Batman: The Animated Series

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Boy, what a great series. I don't know what to say about it though. It sure was great!

Errr, and Batman Beyond was pretty lame.

But if Montoya and Harley were both TAS creations, CLASSIC.

Errr, I don't know, this is turning out to be a worse idea than my X-Statix-finale thread.

Leeeter van den Hoogenband (Leee), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 19:43 (nineteen years ago) link

Agreed, it was great. Even worse than Batman Beyond (not to mention the completely shitty Batman Beyond PlayStation game I picked up for $5 a few years ago), is the current The Batman cartoon.

Huk-L, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 19:55 (nineteen years ago) link

After some googling I'm think Montoya was created in the animated series (but she showed up in the comics in '92, which I think was when the show started, so maybe?), but it's certainly what comes to mind when I think of the character.

I've been thinking about getting the dvds now that they're out, but I'm afraid that it won't seem as good as when I was a kid.

Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 19:59 (nineteen years ago) link

Is it the darkest kid's cartoon ever?

Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:01 (nineteen years ago) link

I don't know, Rocket Robin Hood dropped some serious science.

Huk-L, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:02 (nineteen years ago) link

I just can't watch the new one. I haven't even watched an episode long enough to know if I like the writing -- Batman's voice is just wrong wrong wrong (like When Wolverine Was Australian wrong), and something about the animation puts me off.

Harley Quinn was definitely a TAS creation -- I remember it being a big deal when they decided to introduce her into the comics (during NML, wasn't it? In the Dini-written one-shot? Or had she appeared before that?)

Batman Beyond had a couple things going for it (mostly the theme song), but they weren't enough, unfortunately.

And yeah, it probably is the darkest American kids cartoon anyway -- can't vouch for anything else.

The Batman Cartoon I Would Like To See: Batman's Planet, on which Batman, Robin, a couple of smart-alecky/trouble-magnet teenagers they've just rescued in the first scene of the pilot, and someone else (Batgirl? Poison Ivy? the Joker?) get accidentally stuck on another planet and have wacky misadventures while trying to find their way home.

(Surely someone else remembers Gilligan's Planet.)

Tep (ktepi), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:07 (nineteen years ago) link

Wasn't there a Robinson Crusoe on Mars, too?

Huk-L, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:08 (nineteen years ago) link

Probably -- there was that whole Characters You Already Know But Now They're Stuck In Space/Other Dimensions subgenre, The Brady Kids etc (and Kidd Video was pretty much Josie and the Pussycats vs Master Blaster).

Tep (ktepi), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:12 (nineteen years ago) link

Am I nuts, or did Cartoon Fonzie go to space? Now I have to look it up.

Tep (ktepi), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:12 (nineteen years ago) link

I am not nuts!!

Tep (ktepi), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:13 (nineteen years ago) link

Guh!!!

The original cast members voiced their own characters.

Huk-L, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:17 (nineteen years ago) link

Cartoon spinoffs. I have seen most of these, but not That Girl in Wonderland or The Mini-Munsters.

(There should be a DVD collection, one or two episodes of each.)

Tep (ktepi), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:21 (nineteen years ago) link

Have you guys been watching the Teen Titans cartoon? I originally thought they were going to shy away from all of the angst from the comic book but instead it seems they've decided to revel in it (the betrayal/death of Terra and its affect on Beast Boy, Cyborg's unease at fitting in mixed in with an ongoing battle with an increasingly deranged Brother Blood intent on stealing his tech to create supersoldiers, Raven as harbinger of the destruction of the world, Starfire's evil sister, Deathstroke's unhealthy fascination with Robin).

The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:43 (nineteen years ago) link

Yeah, I caught one episode that had Terra in it, and I thought, well how can they do this? They actually killed her?

Huk-L, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:45 (nineteen years ago) link

Oh yes they did! They had her show up all out of control, get kicked out for being a menace, come back in full control of her powers, betray the team to Deathstroke, help alomst destroy the world, have a change of heart and bury herself and Deathstroke under 7,000,434,552,000 tons of rock to save the day. (Deathstroke later came back on Raven's birthday as the superpowered messenger dispatched to inform her that she was destined to destroy the world, so Terra might someday come back but if she did it would probably be as an avatar of an evil force that's hounding Raven.)

