Batman Returns' Lack of Christmas Spirit

Every December, people break out their favorite holiday films. However, one can only watch the likes of the Grinch, Home Alone, Miracle On 34th Street, and many more for only so long. Cable television does not help when channels put these movies on loop. Audiences tend to start looking at rather otherly holiday films. People want a Christmas film but want some variety as well, not the a-typical stuff that Hallmark spews out either. Enter Batman Returns!

Year after year, Batman fans love to hold Tim Burton's 1992 blockbuster Batman Returns up as a Christmas film. Psychologist, Batman fan, and Arkham Sessions host - Dr. Andrea Letamendi refers to the film as one of her favorite holiday films. No doubt the film takes place during December, and even the original Batman II script by Sam Hamm, which Tim Burton threw out, takes place weeks before Christmas. Again, we can only watch It's A Wonderful Life so many times. Meanwhile, there are rather non-family holiday films like Bad Santa or Scrooged. Can Batman Returns join the fold of these?

First and foremost, a film taking place during Christmas hardly makes it a holiday film. Yes, there is the cold, wintery palate within the film as well. Remember, not everyone gets snow for Christmas, like in Bing Crosby's Mele Kalikimaka. If we use just the setting, then many other films by this broad meaning are Christmas films. Check out Sylvester Stallone as Rambo in First Blood. When he is taken into custody and brought to the precinct, you see the office has Christmas decorations up. Yet, no one ever makes a case for First Blood as a Christmas film. I wonder why. No doubt, a holiday backdrop with decorations, snow, and other traditional elements one requires for a Christmas film do help. Yet, this is just servicing, nothing but window dressing. Does the film have anything to do with the meaning and or themes of Christmas?

A Christmas Carol?

On Arkham Sessions, they somewhat refer to Batman Returns as A Christmas Carol, when they interpret each villain - The Penguin, Catwoman, and even Max Shreck as a possible path Bruce Wayne (Batman) could have gone. I dare say this is quite a stretch. None of these characters represent a past, present, and or future for Bruce Wayne here. If DC fans want to dig into the multiverse, this can be a possibility. However, the Bruce Wayne here and now within this film shows no trajectory to such lust for power as Max Shreck, inhumanity as The Penguin, or such self-destructive, sadness as Catwoman.

What is forgotten in A Christmas Carol is the theme of class division and redemption. Charles Dickens' novel was one of the first to criticize the wealthy in a way, with Scrooge's disregard for the poor, especially children. There is no real class consciousness within Batman Returns, as The Penguin is looking for nothing of material gain. Some Marxist critic or theorist can possibly paint this vision onto The Penguin, but again he is not after anything material. He is not cast out for his economic status but his deformity. His carnival gang is certainly no ruling class elite, but the division in this film, like most Tim Burton films is between the status quo and simply the goth, emo, loner, outcasts.

Nobody has an arc of redemption. Our hero Batman begins as a hero and ends as a hero, with no real change. Catwoman's murder of villain Max Schreck is not redeeming in any Christian pre-tense. Max Schreck may take his son's place in The Penguin's murderous plot, but does this make up for his past crimes, and his shooting of Catwoman? Finally, The Penguin is a tragic character with nothing redeemable about him by the time of his demise.

Christmas Themes

Now Christmas has so many meanings and to so many people. Christmas is most commonly associated with the birth of Christ. Nowhere does the film come off as a religious piece, interested in the Christian faith, or paying any real homage to the birth of Christ. The closest we have to this is The Penguin's birth in the prologue of Batman Returns. We see his birth on a cold, snowy night that some assume takes place on Christmas, if not around Christmas time. We follow this with a twisted Moses-esque origin for the character, with 33 years later, going into his 'Jesus year' as Batman nerd, writer, and director Kevin Smith jokingly calls it.

Since the late 19th century, with more secularization, people have fought over the true meaning of Christmas. The holiday began to shift more towards exchanging gifts and with more focus on Santa Claus instead of Christ. The American Magazine, vol. 28 (1889) has an excerpt stating:"to give up one's very self – to think only of others – how to bring the greatest happiness to others – that is the true meaning of Christmas." I recall a Christmas episode of the sitcom Home Improvement, when the main character, Tim Taylor (in wooden puppet form), literally does this as he begins donating his entire body. Religious or not, many can agree on this meaning and even agree that this is a worthwhile meaning to have in general, holiday or not. Now I dare ask - where is the giving in Batman Returns? And no, giving criminals a punch in the face does not qualify.

