The original series aired on Fox from September 5, 1992 to September 15, 1995.[2] When the first season of the series aired on weekday afternoons, it lacked an on-screen title,[5] and was referred to as only Batman in open narration for the second half of a two-part episode ("Previously on Batman..."). When its timeslot was moved to weekends (on some Fox channels) for the second season, it was given the on-screen title The Adventures of Batman & Robin.[6]
The original series was partially inspired by the Frank Miller comic Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, the Tim Burton films Batman and Batman Returns, and the acclaimed Superman cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios in the 1940s.[7]
Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski designed the series by closely emulating
the Tim Burton films' "otherworldly timelessness," incorporating period
features such as black-and-white title cards, police blimps
(even though no such thing has existed, Timm has stated he found it to
fit the period they were going for), 40s influenced look and a
"vintage" color scheme in a largely film noir-influenced style.[8] The series initially took a variation of music written by Danny Elfman for the Burton films Batman and Batman Returns as its theme; later episodes of the series used a new theme with a similar style by Shirley Walker
(who was occasionally Elfman's conductor on the films they worked on).
The score of the series was influenced by Elfman and Walker's work on Batman and Batman Returns and the music of 40s film noir.
The program was much more adult-oriented than some previous typical
superhero cartoon series. It was the first such cartoon in years to
depict firearms being fired instead of laser guns (only one person has ever been actually depicted as shot; Commissioner Gordon
in the episode "I Am the Night" was seen to have a gunshot wound after
the firefight was finished), Batman actually punching and kicking the
antagonists, as well as the existence of blood; in addition, many of
the series' backgrounds were painted on black paper.[8] The distinctive visual combination of film noir imagery and Art Deco designs with a very dark color scheme was called "Dark Deco" by the producers.[9]
First-time producers Timm and Radomski reportedly encountered
resistance from studio executives, but the success of Burton's first
film allowed the embryonic series to survive long enough to produce a pilot episode, "On Leather Wings", which according to Timm "got a lot of people off our backs."[8]
The series received critical acclaim for its distinctive animation
and mature writing. Fans of a wide age range praised the show's
sophisticated, cinematic tone and psychological stories. Voice-actor Kevin Conroy used two distinct voices to portray Bruce Wayne and Batman, as Michael Keaton and Christian Bale have done in the live-action films.
The series was also notable for its supporting cast that included major
actors performing the voices of the various classic villains, most
notably Mark Hamill, who defined a whole new career for himself in animation[10] with his cheerfully deranged portrayal of the Joker. The voice recording sessions were recorded with the actors together in a studio, like a radio play,
unlike most animated films, in which the principal voice actors record
separately and never meet (various interviews have noted that such an
arrangement (having the cast record together) was a benefit to the show
as a whole, as the actors were able to 'react' to one another, rather
than simply 'reading the words'). This method would later be employed
for all subsequent series in the DC Animated Universe.
The key to the series' artistic success is that it managed to
redefine classic characters, paying homage to their previous portrayals
while giving them each a new dramatic force. The characterization of
villains such as Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and the Riddler as well as heroes like Gordon and Robin demonstrate this. One of the series' most famous innovations was the Joker's assistant, Harley Quinn, who gained such popularity that DC Comics later added her to the mainstream Batman comic book continuity. The Penguin also underwent change for the series. His appearance was remodeled after the version seen in Batman Returns,
which was being released at the same time as the series. New life was
additionally given to nearly forgotten characters for the series such
as the Clock King. In addition, dramatic changes were made to villains such as Clayface and Mr. Freeze. With the help of the series, the character of Mr. Freeze was turned around from a clichédmad scientist with a gimmick for cold to a tragic
figure whose frigid exterior hides a doomed love and vindictive fury.
Part of this tragedy aspect of Mr. Freeze was later mimicked throughout
the story-line of Joel Schumacher's infamous movie Batman & Robin, although much of the film's drama was lost with the resurrection of the pun-quipping mad scientist image.
"Robin's Reckoning" won an Emmy in 1993 for Most Outstanding Half Hour or Less Program. "Heart of Ice" also won the show an Emmy in 1993 for Most Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program.[11]
Sixteen minutes of animated segments in the video game The Adventures of Batman and Robin for the Sega CD are sometimes referred to as a "lost episode" of the series.[12]
These segments are intended to be interspersed between gameplay
elements of an early-1990s video game and as such, the sound, color and
story are not of the same quality as the actual television program.
