Warner Archive Collection is toasting the 20th anniversary of its Annie Award-winning DC animated movie Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero with a remastered Blu-ray release, available March 27, as well as a chill one-hour panel set for WonderCon.
The panel, scheduled for Friday, March 23 at 1 p.m. in Room 300B of the Anaheim Convention Center, will feature Warner Archive Podcast hosts D.W. Ferranti and Matthew Patterson, who will be joined by some surprised guests to present remastered footage and discuss the film and Mr. Freeze’s evolution from a goofy villain into a multidimensional character driven by the desire to find a cure for his dying wife.
Released direct-to-video on March 17, 1998, the movie sees Batman (voiced by Kevin Conroy) face an ice-cold case when Mr. Freeze (Michael Ansara) returns to Gotham City and kidnaps Batgirl (Mary Kay Bergman). While unraveling the mystery of her disappearance, Batman and Robin (Loren Lester) discover that she is part of Mr. Freeze’s plan to save his dying wife — no matter what cost. With time running out, the dynamic duo must crack the case and stop Gotham’s most cold-blooded villain from putting Batgirl “on ice” forever.
Directed by Boyd Kirkland (Batman: The Animated Series, sequence director Mask of the Phantasm) from a script he wrote with B:TAS and Animaniacs vet Randy Rogel, SubZero also reunited B:TAS voicers Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred, Robert Costanzo as Detective Harvey Bullock, Robert Hastings as Commissioner Gordon, Marilu Henner as Veronica Vreeland, Mari Devon as Summer Gleeson, Liane Schirmer as Lt. Renee Montoya, and frequent guest George Dzundza as Dr. Gregory Belson, joined by Dean Jones as Dean Arbagast, with Rahi Azizi as Koonak, Lauren Tom as Mariko, Frank Welker, Tress MacNeille, Townsend Coleman, Neil Ross, Randy Thompson, Ed Gilbert, Brian George and Carl Lumbly. Andrea Romano was casting and dialogue director for the movie.
In addition to the 67-minute movie (presented in its original 4×3 full frame aspect ratio), the Blu-ray release includes special features Art of Batman: Music Montage, Get the Picture: How to Draw Batman, theatrical trailer, and the B:TAS/New Batman Adventures/Batman Beyond “Mr. Freeze Saga” in chronological order – four standard def. episodes entitled “Heart of Ice,” “Deep Freeze,” “Cold Comfort” and “Meltdown.”
