Comments on: Batman: the Animated Series

Batman: the Animated Series

curious nu — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:22:13 -0800

Why the opening to Batman: the Animated Series is the best thing ever.

Dun dun d'DUNN dun...

By: Rustic Etruscan

Rustic Etruscan — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:27:15 -0800

That opening theme is worth far more than however much it cost to write, perform, and record it.

By: Shadax

Shadax — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:29:39 -0800

I've always loved how the police zeppelins were out in force that night.

By: FiveNines

FiveNines — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:43:57 -0800

If there was a way I could capture that intro into a poster and put it on my wall...

By: codacorolla

codacorolla — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:48:44 -0800

I should watch these again. It's been years.

By: CarlRossi

CarlRossi — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:49:42 -0800

Batman has used guns. He didn't in a kids show. Just sayin'...

By: griphus

griphus — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:50:52 -0800

I recently re-watched the entire series and the one thing I definitely didn't catch the first time around is the incredibly uneven quality between the animation studios, even within a single season. Also this is probably the best annotations I've seen for BTAS.

By: griphus

griphus — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:52:32 -0800

He didn't in a kids show. I think Bob Kane was the only Batman writer who wrote him with a gun, not counting nostalgic flashbacks here or there.

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:53:39 -0800

Was there some question? (Barring the addition of Freddie Mercury in some way of course) The Fleischer Superman's were just stupifyingly awesome animation and Batman: the Animated Series channeled all of that wonder into a Batman style format with the darkness and sharp lines, the "blue-black color scheme" etc.

By: Nomyte

Nomyte — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:54:02 -0800

Batman has used guns. He didn't in a kids show. Just sayin'... Batman didn't use guns. The guns used him. That is their power.

By: Ron Thanagar

Ron Thanagar — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:54:14 -0800

I've been a comic retailer since 1988 and was at the yearly Diamond Comics Seminar (a comic book industry trade event) in 1992 when DC Comics presented us with an episode of the as yet unaired Batman: The Animated Series. When the opening sequence hit the screen in that darkened hall full of comic retailers and industry people, there was a sustained hush as everyone went absolutely silent, until the end when everyone burst into spontaneous cheers and applause. We all knew that minute-long segment was better than the entire 1989 BATMAN movie.

By: Mblue

Mblue — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:57:02 -0800

Batman. Verb.

By: griphus

griphus — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:57:27 -0800

Hey wow here's a whole New Yorker article on Batman's gun.

By: Brocktoon

Brocktoon — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 20:28:51 -0800

It's a good introduction, but my personal favorite is Invader Zim.

By: littlesq

littlesq — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 21:28:23 -0800

Batman: The Animated Series is why I don't care for the Nolan version(s) (also, Batman's voice is all wrong in the Nolan films... they should of just dubbed it with Kevin Conroy's voice).

By: painquale

painquale — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 21:28:31 -0800

Yeah, definitely one of Chris Sims's best pieces.

By: MrBadExample

MrBadExample — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 21:45:00 -0800

I shoulda been a blimp cop.

By: qwip

qwip — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 21:57:19 -0800

From IMDB: The show's first opening sequence is essentially a remake of the pilot used to sell the show to Warner Bros. In the pilot, Batman foils a jewelry heist on a rooftop and leaves the robbers tied up for the police. The pilot can be seen as a special feature on Vol. 1 of the DVD collection.

By: drewbage1847

drewbage1847 — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 21:58:38 -0800

I have to admit... I get annoyed whenever there's a new animated Batman show/movie and it isn't Kevin Conroy. It's just wrong.

By: Mezentian

Mezentian — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 22:18:14 -0800

I've really not watched enough of these. I read an article last year about the titlecards (at io9) which made me want to buy them all.

By: asra

asra — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 22:30:47 -0800

Batman with a gun :)

By: Mezentian

Mezentian — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 22:37:59 -0800

ick! Someone got Final Crisis in our Batman thread! You are a very, very bad person! So this isn't a negative post Title Card Love. I'm sure there was a Comic Book Urban Legends page about Batman and guns, but I can't find it now.

