Batman: The Animated Series

Batman as depicted in the series

At the age of eight, Bruce Wayne, the son of billionaire philanthropists, witnessed the murder of his parents, Thomas and Martha, during a mugging on the street. The event left him traumatized and mentally scarred for the rest of his life. This left Bruce to be cared for by his family's butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Over the years, Bruce slowly turned the pain and trauma he sustained into a burning fuel for a lifelong obsession, as he underwent rigorous training in mental and physical conditioning, the martial arts, criminology, sciences, manhunting, forensics, detective work, interrogation methods and intimidation, for the next years of his life. Having observed the rampant crime and corruption across Gotham City, he chose to deal with the crime-wave in Gotham in his own way, by utilizing his years of training and swore an oath to dedicate his entire life to fighting crime, in a bid to avenge the murder of his parents and to use his pain and suffering to drive him to do good, while being guided by his self-enforced moral code to never kill and to refrain from utilizing firearms. Inspired by the presence of bats, his childhood fear, which used to be present around his home, Bruce chose to undertake the alias of The Batman, a feared, near-mythical and bat-masked vigilante.

One of the most notable changes made in The Animated Series is 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.[21] In The Animated Series, his character is assertive, outwardly intelligent, and actively involved in the management of Wayne Enterprises, without jeopardizing his secret identity. For example: in the episode "Eternal Youth", Bruce is shown angrily ordering one of his directors to cancel a deal with a timber company in the Amazon rainforest that had been made behind his back, threatening him with termination upon failure to comply.

Kevin Conroy used different voices to distinguish between his portrayal of Bruce Wayne and Batman, a tactic used previously by Michael Keaton in Tim Burton's live-action films.[22] Conroy based his dual-voice performance on the 1934 film adaptation of The Scarlet Pimpernel.[19]

Dick Grayson's history in the show mirrors that in the comics: The episode "Robin's Reckoning" reveals that Grayson and his parents were acrobats in Haly's Circus. Following the tragic deaths of Grayson's mother and father at the hands of mobster Tony Zucco, Bruce Wayne adopts Dick and eventually takes him on as a protégé.

The series also redefined the original Robin/Dick Grayson. While much of Dick's past remains the same, his Robin costume is modernized with short sleeves and long tights, exactly like Tim Drake's original Robin outfit but with a non-italicized "R" symbol. In addition, Dick is given a more serious and mature personality to match the tone of the series. The episode "Batgirl Returns" establishes that Dick and Barbara Gordon attend the same college and that they are friends, but neither one knows the secret identity of the other. Their relationship is one of the plot elements of the film Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero.

Barbara Gordon is first seen in the two-parter "Heart of Steel", where she becomes convinced her father is an impostor. She makes her first appearance as her alter ego Batgirl in "Shadow of the Bat", after her father Commissioner Gordon is arrested under charges of corruption. Her Batgirl costume is exactly the same from The Adventures of Batman and the Bronze Age of Comics, sporting the same gray bodysuit, blue cape and cowl and yellow bat-symbol and utility belt, but with blue gloves and boots to mirror that of Batman's costume instead of yellow ones. She makes several appearances throughout the series, and attends the same university as Dick Grayson, though neither of them are aware of each other's crimefighting alter ego. In "Batgirl Returns", Barbara actually makes a cease fire deal with Catwoman, and they work together in solving the case of missing valuable cat statues while Batman is away. All of Barbara's/Batgirl's appearances are in episodes written by Brynne Stephens.

Batman's rogues gallery from left to right: Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, the Penguin, the Joker, Harley Quinn, the Mad Hatter, the Riddler, Catwoman (and her cat Isis) and Two-Face.

Though the Joker's origin is never shown in the series, some of his past is seen in the feature film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. In flashbacks, he is shown before his accident but is not referred to by name. His potential real name, Jack Napier (the same name of Jack Nicholson's version of the character from Tim Burton's 1989 film), is established in the episodes "Dreams in Darkness" when it is spoken by Dr. Bartholomew and in "Joker's Wild" where it is written in a dossier. The use of this origin was due to the show being heavily patterned after the success and influential tone of Tim Burton's film. However, when The New Batman Adventures began, during the era of Joel Schumacher's films, Joker's origin was retained but his identity was retconned as being merely one of many aliases as seen in the episode "Beware the Creeper", meaning his true identity is still unknown. This reflected the efforts of the writers to put the character back in line with his conflicting multiple origins from the comics.