The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:49 (nineteen years ago) link

Although it's definitely not as good as the proper Animated show, Batman Beyond (or Batman Of The Future as it was known in the UK) had a few things going for it, even if the project seemed to come out of a marketing session ("Oooh! Batman would be so much cooler if he was a kid! IN THE FUTURE!).

1) Crotchety Old Bruce Wayne. Just fantastic. Old and wizened, but still every bit as dangerous as he once was (if not more, sometimes). Choice bits: the recent JLU time-travel episode, where old Wayne pushes Batman aside, because the interrogation wasn't going fast enough, and a great episode of BB where Terry is looking at various bits of junk in the Batcave. He comes across the DKR exo-suit; Wayne just smiles and says: "Heh. Gave me a heart attack."

2) There's a huge sense of loss hanging over the series. Why did Wayne give up? Why isn't Barbara Gordon talking to him any more, and actively discouraging Terry to continue being Batman? And the Robin costume in the cave…(all answered in Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker, a rather brutal children's film)

As long as Terry was kept to the sidelines, it was a decent show.

Anyway, I really must get some of these boxsets, because I can't remember much of individual episodes anymore. There's a great one where the Scarecrow traps Batman in a dreamworld, and supposedly an episode where Dini takes the piss out of Joel Schumacher, which sounds awesome.

My favourite part of the series is Mask of The Phantasm, which I think is The Perfect Batman Film. The Joker! The World's Fair! Bruce getting a love interest that makes sense! Lightning across the Waynes' Grave! Much better than rubber nipples!

carson dial (carson dial), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:52 (nineteen years ago) link

Wow.

xpost

Huk-L, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:52 (nineteen years ago) link

Aw, dang. I almost rented Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker yesterday, but got the Clone Wars instead. (I always feel like a pervert going through the kids section a the video store).

Huk-L, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:54 (nineteen years ago) link

It's very funny that the most angst-free character on the Teen Titans show is Starfire!

The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:57 (nineteen years ago) link

I just want to mention that the fantastic Justice League Unlimited has done classy and exciting stories involving both Green Arrow and the Question...and a Supergirl.

Huk-L, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:59 (nineteen years ago) link

Yeah, Batman Beyond mostly needed better "monster of the week"/filler-type episodes -- on paper, a lot of it worked.

I've only seen one episodes of the new Teen Titans, because I can't get past the anime-ishness of it

Tep (ktepi), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 21:01 (nineteen years ago) link

There was an excellent recent episode where a chemical spill caused Beast Boy to go on a rampage where every time he lost his temper, he'd turn into a werewolf and the team thought he'd tried to eat Raven.

There was another excellent meta-episode where they were chasing a geeky villain through various television shows; the villain's magic put-me-in-tv techonology caused brain-melting radiation to come out of the television, prompting a hilarious scene where Robin is shouting at the "camera", "TURN THIS OFF! TELEVISION WILL ROT YOUR MIND! I'M SERIOUS!!!" They ended up victorious because Beast Boy was a bigger TV/movie nerd than the villain they were chasing and ended with a completely sarcastic non-moral.

The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 21:03 (nineteen years ago) link

While I'm not a fan of the anime style either, I applaud them for going into it so whole-heartedly, unlike the chickenshit (what did you expect from a cartoon whose jaw-dropping bland theme music--lamest Batman music ever-- is by The Edge?) pussyfooting of the current The Batman.

Huk-L, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 21:05 (nineteen years ago) link

xpost, The Mad Mod episode I saw was brilliant! Especially the Wizard of Oz-cum-Scooby Doo ending.

Huk-L, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 21:06 (nineteen years ago) link

The upcoming episodes of JLU look interesting as well. More Amanda Waller, the Suicide Squad, and Superman going all-out on Cadmus when "A Leaguer Falls!" (It's never a good idea to wear a Flash costume in these things)

carson dial (carson dial), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 21:12 (nineteen years ago) link

Damn, I'm going to have to check Teen Titans out.

And yeah, I definitely can't fault them for the anime thing, if I were the target audience I'd probably love it. It's not the kind of anime I grew up with, so it's just distracting.

