Batman & Robin (film) facts for kids

Batman & Robin
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Joel Schumacher
Produced by	Peter MacGregor-Scott
Written by	Akiva Goldsman
Starring	Arnold Schwarzenegger George Clooney Chris O'Donnell Uma Thurman Alicia Silverstone Michael Gough Pat Hingle Elle Macpherson
Music by	Elliot Goldenthal
Cinematography	Stephen Goldblatt
Editing by	Dennis Virkler Mark Stevens
Studio	Warner Bros.
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	June 12, 1997 (1997-06-12) (Los Angeles) June 20, 1997 (1997-06-20) (United States)
Running time	125 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$125–160 million
Money made	$238 million

Batman & Robin is a 1997 American superhero film. It is based on the famous DC Comics characters Batman and Robin. This movie is the fourth and last film in the first Batman film series from Warner Bros.. It is a follow-up to Batman Forever.

The movie was directed by Joel Schumacher and written by Akiva Goldsman. It stars George Clooney as Bruce Wayne / Batman. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Mr. Freeze. Chris O'Donnell returns as Dick Grayson / Robin. Other stars include Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, and Elle Macpherson.

The story follows Batman and Robin as they try to stop Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy. These villains want to take over the world. At the same time, Batman and Robin struggle to work together as a team.

Warner Bros. quickly started making Batman & Robin after Batman Forever did well at the box office. The director wanted the film to be more like a cartoon and to help sell toys. The movie came out in Los Angeles on June 12, 1997. It was released everywhere on June 20. The film made $238.2 million worldwide. However, it was seen as a disappointment because it cost a lot to make. Critics did not like the movie, and it is often called one of the worst films ever made.

One song from the movie, "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" by The Smashing Pumpkins, won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. Because the movie was not well-received, Warner Bros. stopped making more Batman films for a while. This included a planned movie called Batman Unchained.

Story of the Film

Batman and Robin face a new enemy, Mr. Freeze. He has been stealing diamonds. During a fight at a museum, Freeze steals a large diamond and escapes. He freezes Robin, so Batman cannot follow him.

Later, Batman and Robin learn that Mr. Freeze was once Dr. Victor Fries. He was a scientist trying to find a cure for a serious illness affecting his wife, Nora. An accident in his lab made him unable to live in normal temperatures. He now needs a special suit powered by diamonds to survive.

At a Wayne Enterprises lab in Brazil, Dr. Pamela Isley is a botanist. She works for Dr. Jason Woodrue, who is using her plant research to create a powerful formula called Venom. Pamela sees Woodrue use Venom to turn Antonio Diego into the strong Bane. She threatens to tell everyone about Woodrue's experiments. Woodrue tries to kill her, but instead, the chemicals change Pamela into Poison Ivy. Ivy kills Woodrue and escapes to Gotham City with Bane. She plans to use Wayne's money for her plant research.

Meanwhile, Alfred Pennyworth's niece, Barbara Wilson, visits. Bruce invites her to stay at Wayne Manor. Dick finds out that Barbara has been doing drag races. She is raising money for Alfred, who is also suffering from the same illness as Mr. Freeze's wife. Alfred had kept this a secret from Bruce and Dick.

Batman and Robin try to catch Freeze by using the Wayne Family diamonds as bait at a charity event. Freeze crashes the party but is caught and sent to Arkham Asylum. Ivy becomes interested in Freeze and helps him escape.

Batman, Robin, and the police go to Freeze's hideout. They find Nora in a frozen chamber. They also learn that Freeze has found a cure for the early stages of the illness. Freeze, Ivy, and Bane secretly return to get Freeze's diamonds and Nora. Ivy wants Freeze for herself, so she unplugs Nora's chamber and steals the diamonds. This makes Freeze angry at Batman.

