ANI-MOVIES, *Batman And Harley Quinn

Intended to be a continuation of the 90s Batman: The Animated Series, this crossover is more of a Bruce Timm project set in a similar universe giving reference to DC Comics concepts like the Justice League or parallel universes. Given the rising popularity of Joker's ex-girlfriend/punching bag, Harley had gained enough success in her own on-again/off-again title, as well as several specials and mini-series. So, making an entire animated project around her was somewhat inevitable.

Even though its in its own timeline, the movie sets out sometime after the finale of the Justice League Unlimited TV show. The Floronic Man is a dryad that was exiled from another dimension, and one of the few DC characters that has access to a plant source of energy called The Green. He teams up with Poison Ivy to come up with a formula that would transform everyone on Earth into plant people similar to Swamp Thing. The veggie villains kidnap a scientist under Ivy's influence to help them. Batman gets wind of this, and sets Nightwing out to look for Ivy's old bad girl buddy, Harley Quinn, who at this time has cut off all ties with the Joker and worked out a meager living as a version of "herself" at a superhero cosplay cafe. She and Nightwing have a brief tiff just before they end up making out a little, and Batman picks them up to look for one of Ivy's old henchman at a bar for super-minions. The new Dynamic Trio confront Ivy and Floronic Man where they kill their captive as they escape. Batman, Nightwing, and Quinn conclude that their floral foes plan to release their virus in the same swamp where Swamp Thing was created, and once there Harley manages to appeal to Ivy by giving her a "boo-hoo" face. Floronic Man gets a hold of the finished formula, and just before he releases it into the water to contaminate the world, Swamp Thing himself appears to make the most completely unnecessary cameo, leaving Batman to just set Floronic Man on fire. Quinn then gets her own talk show where people have to run their own Double Dare course in order to get psychological help.

Batman And Harley Quinn functions fairly well as a single Batman story, although there's alot of inconsistencies if your trying to fit in the original DCAU. One is the flashback scene from Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker showing Harley getting back together with Joker. Another is no mention of Tim Drake or Batgirl, plus no assistance from any of the Justice League just because Nightwing thinks most of the heroes available were annoying. I know this is intended to be a slight spoof of the whole DC Universe, but if some supervillain is planning on turning everyone in the world into plant people, then you'd think Batman would get over his annoyance with second-string heroes like Booster Gold! Despite its lack of catering to comic fans who actually appreciate the concept of continuity, it makes for a humorous viewing for hardcore Harley lovers.