Film

Batman: The Killing Joke

Name: Batman: The Killing Joke
Genre: Animation, Crime, Drama, Action, Thriller
Released: 2016
Cast: Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Tara Strong, Ray Wise, John DiMaggio

A brutal, elegant animated adaptation of the landmark graphic novel. Batman and Joker collide in a story about how close sanity and madness are, told with stunning visual economy and a genuinely disturbing edge. For adult animation fans who want substance with their superhero tales.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want Batman stories that treat the Joker as a psychological puzzle rather than a costumed nuisance, and you don't mind a grown-up, unsettling tone in a short, tightly built animated film.

Skip it if you're after a lighter, more playful Batman, since its mood stays bleak and its cruelty is blunt, and it rests heavily on a single central idea.

What it asks of you: Roughly seventy-seven minutes, unhurried in its quieter stretches and sharp in its brief bursts, with a dark palette and scenes that reward close attention.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Superman: The Animated Series1996

The same creative team (Dini, Timm) at their visual peak, proving animation could tell serious superhero stories with weight and beauty. Essential viewing.

But It's 52 episodes and demands patience early on, though it pays off completely by the end.

Batman: The Animated Series1992

The foundation of everything: where Kevin Conroy became the voice of Batman, where the Joker was redefined, where animation proved it could do noir. Visually and narratively flawless.

But The early episodes have some lighter, sillier material before it found its tone. And you'll want to watch all of it.

Watchmen2009

An adaptation that respects source material without being enslaved by it. Visually audacious, morally complex, and treats superheroes as adults with adult consequences.

But It's bleak, sometimes pretentious, and the ending divides people sharply. Nearly three hours, too.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Batman: The Killing Joke

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners2022

Both explore what happens to people when systems fail them, when there's no safety net, no escape. Both are visually stunning depictions of moral collapse.

A 10-episode anime about desperation, poverty, and how quickly hope becomes ruin. Gorgeously animated, narratively perfect, and emotionally devastating in ways that match *The Killing Joke*'s willingness to hurt you.

But It's brutally violent and nihilistic. The ending is genuinely dark and offers no redemption. Anime pacing and style won't suit everyone.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 22013

A two-part animated epic that captures Miller's brutal reimagining of an aging Batman. Gorgeously directed, violent, and genuinely moving about aging and legacy.

But It's extremely dark and sometimes heavy-handed with its political commentary. The animation style won't appeal to everyone.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 poster

Harley Quinn2019

Shamelessly fun and violent, exploring Harley's agency outside the Joker's shadow. Irreverent, genuinely funny, and surprisingly touching about found family.

But It's loud, chaotic, and anarchic—the opposite of subtle. Some jokes land better than others.

Akira1988

A landmark animated film about power, corruption, and the thin line between control and chaos. Visually revolutionary and narratively dense; influences everything that followed.

But It's complex, sometimes bewildering on first watch, and the ending provokes more questions than answers.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse2018

Proof that animation can be as visually innovative as live-action, with humor, heart, and genuine stakes. A masterclass in how to do comic-book adaptation right.

But The visual style is deliberately chaotic—comic-book panels overlapping, constant motion. Some find it exhausting rather than exciting.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse poster

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice2016

Snyder's Batman is closer to *The Killing Joke* tone than any other film version: brutal, tragic, operating in moral gray. Hans Zimmer's score alone justifies it.

But It's bloated, sometimes incoherent, and plenty of people hate Affleck's Batman. The theatrical cut especially drags.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice poster

The Lego Batman Movie2017

A surprisingly smart meditation on Batman's isolation and need for family, wrapped in comedy and visual gags. Will Arnett's version is genuinely touching beneath the jokes.

But It's aggressively silly and cheerful—the tonal opposite of *The Killing Joke*. If you want dark, this will feel like betrayal.

Requiem for a Dream2000

Like *The Killing Joke*, it examines how a single obsession—a single moment—can spiral into inescapable madness. Both argue that the line between sanity and breakdown is terrifyingly thin.

An unflinching portrait of addiction and obsession across four lives. Darren Aronofsky's direction is hypnotic and horrifying. A masterpiece about how easily paradise becomes hell.

But It's relentlessly bleak, uses extreme editing that some find manipulative, and the content is genuinely distressing. Not entertainment, it's ordeal.

Come and See1985

Both use a single protagonist's perspective to show us corruption of innocence and the point of no return. Both ask: once you've seen this, can you ever be the same? Both argue the answer is no.

A Soviet war film that follows a boy's transformation into something harder as he witnesses unthinkable atrocities. Shot with documentary realism but emotional extremity. Possibly the greatest anti-war film ever made.

But It's from 1985, it's in Russian, and it's one of the most disturbing films ever shot. Not difficult in an intellectual way—difficult in a human way.