Batman: The Animated Series - Volume One
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Warner Home Video / 2001 / 625 Minutes / Not Rated
Street Date: July 6, 2004 
Bob Kane and Bill Finger conceived of the Batman a remarkable sixty-five years ago. The DC Comics website reports that Batman appeared for the first time in Detective Comics number 27, published in July of 1939 (but I could swear I recall seeing a July '39 cover with issue number 29 on it). From the start, Batman was a dark superhero, a creature of the night, very unlike the DC Comics character of Superman that premiered the year before. By the end of '39, readers learn of the origins of Bruce Wayne's compulsion to fight crime. As a child, he watched in horror as his parents were gunned down before his eyes. Powerless to prevent their deaths, he spends his youth educating himself and training, honing his skills and building his body and his spirit to dedicate the rest of his life trying to make amends by stamping out evildoers. Fortunately, his family was obscenely rich, so he has all the financial resources he could possibly need to buy or develop his highly specialized vehicles, devices, and weapons. In modern graphic novels, the character has become darker and more violent. Fighting the larger than life villains that seem to be so attracted to Gotham City does take a toll. Until Tim Burton brought this troubled superhero to the screen in 1989, Batman's angst was not apparent on the big screen or the small. Adam West's television series may have been campy, but it did not serve the character well. In 1992, Michael Keaton made his second and last appearance as the Dark Knight as Tim Burton directed his second and last Batman feature. That same year on the FOX television network, a Warner Bros. Studio Batman Animated Series premiered, and just in time. Under the misguided direction of Joel Schumacher, the big screen Batman lost his way with Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. (We can only hope that director Christopher Nolan resuscitates the Dark Knight with 2005's Batman Begins.) Fortunately for Batman's fans, the creators of the animated series, Bruce Timm and Eric Rodomski, and especially writer Paul Dini, shared an instinctive understanding of the character. The animated Batman would be dark, brooding, haunted by his memories and his regrets. He would be a driven soul who cannot help getting involved when evil stalks his city. The self-appointed vigilante will exceed the constraints of the law but remain on the moral high ground. The angst is back. And the angst is black. As I learned in a supplement on the first disc of this set, when Timm and Rodomski were asked to produce the series, they devised a very clever device for conveying the series' dark tone. Like tacky art painted on black velvet, they had the animation painted on black backgrounds. They ensured that the dialog wouldn't talk down to the audience. Adults would converse as adults, with a polysyllabic vocabulary. A surprising roster of guest voices would help bring the characters to life. And each episode would be scored for orchestra by the talented Shirley Walker, who composed variations on Danny Elfman's themes. The result is a very brooding dramatic series with the sensibility of feature film that appeals to both children and adults. Bruce Wayne/Batman (Kevin Conroy) delegates a great deal of responsibility for the daily operation of Wayne Enterprises to his CFO, Lucius Fox (Brock Peters). Being up all night fighting crime may not leave enough energy to run the vast conglomerate during the day. Few are aware of Batman's secret identity. Alfred Pennyworth (Efrem Zimbalist Jr. - Clive Revill during the first three episodes) does of course, as does Dr. Leslie Thompkins (Diana Muldaur). Dick Grayson/Robin (Loren Lester) and ultimately Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (Melissa Gilbert) will share in the secret as they join the Dark Knight in his crusade against crime. Batman has an ally on the Gotham Police force in the form of Commissioner James Gordon (Bob Hastings), but Detective Harvey Bullock (Robert Costanzo) stubbornly refuses to see Batman as anything but another perp. Batman develops a love/hate relationship with Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Adrienne Barbeau), essentially drawn during the seasons on FOX as nude with a painted on costume (the characters will become less realistic as the series migrates to the WB years later). There is no end to the baddies that Batman must face, some very familiar, some new to me. Dr. Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze (Michael Ansara), Daggett Pharmaceuticals CEO Roland Daggett (Edward Asner), Edward Nygma/The Riddler (John Glover), Jack Napier/The Joker (Mark Hamill), Dr. Jervis Tetch/The Mad Hatter (Roddy McDowall), District Attorney Harvey Dent/Two-Face (Richard Moll), Matthew Hagen/Clayface (Ron Perlman), Rupert Thorne (John Vernon), Ra's Al Ghul (David Warner), and Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot/The Penguin (Paul Williams) all seem to be obsessed with Batman's destruction as they spend their lives alternating between the streets of Gotham and either Arkham Asylum or prison. The roster of guest voices adds to the fun; try to recognize the actor behind the voice. Mark Hamill may be the least recognizable, but you may hear Richard Dysart, Ed Begley, Jr. , Tim Curry, Jeffrey Tambor, Loretta Swit, Kate Mulgrew, Jean Smart, Adam West, Heather Locklear, William Windom, Paul Dooley, Katherine Helmond, Eugene Roche, Meredith McCrae, and Rene Auberjonois. The roster will grow with each succeeding season. In this splendid DVD collection, the twenty-eight episodes of the first season are spread across four DVDs. With episode durations of 22:32 plus the supplements, there is over eleven hours of material here. Video: How Does The Disc Look? The film's broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1 is presented in full screen video. The transfers are terrific. Edge halos are non-existent. Images are razor sharp. Fine textures, which occasionally appear in background plates, are wonderfully conveyed to the screen. Shadow detail is not an issue on these DVDs; it does not exist in this material. As was explained in one of the supplements, due to budget limitations, the animation palette was limited to a specific number of colors. And those were painted on a black background. For shadow detail to be present, the original images would have to have a multiplicity of gray levels in the dark end of the dynamic range, dark gradients and subtle differences in the intensity of "blacks." Those simply do not exist in the original art. So black is black. I can report, however, that it is deeply black, richly dark and noise-free. Bright colors are vivid, even though for the most part, the palette is somewhat subdued to evoke the appropriate emotional response. I saw no digital artifacts, but some episodes' animation cels seem to have been a little dirtier than others. Audio: How Does The Disc Sound? The program sounds like it is exclusively in stereo. No surround effects were noticeable. The audio was created for broadcast television rather than the motion picture theater, so dynamic range, attack times, and deep bass are all somewhat anemic compared to film sound. The dialog, exclusively recorded in the studio, is distortion-free throughout. Shirley Walker's fine orchestral scores fare the best. I don't understand why Warner Bros. hasn't bothered to issue a soundtrack CD. Her work on the theatrical animated film, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, was released. Alternative languages are in Spanish and French. Subtitles are available in English, Spanish, and French Supplements: What Goodies Are There? The supplements are spread out among the four discs. On disc one, during On Leather Wings, there's an audio commentary track by Bruce Timm and Eric Rodomski. It's here that we learn of the origins of the series and some of the techniques that gave the series its unique look and feel. This track and a similar track on disc two provide a fairly comprehensive view of the making of the series. Also on this disc is a featurette, The Dark Knight's First Night (5:02), which describes the effort to create demo animation to sell the show. After a little history is shared, we get to see this animation in its original form. A reworked and simpler version became the series opening animation. Despite my familiarity and affection for this series, it wasn't until I watched this short that I realized that the character is so iconic that each episode began without any title cards or credits at all. The opening animation was enough to announce the program, and the first words we see are the episode's title. I'm amazed that I was never consciously aware of this. On disc two you'll find another audio commentary track by Bruce Timm, Eric Rodomski, and Paul Dini during Heart of Ice. As with the commentary on disc one, we learn more about the behind the scenes production. It's clear that these filmmakers have a deep affection for the show and the characters. It was a pleasure to listen to them enjoy the episode, hear their interactions, and share in their reminisces. Also on this disc is a featurette entitled Batman: The Legacy Continues (18:00). This seems like a continuation of the featurette on the first disc. Here, the efforts to produce the show after it was sold are described. The filmmakers discuss their artistic intent and the approaches that set this special series apart. Nicely done. By the time we get to disc three, the supplements begin to thin. Here you'll find a Tour of the Batcave, which is, in fact, a series of text screens that describe Batman, his utility belt, his vehicles, and his loyal butler and friend, Alfred. Each is supported with clips from the series. Finally, disc four offers a few DVD trailers: Challenge of the Super Friends (1:08); Justice League: Starcrossed "Unmasked" (0:54); and, Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (1:14). DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC? There are no PC enhanced extras included. Parting Thoughts I stated in previous reviews that I thought Warner should involve Paul Dini and Bruce Timm in future live-action Batman films. They consistently manage to strike the right balance between the characters' emotional turmoil and motivations and the larger than life comic book personalities of the heroes and villains. To the best of my knowledge, Warner Bros. has not. I'll be very curious to see if 2005's Batman theatrical release is more satisfying than 2004's Catwoman. |
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