The short hair is a relatively recent approach, first seen in Year One and later used in the animated The New Batman Adventures and in Darwyn Cooke's modern redesign. But Selina Kyle has always been a brunette in the comics, except for one 1946 issue (before her real name was revealed) where she was a redhead. And all three Catwomen in the '60s series/movie were brunettes, although Julie Newmar's hair color varied from appearance to appearance and she bordered on blonde once or twice. So the blonde Pfeiffer playing Catwoman was a major departure. Batman: The Animated Series originally intended to do a brunette Catwoman but was obligated to make her blonde (and Penguin a deformed mutant) because of pressure to conform to what Burton was doing in the movies. But those two are the only blonde Catwomen as far as I know. When they came back for TNBA, that pressure was gone and they were able to restore the more classic designs for Catwoman and Penguin that they'd originally wanted to use. (There was an issue of the tie-in comic to the TV continuity that explained how Catwoman learned that animals were being exploited by a cosmetics company and resolved to stop dyeing her hair blonde.) EDIT: No, wait, I did find images of a blonde Catwoman from issues published in 1946-7: http://www.batman-online.com/forum/index.php?topic=32.30 So it was done before Pfeiffer, but only briefly.
And now Anne herself has a similar hair style. At least we now we know what she'd look like as a short-haired Selina Kyle...
Okay, now that I've seen TDKR I freakin' LOVED Anne Hathaway as Selena Kyle even if she was never once called Catwoman in the film. She did the role the way I've always imagined it should be and which I've only seen in the comics and Batman TAS. Anne overshadowed everyone before her in live-action. Now I'd love to see a proper and well done Catwoman story with Anne Hathaway in the title role. It needn't be as dark as the Batman trilogy and could have some more fun to it, but if done right it could rock.
Yes, Hathaway's Catwoman was great. It was like she took the essence of Julie Newmar's Catwoman -- the poise, confidence, humor, attitude, ruthlessness, and effortless, athletic sex appeal -- and modernized and grounded it. And I'd gladly watch her in a solo film, as long as they keep the costume. (Which I could say much the same about -- very reminiscent of Newmar's but in a much more realistic, modern vein. It's the first good costume Catwoman's had in a feature film since 1966.)
^ I agree, however I think I would like the Catwoman idea more if the went the prequel route. And if they added Slam Bradley and were influenced by Cooke and Brubaker. Though I'm perhaps one of the few people who don't mind Winnick's take on Catwoman, and wouldn't mind seeing the new hero cop that he has introduced, or Spark, Selina's new partner in crime, absent his superpowers.
No, you just jumped to the erroneous conclusion that I was suggesting him as a director. I never said that or meant that, though I can see how my choice of words was unclear. I meant "handle" more in the sense of producing it, overseeing it, the way Christopher Nolan is "handling" Man of Steel.