Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker-Trivia

* The orbital weapons platform that creates a beam of light before it destroys is taken from the 1988 Japanese animated film Akira (1988) as is the basic design for the orbital weapons platform itself. In fact, one of the directors of animation at Tokyo Movie Shinsa (the Japanese animation company where most of the film was done) was the actual animator of the scene in Akira (1988) when Kaneda was briefly chased by the beam from the orbital system. When the scene of Terry being chased by the beam came up, the director snagged the storyboarding duties on it for himself, under the auspices of aiming to top himself.
* When Bruce is checking the future-Joker's voice against that of the past-Joker, the clip is a newly animated (but previously scripted) segment from The New Batman Adventures episode "Holiday Knights".
* The voice of Ghoul was provided by Michael Rosenbaum, who did several voices for the television series "Batman Beyond." While in the recording studio, he would often do a Christopher Walken impression that the producers found hilarious. When they were commissioned to create this film, they wrote the part of Ghoul for Rosenbaum's Walken impression. He would later reprise the role in an episode of Justice League (2001), a series on which he also voiced series regular The Flash. Later Rosenbaum would play the role of Superman's enemy Lex Luthor in the TV series Smallville.
* When Terry lists possible explanations for the Joker's return, he mentions being "placed in suspended animation due to floating around in a block of ice." This is a reference to the Marvel Comics character Captain America, who was found floating in ice by the Avengers in the '60s.
* While Robin himself is played by his usual voice actor, Mathew Valencia, Joker Jr. is actually played by the movie's casting director Andrea Romano.
* A second direct-to-video movie based on Batman Beyond (1999) was planned if this movie sold well; it did not, and the second movie was canceled. However, most of the major plot points of the proposed second movie were used five years later to develop Justice League Unlimited: Epilogue (2005).
* The abandoned Jolly Jack Candy Factory the resurrected Joker uses as a hideout is named for legendary comics artist Jack Kirby, who was known as "Jolly" Jack Kirby early in his career.
* Although the final version is rated PG with the director's cut being PG-13, it's a possibility that this is the only film for Cartoon Network's Cartoon Theatre to air a PG-13 film, and the first Cartoon Network's airing of a PG-13 film.
* The poster homages the poster for "The Man Who Laughs" (1928) as Gwynplaine, the main character in the film, has been credited for inspiring The Joker.
* Bruce Wayne's car looks like the Batmobile from The Animated Series upside down.
* Before turning the orbital laser on Batman, the Joker admonishes him, saying, "Poppa spank...!" which is a throwback to something the Batman says in an early issue of the Detective Comics series.
* The Joker's character look in the future is supposed to resemble Dr. Hannibal Lecter from "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991) (based on the flat combed hair and jumpsuit).
* When Joker attacks Bruce in Wayne Manor, he addresses the latter as an old man. Just like how Tim refers to Bruce as of late, and in this movie itself.
* At 32 mins) Ace is watching the Looney Toon short Hare Ribbin' (1944).
* During the flashback sequence all of the characters appear as they did during The New Batman Adventures (1997) with the exception of the Joker. This second redesign for the Joker roughly combines his face and head from the Batman: The Animated Series (1992) model with his body from The New Batman Adventures (1997) and would be used again for the character's in-universe appearances in Justice League (2001) and Static Shock (2000).
* The background music that plays when Bruce demands that Terry return the Batsuit because it's dangerous for him to face the Joker (impostor or not), despite the fact that the Clown Prince of Crime died years ago, is "Terry Relieved of Duty." When played again as a dark reprise near the end of "Arkham Mayhem," we now understand the reason: because the Joker brainwashed Robin into divulging his secrets about Bruce Wayne as Batman, the Clown Prince of Crime tainted the Bat-Family with compromise and deception "in his last act of cruelty" that led to his demise at Robin's hands and to Barbara and Tim quitting the Bat-Family because of it.
* The third film set in the DC Animated Universe. However, it's the fourth film chronologically.
* Mark Hamill has started in two movies abbreviated as ROTJ. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) and this film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000).
* The Joker's "brave new world" quote in his first scene is a reference to a line from Shakespeare's "The Tempest", Act V, Scene 1, 2: "O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in't."
* During the flashback, Batgirl is seen questioning two ladies of the night. The blonde one is dressed like Batgirl's longtime ally and fellow Birds of Prey member Black Canary/Dinah Lance.
* The 'Original Uncut Version' of the film, that was rated PG-13, would be the default version for every video release 2 years after the initial home video release. The censored version would no longer be available to the public on future DVD and Blu-Ray releases. Some DVD's still have the censored version as the default (which some consider more disturbing due to the fact that the violence is off-screen and includes disturbing screams from some of the characters).
* About halfway through, Terry dodges one of the Joker's booby traps by tricking it into destroying its own power source. He uses the same trick to destroy the satellite.
* The Edited version's ratio is 1.33 : 1 (4x3) in the original release, but in the Director's Cut it's 1.78 : 1 (16x9).
* In terms of continuity with Batman Beyond (1999) the events of this film occur at some point after the Batman Beyond episode King's Ransom (2000), as the Wayne-Powers Corp. is once again known as Wayne Enterprises and Paxton Powers is no longer its CEO.
* One of the early ideas for a Batman Beyond movie involved the now elderly Selina Kyle (Catwoman) as the main villain. Her obsession with Batman having deepened, Kyle would set about creating half-clones using Bruce Wayne's DNA, one of which would be revealed to be Terry McGinnis. Kyle would also raise a 'son' of her own in this fashion, who she would instruct to kill criminals, and would clash with Terry. It was also implied that Kyle still had an attraction for her 'son.' Bruce Timm and Glen Murakami decided this concept was too dark, and had too many sexual overtones, so the Catwoman idea was dropped, but the idea of creating a clone using imprinted DNA on a child was kept for the Joker's plan. The idea of Terry being revealed as Bruce's half-cloned 'son' was later used in the Justice League Unlimited episode 'Epilogue.'
* Dean Stockwell's character is transformed into the green-haired Joker in this movie. As a child, Stockwell starred in a movie called The Boy With Green Hair.
* While the Batman Beyond series was in development Paul Dini developed an idea that Bruce Wayne had grown tired of imprisoning the Joker repeatedly, and had resorted to keeping him prisoner in the Batcave, throwing food to him as needed. The idea was considered too dark for Bruce's character.
* In early versions of the script Harley Quinn died during the flashback sequence. Writer Paul Dini added the brief appearance of an elderly Harley Quinn at the end of the film because he did not want to kill off the character he helped create, which he felt was one of his biggest contributions to Batman lore. Director Bruce Timm thought the scene provided some needed comedic relief and kept it in the film.
* The concept of Robin being captured and severely tortured by Joker for information about Batman and turning Robin into an heir for Joker is based off of Jason Todd the second Robin who was murdered by Joker.
* The second time Terry confronts Tim Drake, he is a hologram. Dean Stockwell, the voice of Drake, played a character, Al) who was usually a hologram on Quantum Leap (1989).
* Joker's murder of Bonk references the famous "spear gun" scene in Batman, Vol. 1, #321.