Superhero film of the reliably popular film franchise. The anti-hero film "Venom" based on the comic book character was released on October 5, 2018. Outside of live action, animated superhero films have also achieved critical and financial success. Nearly all animated superhero films are direct-to-video (Marvel Animation films, DC Universe Animated Original Movies, others) though the 1993 film "" was released theatrically and was a critical success (though a box-office failure). In 1968 was released "VIP my Brother Superman" directed by Italian animator Bruno Bozzetto; it is a parody of superheroes and enjoyed great success. In 2004, Pixar released "The Incredibles", about
Superhero film of episodes of that same series released theatrically, and "Batman" (1966) a big-screen extension of the "Batman" television series starring Adam West. In 1957 Japan, Shintoho produced the first film serial featuring the "tokusatsu" superhero character Super Giant, signaling a shift in Japanese popular culture towards "tokusatsu" masked superheroes over "kaiju" giant monsters. Along with "Astro Boy", the "Super Giant" film serials had a profound effect on the Japanese "tokusatsu" superhero genre. Another early superhero film was "Ōgon Bat" (1966), a Japanese film starring Sonny Chiba based on the 1930 Kamishibai superhero Ōgon Bat. Original superhero characters emerged in other,