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Batman: The Animated Series (often shortened Batman: TAS or BTAS) is an American, two time Emmy Award[1][2] winning animated series adaptation of the comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero, Batman.
The visual style of the series is based on the artwork of producer Bruce Timm. The original episodes, produced by Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, and Eric Radomski, were first aired on the Fox Network from 1992 to 1995. When the first season of the series aired on weekday afternoons, it lacked an on-screen title but was officially titled Batman: The Animated Series, as evidenced in promotional advertisements for the series. When its timeslot was moved to weekends (on some Fox channels) for the second season, it was named The Adventures of Batman & Robin to emphasize the crime fighting partnership of the characters and allow younger audiences to become more familiar with Robin, who would shortly afterwards be featured in the 1995 film Batman Forever.
The original series was partially inspired by Tim Burton's 1989 blockbuster Batman film and the acclaimed Superman cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios in the 1940s. Tim and Radomski designed the series by closely emulating the Tim Burton films' "otherworldy timelessness," incorporating period features such as black-and-white title cards, police blimps, 40s influenced fashion, 40s influenced car styling and a "vintage" color scheme in a largely film noir-influenced style.[3] The series initially took as its theme a variation of music written by Danny Elfman for Burton's Batman film; later episodes of the series used a new theme with a similar style by Shirley Walker. The score of the series was influenced by Elfman and Walker's work on Batman and Batman Returns and the music of 40s film noir. The art style of the original animated series was also partially a reaction against the realism seen in cartoons like X-Men; the second series in some ways was a further extension of that rejection of realism.
Batman as he appears throughout the animated series.Like X-Men, the program was much more adult oriented than previous typical superhero cartoon series. In their constant quest to make the show darker, the producers pushed the boundaries of action cartoons: it was the first such cartoon in years to depict firearms being fired instead of laser guns (only one person has ever been actually depicted as shot; Commissioner Gordon in episode 49 was seen to have a gunshot wound after the firefight was finished), Batman actually punching and kicking the antagonists, as well as the existence of blood (such as Batman having a trail of blood from his mouth); in addition, many of the series' backgrounds were painted on black paper.[3] The distinctive visual combination of film noir imagery and Art Deco designs with a very dark color scheme was called "Dark Deco" by the producers. First-time producers Timm and Radomski reportedly encountered resistance from studio executives, but the success of Burton's first film allowed the embryonic series to survive long enough to produce a pilot episode, "On Leather Wings", which according to Timm "got a lot of people off our backs."[3]
The Emmy Award-winning series quickly received wide acclaim for its distinctive animation and mature writing, and it instantly became a hit. Fans of a wide age range praised the show's sophisticated, cinematic tone and psychological stories. Voice-actor Kevin Conroy used two distinct voices to portray Bruce Wayne and Batman, as Michael Keaton had done in the films. This series also featured a supporting cast that included major actors performing the voices of the various classic villains, most notably Mark Hamill, who defined a whole new career for himself in animation[4] with his cheerfully deranged portrayal of the Joker. The voice recording sessions were recorded with the actors together in a studio, like a radio play, unlike most animated films, in which the principal voice actors record separately and never meet (various interviews have noted that such an arrangement (having the cast record together) was a benefit to the show as a whole, as the actors were able to 'react' to one another, rather than simply 'reading the words').
Mr. Freeze, who was most famously redesigned for the series.Key to the series' artistic success is that it managed to redefine classic characters, paying homage to their previous portrayals while giving them new dramatic force. The characterisation of villains such as Two-Face and the Mad Hatter and heroes like Robin — who had not appeared in the Burton film series — demonstrate this. The Penguin is based upon his appearance in Batman Returns, which was being released at the same time as the series. The series also gave new life to nearly forgotten characters like the Clock King. An often noted example of dramatic change is Mr. Freeze (whose character in the episode "Heart of Ice" won the show an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program.); Batman: TAS turned him from a clichéd mad scientist with a gimmick for cold, to a tragic figure whose frigid exterior hides a doomed love and a vindictive fury. Part of the tragedy is mimicked later in the plot of Joel Schumacher's live action movie Batman and Robin, although much of the drama was lost with the resurrection of the pun-quipping mad scientist image. The most famous of the series' innovations is the Joker's hapless assistant/love interest, Harley Quinn, who became so popular that DC Comics later added her to the mainstream Batman comics continuity.
This series became a cornerstone of the Warner Bros.' animation department, which became one of the top producers of television animation. For years, Warner Bros. Animation had been known only for doing Looney Tunes and their offshoots such as Tiny Toon Adventures. This was Warner's first attempt at doing a serious animated cartoon and it was an unexpected success for the animation department. It also sparked a large franchise of similar TV adaptations of DC Comics characters. Despite the marketing decision by Warner Bros. of making the series a Saturday morning cartoon, Producer Bruce Timm and the crew were not interested in making a kid's show and they have often stated that this series and others in the DCAU, such as The New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond and Justice League, are not children's programs but merely include children in their audience.
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