With Childlike Wonder: Looking at The Animated Series

It’s a normal Saturday evening.  A four and a half-year-old boy is spending the weekend away from his mother in the city at his grandparents’ rural home.  Like most kids, this one is probably a bit of a handful and, to give themselves a break, the grandmother (who is the grandma to end all grandmas) takes the lad into the bedroom, sits him on the coolest thing ever, a waterbed, and turns on some cartoons.  What kid doesn’t love cartoons, right?  Well, this kid was about to experience nothing like ever before.

That was the opening to a Batman cartoon, right?  How do you know that?  There was no logo.  No dialogue.  That minute long opening is, in a word, defining.  It’s all there: the cape, the car, batarangs, squinty eyes.  That was totes Batman.  But, like I said, no logo, no dialogue.  It didn’t need it.  It was defining.  And that’s exactly what Batman: The Animated Series was.  Defining. 

Now, I don’t know with 100% certainty that the day my grandmother sat me on her waterbed (I did love that thing) and turned on the television was the exact day that B:TAS premiered.  I’m inclined to think not.  But, that story did happen 100% of the way I told it, and it was the episode titled The Cat and The Claw, which was the first episode of the series to air on September 5^th, 1992.  It stands to reason that 4 and 1/2-year-old Josh would have been at his grandma’s house on a Saturday, that wasn’t uncommon then.  But, regardless of if it was the first ever airing or not, it was my first exposure to Batman: The Animated Series.

Of course, I had already known of Batman (pictorial evidence below), but this series became (and is widely regarded as) the most definitive version of the Dark Knight to hit a television or movie screen and is probably the biggest influence on me as a child.  Garnering 13 total Emmy nominations, the series won four, a rarity for an animated program at the time.  Basically, what I’m trying to say is: it was a game changer.

"This is how I shall always remember you: surrounded by winter, forever young, forever beautiful.
Rest well, my love. The monster who took you from me will soon learn that revenge is a dish... best served COLD."

The show was, obviously, inspired by comics, however, it wasn’t long before the influences began flowing in the opposite direction.  Longtime Bat-villain, Mr. Freeze (pictured above) was given a complete personal overhaul to match the version in the award winning episode Heart of Ice, which depicted Victor Fries as a tragic scientist figure who becomes Mr. Freeze after a lab accident.  Not too original, but the new aspect of his character was that his crimes were all committed to further his research into a cure to save his dying wife, Nora.  Naturally, Batman must stop him from killing others, despite his good intentions, and Batman does just that.  The ending shot of the episode sees Fries in his cell in Arkham Asylum, shedding a single frozen tear.  Heavy stuff.

Harley Quinn was created early on in the run of the series simply as a random “henchwench” for The Joker.  The quirkiness of the character cause her popularity to skyrocket, prompting a larger role on the show and the jump from the small screen to mainstream DC Comics publications.  Her influence on filmmaker, and later comic writer in his own right, Kevin Smith was so great, he named his daughter after The Clown Prince of Crime’s main squeeze.

The brightest shining star in B:TAS that I would be remiss in not mentioning is the voice acting.  Amazing talents such as Melissa Gilbert (yes, from Little House on the Prairie) as Batgirl, John Glover (Smallville) as The Riddler, Ron Perlman (Hellboy) as Clayface, and David Warner (if you don’t know David Warner, help yourself) as Ra's al Ghul built a strong foundation of voices for the series.  Those aside, Luke freaking Skywalker (Mark Hamill) provided the voice of The Joker. His at-times-hilarious, at-times-bone-chilling laugh, mixed with the maniacally high to menacingly low pitch range of his voice made for a nightmare or two for some children, I have no doubt.  Comic readers will sympathize with this next bit.  As you peruse the artwork and revel in the scope of these books, you can’t help but create a small theatre of voices in your head as you scan the bright-white word bubbles that transport the story from page-to-eye-to-brain.  I’m sure children of the 60’s and 70’s would have Adam West narrating for them.  Newer readers might have the distinctive growl of Christian Bale cascading their consciousness.  But for me, there was never anyone other than Kevin Conroy.  The man who voiced Batman and Bruce Wayne (using two distinct voices, which was a first) in B:TAS (and later many, many other works) IS the voice of Batman for, not only me, not only a generation, but for so many people.

There are tons of people who worked on the series, however, none are more responsible for the sights and sounds of Gotham City than these three: Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Eric Radomski.  Radomski set the tone of the series with the distinctive “Dark Deco” style the buildings and backgrounds took.  The “timelessness” of setting was conveyed through the use of 1930’s and 40’s inspired cars and clothing.  The Gotham City Police Department zeppelin blimps gave a “World’s Fair” sense of futurism.  I’d say the most radical idea for a cartoon to employ at the time was the use of black paper (as opposed to white) for the animation to be drawn upon, adding to the series’ already extremely dark feel.  All were ideas of Radomski.  Paul Dini was the man behind the portrayal of Mr. Freeze that I detailed.  His scripts contained so much character development for so many Gotham residents outside of just Bruce Wayne and his inner circle.  In addition to writing comics, Dini is the writer of the video games Arkham Asylum and Arkham City.  The third man, Bruce Timm, was the designer of each character model.  From Batman and Robin to Two-Face and The Penguin all the way down to Clock King and Sid the Squid, Timm populated the series with his trademark style.

Some of the villains of the series designed by Bruce Timm.

This show would inspire several other series in the same style of Timm.  Collectively known as the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited, these shows continued the story of this particular Batman into the larger DC Universe.  Despite having the same talents working on them, none quite hit the same sweet spot of colorful and fun, but dark and gritty at the same time as Batman: The Animated Series.

If I’ve thoroughly convinced you how awesome this show is, here’s a list of my favorite episodes that you might want to check out:

• "Be a Clown"- The Joker accidentally kidnaps the son of Gotham City’s mayor, who wants to become a clown just like him.
• "Two-Face: Parts 1 & 2"- The origin of Two-Face.
• "I've Got Batman in My Basement"- Batman is saved by a couple of kids after a fight with The Penguin.  The kids must fend off Penguin while an unconscious Batman recovers in, you guessed it, their basement.
• "Heart of Ice"- Origin of Mr. Freeze.
• "Beware the Gray Ghost"- Batman must turn to his childhood television idol, The Grey Ghost (voiced by Adam West!) when The Mad Bomber threatens Gotham.
• "Perchance to Dream"- Batman wakes up in an alternate life where his parents are alive, Selina Kyle (Catwoman) is his girlfriend, and he’s not Batman.
• "Robin's Reckoning: Parts 1 & 2"- Robin learns that the man who killed his parents, Tony Zucco, is alive and that Batman has been lying to him about that fact.
• "Night of the Ninja" & "Day of the Samurai"- Batman must investigate a mysterious ninja in a story that delves into his past before donning he cape and cowl.
• "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne"- Hugo Strange learns that Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same.  With Batman held captive, he attempts to sell the information to the highest bidder.
• "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?"- The origins of The Riddler.
• "Almost Got 'Im"- Sitting at a poker table, several villains recount the time they almost defeated Batman.
• "The Demon's Quest: Parts 1 & 2"- When Robin is kidnapped, Batman must work with Ra's al Ghul to find his sidekick.

As always, thanks for reading and check back next week for a look at my “If you had a gun to my head and I HAD to choose” favorite comic: The Long Halloween.

-Josh

Sources: excerpts from primary source interviews; Wikipedia

Batman, related characters, and images in this blog are owned and trademarked by DC Comics, a division or Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.