Tep (ktepi), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 21:36 (nineteen years ago) link

Ah, there is a Freaky Trigger Gloria specially made for you lovely people...
http://www.freakytrigger.co.uk/see/2005_03_01_dys_archive.html#111165831342004616

Pete (Pete), Thursday, 24 March 2005 13:19 (nineteen years ago) link

Its funny that DC do Cartoons so much better than Marvel. The Spiderman series that ran around the same time as Batman was terrible by comparison.

Somebody at Marvel should get in touch with the guy who created Samurai Jack and does Clone Wars - Tartakovsky (something like that). Give him free rein. A Fantastic Four cartoon, done right, that would be worth watching. Oh no, wait, I saw that - it was called the Incredibles.

I would love it if somebody would let Bruce Timm make his version of Conan. The sketches alone are beautiful...

David N (David N.), Thursday, 24 March 2005 15:12 (nineteen years ago) link

The old X-Men animated series was great, though (for the theme song alone!).

Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 24 March 2005 15:14 (nineteen years ago) link

Good old Gennedy! I'd love to see him do a Power Pack cartoon, actually.

The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 24 March 2005 15:21 (nineteen years ago) link

I've got my fingers crossed for a Green Arrow solo series spinning out of JLU. The first episode he was in was AWESOME, when he meets Captain Atom, "Didn't I march against you in college?"

Huk-L, Thursday, 24 March 2005 15:33 (nineteen years ago) link

Did he point THE FINGER?

Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 24 March 2005 15:34 (nineteen years ago) link

YOU BET!

Huk-L, Thursday, 24 March 2005 15:34 (nineteen years ago) link

The episode opens with GA taking down a gaggle of armed thugs knocking over a grocery store (see, he's The People's Hero), and then Batman shows up and invites him to join the League.
"I don't know, I'm The People's Hero...you guys hang out in space."
But he goes up to the sattelite anyway, and winds up battling a North Korea-analog's rogue nuclear program (embodied in Brimstone!) with Supergirl and Captain Atom (and John Stewart, a little bit).
At the end, he comes out of the Justice League steamroom and Batman confronts him about staying on with the League.
"I don't know, I'm The People's Hero."
And then he sees Black Canary adjusting her fishnets and says, "I didn't realize you had poon on this space heap! Forget The People!"

two seconds to THE FINGER!:
http://www.jlanimated.com/editorials/jlu/arrow2.jpg

Huk-L, Thursday, 24 March 2005 15:41 (nineteen years ago) link

Haha I saw that one! It was awesome!

The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 24 March 2005 15:53 (nineteen years ago) link

Man, I gotta put Cartoon Network on more.

Green Arrow is ALWAYS saving grocery stores. And convenience stores. It's like Spidey with bank robberies.

What's his voice like? Cause the beard implies that he sounds like Dr Quest.

Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 24 March 2005 16:39 (nineteen years ago) link

His voice actually struck me as sorta weird, not terribly macho, but not effete in anyway. It was a friendly uncle sort of voice. Not in a creepy way either.

I don't know what Dr. Quest sounds like.

Huk-L, Thursday, 24 March 2005 16:45 (nineteen years ago) link

Johnny Quest's pop!

You'd recognize it if you heard it, most likely. The actor did a lot of other voice work. (I'm looking him up now.) (Holy crap Johnny Quest was played by Tim Matheson.)

Hm, he -- Don Messick -- is one of those voice actors who sounds different in a lot of roles (he played both Boo Boo and the Ranger on Yogi Bear, for instance ... and Scooby Doo, Atom Ant, half the Smurfs, and Muttley!) -- but the Ranger voice is pretty close to Dr Quest. So's Papa Smurf, come to think of it. Except Green Arrow would not sound like Papa Smurf.

Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 24 March 2005 17:33 (nineteen years ago) link

Gargamel ... you CHEAP PUNK!

*smurffinger*

Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 24 March 2005 17:34 (nineteen years ago) link

http://www.hcru.org/Images/Papa-Smurf.gif

Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 24 March 2005 17:35 (nineteen years ago) link

I'm dying here!