In Mask of the Phantasm, the man who would become the Joker started out as a chauffeur and hitman for mobsters Salvatore Valestra, Buzz Bronski and Chuckie Sol. Twice on separate occasions, he saw Bruce Wayne and exchanged glances years before they would clash as the Joker and Batman later. It is hinted in the rest of the series, presumably after the Valestra Mob had gone their separate ways, the pre-Joker struck out on his own and formed a small gang. The pre-Joker broke into the ACE Chemical Plant that marked the first time he encountered Batman, a fight which ended witb him falling off a catwalk and into a drainage vat of chemicals. He was washed out into the bay and discovered the chemicals bleached his skin chalk white, dyed his hair green, stained his lips red, leaving them in a permanent rictus smile, and dyed his suit purple. This new, clown-like appearance snapped his already sadistic mind and drove him to eternal insanity. He reinvented himself as the Joker, Batman's greatest enemy and Gotham City's most dangerous costumed criminal.

While the use of this origin was based on Jack Nicholson's character, Mark Hamill was given the note "Don't do Nicholson" before his audition.[23] Even though Tim Curry had already recorded a few episodes, Hamill was given the part instead. Hamill, who found himself to be the biggest fan of the Batman comics among the cast, credited the laughs he had honed on stage in Amadeus with landing him the role.[19] He worked to craft a multifaceted laugh for the Joker that could change to reflect the Joker's current mood, likening it to a musical instrument.[24] Hamill's take on the Joker's laugh is considered to be groundbreaking for the voice-acting industry, and led to Hamill having an enormously successful voice-acting career.[25] Of the many influences for his performance, including Jay Leno and Howard Cosell, Hamill cited Claude Rains’ performance in the 1933 film The Invisible Man.[26][27][28]

Other antagonists that appeared in the series included classic villains such as Poison Ivy, Catwoman, the Riddler, Two-Face, the Mad Hatter, Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul, the Man-Bat, the Penguin, the Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Bane, the Ventriloquist and his dummy Scarface, Hugo Strange and Tony Zucco. Friends and allies of Batman featured in the show not previously mentioned include Alfred Pennyworth, Harvey Bullock, the Gray Ghost (an original character created by the series to portray Bruce Wayne's childhood hero and crimefighting inspiration), Lucius Fox, and Leslie Thompkins.

In order to complete the first season's 65 episodes, Warner Bros. Animation outsourced the series to several different overseas animation houses: Spectrum Animation, Sunrise, Studio Junio and Tokyo Movie Shinsha in Japan, Dong Yang Animation, Koko Enterprises Ltd. and AKOM in South Korea, Jade Animation in Hong Kong, Blue Pencil in Spain and Network of Animation (NOA) in Canada.[29] TMS also animated the first season's opening theme sequence. AKOM was eventually fired due to its inconsistent animation in many episodes such as "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Moon of the Wolf".[30]

The 20 episodes of the second season were animated largely by Dong Yang, with the exception of three done by Studio Junio ("A Bullet for Bullock", "Avatar" and "Baby-Doll") and one done by Jade Animation ("The Terrible Trio").[29]

On the commentary track for "Heart of Ice" on the Batman: The Animated Series, Volume One DVD, producer Bruce Timm stated that Spectrum was responsible for airbrushing Mr. Freeze's helmet in every frame that featured him. Such attention to detail ultimately drove the studio to bankruptcy; most of their staff members are now working for Production I.G.[31]

The show also featured numerous adaptations of various Batman comics stories. The following episodes were adaptations:

