Monday, October 5, 2009

The DeLorean: Batman The Animated Series

Batcave File #5696

Loading....

Accessed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I am darkness! I am the night! I am Batman!"

Those seven words sent shockwaves throughout the world.

On September 5th, 1992, three men named Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, and Bruce Timm, collectively flipped the bird to the concept of the usual Saturday morning cartoon. On that date, a groundbreaking show named Batman: The Animated series hit the airwaves. At the time, a show like itself was unheard of: a dark, cerebral, occasionaly violent action show. Sure, nobody could be murdered on camera, and there was no gore, but it was deep. Villians weren't mustache-twirling maniacs who wanted to be evil, they were men who felt lost in the wake of their wife's death, or men who, frustrated about how life seemed so random and harsh to them, decide their choices by the flip of a coin. They were women who started to sympathize with madmen until they got in over their heads, or women who'd do anything to make things happen the way they always wanted. Every single character on the show was superbly multilayered. The show dealt with very real themes: death, power, fate, choice, ethics. It was easy to forget it was about people in spandex.




The voice casting was also superb. Kevin Conroy played both Batman and his civilian identity, Bruce Wayne. The Wayne voice was clumsy and almost slimy, perfect for Wayne's playboy act. His Batman voice had a timber, almost seeming to slide across the words like a skater on ice.



But no hero is complete without a villian, so the time came when the shoes had to be filled. And by shoes, I mean clown shoes. I have a little saying that the best villians can turn the corner of a coffee table, doing nothing else, and make you jump in anticipation. Your eyes are glued to his every move. That is totally true of Mark Hamill's Joker. Listen to him, as well as other staff on the show, talk about the role of the Joker.

It's so true, what they're saying. The writers and Hamill really balanced the clown and the convict, the prankster and the psycho. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say that Hamill is the definative Joker, not Ledger, Romano, or Nicholson.

The animation itself was great, too. It still holds up 17 years later. Fight scenes are fluid and the whole presentation is pitch-perfect. This is one of those time's where a series grabs your neck solely on the atmosphere alone. It has a very The Sting-ish gangster vibe.

The last thing I want to gush over is the music. Listen. Composed by the late Shirley Walker, it's simply breathtaking.

In fact, the show was so good that it was renewed for another noticably lighter series called The New Batman Adventures. The same team went on to produce Batman Beyond, Justice League, Superman: The Animated Series, and Justice League. The mind blowing thing? All of these shows share continuity, meaning that the legacy of BTAS continued from 1992 until the end of Justice League Unlimited in 2006.

*whisperwhisper*

WHAT'S THAT?!!! You think I'm just gloating? Just nostalgic? Well, I'LL SHOW YOU! I'll spend an ENTIRE DAY, no, TWO ENTIRE DAYS, counting down my favorite episodes of BTAS/TNBA! I'll even provide links so I can PROVE it!

So there!

Hmph.

Go stub your toe somewhere.

Tomato

No comments:

Post a Comment

If you're having problems commenting, please e-mail me (silvertomatoproductions@gmail.com) with a description of your problem. I've contacted Blogger about the issue, and it should be resolved soon,

Sorry,
Tomato