In 2016 Bruce Timm reunited with Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill to adapt Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s acclaimed 1989 graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke. Following the comic’s nature, the animated film earned an R-rating upon its release, as Timm wanted to stay truthful to the source material, and TKJ became the first rated R DC Universe Original Animated release.
But reflecting on the film’s adult rating, the Batman: The Animated Series creator clarified it wasn’t the start of a trend of more rated-R animated DC releases moving forward.
Batman: The Killing Joke Was Its Own Thing Stressed Bruce Timm
Despite having some personal issues with Alan Moore’s graphic novel, Bruce Timm opted to stay true to the source material following his admiration for Moore’s work on The Killing Joke. Apart from the film’s controversial prologue, which divided fans upon its arrival, the rest of the film was almost identical to the novel as a result. So, it’s reasonable to see why the film ended up earning an R rating, as Timm didn’t want to tone down the intensity presented in the comic.
But while The Killing Joke‘s adult rating was justified following the twisted nature of the novel it was based on, Timm clarified this wasn’t the beginning of a new trend of rated-R DCAMU releases.
He told Empire Magazine:
“Truthfully, if you did any straight-up adaptation of almost any current DC comic, chances are you’re going to have to get an R rating. The material is pretty intense these days. People have asked me that, but it’s not like we’re going to suddenly do lots of R-rated animated movies. This is a special case.”
However, TKJ did end up opening the door for more rated-R DC stories, which wouldn’t have gotten made under the PG banner, with major examples being Justice League Dark and Apokolips War.
Bruce Timm Was Once Forced to Make One DC Release Less Intense
Batman: The Killing Joke wasn’t Bruce Timm‘s first attempt at tackling such intense material in a DC animated release, as in 2000, he pushed the boundaries of the medium with Return of the Joker.
From incorporating darker overtones to graphic violence, ROTJ was way edgier than its predecessor Batman Beyond. But unlike The Killing Joke, the studio execs weren’t inclined to release the uncut version following the general attitude toward violence in media at the time. This led to Timm being tasked to trim down and re-edit the film to make it more age-appropriate for its DVD release, which was torture for the animator.
He explained (via World’s Finest and Toon Zone):
“Well, I’d probably be a little less adamant about pushing for such edgy material…bottom line is that the home video dept. markets their cartoons directly at children. I’m very proud of ROTJ, but a ‘kid-friendly’ movie it definitely isn’t! I mean, ultimately, it all worked out; they got the ‘age-appropriate’ version they wanted (kind of!), and we fans eventually got the nastier version WE wanted, but that whole editing and Re-editing process that we went through was torture. Like cutting the fingers off your own baby.”
On the bright side, Timm was eventually allowed to release the uncut version in 2002, which, to this date, remains the lone Batman Beyond feature.
Return of the Joker and Batman: The Killing Joke is available to stream on Max.