Anyway, cast list for guest voices on JL/JLU:
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0275137/guests

Huk-L, Thursday, 24 March 2005 17:49 (nineteen years ago) link

I would love it if the people responsible for the Teen Titans cartoon took on The New Mutants.

The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 24 March 2005 17:49 (nineteen years ago) link

Scotty Baldwin is Green Arrow!!

Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 24 March 2005 17:56 (nineteen years ago) link

Rene Auberjonois= Kanjar-Ro (voice)
Robert Englund= Felix Faust (voice)
Eric Roberts= Mongul (voice)
Powers Boothe= Grodd (voice)
Mark Hamill= Solomon Grundy (voice)/Joker
Olivia d'Abo= Star Sapphire (voice)

"Legends: Part 1" Episode: #1.16 - 21 April 2002:

Corey Burton= Dr. Blizzard (voice)

Jennifer Hale= Black Siren (voice)

Neil Patrick Harris= Ray Thompson (voice)

Jeffrey Jones= Sir Swami (voice)

William Katt= Green Guardsman (voice)

Udo Kier= The Music Master (voice)

Ted McGinley= Tom Turbine (voice)

Michael McKean= The Sportsman (voice)

David Naughton= The Streak (voice)

Stephen Root= Cat Man (voice)

Tom Sizemore= Metamorpho (voice)
Patrick Duffy= Steve Trevor (voice)
Michael Ironside= Darkseid (voice)
Ron Perlman= Orion (voice)/Clayface II
Rob Zombie= Ichthulhu (voice)
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.= Alfred Pennyworth (voice)
Brad Garrett= Lobo (voice)
Kin Shriner= Green Arrow (voice)
Edward Asner= Hephaestus (voice)/Granny Goodness
Jason Hervey= Dove I/Don Hall (voice)*
Fred Savage= Hawk I/Hank Hall (voice)*
Wonder Years Powers...ACTIVATE!
Jeremy Piven= The Elongated Man (voice)
Tim Matheson= Max Lord (voice)
Dennis Farina= Wildcat I/Ted Grant (voice)


Sorry about that.

Huk-L, Thursday, 24 March 2005 18:05 (nineteen years ago) link

And Black Canary has a VERY sexy voice: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm1072555/

Huk-L, Thursday, 24 March 2005 18:08 (nineteen years ago) link

I seem to remember Mr Perry losing his shit over Ed Asner playing Granny Goodness.

Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 24 March 2005 18:15 (nineteen years ago) link

Some of those would be ideal live-action choices too.

Huk-L, Thursday, 24 March 2005 18:17 (nineteen years ago) link

And Black Canary has a VERY sexy voice

Oh shit that's Inara from Firefly (and according to Tep, possibly Joss's Wonder Woman)! Yeah, she's great.

Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 24 March 2005 18:20 (nineteen years ago) link

Yeah, Joss has made a few comments implying he thinks she'd be good in the role, but I don't know how to take them. If the studio wants to go with a virtual unknown like with Superman, that's one thing; presumably he'd want to see how she handles fight scenes, though (I don't remember her really having any in Firefly).

Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 24 March 2005 18:27 (nineteen years ago) link

Dude, she was a hooker, of course she can handle herself in a fight.

Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 24 March 2005 18:31 (nineteen years ago) link

I especially dig how Kirby's Fourth World stuff slowly encroaches upon the light-hearted Superman adventures taking place in the foreground.

Encyclopedia Beige and the Case of the Bland Sandwich (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 20 December 2017 17:13 (six years ago) link

Wonder Woman was so dull and slow and colourgraded and not-about-a-woman that I walked out halfway through and saw The House instead

shackling the masses with plastic-wrapped snack picks (sic), Wednesday, 20 December 2017 18:15 (six years ago) link

same with the justice league cartoon - started slowly then knocked it out of the park when it became unlimited

dipso inferno (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 20 December 2017 18:16 (six years ago) link

that's true. though i'd say even by season 2 of JL they were killing it, like with that 2-part Joker ep

Nhex, Wednesday, 20 December 2017 18:54 (six years ago) link

the Justice Gods one was also S2 i think

Nhex, Wednesday, 20 December 2017 18:56 (six years ago) link

If we want to make this a recommendation thread for the best DCAU episodes, I wouldn't complain.