By: linux

linux — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 22:39:01 -0800

The only thing I have against that intro, which is spectacular, nonetheless, is that it used the Tim Burton movie theme by Danny Elfman rather than the show's composer, Shirley Walker. The theme finally opened in Mask of the Phantasm and ended up the theme for the show when they renamed it to The Adventures of Batman and Robin, which is not as good an animated intro as it definitely skews more towards showing a lot of action set pieces in rapid succession. I actually think the Superman: TAS intro is just as good as B:TAS intro montage, but at least it sports Walker's music. And of course, they collided with The New Batman/Superman Adventures, which has a nice thumpy theme song and includes the new stylized character design. Meanwhile, let me throw in the dark horse: I absolutely love the intro for Batman Beyond.

By: "Elbows" O'Donoghue

"Elbows" O'Donoghue — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 22:40:09 -0800

I shoulda been a blimp cop. In the criminal justice system, dirigible-based offences are considered especially heinous. In Gotham City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these airborne felonies are members of an elite squad, known as the Blimp Unit. These are their stories. CLANG CLANG

By: girih knot

girih knot — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 23:03:08 -0800

Things worth mentioning that weren't mentioned in the article: 1) The theme to the intro was written by Danny Elfman, notorious composer of Every Single 90s Theme Song 2) The unique dark style the show had was due largely to the choice of animating light colors on black paper Batman: The Animated Series is why I don't care for the Nolan version(s) I have the opposite opinion. I liked Nolan's movies more because they seemed inspired by Batman: TAS.

By: Mezentian

Mezentian — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 23:05:01 -0800

And I liked Burton's version because it was more like the comics and not like the TV version. But I hate Nolan's version. Do we need a Venn Diagram?

By: mattoxic

mattoxic — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 23:13:43 -0800

The theme to the intro was written by Danny Elfman, notorious composer of Every Single 90s Theme Song I sort of forgive Danny Elfman as I was a huge 1980s Oingo Boingo fan (until they sucked and started sounding like a Danny Elfman theme)

By: Brocktoon

Brocktoon — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 23:22:32 -0800

I like all of them. Heath Ledger's Joker was epic.

By: Philosopher Dirtbike

Philosopher Dirtbike — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 23:30:16 -0800

Adam West 4ever

By: immlass

immlass — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 00:11:27 -0800

Nice to see some empirical support for the awesomeness of B:TAS.

By: runcibleshaw

runcibleshaw — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 00:18:43 -0800

And I liked Burton's version because it was more like the comics and not like the TV version. Chris Sims has something to say about that as well.

By: crossoverman

crossoverman — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 01:02:11 -0800

I pretty much like all versions of Batman, except the Joel Schumacher films.

By: painquale

painquale — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 01:23:14 -0800

And I liked Burton's version because it was more like the comics and not like the TV version. Burton's films were much more like the Adam West show than like the comics. There was pretty much nothing of the comics in there, and Burton was pretty explicit about this.

By: MartinWisse

MartinWisse — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 01:30:23 -0800

And I liked Burton's version because it was more like the comics and not like the TV version. I hated it because they made Bruce Wayne into Clark Kent, the costume was ridiculous and Batman is just another, slightly schmucky action hero.

By: Ursula Hitler

Ursula Hitler — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 01:52:24 -0800

"I recently re-watched the entire series and the one thing I definitely didn't catch the first time around is the incredibly uneven quality between the animation studios, even within a single season." Oh, yeah. A few years back some station was rerunning this show, and the varying quality of the animation was kind of amazing. One episode looked like I thought of BM:TAS looking, and the next looked like a bad student film or something. Animation is weird, because if you get caught up in the story enough (or you're young enough the first time you see it,) you can remember it looking a lot better than it really did. I went back to watch Heavy Metal a few years ago, a movie I grew up worshipping on VHS, and it was this embarrassing, juvenile, plotless mess that looked like bad Saturday morning cartoons circa 1975, with tits. Maybe if I saw it again now, my opinion would be less harsh... But damn, that movie looks so, so much worse than I remembered it. Edward Gorey was a big fan of Batman: the Animated Series, so much so that he once said he'd try to get a little of that Batman flavor into a book he was working on. I have no particular point to make with that little factoid, I just really like that it's true.

