Batman: Year One, the latest direct-to-video animated feature from DC Comics and Warner Home Video, is being released next month on DVD and Blu-ray and the studio has released a clip from the PG-13 rated film. You can watch the video here below.

The brief clip finds a quiet dinner meeting between Falcone and his underlings rudely interrupted by a visit from the Dark Knight, arriving to announce his intentions for the city’s criminal element as only Batman can.

Based on the 1987 comic book series by writer Frank Miller and illustrator David Mazzucchelli, Year One finds a young Bruce Wayne (voiced by Ben McKenzie, Southland) returning to Gotham City after a self-imposed exile to begin his nocturnal battle against the forces of evil. Joining him in his crusade is Lieutenant James Gordon (voiced by Bryan Cranston, Drive), an idealistic police detective waging his own battle against the rampant corruption that has engulfed the city’s politicians and police department. Also providing voices for the movie are Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse) as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) as Gotham detective Sarah Essen, Jon Polito (The Rocketeer) as police commissioner Loeb, and Alex Rocco (The Stunt Man) as underworld kingpin Carmine Falcone.

Animation great Bruce Timm, one of the driving forces behind the classic Batman: The Animated Series of the 1990s, serves as executive producer on the film, with direction by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu. Oscar-nominated writer Tab Murphy (Gorillas in the Mist), a veteran writer of the Disney animated flicks Tarzan and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, wrote the screenplay.

More than a decade ago Miller wrote a screenplay for a live-action movie based on the miniseries with filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), with Aronofsky potentially directing. The project was ultimately canned and the studio hired Christopher Nolan to direct Batman Begins, which borrowed heavily from the Year One miniseries.

In this new clips we only get a small taste of the final product from this video, but so far I’m liking what I see. The animation style resembles an updated version of the classical hand-drawn look of the 1990’s animated series and the voice work is first rate. Even McKenzie, an actor I could care less about, sounds perfectly Batman-like in his vocal performance.

Batman: Year One will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on October 18, 2011.

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