Chuck_Tatum, Thursday, 21 December 2017 00:56 (six years ago) link

I decided to watch the recent Wonder Woman movie at motel room rental prices and fell asleep halfway into it. Such are vacation mistakes.

BTAS is still excellent every time I feel the need to rewatch. The balance of the animation style, noir tropes honored and subtly commented on, the little quips that paint Batman as self-aware, sometimes tragically, make it age well.

mh, Thursday, 21 December 2017 03:49 (six years ago) link

six months pass...

HFS @ Hopey Glass cameo in Batman, someone was having a lil fun at the animation studio that day

Οὖτις, Sunday, 8 July 2018 16:03 (six years ago) link

wait waht

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report (bizarro gazzara), Sunday, 8 July 2018 16:30 (six years ago) link

I forget which episode it is but bruce wayne puts someone on a bus at the end of the episode and one of the other riders on the bus is v clearly Jaime’s Hopey.

Οὖτις, Sunday, 8 July 2018 16:45 (six years ago) link

I think it’s “I Am the Night”

Οὖτις, Sunday, 8 July 2018 16:54 (six years ago) link

I noticed it a few nights ago while watching w my daughter but only just now remembered i meant to post about it cuz it was p unexpected

Οὖτις, Sunday, 8 July 2018 17:00 (six years ago) link

huh, awesome!

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report (bizarro gazzara), Sunday, 8 July 2018 17:05 (six years ago) link

I'd about say Batman: The Animated Series might be the best version of Batman done. It ties together so many of the things from the comics in the right tone.

earlnash, Sunday, 8 July 2018 19:09 (six years ago) link

kevin conroy is def the best batman ever

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report (bizarro gazzara), Sunday, 8 July 2018 19:19 (six years ago) link

ok it wasn't that episode and it wasn't some random character it was the Penguin and Hopey's cameo is at about 4:05 here: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x50of14

Οὖτις, Monday, 9 July 2018 16:32 (six years ago) link

ha! no chance that’s not supposed to be hopey

It's definitely Hopey, check the coat:

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q166/iagainstcomics/hopey%20style/hopey5.jpg

Now I'm visualising a Love & Rockets animated series that would probably never happen in a million years.

Brainless Addlepated Timid Muddleheaded Awful No-Account (Pheeel), Monday, 9 July 2018 19:10 (six years ago) link

*wistful sigh*

jaime’s style would work so well in animation too

Hopey had a cameo in the tie-in Batman Adventures comics as well!

Duane Barry, Monday, 9 July 2018 21:13 (six years ago) link

That is *definitely* her. Nice spot!

iirc Cameron Stewart's 00s run on Catwoman is basically him doing Jaime for two years

Chuck_Tatum, Wednesday, 11 July 2018 20:01 (six years ago) link

three months pass...

https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/how-paul-dini-and-mike-mignola-changed-mr-freeze-forever-plus-other-revelations-from-the

I did not know that Mignola was in any way involved in BTAS!

Captain Hardchord (Leee), Friday, 2 November 2018 23:44 (six years ago) link

The blu-ray set is a thing of glory.

EZ Snappin, Friday, 2 November 2018 23:50 (six years ago) link

https://imgur.com/gallery/D02OcwO is glorious and now I just remembered Herman von Klempt in HB and so this makes perfect sense.

Captain Hardchord (Leee), Friday, 2 November 2018 23:55 (six years ago) link

I've never seen the whole series, but I pretty much think the cartoon might be the best take on Batman ever. It is a perfect balance in many ways.

earlnash, Saturday, 3 November 2018 12:41 (six years ago) link

The TV show is the best Batman, and Mask of the Phantasm is still the best Batman movie.

EZ Snappin, Saturday, 3 November 2018 18:23 (six years ago) link

I've long said (perhaps even itt) that if DC-related material can't meet or exceed the quality of the DCAU, the people involved probably just shouldn't bother.

a butt, at which the shaft of ridicule is daily glanced (Old Lunch), Saturday, 3 November 2018 22:11 (six years ago) link

Still, they persisted

Οὖτις, Sunday, 4 November 2018 18:48 (six years ago) link

Has anyone seen the 2017 animated feature “Batman vs. Two-Face” (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6142314/)? My son has watched it a few times.