At Ivy's hideout, Ivy tricks Freeze into thinking Batman killed Nora. Freeze vows to freeze all of humanity for revenge. Ivy plans to repopulate the Earth with her mutant plants. Freeze and Bane take over Gotham Observatory. They turn its new telescope into a giant freeze ray. Ivy uses the Bat-Signal to call Robin. Robin tries to go after Ivy alone, but Batman stops him.

Barbara discovers the Batcave. An AI version of Alfred shows her a special suit he made for her. Barbara puts on the suit and becomes Batgirl. She arrives at Ivy's hideout to help Batman and Robin.

Freeze starts to cover Gotham in ice. Batman, Robin, and Batgirl go to the Observatory to stop him. Batman defeats Freeze. Batgirl and Robin stop Bane and thaw the city. Freeze blames Batman for Nora's death. But Batman shows him a recording of Ivy admitting her crime. Batman tells Freeze that Nora is still alive. He offers Freeze a chance to continue his research if he shares his cure. Freeze agrees and returns to Arkham. He is put in the same cell as Ivy, and he promises to get revenge on her. Alfred receives the cure and gets better. Bruce and Dick agree to let Barbara join them in fighting crime.

Characters in the Film

John Glover plays Dr. Jason Woodrue, a scientist who wants to take over the world with his powerful "supersoldiers." Bane, played by Robert Swenson, becomes Poison Ivy's bodyguard. Michael Reid MacKay plays Bane before he gets his powers. Vivica A. Fox and Vendela Kirsebom play Mr. Freeze's assistant and frozen wife. Elizabeth Sanders is Gossip Gerty, a Gotham gossip writer. Michael Paul Chan and Kimberly Scott are telescope scientists. Coolio has a small role as Jonathan Crane. He was supposed to play Scarecrow in the next Batman movie, which was cancelled.

Making the Film

How the Idea Started

After Batman Forever was a hit in 1995, Warner Bros. quickly decided to make a sequel. They asked director Joel Schumacher and writer Akiva Goldsman to return. They wanted to release the new movie by June 1997. Schumacher wanted the film to be like the fun 1960s TV show and the drawings of comic artist Dick Sprang.

The story for Batman & Robin was thought up by Schumacher and Goldsman. Parts of Mr. Freeze's background came from a Batman: The Animated Series episode called "Heart of Ice." The studio wanted the movie to be more "toyetic," meaning it would help sell toys. Toy companies even helped design Mr. Freeze's blaster. Batman's creator, Bob Kane, was also involved and gave ideas for the script and sets.

Chris O'Donnell came back as Robin, but Val Kilmer did not return as Batman. Schumacher said it was hard to work with Kilmer on Forever. George Clooney was chosen to play Batman. Schumacher liked that Clooney brought humor and a friendly feeling to the character. He also thought Clooney looked like Batman from the comics. Because they were in a hurry, Batman's costume from Batman Forever was used again for some parts of the new movie.

For Mr. Freeze, actors like Ed Harris and Anthony Hopkins were considered. But the script was changed for Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schumacher wanted Mr. Freeze to look "big and strong." Mr. Freeze's armor was very expensive to make. Schwarzenegger wore a bald cap and blue lights in his mouth for the role. His makeup and costume took six hours to put on each day.

For Poison Ivy, Demi Moore and Julia Roberts were considered. But Uma Thurman got the role because she liked the character's strong and mysterious personality. Alicia Silverstone was the only choice for Batgirl. She reportedly lost weight for the role before filming.

Filming Details

Filming for Batman & Robin started on September 12, 1996. It finished in late January 1997, which was two weeks early. This allowed George Clooney to also work on his TV show ER. Chris O'Donnell said he didn't work with Arnold Schwarzenegger on set, even though they spent time together off-set. They used stand-ins when one actor was busy. A stunt coordinator taught Alicia Silverstone how to ride a motorcycle for her Batgirl role.

Filming stopped for a short time when Mr. Freeze's blaster prop went missing from the set. Police investigated and found it at a collector's home. The public was very interested in the movie, which caused security problems on set. Paparazzi often bothered the filming, and photos of Schwarzenegger on set sold for a lot of money.

