History Trivia / BatmanBeyondReturnoftheJoker

* WriterRevolt: Again, Paul Dini's refusal to kill off Harley despite direct mandates from Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett.

* ContinuityCameo: Tim Drake's blonde wife is a nod to [[Characters/BatmanAndBatFamily Stephanie Brown]], Tim's long-time girlfriend in the comics. She's even wearing black and purple, the main colors of her superhero costume as The Spoiler. It was acknowledged in the DVD commentary of the movie.

* DistancedFromCurrentEvents: The reason there is both a cut and uncut version of this movie - the original release date for the uncut version was going to be on [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/af/BBROTJ.jpg Halloween 2000]], which was unfortunate when it was still during the fallout of the Columbine shootings, and movie companies were coming under heavy criticism for violence in films. As a result, the film was postponed, then heavily edited and released as the unrated version on December 12, 2000. Fortunately, the developers still retained the original version in shelves and eventually released it as "the original, uncut version" under the PG-13 rating on April 23, 2002 (just three days after the third anniversary of the Columbine tragedy) following an online petition to have it released.
* ExecutiveMeddling:
** Bruce Timm mandated that Harley Quinn had to die, against Paul Dini's protests, and they laugh about it on the uncut DVD commentary. He said that her torturing Tim Drake crossed a line, and her mental illness and toxic relationship with the Joker was no excuse. Paul Dini found a compromise: Harley "retired" that night after falling down the pit in Arkham, but Barbara says they didn't find her body but the Bat-family hadn't seen her reappear in ages and she's too old to be causing trouble. In the end, "Nanna Harley" appears to bail the [=DeeDee=] twins out of jail, showing that karma did get to her with the Joker recruiting her grandkids. Not to mention she is walking with a cane, like Bruce is, showing she didn't survive the fall or natural aging unscathed.
** Anyone who has seen the edited version of this film knows what we're talking about. Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} has a list of changes [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Beyond:_Return_of_the_Joker#Re-editing here]].

* SerendipityWritesThePlot: Due to Bruce Timm mandating that Harley would die for her part in torturing Tim, Paul Dini found a compromise that she survived but gave up the criminal life with "Pudding" dead for real, showing she didn't become a KarmaHoudini for breaking a child's mind. This ends up making it stronger (and scarier) when we learn that the [=DeeDee=] twins are her granddaughters, and Joker had coerced them into working for him. Indeed, the implications are that Joker specifically hunted them down because of their relationship to Harley.

* ActingForTwo: Creator/MarkHamill voices both the Joker and Jordan Pryce. [[spoiler: This is a deliberate example; Pryce is used as a RedHerring for the returned Joker's true identity and them sharing a voice actor makes the deception all the more convincing.]]

* CrossDressingVoices: Creator/AndreaRomano plays [[spoiler:Young Tim Drake during his fits of laughter]] and is actually credited as "Laughing Boy" in the film. Matthew Valencia couldn't pull off the maniacal, Joker-like giggle that the producers wanted because his voice [[VocalEvolution had changed too much.]]

** Bruce Timm mandated that [[spoiler:Harley Quinn had to die, against Paul Dini's protests, and they laugh about it on the uncut DVD commentary. He said that her torturing Tim Drake crossed a line, and her mental illness and toxic relationship with the Joker was no excuse. Paul Dini found a compromise: Harley "retired" that night after falling down the pit in Arkham, but Barbara says they didn't find her body but the Bat-family hadn't seen her reappear in ages and she's too old to be causing trouble. In the end, "Nanna Harley" appears to bail the [=DeeDee=] twins out of jail, showing that karma did get to her with the Joker recruiting her grandkids. Not to mention she is walking with a cane, like Bruce is, showing she didn't survive the fall or natural aging unscathed]].
** Anyone who has seen the edited version of this film knows what we're talking about. Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} has a list of changes [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Beyond:_Return_of_the_Joker#Re-editing here.]]

* ThrowItIn: The bit at the end with [[spoiler:Nanna Harley]] wasn't originally in the script, but Dini didn't want to let the character go. Bruce Timm agreed to leave it in because the funny moment served as a good release after the climax.

* SerendipityWritesThePlot: Due to Bruce Timm mandating that [[spoiler:Harley would die for her part in torturing Tim]], Paul Dini found a compromise that [[spoiler:she survived but gave up the criminal life with "Pudding" dead for real, showing she didn't become a KarmaHoudini for breaking a child's mind]]. This ends up making it stronger (and scarier) when we learn that [[spoiler: the [=DeeDee=] twins are her granddaughters, and Joker had coerced them into working for him]]. Indeed, the implications are that [[spoiler:Joker specifically hunted them down because of their relationship to Harley]].

** The initial design for the Dee-Dee twins was [[http://www.catsuka.com/gengal/batman/beyond/beyond_design_2d27s.jpg very different]] to the finalized film. Probably a good idea that they changed it, as it perhaps gave away the fact [[spoiler: that they were Harley Quinn's granddaughters]].

** As many fans had speculated, [[spoiler:Harley Quinn]] was indeed originally going to die when [[spoiler:she plummets into the Arkham chasm]], but Paul Dini decided to leave a scene showing her survival at the end of the movie, as he did not want to kill off the character who he felt was his biggest contribution to the Batman mythos.

** [[spoiler:Harley managed to survive her fall into the chasm at Arkham because of the serum Ivy gave her in "Harley & Ivy".]]