It’s pretty bad, but also weird/sad — the voices are performed by Adam West (shortly before his death), Burt Ward, Julie Newmar, William Shatner (as Harvey Dent), etc. So while it’s “cool” that they used the OG actors (plus, uh, Shatner), and got work for those folks, their voices do not exactly match the (young) characters... particularly in the case of West, who sounds unwell and geriatric. So it’s bizarre and somewhat grimly humorous to hear these voices coming from the animated 1966 Batman crew.

(One other odd thing is that Warner apparently doesn’t control the rights to the ’66 Batman theme music, and couldn’t bother clearing it? — so they have use a dumb knockoff of it, like any other fakey production.)

too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Sunday, 4 November 2018 19:42 (six years ago) link

Warner had nothing to do with the show, so it's absolutely fine that they don't control the rights to the theme music

Sing The Mighty Beat (sic), Sunday, 4 November 2018 20:58 (six years ago) link

Sure, but it’s odd they would create a new movie set in the 1966 world, and go so far as to cast the OG actors for “authenticity,” yet give it an “off-brand” feel by imitating the theme rather than paying to use it.

too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Sunday, 4 November 2018 21:20 (six years ago) link

How much was the fee, and what proportion of the overall budget was that?

Sing The Mighty Beat (sic), Sunday, 4 November 2018 21:49 (six years ago) link

Let me check my records... oh wait, I didn’t work on the production. Why you dragging me on this, LOL?

The theme is one of the most beloved and iconic aspects of the old series... whatever it cost to clear, perhaps it would have been more worth the expense than whatever it cost to hire Bill Shatner (who has nothing to do with the property)? Is his involvement drawing anyone to this thing? Meanwhile, when the knockoff music plays, it just sounds dumb and leaves you thinking, “huh, they cheaped out.”

too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Sunday, 4 November 2018 21:57 (six years ago) link

I’m just saying it’s the opposite of “odd”!

Sing The Mighty Beat (sic), Sunday, 4 November 2018 22:08 (six years ago) link

I mean, we’re talking about a direct-to-video feature whose idea of a clever in-joke is a Catholic hospital called “Our Lady of Perpetual Irony,” so maybe I’m expecting too much. But the casting implies the movie will be “going the extra mile,” when it really stalls out at least 14 miles short of Gotham City.

too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Sunday, 4 November 2018 22:21 (six years ago) link

I loved and still love B:TAS and the other DCAU series (well, most of the time), but I've never been particularly impressed by any of the animated specials that have come out since then. It's pretty disappointing seeing that on some occasions some of the same people were involved. The execution always seems half-assed.

Duane Barry, Sunday, 4 November 2018 23:20 (six years ago) link

man these blu-ray remasters are gorgeous huh

i want donald duck to scream into my dick (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 6 November 2018 10:24 (six years ago) link

Worth buying if I have all the DVD boxes?

Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 6 November 2018 11:55 (six years ago) link

if you’re a btas stan and you’ve got the cash, definitely - the episodes look extraordinarily crisp and clear

check this handy comparison video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LZJ-HJsWHk

i want donald duck to scream into my dick (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 6 November 2018 12:05 (six years ago) link

i'm a sucker for these remasters when they're done well. they even managed to make TNG look beautiful!

Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 6 November 2018 12:16 (six years ago) link

one year passes...

yooooo Bruce Timm made an animated Sgt Rock short film!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtwZvaLbwnI

And Phantom Stranger too!
https://www.comicsbeat.com/dc-showcase-phantom-stranger-first-look/

Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 21:41 (four years ago) link

four years pass...

Has anyone else been watching The Caped Crusader? I'm loving it so far. A sort of elseworlds 40s golden age spiritual successor to B:TAS. I love how they pick and mix elements throughout the character's history - Harvey Bullock is his fully corrupt pre-Crisis self, for example. And given that the original Animated series bible included plans for the Gentleman Ghost (which never came to fruition) I'm glad Timm finally got to give him his own episode.

I have to admit I don't like this Batman as much as the B:TAS one, even if his coldness is definitely intentional. It makes sense that Rucka and Brubaker are involved, as he actually does feel like the late 90s/00s jerkass Batman.