• The episode "Appointment in Crime Alley" is based on "There Is No Hope in Crime Alley" from Detective Comics #457 (March 1976) by writer Denny O'Neil and artist Dick Giordano.
• "Dreams in Darkness" is loosely based on "Batman: The Last Arkham" from Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1–4 by writer Alan Grant and artist Norm Breyfogle (June–September, 1992). This episode adapted the comic book story with the inclusion of the Scarecrow instead of Victor Zsasz and Dr. Bartholomew instead of Jeremiah Arkham.
• "The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy" was an adaptation of "The Cape and Cowl Death Trap!" from Detective Comics #450 (August 1975), written by Elliot S. Maggin and drawn by artist Walt Simonson.
• Part 1 of "Robin's Reckoning" takes its cues from "Batman and "Robin the Boy Wonder"" in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940) by writer Bill Finger, artist Bob Kane and illustrator Jerry Robinson.
• 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 Denny O'Neil with art by Neal Adams, followed by "The Laughing Fish" and "Sign of the Joker!" from Detective Comics #475-476 (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 that the show's creators could not adapt them separately, because their content and thematic elements would not have been cleared by the censors.
• "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne" was based on the comic stories "The Dead Yet Live" and "I Am the Batman!" from Detective Comics #471-472 (August–September 1977) by Steve Englehart.
• "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).
• The episode "Terror in the Sky" is loosely based on "Man-Bat Over Vegas", originally presented in Detective Comics #429, by writer and artist Frank Robbins. The setting has been shifted from Las Vegas to Gotham Harbor, and in keeping with the family-friendly rating of the television show, the She-Bat is not a vampire in the adaptation. The final line of the episode, "the nightmare's finally over", is similar to one of the final lines from the original comic, "Now Fran's vampire nightmare is about over".
• The episode "Almost Got 'Im" appears to be influenced by a four-issue story arc in Batman #291–294 (1977), entitled "Where Were You on the Night Batman Was Killed?". All four stories were written by David Vern Reed and drawn by John Calnan under the direction of Batman editor Julius Schwartz. In each of the four issues, one of Catwoman, the Riddler, and the Joker all recount their claims to have killed Batman. However, the plot for "Almost Got 'Im" is quite different (six stories in the show, and four completely different ones in the comic book), with only the Joker as an overlapping antagonist.
  • Two-Face's strategy in "Almost Got 'Im" (strapping down Batman to a giant coin and flipping the coin in the air) was taken from the comic World's Finest Comics #30 (September 1947) by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane. In a backup tale, both Batman and Robin were tied to a giant penny that was catapulted onto spikes by a lesser-known villain, the Penny Plunderer.
• "Off Balance" is a direct adaptation of "Batman: Into the Den of the Death-Dealers" from Detective Comics #411 (May 1971), written by writer Dennis O'Neil and drawn by artists Bob Brown and Dick Giordano. Famous for the first appearance of the mysterious character Talia.
• The two-part episode "The Demon's Quest" is a direct adaptation of "Daughter of the Demon" from Batman #232 (June 1971) and "The Demon Lives Again" Batman #244 (September 1972), written by Dennis O'Neil and drawn by artist Neal Adams. Famous for introducing one of Batman's deadlier foes; Ra's al Ghul, the father of Talia.
• The episode "Sideshow" is loosely based on "A Vow from the Grave" from Detective Comics #410 by writer Dennis O'Neil and artists Bob Brown and Dick Giordano. This episode adapted the comic book story with the inclusion of a separate Killer Croc story.
• "A Bullet for Bullock" is based on the comic of the same name from Detective Comics #651 (October 1992), by writer Chuck Dixon and artist Graham Nolan.
• The feature film Mask of the Phantasm is also an adaptation. The film's flashbacks were inspired by "Batman: Year One", whereas the character of Andrea Beaumont and the storyline itself were modified from Mike Barr's story "Batman: Year Two", which ran in Detective Comics #575–578 in the late 1980s; the villain in the comics was named the Reaper.[32]

Sixteen minutes of animated segments in the video game The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Sega CD are sometimes referred to as a "lost episode" of the series. 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 quite of the same quality of the actual television program. And because Sega did not have to follow the censorship rules of the show, the fights are also a little more violent. Many of the shows voice actors reprised their roles for the game, and are thus in the lost episode as well. Similar cutscenes appear throughout the video games Batman: Vengeance and Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu.[33]

Due to the success of Batman: The Animated Series, many crew members went on to design and produce Superman: The Animated Series for The WB Network. During this time they created The New Batman Adventures, which featured the same streamlined animation style as Superman: The Animated Series, as well as numerous character re-designs from the original series despite taking place in the same continuity.

In 1999, a futuristic spin-off series titled Batman Beyond premiered on The WB, featuring a teenager named Terry McGinnis taking on the duties of Batman under the guidance of an elderly Bruce Wayne.[51] Then in 2001, the Justice League animated series premiered on Cartoon Network, featuring Batman as one of the founding members of the League. This was continued in 2004 by Justice League Unlimited, featuring a greatly expanded League. Many DC cartoons unrelated to the larger DC animated universe, such as Teen Titans and The Batman, also featured character designs strongly influenced by those of Bruce Timm.

The dramatic writing and stylized art of Batman: The Animated Series separates it from many traditional comic book-based cartoons. It can be considered the dramatic equivalent of more adult-oriented 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 Lego minifigures of various Batman characters are more strongly based on the designs from Batman: The Animated Series than any other form of Batman media.[52] 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 the series.