Chris O'Donnell felt that Batman & Robin felt more like a "toy commercial" than a movie, compared to Batman Forever. He also said his Robin costume was uncomfortable and made him sweat. The director, Joel Schumacher, would often tell everyone on set, "Remember, everyone, this is a cartoon." This helped set the light tone for the film. Many different stunt doubles were used for Batman, Robin, and Mr. Freeze. Some were good at ice skating or aerial stunts.

Most of the movie was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. The Greystone Mansion was used for scenes at Wayne Manor. Some parts were also filmed in Vienna, Austria, and in Canada. Large sets were built, including a frozen Gotham City. For scenes with people frozen by Mr. Freeze's ray, life-sized mannequins covered in fake ice were made. The ice effects alone took half a year to create. The movie used 450 visual effects shots, which was a lot for the time.

Movie Music

Elliot Goldenthal created the music for Batman & Robin, just like he did for Batman Forever. The soundtrack has many different kinds of music. It includes alternative rock songs like "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" by The Smashing Pumpkins and "Lazy Eye" by Goo Goo Dolls. R.E.M.'s "Revolution" was also featured.

R&B singer R. Kelly wrote "Gotham City" for the soundtrack. This song was played during the end credits and became a top 10 hit in the US and UK. Other R&B artists like Eric Benét and Meshell Ndegeocello also contributed songs. The hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony had a hit with "Look into My Eyes. Some songs had electronic dance elements, like those by Moloko and Arkarna. The soundtrack was released on May 27, 1997, before the movie came out. The full orchestral music score was never released for sale.

"The End Is the Beginning Is the End" by The Smashing Pumpkins won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance.

Release of the Film

Batman & Robin first showed on June 12, 1997, in Westwood, Los Angeles. The UK premiere was held at Battersea Power Station in London. The building was decorated to look like Gotham City. The movie opened in the United States on June 20, 1997, in many theaters. It stayed in theaters for about 6 weeks. The film was released on DVD four months later, on October 22, 1997. A special edition DVD came out in 2005 with a documentary about how the Batman film series was made.

Promoting the Film

The first trailer for Batman & Robin was shown on TV in February 1997. Warner Bros. spent a lot of money to promote the film. Several Six Flags amusement parks added new roller coasters based on the movie. Batman & Robin: The Chiller opened at Six Flags Great Adventure in 1997. A Mr. Freeze-themed roller coaster opened at Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags St. Louis in 1998.

Taco Bell had a big promotion for the movie. They sold Batman-themed cups, toys, and figures. Trading cards were also sold, some signed by the actors. A video game based on the movie, called Batman & Robin, was released for the PlayStation in 1998.

Planned Sequel that was Cancelled

While Batman & Robin was being filmed, Warner Bros. liked what they saw. They quickly asked Joel Schumacher to direct a fifth Batman movie. However, writer Akiva Goldsman did not want to write the script. In late 1996, Warner Bros. and Schumacher hired Mark Protosevich to write the script for the next film. They planned to release it in mid-1999.

This planned movie was called Batman Unchained. Protosevich's script featured the Scarecrow as the main villain. Scarecrow would use a special fear gas to make Batman see the Joker as a ghost. Harley Quinn was also going to be in the movie as the Joker's daughter. Schumacher wanted Nicolas Cage to play Scarecrow and Courtney Love for Harley Quinn. George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Alicia Silverstone, and Coolio were set to return. It was hoped that villains from earlier films, like Jack Nicholson as the Joker, would appear in Batman's hallucinations.

But because Batman & Robin did not do well with critics or at the box office, George Clooney said he would never play Batman again. Warner Bros. then cancelled all future Batman films, including Schumacher's Batman Unchained. Chris O'Donnell also said that a spin-off movie about Robin was planned but was cancelled because Batman & Robin was not successful.

Images for kids

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  A display of Arnold Schwarzenegger's costume as Mr. Freeze.

See also

In Spanish: Batman y Robin para niños