Redartz: Many are the heroes who have filled the small screen with their animated adventures. And some of those have been featured in several different shows. None, however, have been as frequently featured as Batman (or, "The Batman" if you prefer). Today we shall have a look at some of those appearances (appearances which, like his nemesis Two-Face, can be good or bad). Oh, and thanks to Wikipedia for some of today's details...Those older Bronze agers among us may remember the Batman/Superman Hour from the Filmation studios, broadcast on CBS (1968). Voiced by Olan Soule (Batman) and Casey Kasem (Robin), the show gave life to many of the Darknight Detective's greatest foes, including Joker, Penguin, Scarecrow and Riddler. Batman was added to the existing Superman show, doubtlessly, to capitalize on the hugely popular live action Batman show then showing in prime time. I recall watching the show regularly, both for Bats and for Superman; although to be honest, I was much more excited by Marvel's 1967 Spider-Man and Fantastic Four cartoons.
A few years later, in 1972 , Batman and Robin made two fun appearances teaming with Shaggy, Fred, Velma and Daphne on The New Scooby Doo Movies. Joker and Penguin served as the foils for the two detective teams. Soule and Kasem reprised their vocal roles a the Dynamic Duo from the 1968 series. It seemed pretty cool at the time to see such a crossover as this. Actually, The New Scooby-Doo Movies excelled at the crossover bit. The likes of Don Knotts, Sandy Duncan and the Dynamic Duo teaming with The Gang made this a favorite Saturday morning staple.
In 1977, The New Adventures of Batman appeared (interestingly, it was produced by Filmation Studios, directly competing with the concurrent Super Friends from Hanna-Barbera). Showing on CBS, it actually featured the voices of Adam West and Burt Ward from the 1966 Batman prime time series. Batmite was included in the cast as comic relief, and many of Batman's classic rogue's gallery also appeared.
The late 80's saw the 'grim and gritty' Batman in comics; on tv by then he was pretty much absent. But not for long; by the early 90's, Batman had been returned to popular attention via the Tim Burton Batman films. This led to the debut of possibly the best superhero animated series ever: Batman-The Animated Series.
The vocal talent was top-notch, led by Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego. Mark Hamill became famous all over again by voicing the Joker. And Arleen Sorkin gave a perfect performance as the voice of Harley Quinn- a debut villian on the show whose popularity became universal.
The music was great, the animation stylish and effective. Watching this show with my two sons helped return me to comics; Batman:TAS certainly (along with the 90's Spider-Man show on Fox) nurtured their interest in the source medium.
Following on the heels of BTAS, many more Batman shows have aired in the succeeding years. Among them: The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond and Batman: Brave and the Bold. The animation styling of BTAS found echoes on these shows, and in such shows as Justice League. All of these shows have been fun to watch, and help to make certain that Batman's animated life will continue well into the new millenium...
10 comments:
Charlie watched Spider Man in 1967 and has no recall of Batman's cartoon.
In the 90s I again watched Spider Man and passed on Bats.
The only D.C. Cartoon I've enjoyed is Teen Titans over the past 10 years.
But I enjoyed the summary above and will seek out the one featuring Harley since I have been reading her monthly comic.
I remember the Super Friends, and while I completely agree with Red's aversion to the "dogs and kids" it was pretty much the only game in town. (And I confess I have turned the corner on the Wonder Twins. They're not so bad.) That said, I did like to see how Batman and Robin worked as a team within a team on Super Friends.
But the '90's Animated Series was incredible, especially the villains. Mr. Freeze's origin is a classic, and even the Mad Hatter was cool. The voices were just amazing, and the blend of technologies really showed a lot of thought. Computers and police dirigibles, '40's cars with jet planes, just amazing. Mask of the Phantasm also deserves a lot of high praise in my book. I was even digging Batman Beyond during it's run. It took a lot of heat for being sort of a Spider-Man in Bat clothing, I think, but I felt it worked well and carried the magic of the Animated Series with it. Maybe the only aspect I didn't feel terribly strongly about was the Batman and Robin dynamic. Batgirl was awesome, however.
Batman and Superman was great, too, with a wonderful team-up of the two I had waited years to see and which didn't disappoint.
Sadly, I haven't been similarly enraptured by any animated depiction of the Dark Knight since, though.
The 1990's BTAS is still one of my favorite TV shows of all time, period. (Live action or animated). It helped to turn me into a huge Batman fan. I had always really liked Batman, but I found the comics to be very hit-or-miss in storytelling consistency. I thought he was very rarely done just right, and my enjoyment of Batman in the comics largely depended on the creative team (even more than on other characters). And the previous cartoons were too much for kiddies, whereas the Tim Burton movies were too dark and weird for my tastes. (I personally didn't care much for the all black rubber suit for example).
But BTAS changed all that. It striped away all the garbage and left in everything that makes Batman so cool. They streamlined the narrative and gave Batman a consistent and cohesive continuity that the comics never seemed quite able to achieve. They mixed totally original ideas with stories adapted from only the best classic Batman comics. It was all just so well done and well thought out. You could see the love and respect the creators had for the character and the source material.