Yes, Batman is putting his body on the line every night when he goes out to fight the criminals of Gotham City. Hence, he is giving of himself. However, the Batman of the Tim Burton films hardly seems all that selfless or altruistic. When asked why he does this by Vicki Vale in the first film, he gives no real concrete answer and laments it's just something that he has to do because no one else will. In both films, he is a reactionary force, not a silent guardian patrolling the city.

We see at the beginning of Batman Returns when he is sitting, brooding, not witnessing the tree lighting ceremony, and only acts when the signal is shining in the sky. Michael Caine's Alfred said it best 'You're just waiting, hoping for things to go bad again.' I dare say Alfred is not wrong. Batman sees this as a duty, a vow, and sees no real end in sight. Christmas or not, this is what Batman does. This Batman operates as some junky almost, just waiting for a crime to get his fix, beating criminals to a pulp, sometimes leading to murder.

No doubt, Batman is giving of his own identity to Selina Kyle and especially Max Schreck when he tears off his cowl. No such scenario like this exists in any other Batman story where he reveals himself in such a way when another person, especially a criminal, is present. Yes, Bruce wants happiness for Selina, asking her to spare Schreck's life, but I also feel this is his path to happiness as well. Therefore, he is thinking of himself. Bruce Wayne wants his cake and to eat it too.

The ending dialogue remains in the minds of many as Alfred drives through Gotham City on a snowy Christmas night.

Alfred: Come what may... Merry Christmas, Mr. Wayne.

Bruce Wayne: Merry Christmas, Alfred. Goodwill toward men. And women.

A common phrase for Christmas is 'peace on earth and goodwill toward men.' It is so common one may even call it a cliche' now, devoid of any real meaning. Let us take it back. It is a refrain to King James Version of Luke 2:14 and made vernacular by the Christmas carol - I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. Yet again, much like before, where is this goodwill and peace?

Max Schreck is a man of no goodwill whatsoever. He pushes his assistant out of a window! He manipulates The Penguin, hoping to bring himself more power by being able to control the mayor and get his coveted power plant. Do not forget The Penguin's blackmail details on Schreck as well. Whereas Oswald lacks any basic humanity, biting a man's nose, willing to use the kidnapping of a baby to appear as a hero. Bruce Wayne, on the other hand, shows little to no faith in his fellow man. No doubt, The Penguin is no hero, but what causes Bruce so quickly to question Oswald and begin investigating him? As Alfred notes, must Bruce be the 'only lonely man-beast?' Any die-hard Batman fan outside of this film also knows Batman hardly trusts anyone. Again, imploring no goodwill toward anyone it seems.

Batman Returns is a rather violent film, not to sound like a nagging mother. Even many Batman fans note the violence of their hero. He sticks a bomb down one villain's pants, sets another on fire with the Batmobile, and shows no real remorse over the countless other deaths in the film, like the Ice Princess for example. In his first encounter with Catwoman, he napalms her arm. In the finale with The Penguin, he redirects his penguins to demolish his lair with their missiles. After his bats attack The Penguin, leading him to fall to his death, again the Batman shows no qualms over his violent actions. No doubt that the villains in Gotham City brought this violence, but he only meets it with more violence and does not try to subdue it. We come back full-circle to that idea of Batman just waiting for chaos, for crime, for things to get bad again. Thus, he is no agent of peace. Instead, he is here to prove stability at best. In the end, his nice Christmasy comment is nothing more than an empty platitude.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that Batman Returns came to theaters in June of 1992, unlike, say Home Alone 2: Lost in New York later that year in November. Do many actual Christmas films come out in the summer? Along with that, no expansive promotion exists for a Christmas film, with toys, t-shirts, and McDonald's Happy Meals. Warner Bros. knew that much going into Batman Returns, that this is no Christmas film.

You must also ask yourself if the film can exist without the Christmas backdrop. Yes, some details require overhauling, like the Christmas tree lighting as an example. A villain can find a plethora of ways and dates to attack Gotham City and also have a damsel-in-distress. No themes of the film tie into Christmas. Meanwhile, no real meaning of Christmas ties into Batman Returns.

No doubt, people want to expand their library of Christmas films. Furthermore, it's nice to watch your favorite hero have the adventure to take place during Christmas time. Thereby, viewing it during the season only adds to the joy, and I honestly do get that. I am guilty of this flaw as well with other films. Overall, the film was essentially a beta-stage Nightmare Before Christmas because Tim Burton is less interested in telling a story and just more keen on making chilling, intriguing imagery.

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