The film came close to receiving an R rating rather than a PG-13 in its original cut. There was a lot of back-and-forth between Burton and the censors over the content of Batman Returns. The Penguin is a horrifying creation, Selina Kyle’s nervous breakdown and subsequent resurrection as Catwoman is somewhat traumatic, and the whole thing has an undercurrent of schizophrenia through various kinks in the subtext.

Thus, Batman Returns skirts a fine line between blockbuster and some kind of arthouse horror show. For the sequel, it felt as if Burton was allowed to make a more personal film. Although the first Batman was visibly very much Tim Burton’s work, it was still clearly made by a studio as a big summer tentpole. Parent groups and merchandisers were reportedly horrified by some of the content in the sequel. Not small money by any stretch, but there was something of a backlash to the film that summer. The Riddler teams up with Two-Face to bring down Batman and drain the minds of Gotham City residents with his device, while Batman gets some much-needed help in the form of circus performer Dick Grayson ( Chris O'Donnell), out for vengeance after being orphaned by Two-Face.Tim Burton’s sequel to his 1989 hit Batman, Batman Returns, was released in the summer of 1992 and made a worldwide box-office total of $266 million. Meanwhile, as sexy psychologist Chase Meridian ( Nicole Kidman) tries to analyze and seduce both Bruce Wayne and Batman, Wayne Enterprises employee Edward Nygma ( Jim Carrey) reacts badly to getting fired, using his self-invented mind-energy device to transform into the super-intelligent Riddler. Batman/Bruce Wayne ( Val Kilmer), broods as he ponders strange dreams about his parents' death and escapes his own near-demise at the hands of Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones), a former district attorney driven insane and turned into a master criminal when a gangster throws acid in his face.

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