The dark atmosphere, mature themes, and even some of the voice cast from the series are employed in the Batman: Arkham video game series.[53] Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Arleen Sorkin, Robert Costanzo reprising their roles, while actors like Loren Lester lent their voice to other characters. Furthermore, the first two games are co-written by series veteran Paul Dini. Also, Batman's design and costume in The Animated Series are featured as an alternate skin in Batman: Arkham City. These skins are available as downloadable content; they were also available in pre-orders at GameStop and a valid membership to Power-Up Rewards.[54] There are also Animated-inspired alternate skins for Catwoman, Nightwing and Robin.

Annie Awards

• 1992 – Best Animated Television Program (nominated)
• 1994 – Best Achievement for Voice Acting - Mark Hamill (nominated)
• 1994 – Best Animated Television Program (nominated)
• 1994 – Best Individual Achievement for Creative Supervision in the Field of Animation - Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski (nominated)
• 1994 – Best Individual Achievement for Story Contribution in the Field of Animation - Paul Dini (nominated)
• 1995 – Best Animated Television Program (nominated)
• 1995 – Best Individual Achievement for Music in the Field of Animation - Shirley Walker (nominated)

Primetime Emmy Awards

• 1993 – Outstanding Animated Program – Jean MacCurdy, Tom Ruegger, Alan Burnett, Eric Radomski, Bruce Timm, Randy Rogel and Dick Sebast for "Robin's Reckoning: Part 1" (WON)[55]

Daytime Emmy Awards

• 1993 – Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program - Michael Reaves, Sean Catherine Derek, Martin Pasko and Paul Dini (WON)[55]
• 1993 – Outstanding Animated Program - Tom Ruegger, Eric Radomski, Frank Paur, Kevin Altieri, Alan Burnett, Jean MacCurdy, Bruce Timm and Boyd Kirkland (nominated)
• 1993 – Outstanding Film Sound Editing - Russell Brower, Matt Thorne, Robert Hargreaves, Mark Keatts, Bob Lacivita, Jeff M. Sliney, Mike Dickeson, Thomas Milano and Aaron L. King (nominated)
• 1993 – Outstanding Music Direction and Composition - Shirley Walker for "Feat of Clay, Part 2" (nominated)
• 1993 – Outstanding Music Direction and Composition - Harvey Cohen for "Cat Scratch Fever" (nominated)
• 1994 – Outstanding Animated Children's Program - Frank Paur, Jean MacCurdy, Tom Ruegger, Dan Riba, Eric Radomski, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett (nominated)
• 1994 – Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program - Brynne Stephens, Martin Pasko, Michael Reaves, Alan Burnett, Randy Rogel, Laren Bright and Paul Dini (nominated)
• 1995 – Outstanding Film Sound Editing - Tom Maydeck, Robert Hargreaves, J.J. George, Mike Dickeson, Daryl B. Kell, Russell Brower, Matt Thorne, Mark Keatts and John Hegedes (nominated)
• 1995 – Outstanding Music Direction and Composition - Shirley Walker (nominated)
• 1996 – Outstanding Sound Mixing - Special Class - Harry Andronis, Matt Thorne and Tom Maydeck (nominated)
• 1996 – Outstanding Music Direction and Composition - Shirley Walker and Harvey Cohen for "A Bullet for Bullock" (WON)[9]
• 1996 – Outstanding Sound Editing - Special Class - Robert Hargreaves, Matt Thorne, Russell Brower, Mike Dickeson, Bob Lacivita, Tom Maydeck, Mark Keatts, John Hegedes, Pat Rodman and Kelly Ann Foley (WON)[9]

Saturn Awards

• 1993 – Best Genre Television Series (nominated)

Young Artist Awards

• 1994 – Best Youth Actor in a Voiceover Role: TV or Movie - Scott McAfee (nominated)

On December 16, 2008, La La Land Records announced the release of a soundtrack companion to Batman: The Animated Series on a two-disc CD set, which featured 11 episode scores (including those of "On Leather Wings", the "Two-Face" two-parter, "Joker's Favor" and "Perchance to Dream"). The release was limited to a pressing of 3,000 copies, which sold quickly.[59] 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."[60] The soundtrack received largely positive reviews.[61][62]

On March 24, 2009, La La Land Records released the complete score for the animated film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. It was a limited edition of 3,000 units and has since sold out.[63]

