{"id":19439,"date":"2012-04-20T06:51:15","date_gmt":"2012-04-20T11:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/?p=19439"},"modified":"2012-09-10T21:59:25","modified_gmt":"2012-09-11T01:59:25","slug":"history-of-the-comic-book-film-the-animated-bat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/2012\/04\/20\/history-of-the-comic-book-film-the-animated-bat\/","title":{"rendered":"HISTORY OF THE COMIC BOOK FILM: The Animated Bat"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a multi-part series, Comic Book Film Editor William Gatevackes will be tracing the history of comic book movies from the earliest days of the film serials to today\u2019s big blockbusters and beyond. Along with the history lesson, Bill will be covering some of the most prominent comic book films over the years and why they were so special. This time, he talks about one of the best things Tim Burton\u2019s Batman<\/strong> influenced\u2014Batman: The Animated Series<\/strong>\u2014and its big screen tie-in, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm<\/strong>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The best adaptation of Batman into another medium wasn\u2019t Tim Burton\u2019s Batman <\/strong>films. It wasn\u2019t Christopher Nolan\u2019s Batman Begins <\/strong>and The Dark Knight <\/strong>either. It wasn\u2019t the 1940s serials and it most certainly wasn\u2019t the Joel Schumacher sequels. <\/span><\/p>\n

No, the best adaptation of the Caped Crusader was the Batman: The Animated Series <\/strong>which first aired on Fox in September 1992. And the contest isn\u2019t even close. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Produced by men whose names would become legendary in the field of animation\u2014Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, and Eric Radomski\u2014the series was inspired by the Burton films, yet were an entirely different animal. Both were incredibly stylized, but while Burton\u2019s vision had a gothic post-punk feel to it, the cartoon mixed art deco and film noir, with a healthy dose of the Fleisher Superman <\/strong>theatrical cartoon shorts from the 40s thrown in for good measure. <\/span><\/p>\n

While the cartoon had a distinctive style, it remained remarkably true to the spirit of the source comic books. Many of Batman\u2019s little known rogues made it onto the small screen, and they were presented perfectly. Tweaks were made here and there, certain costumes were changed, characters presented in a slightly different way, but there were pretty much no weak links in any portrayal. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The voice casting was also excellent, including Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne\/Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker. The show itself won two Emmy\u2019s and was a critical favorite both with mainstream and comic book critics.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show had a successful back and forth with the line of Batman comics. A number of changes that the animated series made in the Batman mythos, namely the changes in the Riddler\u2019s costume and Mr. Freeze\u2019s origin, made their way into the comics, as did popular characters created for the cartoon such as Harley Quinn and Detective Renee Montoya. Those two characters became vital parts of the DC print universe and are still appearing in comics today. <\/span><\/p>\n

The comics also had a tangible effect on the carton as well. Several popular storylines from the comic books, including \u201cDemon\u2019s Quest\u201d taken from Detective Comics #232 <\/strong>and \u201cThe Laughing Fish\u201d from Detective Comics #475<\/strong>, were adapted into the show. Another storyline from the comic books inspired the plot of the feature film that spun off from the animated show. <\/span><\/p>\n

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm <\/strong>was originally planned for a direct-to-video release, but Warner Brothers, citing the popularity of the Fox cartoon, decided to bump it up to a theatrical release. This caused the production to be rushed along twice as fast as a normal television episode, but the studio gave producer Alan Burnett and his team more money and creative control as a trade-off. <\/span><\/p>\n