Confession time ERA, I never saw Batman: The Animated Series during my childhood, I can't really remember what the deal was for broadcasting or distribution here in the UK during it's original run to be fair.
In fact I only started to become aware of the series in a serious way when I played Batman Arkham Asylum as the game draws a lot on the original series particularly the voice cast. I looked up some DVD release and found out that largely the region 2 DVD releases were incomplete. After a while Amazon UK added the series to prime and I watched a few well regarded episodes like "A Heart Of Ice."
That said last year the entire series was released on Blu Ray and I patiently held out until I could snag the box set for a reasonable price, grabbing a used set.
So I am now working my way through the series and I have some thoughts.
The vibe/aesthetic is very unique, being set in what appears to be the 40's or 50's going by the clothing, cars and weaponry used by the villains, this is contrasted with more modern technology such as computers which are fairly common. This series owes its existence to Tim Burton's 1989 film so I am not surprised that they adopted a lot of the stylistic elements from that film.
One thing I am finding fascinating is the quality of the animation which is high overall but some episodes stand out by virtue of having much higher quality animation than others, I understand that this is a product of animation duties being outsourced to three different studios. So far I am up to Night of the Ninja (episode 35) and I am noticing that the animation in sone episodes was of much higher quality than what I hsve seen so far, particularly the facial work. Standouts include Two Face: Part One and Feat of Clay Part 2. Which blow away some of the other episodes by a big margin.
I am so glad this series got made, I am a fan of 90's marvel products from the time period, but comparing this directly to the Spider-Man series which released in 1994, it is quite clear that DC and Warner Bros really through their full weight behind this series. By contrast Spider-Man while still good is a little comical (pun totally intended) Spider-Man throws two punches in the entire series and all of the weapons are swapped out for sci if alternatives. Where as Batman is confronted by enemies using real world weapons and is free to use his fists in the manner which we expect. Also the themes in general are very mature for an animated series.
Just going to wrap up by saying I wished I had seen this sooner, but now I plan to make up for lost time as I binge my way through the series.
I had a long gap between my last binge watching session and where I am now, but soon I plan to dive back in and see if I can finish if this epic piece of TV making in the next week.
In fact I only started to become aware of the series in a serious way when I played Batman Arkham Asylum as the game draws a lot on the original series particularly the voice cast. I looked up some DVD release and found out that largely the region 2 DVD releases were incomplete. After a while Amazon UK added the series to prime and I watched a few well regarded episodes like "A Heart Of Ice."
That said last year the entire series was released on Blu Ray and I patiently held out until I could snag the box set for a reasonable price, grabbing a used set.
So I am now working my way through the series and I have some thoughts.
The vibe/aesthetic is very unique, being set in what appears to be the 40's or 50's going by the clothing, cars and weaponry used by the villains, this is contrasted with more modern technology such as computers which are fairly common. This series owes its existence to Tim Burton's 1989 film so I am not surprised that they adopted a lot of the stylistic elements from that film.
One thing I am finding fascinating is the quality of the animation which is high overall but some episodes stand out by virtue of having much higher quality animation than others, I understand that this is a product of animation duties being outsourced to three different studios. So far I am up to Night of the Ninja (episode 35) and I am noticing that the animation in sone episodes was of much higher quality than what I hsve seen so far, particularly the facial work. Standouts include Two Face: Part One and Feat of Clay Part 2. Which blow away some of the other episodes by a big margin.
I am so glad this series got made, I am a fan of 90's marvel products from the time period, but comparing this directly to the Spider-Man series which released in 1994, it is quite clear that DC and Warner Bros really through their full weight behind this series. By contrast Spider-Man while still good is a little comical (pun totally intended) Spider-Man throws two punches in the entire series and all of the weapons are swapped out for sci if alternatives. Where as Batman is confronted by enemies using real world weapons and is free to use his fists in the manner which we expect. Also the themes in general are very mature for an animated series.
Just going to wrap up by saying I wished I had seen this sooner, but now I plan to make up for lost time as I binge my way through the series.
I had a long gap between my last binge watching session and where I am now, but soon I plan to dive back in and see if I can finish if this epic piece of TV making in the next week.
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