Please restore deleted DC Animated features

I’m sure you guys are aware of Warner Bros / DC Comics’ modus operandi in relation to some of their animated movies in the “DC Animated Movie Universe.”

Mostly adapted straight from comic-book story-lines, when a story is too long to be contained in one standard-duration movie, WB/DC releases it first in 2 or 3 consecutive instalments, and then, ASAP, the whole thing is compiled into an “unabridged, seamless feature” (verbatim quote from WB/DC) that usually runs for between 2 and 3 hours, or more.

The resultant compilation is a separate, different movie from the previously released parts, officially MPA-rated separately, officially released and made available separately, and therefore, it’s absolutely eligible for listing on IMDb as a separate entry from the individual parts that compose it.

In fact, for all intents and purposes, the compilation feature is arguably the definitive version of the film, and WB/DC is only serializing it beforehand due to market and format demands, and to secure and maximize profits in order to ensure the viability of the whole endeavor.

The point being that, if anything, the ultimate compiled feature is even more worthy of an IMDb entry than any film with a title ending in “Part 1” or “Chapter 2.”

However, the 2 most prominent examples of these features have been inadmisibly deleted from IMDb, which is a tremendous mistake that must be corrected.

I’m talking about:

“Batman: The Dark Knight Returns”

https://web.archive.org/web/20211027182228/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11060882/

the composite feature film of Parts 1 and 2 of the story:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2313197/movieconnections/#followed_by

and also:

“The Death and Return of Superman”

the resultant movie of editing together both:

The Death of Superman:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7167658/

and

Reign of the Supermen:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7167686/

This one, I can’t find it preserved on archive.org, but believe me, it existed on IMDb and, to add insult to injury, somebody extremely lazy has created a new page for this film that is practically empty of data and erroneously classified as a “TV Movie”:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30842832/

(I can’t blame whoever created this new page for the idea of filling the absurdly created void, but he gets an F for effort).

Somewhat surprisingly, however, there is a survivor still standing on IMDb:

“Batman: The Long Halloween”:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21445686/movieconnections/

which has eluded this absurd purge, despite being the exact same case of a compilation movie made out of the 2 previously released part 1 and part 2 of the film.

In conclusion, I ask for the immediate restoration, if possible, of the 2 aforementioned erased features: “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” and “The Death and Return of Superman,” and if it’s not possible, the re-creation of the 2 pages from scratch; as well as, needless to say, the impregnable permanence of “Batman: The Long Halloween” and its separate parts as they are.

Furthermore, let me remind you that WB/DC are continuing this practice as we speak, releasing this very year 2 of their greatest hits ever, “Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths” and “Watchmen” in 3 and 2 instalments respectively, that will no doubt be compiled into “unabridged, seamless features” like all their predecessors, in the imminent future.

Ergo, this is an ongoing practice that has created, I’m afraid, an absurd ongoing problem on IMDb, so on top of restoring the deleted features, IMDb must take steps to make sure that any upcoming compilations are accepted and impregnably maintained in the database as well.

 

P.S.: Almost forgot… Other examples, pertinent to the issue at hand:

“The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980,” a 10-hour compilation of the 3 Godfather films:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0150742/movieconnections/

“The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More,” a feature-length compilation of the 4 separate short films based on Roald Dahl’s stories that Wes Anderson did for Netflix:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31800329/

“Shogun Assassin,” American compilation of 3 Japanese movies:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081506/movieconnections/

And also:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047545/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047546/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047547/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047548/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047549/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047977/movieconnections/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049125/movieconnections/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204714/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060191/movieconnections/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1558863/movieconnections/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0258649/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0186944/movieconnections/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061105/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0263027/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32452718/movieconnections/

etc., etc., etc…