characters and anime-like stylings of this films animation.

Much like Batman: Soul of the Dragon, Catwoman: Hunted is a huge departure for the DC animated series of films. This film looks, feels and sounds unlike anything that the series has put out previously and as such it’s truly is a breath of fresh air for the DCAU. I’d definitely be interested to see DC and Warner Bros animation take more chances like this in future!

Special Features:

• When The Hunter Becomes The Hunted – This featurette breaks down the backstory of each villain integral to the film: from Tobias Whale, Black Mask, Cheshire and Nosferata to Solomon Grundy, Talia al Ghul and Cheetah.
• Catwoman: The Feline Femme Fatale – A documentary on Catwoman’s history.

***½  3.5/5

Catwoman: Hunted is set for release on Blu-ray, DVD and Blu-ray Steelbook on 7th February 2022 and on Digital Download on the 8th February 2022.