I missed the first 15 minutes of “Batman: Gotham Knight” while watching Vandy beat Auburn (!). I will have to look for a rebroadcast, or maybe even buy a DVD.

This was a feature-length anthology of six short animated Batman tales, each the work of a different Japanese director and involving various combinations of American writers, including David Goyer, who co-wrote the story for “The Dark Knight.” Each one is done in a different style. Bruce Wayne, for example, does not look quite the same from one segment to another — even though Kevin Conroy provides his voice in every segment. (Conroy was the voice of “Batman: The Animated Series” in the mid-1990s.) It was apparently released on DVD over the summer to tie in with “The Dark Knight.” It is excellent. It is also TV-14-V and not for young children, so I’m not sure how I feel about it being on the Cartoon Network.

The segments stand alone but also have interwoven plot threads. All of them take place in the same early period of Batman’s career documented by the Christian Bale movies; James Gordon is a lieutenant, not the police commissioner.

A unique and surprisingly-complex project, worthy of its source material.

[imdb]1117563[/imdb]