The 2008 soundtrack was re-released in July 2012, minus "Gotham City Overture" (a suite featuring Walker's themes from the series, some of which do not appear elsewhere on the album) and "Music of the Bat 101" (a bonus track with Walker herself demonstrating the show's main music).[64] The re-release is a limited edition of 5,000 units by La La Land Records.[65]

On July 19, 2012, La La Land Records also released a four-disc CD set with a further 21 episode scores (including those of "Heart of Ice", the "Feat of Clay" two-parter, "Almost Got 'Im" and "The Laughing Fish"), titled Batman: The Animated Series – Original Soundtrack from the Warner Bros. Television Series, Volume Two.[66] Volume 2 is a limited-edition release of 3,500 units by La La Land Records.[67]

On October 7, 2014, La La Land Records released a four-disc set with another 24 episode scores (including those of the "Robin's Reckoning" two-parter, "Mudslide", "I Am the Night" and "The Man Who Killed Batman"), titled Batman: The Animated Series – Original Soundtrack from the Warner Bros. Television Series, Volume Three.[68] Volume 3 is a limited-edition release of 3,000 units by La La Land Records.[69]

On March 29, 2016, La La Land Records released the complete soundtrack for the animated film Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman. It was a limited edition of 2,000 units.[70]

On July 26, 2016, La La Land Records released Batman: The Animated Series – Original Soundtrack from the Warner Bros. Television Series, Volume Four, which contains the remaining material from the first 65 episodes. The final nine episode scores from the first season are featured (including those of "Fear of Victory", "His Silicon Soul" and "Joker's Wild"), as well as never-before-released cues from scores featured on earlier volumes. Volume 4 is a limited-edition release of 3,000 units by La La Land Records.[71]

La La Land Records is also planning to cover the later incarnations of the series (The Adventures of Batman & Robin and The New Batman Adventures) in the future, provided that sales of existing volumes are strong enough and that there is strong fan encouragement.[72][73] A Superman: The Animated Series soundtrack has also been released as of January 2014, and a Justice League volume was released on July 26, 2016.[74][75] Justice League Unlimited and a second volume of Superman: The Animated Series will only be released if Justice League and the first Superman: The Animated Series volume sell well.[76]

On July 22, 2014, WaterTower Music released six digital albums on download and streaming platforms (covering La La Land's first and second volumes, including "Gotham City Overture" and "Music of the Bat 101") for the series in honor of the 75th anniversary of Batman.[77]

Asterisked tracks contain thematic material by Shirley Walker; double-asterisked tracks contain Danny Elfman's Batman theme.

Region 1

Warner Home Video (via DC Comics Entertainment and Warner Bros. Family Entertainment) has released Batman: The Animated Series on DVD in Region 1 in three volume box sets. A fourth volume containing all 24 episodes of The New Batman Adventures was also released and these episodes now also begin with the original Season 1 opening sequence, and also end with the standard final credits. 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.[205] The DVD was originally on sale for a limited time only and went out of print in January 2009. Warner Home Video released a second printing of the DVD in May 2009, but then withdrew it three months later.

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 were exclusive to the retail chain HMV in the United Kingdom, a complete series 25th-anniversary collection was released in the UK on October 30, 2017 containing all four volumes. Volumes 3 and 4 were previously unreleased in the UK before the 25th-anniversary box set release.
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.[206] Volume 2 was released in the same way on March 3, 2009.[207]

In Bulgaria, Volumes 1 and 2 were released in early 2006. Each disc was sold separately in an amaray case.

Region 3

In Hong Kong, 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.[208]

Region 4

In Australia, Volume 1 was released on October 19, 2005.[209] Volumes and the box set are available at websites like eBay.com, Amazon.com and Quicksales.com. All four volumes are available on the Australian iTunes Store, and were released individually on DVD on November 9, 2016, by Village Roadshow.

During the series's 25th anniversary panel at the New York Comic Con on October 8, 2017, it was announced that the complete series and all 24 episodes of The New Batman Adventures would be released on Blu-ray later in 2018 (due to the financial success of the Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Blu-ray release in 2017).[210][211] The Blu-ray release came out in fall 2018.[212] The numbered, limited-edition box sets also included a code for a free digital SD and HD copy of the complete series, three collectible Funko Pocket Pops of Batman, the Joker and Harley Quinn, seven exclusive lenticular cards of original animation artwork, as well as Blu-ray copies of both spin-off animated films Mask of the Phantasm and SubZero.

The series debuted on DC Universe in September 2018 in high definition.[213] It moved to HBO Max on January 1, 2021.[214][215]