And as we all know the legendary voice casting was just absolutely spot-on as well. All of the voices from that show are still what I hear in my head when I read the comics now. That's how inspired it was. And the personalities of the characters were written perfectly as well. From Bruce Wayne/Batman to Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, The Joker, Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and etc. All perfect.
The show also gave several of Batman's rogues gallery definitive origin stories that sometimes combined bits and pieces taken from the comics over the years, and wove them into tight cohesive stories that redefined some of Batman's most iconic foes for a new generation.
There were around 120 episodes of Batman The Animated Series / The New Batman Adventures, and I have them all on DVD (hopefully soon to have them on blu ray). I actually look at them as sort of a 120 issue run of the best Batman comics ever done (that just also happen to move). If you have never seen this show, do yourself a huge favor and check it out. You will not be disappointed you did.
I enjoyed all of the early series....in fact, the late 60's series was my first exposure to Batman (we couldn't get the live actions series in the rabbit ear days). I've seen the Scooba Doo Movie adventures more times than I can remember.....silly but fun.
The Super Friends were okay. I, too, wasn't thrilled about the kids and dog/monkey, and the presence of Bat-Mite drove me nuts in the late 70's Filmation series.
I loved Batman: The Animated Series though. Man, it was just like the comic books. I loved the whole retro look and feel. I actually enjoyed the later Batman series in the mid 2000's just called The Batman, and I liked the later campiness of the Brave and the Bold series.
I think that overall, Batman has fared pretty well in the animated world. I need to get BTAS collected though, for sure.
The 90s BTAS is the gold standard for Batman cartoons, but I definitely have nostalgic fondness for the Filmation Batman and Robin (and Bat-Mite) stories. One of the stand-out impressions of the show is that Batman's costume wasn't the usual grey, it was a light blue suit (with the familiar darker cowl over it). Funny how that sticks out in my mind.
Does anyone remember a couple of really obscure segments in, I think, Sesame Street, that showed a little Batman cartoon? I distinctly remember a minute-long vignette where Joker is running away from Batman and Robin and falls down a manhole. I think there may have been another about the Penguin. I have no idea what educational value they might have had, but they held my attention.
-david p.
Was watching the Batman and Spider-Man cartoons before I even started collecting comics. Along with Batman '66 they sparked my love for superhero's.
I've only seen minutes of TAS but I need to invest in it after hearing all the great things over the years.
I do own all the Fleischer Superman's , and they remain my favorite Superhero cartoon.
Charlie- The 60's DC cartoons were fun, but certainly not as memorable as the Marvel shows. Nonetheless, they are worth a look they featured everyone from Hawkman to the Justice League. And regarding the Batman-TAS, definitely worth looking into. Harley made several appearances, the teamups with Poison Ivy were cool. Have you ever looked into the Paul Dini/Bruce Timm comic stories? I recommend a fine tpb: "Mad Love and Other Stories". Great stuff.
Selenarch- good point; our choices were pretty limited in the 70's. We had Super Friends and Spider-Man with his Amazing Friends, and Hulk and Wonder Woman in prime time. Ah, if only we'd known the wealth of comic originated material that waited some 40 years (!) in the future.
William- you make a great case for Batman-TAS. It lends itself nicely to binge-watching. Even my wife likes it...
david p- afraid I don't recall Batman on Sesame Street, only Spidey on Electric Company! Perhaps someone among our host knows...
Killraven- yes, those Fleischer cartoons are classics. Loved their Popeye shorts too.
There were two Batman clips that I remember on Sesame Street. There was also one for Superman, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp8MNbyLyBo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmoE5pRo6ho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hRKBPTu8vw
As great as Batman-TAS was (and is), I slightly favor 'Batman:Brave And The Bold'. Why? Because WHEN you watch something often determines how much you enjoy it. TAS premiered when I was in college and wasn't watching a lot of TV. It was something I watched occasionally, usually during Christmas or summer vacations. When the series became available on DVD years later, I finally got to watch most of the episodes and loved them.
With BATB, I was a married adult and watched it from the first episode onward, all the way to the end. I didn't know what to expect. The shows that followed TAS, 'Batman Beyond' and 'The Batman' were disappointing. Diedrich Bader provided a great voice for Batman, John Dimaggio (and the writers) mad Aquaman interesting for the first time ever for me. The tone of the show had the perfect balance of fun and seriousness. It wasn't nearly as dark, but it wasn't childish either. Several characters died onscreen in BATB, and its Christmas episode included a flashback of the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne.
So when I watched BATB and loved it, I was sort of pleasantly surprised at how great it was.
The series showed that there's a nice mid-point between "Grim and Gritty Batman" and (for lack of a better description) "Saturday morning cartoon Batman."
So here are my rankings of Batman animated series (leaving out "team" shows like 'Superfriends' or JLA):
1.Brave and the Bold
2.Batman-The Animated Series
3.Batman (1968 Filmation)
4.The New Adventures of Batman
5.The Batman
6.Batman Beyond
I will go one further and say that Batman the Animated Series is the best version of Batman period. Animated, live-action or comic!
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