By: P.o.B.

P.o.B. — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 02:08:35 -0800

I went back to watch Heavy Metal a few years ago, a movie I grew up worshipping on VHS, and it was this embarrassing, juvenile, plotless mess that looked like bad Saturday morning cartoons circa 1975, with tits. I can tell you never read the magazine.

By: graymouser

graymouser — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 02:27:17 -0800

The Animated Series is far and away my favorite take on Batman. It's amazing that they were able to distill everything good about the character and his mythos into that series while the comics were going through a full-blown Dork Age with Knightfall and everything around it. It has everything about Batman that I like and is definitely the medium I want my daughter to discover the character through.

By: dgaicun

dgaicun — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 03:06:46 -0800

"I recently re-watched the entire series and the one thing I definitely didn't catch the first time around is the incredibly uneven quality between the animation studios, even within a single season." A prime example of this is the frustrating difference in quality between Feat of Clay part 1 and part 2. With part 2, oddly enough, being one of the most skillfully animated episodes of the whole series. Only a small handful of episodes were high quality animation. Disney's Gargoyles was similar. A few episodes looked really, really good. But most looked like crap.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 03:16:40 -0800

Batman's Gun is my new band name... the're like the Sex Pistols but a bit nerdier

By: Ursula Hitler

Ursula Hitler — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 03:40:59 -0800

"I can tell you never read the magazine." Wha..? I was never a regular Heavy Metal reader, but I certainly read plenty of it. I don't get your point. I think the movie probably looked a lot better back in the days when Disney was mired in the post-Walt confusion and cheapo outfits like Filmation ruled Saturday mornings. Animation looked pretty uninspired for a long while there, and something like Heavy Metal could shine by comparison. I think that's part of why BM: TAS seemed so amazing, too. It's still a very impressive show, but it was stunning when it premiered. A truly dark, noir superhero cartoon, clearly aimed at adults at least as much as it was aimed as kids... These days that angular Timm/Dini look has become kind of a cliche, but back then there was no precedent for anything like it on TV. It has been years since I saw Heavy Metal, but I remember the Den sequence looking particularly rushed and cruddy, while the animation of the sequence at the end, with the naked booby lady riding around on the weird bird monster, still looked pretty good. I did love the film, growing up. But I think it's one of those things you kind of have to be a horny 14-year-old to truly appreciate.

By: whorl

whorl — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 05:28:50 -0800

In case anyone has avoided "Haters Gon' Hate", a complete redesign of Batman by Eliza Gauger... (warning: may require eye bleach after viewing)

By: mattoxic

mattoxic — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 05:57:30 -0800

Batman's Gun is my new band name... the're like the Sex Pistols but a bit nerdier and a nice homo-erotic ring to it.

By: vibrotronica

vibrotronica — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 08:03:20 -0800

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Mask Of The Phantasm is the best Batman movie.

By: jason_steakums

jason_steakums — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 08:10:34 -0800

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is up there, too.

By: painquale

painquale — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 09:23:37 -0800

I remember SubZero being the best, but I haven't watched it in ages.

By: KevinSkomsvold

KevinSkomsvold — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 09:39:47 -0800

"...best thing EVER...." Someone needs to try a beer, have some sex and watch a sunset.

By: RobotHero

RobotHero — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 09:46:23 -0800

I brought this up in the X-Men thread, but cartoon TV openings are great for this sort of thing. The Real Ghostbusters shows the normal process of a busting, from the phone call to them trapping ghosts. The Incredible Hulk has to show Banner changing into the Hulk and back. He also saves a woman from falling so you know he's not a bad guy. I had not previously considered how the fight scene here sets up that Batman is not invulnerable, he's just highly skilled. He disarms them, and he dodges a punch. Superman wouldn't have bothered dodging.

By: Slap*Happy

Slap*Happy — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 09:48:14 -0800

Someone needs to try a beer, have some sex and watch a sunset. I've done all three in a single evening. The Batman:TAS theme is better.

