All 31 animated Batman movies ranked from worst to best

19. Batman: Gotham Knight

Batman: Gotham Knight is a pretty unusual movie to look back on. Fans were used to DC Universe animated original movies at the time, but the unique thing about Gotham Knight is that it’s set in the world of Christopher Nolan’s iconic Dark Knight trilogy, bridging the gap between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

It’s also unique for being a series of six shorts, all produced by Japanese animation studios to offer up their own style and visuals. It’s very effective, as each of those styles complement their own stories, allowing us to see Batman through different eyes – something that feels very appropriate given that Gotham is still in awe of him.

Some of the shorts are stronger than others, but all of them paint vivid pictures of a crime-ridden city in desperate need of a hero. And, to make things even better, Kevin Conroy voices the Caped Crusader, which is pretty neat since he’s essentially playing the same Batman that Christian Bale portrayed in the movies.

Gotham Knight isn’t an essential part of The Dark Knight Trilogy (heck, it’s up for debate as to whether it’s even considered canon these days) but it is a strong companion that builds out the world in ways that some of the grounded movies in that franchise never really did.