Duane Barry, Sunday, 4 August 2024 23:35 (four months ago) link

The pilot was fun. Yes, it's nowhere near as good/perfect as B:TAS: the animation is shonkier; Gotham is a bit anonymous-looking; and I'm not really not sure about the weirdly antagonistic relationship between Bruce and Alfred (Bruce calls him "Pennyworth"!!). But - it's very enjoyable - darker without being grimdark - and still a kids' show at heart. Minnie Driver is really well cast (and pleasingly EVIL) as Penguin. The fight scenes are excellent -- you really feel it when someone gets clonked on the head -- it's weirdly fun. All the character remixes are interesting and grounded. I look forward to it getting better in the second season.

Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 6 August 2024 10:29 (four months ago) link

i'm not watching it but i've heard that _those_ guys are complaining about the penguin's look

as always, i find those folks absolutely hilarious. "what if the penguin was marlene dietrich but dummy thicc" makes me feel seen as a lesbian.

Kate (rushomancy), Tuesday, 6 August 2024 13:34 (four months ago) link

You're right about the animation and backgrounds - I hadn't really noticed, maybe because a lot of streaming TV animation often has a flat, stiff look, and I don't go in with high expectations (so if the animation and visuals are good, then that's a bonus).

They seem to be avoiding the tragic villain route they used with some of the B:TAS villains, which is fine by me - that feels a bit overused by now

"Those" guys are complaining about lots of things, as they always do; I'm glad I never got into the Youtuber thing, though I do seem to need constant reminders to avoid reply sections on Twitter posts...

Duane Barry, Tuesday, 6 August 2024 23:51 (four months ago) link

Finished the season, and it's mostly OK. I kept expecting the animation to be done on the cheap but it's surprisingly solid, but the writing is missing some juice. A few episodes have nice, zingy dialogue (the Catwoman one), though. What's patroclus weird is that it has one foot in BTAS references (the voices of Bruce and Alfred being very clearly modeled on their BTAS counterparts) while consciously diverging from old school canon.

Élisabeth Vigée Lebron (Leee), Wednesday, 14 August 2024 20:19 (three months ago) link

It seems like a show for teenagers... from the 90s. All the references to US culture from the 1920s to 1950s - that stuff was still "live" in the culture when I was growing up in the eighties and nineties - b&w movies and old reruns were on the TV all the time. I'm curious what kids watching it today would make of it. There were very few good cartoons for teenagers when I was growing up - now it seems like 90% of new art is for 13-year-olds.

Chuck_Tatum, Wednesday, 14 August 2024 21:03 (three months ago) link

two weeks pass...

Overall I really like Caped Crusader so far. Feels like the mix of set design inspiration from the 90s with remixed characters is a good formula. Harleen Q's episode was a high point for me and Onomatopoeia was fun and I loved lady Penguin. While I didn't dislike the episodes, I'm not really a fan of supernatural stuff in Batman so could've done without the classist ghost and vampire girl ones.

Batman turns out to be one of the least interesting characters, though I find that's often the case whatever medium we're in.

Interesting that this and X-Men 97 came out so near each other.

salsa shark, Friday, 30 August 2024 21:07 (three months ago) link

have i linked the italian b:tas theme song here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThxsDFTG06E

the story is that when cartoons came to italy they decided that rather than use the international theme songs they'd write their own theme songs with lyrics and made them all eurodance bangers

sometimes that works - "what is my destiny dragon ball" is in the same league as the japanese theme (that's the original dragonball, not cha-la head-cha-la) - but with x-men not so much, and with batman... i mean it just doesn't have the same feel as the elfman music.

Kate (rushomancy), Friday, 30 August 2024 22:07 (three months ago) link

ok correction
"what's my destiny dragon ball" is indeed the theme to dragon ball z, which i think was called "what's my destiny dragon ball" in italy? anyway seriously this fucking thing holds it's own against cha-la head-cha-la which i mean

that's _impressive_

i mean cha-la head-cha-la is, uh, _eurodance adjacent_ so it's not surprising that italy can bring it with its own version but still.

Kate (rushomancy), Friday, 30 August 2024 22:13 (three months ago) link


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