** Despite what many fans had thought and hoped, Poison Ivy is unrelated to the [=DeeDee=] twins.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Anyone who has seen the edited version of this film knows what we're talking about. Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} has a list of changes [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Beyond:_Return_of_the_Joker#Re-editing here.]]

** The salute the police officer gives Batman wasn't in any storyboard given to the animators. Everyone was surprised to see it in the final print, and found it too hilarious to be upset.

* ActingForTwo: Creator/MarkHamill voices both the Joker and Jordan Pryce. [[spoiler: This is a deliberate example, Pryce is used as a RedHerring for the returned Joker's true identity.]]

* ContinuityCameo: Tim Drake's blonde wife is a nod to [[Characters/BatmanAndBatFamily Stephanie Brown]], who was Tim's girlfriend in the comics at the time. She's even wearing black and purple, the main colors of her superhero costume as The Spoiler. It was acknowledged in the DVD commentary of the movie.

** As many fans had speculated, [[spoiler:Harley Quinn]] was indeed originally going to die when [[spoiler:she plummets into the Arkham chasm]], but Paul Dini decided to leave a scene showing her survival at the end of the movie, as he did not want to kill off what he felt was his biggest contribution to the Batman mythos.

* ActingForTwo: Creator/MarkHamill voices both the Joker and Jordan Pryce.

* TooSoon: The reason there is both a cut and uncut version of this movie - the original release date for the uncut version was going to be on [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/af/BBROTJ.jpg Halloween 2000]], which was unfortunate when it was still during the fallout of the Columbine shootings, and movie companies were coming under heavy criticism for violence in films. As a result, the film was postponed, then heavily edited and released as the unrated version on December 12, 2000. Fortunately, the developers still retained the original version in shelves and eventually released it as "the original, uncut version" under the PG-13 rating on April 23, 2002 (just three days after the third anniversary of the Columbine tragedy) following an online petition to have it released.

* ContinuityCameo: Tim Drake's blonde wife, is a nod to [[Characters/BatmanAndBatFamily Stephanie Brown]], who was Tim's girlfriend in the comics at the time. It was acknowledged in the DVD commentary of the movie.

* CastingGag: [[spoiler: Creator/DeanStockwell as adult Tim Drake, inspired by one of his earliest roles as the lead in ''The Boy with Green Hair'' as child actor.]]

* RealLife/MeanCharacterNiceActor: Once again, Mark Hamill as the Joker. This is the first thing he did as Joker that made him uncomfortable.

** During the flashback, The Joker wears the "Kiss the Cook" apron in both the cut and uncut versions. Originally it was going to say "''Kill'' the Cook", but the execs decided that the words would be too gruesome.

* TalkingToHimself: Creator/MarkHamill voices both the Joker and Jordan Pryce.

* ContinuityCameo: Tim Drake's blonde wife, who's wearing purple and black, is a nod to [[Characters/BatmanAndBatFamily Stephanie Brown]], who was Tim's girlfriend in the comics at the time. It was acknowledged in the DVD commentary of the movie.

* HeyItsThatVoice:
** [[Series/LawAndOrder Angie Harmon]] is Commissioner Barbara Gordon.
** Creator/DeanStockwell is the adult Tim Drake, and as such, the oldest actor to play ComicBook/{{Robin}}.
** [[Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch Melissa Joan Hart]] provides the voice of the Dee-Dee twins, Music/HenryRollins is Bonk, Creator/MichaelRosenbaum is Ghoul, and Creator/FrankWelker is Woof. Chucko is played by Don Harvey, but you're not likely to recognize his voice.

* ContinuityCameo:
** Tim Drake's blonde wife, who's wearing purple and black, is a nod to [[Characters/BatmanAndBatFamily Stephanie Brown]], who was Tim's girlfriend in the comics at the time. It was acknowledged in the DVD commentary of the movie.

** Despite what many fans had thought and hoped, Poison Ivy is unrelated to the DeeDee twins.

** [[spoiler:Harley managed to survive her fall into the chasm at Arkham because of the serum Ivy gave her in "Harley & Ivy".]]

*** Batman's interrogation of the Penguin in the flashback. Both were part of the script that got cut out of the movie due to time and pacing concerns, as confirmed in the commentary.

** [[QuantumLeap Dean Stockwell]] is the adult Tim Drake, and as such, the oldest actor to play {{Robin}}.
** [[Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch Melissa Joan Hart]] provides the voice of the Dee-Dee twins, HenryRollins is Bonk, Creator/MichaelRosenbaum is Ghoul, and Creator/FrankWelker is Woof. Chucko is played by Don Harvey, but you're not likely to recognize his voice.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The initial design for the Dee-Dee twins was [[http://www.catsuka.com/gengal/batman/beyond/beyond_design_2d27s.jpg very different]] to the finalized film. Probably a good idea that they changed it, as it perhaps gave away the fact [[spoiler: that they were Harley Quinn's granddaughters]].

* WordOfGod: The writers admitted that as they talked about the novel ''Literature/{{Hannibal}}'' one night, after the book came out but while the movie was being made, elements inspired by the novel description of Hannibal Lecter made their way into the Joker designs for the movie--the slicked-back hair on the future Joker and the {{red eyes|TakeWarning}} on both the future and flashback/''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''[=/=]''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' Joker designs.