Batman Returns' Real-Life Animal Attack Behind-The-Scenes Is Low-Key Terrifying
Batman (Michael Keaton) proves detrimental to the Penguin's (Danny DeVito) plans in 1992's "Batman Returns," but DeVito acquired an animal-themed adversary of his own while filming the movie. Despite being penguin-themed, his character is affiliated with all sorts of zoo animals. Unfortunately, working with fauna can be hazardous. DeVito found this out the hard way while shooting a scene where a monkey brings a letter to the Penguin. Instead of doing what he was told, the animal decided to attack ... and attack where it hurts the most, no less. The cameras, of course, were rolling and managed to capture the incident.
Man, lucky I downloaded this video since the YouTube account that posted it disappeared.
For preservation's sake...here's a monkey biting Danny DeVito's balls on the set of Batman Returns. https://t.co/yCxoW4ue21 pic.twitter.com/MV6aSjET9W
— Mindd Kidzag (@MinddKidzag) July 20, 2024
DeVito's account of the unfortunate monkey moment reveals that the animal didn't randomly attack him. Instead, it simply got scared when it saw the actor in full Penguin mode. "They roll the cameras, monkey comes down the steps, I walk over in the Penguin suit drooling this gop and ... making sounds," he recalled. "The monkey looked at me, froze, and then leapt right at my balls," DeVito said in an interview with PeopleTV.com's "Couch Surfing" (via Entertainment Weekly). "Thank god it was a padded costume." The ending of "Batman Returns" doesn't go too well for DeVito's character, but fortunately, this incident didn't create an even more uncomfortable scenario for the actor.
DeVito made his Penguin as scary as possible
It's no wonder that the monkey got a little freaked out by Danny DeVito's take on the Penguin. After all, apart from the elaborate makeup and costume, the actor did his best to make the tragic villain as revolting as possible. DeVito was so committed to his "Batman Returns" role that he actually ate the raw fish you see the Penguin munching on. Uncooked seafood wasn't even the strangest thing that he put in his mouth as the Penguin. That honor belongs to a liquid made from spirulina and mouthwash that DeVito used to create the revolting dark spittle spilling from the character's mouth.
Though the experience sounds quite disgusting, the actor clearly cherished the opportunity, to the point that DeVito kept a treasure trove of "Batman Returns" props as souvenirs. Perhaps because of this, he has some opinions about Colin Farrell's take on the Penguin in "The Batman." "Oh, Colin?" DeVito said in a lie detector interview with Vanity Fair. "I love Colin. He's a terrific guy. [But] my Penguin was better ... was that the truth? It most certainly was, in my opinion [laughs]."
While Farrell also plays a prosthetic-heavy version of the character, his Penguin is certainly a less outlandish villain. As such, while fans might have their own ideas on who played the better Penguin, it's understandable that DeVito feels his fish-munching take on the antagonist remains the definitive one.