Similar cutscenes appear throughout the video games Batman Vengeance and Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu.
The show also featured numerous adaptations of various Batman comics
stories over the years to when the show was produced. The following
episodes that were adaptations were:
"The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy" was an adaptation of "The Cape and Cowl Death Trap!" from Detective Comics #450 of August 1975, written by Elliot S. Maggin.
"The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne" was based on the comic stories "The Dead Yet Live" and "I Am the Batman!" from Detective Comics #471 and #472, of August/September 1977 by Steve Englehart.
"Dreams in Darkness" takes its cues from a graphic novel titled The Last Arkham.
"Moon of the Wolf" is based on the comic story of the same name by writer Len Wein with art by Neal Adams, from Batman #255, April 1974.
"If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" is a loose adaptation of "The Riddler!" from Detective Comics #140, October 1948.
"Off Balance" is a direct adaptation of "Batman: Into the Den of the Death-Dealers" of Detective Comics #411, May 1971 by Dennis O'Neil famous for the first appearance of character Talia Al Ghul.
Also a direct adaptation is the two-part episode "The Demon's Quest", based on "Daughter of the Demon" from Batman #232, June 1971, and "The Demon Lives Again" Batman #244, September 1972, also by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams. Famous for introducing one of Batman's deadlier foes; Ra's Al Ghul, father of Talia.
The episode "The Laughing Fish" was based on three Batman comics, blended together; "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" from Batman #251 September 1973 by Dennis O'Neil with art by Neal Adams, followed by "The Laughing Fish" and "Sign of the Joker!" from Detective Comics #475 and #476, of February/March 1978, both by writer Steve Englehart with art by Marshall Rogers. During a spotlight podcast from Comic-Con 2007, Paul Dini
explained that the reason why the episode combined those stories was
because the show's creators could not adapt them separately, because
their content and thematic elements would not have been cleared by the
censors.
Part 1 of " Robin's Reckoning" takes its cues from Detective Comics #38 of June 1940.
"A Bullet for Bullock" is based on the comic of the same name from Detective Comics #651, October 1992, by Chuck Dixon.
The episode "Almost Got 'Im" where Two-Face's strategy (strapping
down Batman to a giant coin and flipping the coin in the air) was taken
from the comics, where both Batman and Robin were tied to a giant penny
that was catapulted onto spikes. However, they were able to create a
"negative magnetic field" to repel the spikes and enable themselves to
land "heads up", snap the ropes, and defeat Two-Face.
The episode "Appointment in Crime Alley" is based on "There Is No Hope in Crime Alley" from Detective Comics #457 (March 1976) by Dennis O'Neil and Dick Giordano,.
The episode "Sideshow" is loosely based on "A Vow From the Grave"
by Dennis O'Neil. This episode adapted the comic book story with the
inclusion of a separate Killer Croc story.
New villains such as Red Claw, Kyodai Ken, Tygrus, and the Sewer
King were invented for the series, but to little acclaim. On the other
hand, Joker's accomplice Harley Quinn, Gotham City police detective Renee Montoya, and the sociopathic vigilante Lock-Up
achieved such popularity that they became characters in the comics.
Older villains that were lesser known from the comics, such as Count Vertigo, the Mirror Man, and the Clock King, were modified for the series in both appearance and personality.
Aside from creating characters that crossed over into the main line
of DC Comics, several of the series' reinterpretations were carried
over as well. Mr. Freeze
was revised to emulate the series' tragic story, the success of which
actually compelled DC to bring the character back after "killing" him
off some years earlier; Clayface was revised to be much more similar in appearance to his animated counterpart; Poison Ivy took on the slightly inhuman, green skin color she received in later episodes of the series; and Two-Face's double-sided, black and white suit has become a common appearance for the character.
All characters received an update in The New Batman Adventures,
having costumes, voices, mannerisms, and overall looks modified. The
artwork and colors became sharper and somewhat more cartoonish.
One of the most noteworthy changes made in Batman: The Animated Series was the treatment of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne.
