20 Things You Somehow Missed In Batman Returns

11. The Model Of Gotham Plaza

Batman Returns
Warner Brothers

This may seem like an unusual entry on this list. Gotham Plaza was a full-scale soundstage set, surely?

Indeed, yes; for the main part, Gotham Plaza was a fully realised set on Stage 16 at Warner Brothers’ Studios in Burbank, California, designed for Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer and countless others to perform on.

After learning of the kidnapping of the Ice Princess, Batman heads to Gotham and clambers onto its rooftops to overlook the Mayor as he gives a speech trying to reassure a large crowd of angry Gothamites that there is law and order in the city. It is at this point that Michael Keaton is looking down upon a highly detailed miniature of Gotham Plaza.

The miniature was used again in the sequence in which, due to her fear of The Penguin’s rogue bats, the Ice Princess falls to her death. Cristi Conaway was strapped into a special harness and her “fall” over the model was tracked by a special camera so that it appeared that she was falling off of a building when, in fact, she was hovering over the model below her.

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I started writing for WhatCulture in July 2020. I have always enjoyed reading and writing. I have contributed to several short story competitions and I have occasionally been fortunate enough to have my work published. During the COVID-19 lockdown, I also started reviewing films on my Facebook page. Numerous friends and contacts suggested that I should start my own website for reviewing films, but I wanted something a bit more diverse - and so here I am! My interests focus on film and television mainly, but I also occasionally produce articles that venture into other areas as well. In particular, I am a fan of the under appreciated sequel (of which there are many), but I also like the classics and the mainstream too.