By: P.o.B.

P.o.B. — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 11:08:32 -0800

I was never a regular Heavy Metal reader, but I certainly read plenty of it. I don't get your point. Really? Then you realize that one of the biggest names in comic art was involved with the magazine and had a heavy influence not only on the look of a movie that you seem to hold such disdain for, but also a crapton of comic art to date. A truly dark, noir superhero cartoon, clearly aimed at adults A dark animated noir aimed at adults? Like the Harry Canyon sequence that later inspired another much loved noirish sci-fi film? These days that angular Timm/Dini look has become kind of a cliche, but back then there was no precedent for anything like it on TV. Noooo, there was plenty of precedent for it and that doesn't take away from how great it is but you're trying to hold up a weird comparison here to denigrate Heavy Metal. Look, maybe it only kept your sticky 14 year old hands busy for awhile, and rotoscoping didn't really bear out as a popular animation choice, but you obviously don't understand Heavy Metal or the impact it's had upon comics, animation, and pop culture so you might want to stop slagging on it now. Batman:TAS holds up just fine without you making bad comparisons.

By: Ursula Hitler

Ursula Hitler — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 16:40:44 -0800

Jeez, dude... Reasonable minds can disagree. I grew up loving Heavy Metal, but its charms did not last into adulthood for me. I wasn't using Batman to slag on Heavy Metal... But I will say that while a lot of Batman's animation doesn't look as good as I remembered it, the scripts still hold up. "A dark animated noir aimed at adults? Like the Harry Canyon sequence that later inspired another much loved noirish sci-fi film?" As I said, there was no precedent for it on TV. Before Batman, to see dark animation for adults you pretty much had to go to the movies.

By: nicebookrack

nicebookrack — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 18:01:43 -0800

Oh, man. So much nostalgia power slamming into me from the sound of that orchestral rush. In the early nineties I was in elementary school, a latchkey kid who lived about 5-10 blocks from my school, so I walked home by myself every school day--maybe a 7 minute walk, not hard at all. Class let out at 3PM. The local Fox station aired Batman from 3-3:30PM and Spider-Man: The Animated Series from 3:30-4PM. I planned my afternoons obsessively around this hour. Many days I wouldn't actually make it out of class until 3:10 at the earliest, so as fast as I walked, I still resigned myself to catching the tail end of Batman before Spider-Man came on. I set a timer on my parents' TV to turn it on at 3PM, so I could arrive home, lock the door behind me, and race straight to the TV, no precious remaining Batman time wasted in dropping my backpack or turning things on with a remote. I never got to see the opening Batcredits in those days. But other days—when a teacher would let us out of class five minutes early for good behavior, when a friend's parent would offer to drive me home, when I had all my stuff gathered before the bell and was tensed to run—I would sprint for my front door like the forces of hell were after me. Bursting through my front door to the sound of those final notes, "Dun dun da DUUUUN dun," were the best days, because FUCK YES THE OPENING CREDITS ARE STILL PLAYING I CAN SEE THE WHOLE EPISODE. A year or two into this, my parents got a VCR for their TV that could record on a timer. I learned to use it before and better than they did, because now I could tape that entire cartoon hour and watch it at my leisure—that is, immediately after I got home every day. I could fast-forward through commercials. I could see the entire Batman opening sequence for the first time and hum-sing along with the theme. The world was mine.

By: Artw

Artw — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 21:46:57 -0800

Kevin Smith interviews Bruce Timm (podcast) There's a ton of Kevin Smith interviews with BTAS folks, in fact, and he gets some great stuff out of them. Nobody believes me on this.

By: Slap*Happy

Slap*Happy — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 22:08:12 -0800

I believe in Kevin Smith. I believe in ArtW. I believe in Batman. Even when he's Osama Bin Laden.

By: Mezentian

Mezentian — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 02:28:51 -0800

I don't believe in Kevin Smith. One episode of Comic Book DudeBros did that. I do want to believe.

By: Artw

Artw — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:17:10 -0800

Guns And The Batman: Why The Dark Knight Doesn't Use Firearms