In nearly all other media, including the comics, television shows,
and films, Bruce deliberately plays up his image as a vacuous,
self-absorbed, and not-too-bright billionaire playboy.[14]
In the animated series, his character is instead treated more
seriously. With attributes such as being assertive, intelligent, and
actively involved in the management of Wayne Enterprises,
without jeopardizing his secret identity, Bruce's personality builds
upon the show's overall darker edge. For an example, in the episode
"Eternal Youth", Bruce is shown angrily ordering one of his directors
to cancel a secret deal with a timber company in the Amazon rainforest ("Shut it down, or you're gone!"). In addition, during the episode "Night of the Ninja", he revealed to reporter Summer Gleeson that he has some martial arts training, as the reporter previously researched that he once lived in Japan, though he later throws a fight with the ninja Kyodai Ken in front of Gleeson to disguise his prowess.
Kevin Conroy
is well remembered by fans for being the first person in animation to
use two distinct voices to portray Bruce Wayne and Batman, which was
his own idea.[15]
Another noteworthy change in the series was the redefining of the original Robin, Dick Grayson.
While much of Dick's past remained the same, his Robin costume was updated to a more modern look of the 1990s (with short sleeves and long pants), exactly like Tim Drake's
original Robin outfit. In addition, Dick was given a more mature
personality to match the darkness of the series. The episode "Batgirl
Returns" establishes that Dick and Barbara Gordon
attend the same college and that they have a fairly mutual romantic
attraction to each other, but neither one knows that the other is
secretly Robin and/or Batgirl, respectively (despite having
collaborated in "Shadow of the Bat", albeit without getting along), and
their relationship is one of the plot elements of Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero.
The Adventures of Batman & Robin, the on-screen title slide for season two.
Batman: The Animated Series premiered on the Fox Network's children's block Fox Kids
on September 5, 1992 and aired in that block for the first several
episodes of the series during weekday afternoons at 4:30pm. In
December, just three months after its debut, Fox began airing episodes
of the series on prime-time Sunday evenings, marking one of the few
times a show created for Saturday Morning Television was scheduled for prime-time broadcast. However, the TV ratings fell short (as the show aired opposite the perennial favorite 60 Minutes), and the series was removed from this time slot in March 1993.
After the series produced its 65th episode (the minimum number necessary for a TV series to be successfully syndicated),
Fox Network executives ordered a second season of 20 more episodes that
was later reduced to airing weekly on Saturday mornings. The second
season featured Robin more prominently and, in result, was retitled as The Adventures of Batman & Robin. In total, the series reached 85 episodes before finishing its original run of episodes on September 15, 1995.
Cartoon Network
began airing re-runs of the series from 1996-2000. From 1997-1999, the
show was aired in the six o'clock timeslot after Cartoon Network's
action-oriented programming block Toonami.
The show later began re-airing on September 30, 2007 on Toon Disney's Jetix lineup along with Superman: The Animated Series (despite Warner Bros. being one of Disney's biggest competitors). Both shows then continued to air on Toon Disney's successor, Disney XD, which began on February 13, 2009 but removed in 2010.[16]
The show airs on Teletoon Retro
(a Canadian broadcasting channel), debuting on January 8, 2010. The
first 65 episodes are confirmed, with the first being "The Cat and
Claw". The show scheduled to air on a weekly basis, airing at 7:00 AM,
6:00 PM, and midnight. All times are Eastern.[17]
Batman: The Animated Series has been met with much critical
acclaim and has been highly praised for its sophistication, mature
writing, artistic ambition and faithfulness to its source material. In
the 1992 year end issue, Entertainment Weekly ranked the series as one of the top television series of the year.[18]
Writer Les Daniels described the show as coming "as close as any artistic statement has to defining the look of Batman for the 1990s."[19] Deirdre Sheppard, a reviewer for Common Sense Media who posted her review on Go.com, described the series as a "fairly violent cartoon" with an "overall grim quality."[20]
In 2009, IGN.com named Batman: The Animated Series the second best animated television series of all time.[21]Wizard magazine also ranked it #2 of the greatest animated television shows of all time.[22] In both cases, the show lost to The Simpsons, another Fox cartoon series. CraveOnline also ranked the show #2 for Top 5 Best Superhero cartoons behind the 1940s Fleischer Superman cartoons.[23]
Due to the success of the animated series early on, many crew members went on to design and produce Superman: The Animated Series for the WB Network's children's block Kids' WB before making an additional 24 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, better known as The New Batman Adventures, which aired alongside Superman: The Animated Series in 1997 following the end of Fox Kids' five year exclusive broadcast contract. The New Batman Adventures aired its final episode in 1999, but continued to air on the network into 2000.
In 1999, a new spin-off series, Batman Beyond, was released to further critical acclaim.[24] Then in 2001, the Justice League animated series was released, building on the success of both Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series and featured Batman as one of the founders of the League.
In addition, several of the animators from Japanese animation studio Sunrise worked on the series — their work on Batman: The Animated Series would become a great influence on one of their later series, Big O and the Cowboy Bebop episode "Pierrot le Fou".
Furthermore, the series had an immense impact on comics. Characters such as Renee Montoya and Harley Quinn
were originally created for the animated series, but their popularity
proved such that the characters were introduced into DC Comics
(additionally, the character Harley Quinn appeared in the television
series Birds of Prey and the new animated series The Batman). While the character of Mr. Freeze
was taken from the comics, his origin was redefined to make him a more
tragic figure, and his popularity caused DC to bring the character back
from the dead and then retconned his origin to more closely match that of the series. This same origin was used for the character in the movie Batman & Robin. Batman: The Animated Series
was one of the first series to portray Bruce Wayne using a different
voice while being Batman. It was also one of the first to suggest that
Harvey Dent had a pre-existing dual personality before becoming Two-Face. This idea came from the show's producer, Alan Burnett.[25]
The dramatic writing and stylized art of Batman: The Animated Series
sets it apart from traditional comic-book based cartoons. It can be
considered the action-adventure equivalent of more mature cartoon shows
like The Simpsons.
For this reason the show's popularity (along with that of its various
spin-offs) endures among older audiences and comic book fans.
The Legominifigures of various Batman characters are more strongly based on the designs from Batman: The Animated Series than any other form of Batman media.[26] More precisely, the Joker, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze and Harley Quinn's minifigures seem to have identical costumes and faces to the characters from Batman: The Animated Series.
The dark atmosphere, mature themes, and even some of the voice cast from the series are heavily employed in the video game Batman: Arkham Asylum.[27]
Batman: The Animated Series featured a strong musical score
written by several different composers throughout the course of the
series. The main theme of the show, which was heard during the opening
and ending credits of each episode, was composed by Danny Elfman. At first, Elfman turned down Bruce Timm's offer to compose the theme for the show and so Timm hired Shirley Walker to do so. Though, as time went by, Elfman changed his mind and composed a variation of his 1989 Batman
movie theme. Walker's unused theme went on to become the main theme for
the second season of the show, when the name was changed to The Adventures of Batman & Robin.[9]
In 1996, Walker won her first Daytime Emmy Award for her music direction of The Adventures of Batman & Robin. She would then go on to win another Daytime Emmy Award in the category of music-composition for Batman Beyond in 2001.[28]
Although at least seven different composers worked on the series,[29] Walker, Lolita Ritmanis,
and Michael McCuistion are regarded as the main contributors. After the
series finished up in 1995, the three then went on to score The New Batman Adventures in 1997 and Batman Beyond in 1999. Television composer Kristopher Carter scored along side Walker, Ritmanis, and McCuistion throughout the many DC Animated Universe shows and later filled in for Walker after her death in 2006.
On December 16, 2008, La-La Land Records announced the release of a soundtrack companion to Batman: The Animated Series onto a two-disc CD set. The release was limited to a pressing of 3,000 copies, which sold quickly.[30] About one month after its release, the soundtrack set had sold over 2,500 copies. According to a spokesperson of La-La Land Records, the sold out status of the soundtrack "can only help as the label hopes to convince Warner Bros. to release more Batman: The Animated Series soundtracks."[31]
Upon its release, the soundtrack received outstanding reviews,[32][33] and is now completely sold out.[34]
Warner Home Video has released Batman: The Animated Series on DVD in Region 1 in four volume box sets. The fourth volume however contains all 24 episodes of The New Batman Adventures. Warner Home Video later released Batman: The Complete Animated Series, which features all episodes from both the original series and The New Batman Adventures,
on DVD in Region 1. The set includes all features from the four
individual volumes plus a bonus 17th disc with a new special feature
and a 40 page Collector's book containing artwork.[9]
The DVD was originally on sale for a limited time only and went out of
print in January 2009. Warner Home Video then released a second
printing of the DVD in May 2009, but withdrew the DVD in August 2009.
DVD Name
Episode #
Release Date
Additional Information
Batman: The Animated Series – Volume 1
28
July 6, 2004
Commentary on "On Leather Wings" and "Heart of Ice"
"The Dark Knight's First Night" Featurette
"Batman: The Legacy Continues" Featurette
Tour of the Batcave
Trailers
Batman: The Animated Series – Volume 2
28
January 25, 2005
Commentary Tracks
Robin Rising Featurette
Gotham's Guardians Featurette
Voices of the Knight Featurette
Batman: The Animated Series – Volume 3
28
May 24, 2005
Audio and Video Commentaries
Gotham's New Knight — Featurette on Batgirl as Batman's Newest Ally
Batman: The Animated Series – Volume 4
24
December 6, 2005
Audio and Video Commentaries
Interactive Arkham Asylum — Featurette on Batman's many foes
Batman: The Complete Animated Series
109
November 4, 2008
All 85 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series
All 24 episodes of The New Batman Adventures
40 page collector book
Region 2
Volumes 1 and 2 were released on DVD in the UK on October 10, 2005
(Volume 1) and August 21, 2006 (Volume 2). These DVD volumes are
exclusive to the retail chain HMV in the United Kingdom.
On June 14, 2008, Volume 1 was re-released in the UK as a non-HMV
exclusive, though both the artwork and the extras remain the same as
the original HMV exclusive release.[35] Volume 2 was released in the same way on March 3, 2009.[36]
In Bulgaria, Volumes 1 and 2 were released in early 2006. Each disc
was sold separately in amaray case. They were Regions 2 and 5.
Region 3
In China, the show was packaged into four different DVD volume sets
just as it was done in Region 1. Volumes 1 and 2 were both released on
February 28, 2005, while Volume 3 was released July 7, 2005 and Volume
4 was released February 17, 2006.[37]
Region 4
In Australia, Volume 1 was released on October 19, 2005, but nothing has ever been released since.[38] Volumes and the boxset are available at websites like eBay.com, Amazon.com and Oztion.com.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
(1993) - based on the animated series, the film started production as a
direct-to-video release, but was changed to be a theatrical release
near the end of production.
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998) - a direct-to-video release, also based on the series, which was initially completed as a tie-in to 1997's Batman & Robin, but due to the poor reception of that movie, its release was delayed a year.[39]
The television series was accompanied by a tie-in comic book, The Batman Adventures, which followed the art style and continuity of the television series instead of other Batman comic books. The Batman Adventures,
through several format changes to reflect the changing world of the
series and its spin-offs, outlasted the series itself by nearly a
decade, finally being cancelled in 2004 to make way for the tie-in
comic of a new, unrelated Batman animated series, The Batman.
There was also a short-lived series of tie-in novels, adapted from episodes of the series by science fiction author Geary Gravel. To achieve novel-length, Gravel combined several related episodes into a single storyline in each novel. The novels included:
Shadows of the Past ("Appointment in Crime Alley", "Robin's Reckoning" two-parter)
Dual to the Death ("Two-Face" two-parter, "Shadow of the Bat" two-parter)
The Dragon and the Bat ("Night of the Ninja", "Day of the Samurai")
Several video games (The Adventures of Batman & Robin) based on the animated continuity were released during the 16-bit game-machine era (roughly, that era spans from 1989–1996). Konami developed a game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), while SEGA released versions of the game for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Mega-CD and Game Gear.
The SNES, Mega Drive/Genesis and Game Gear versions were side-scrolling
action games, while Mega CD version featured a 3-D driving adventure.
All of the games had art true to the series, while Sega's versions
featured art elements directly from the show's creators.[40] The CD version has over 20 minutes of original animated footage comparable to the most well crafted episodes,[41] with the principal voice actors reprising their roles.
