Batman: The Animated Series Information

Batman: The Animated Series is a critically aclaimed American animated television series based on DC Comics superhero Batman. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and originally aired on the Fox Network from September 5, 1992 to September 15, 1995. The visual style of the series, dubbed "Dark Deco," was based on the artwork of producer and artist Bruce Timm. The series was widely praised for its thematic complexity, dark tone, artistic quality and faithfulness to the character's crime-fighting origins. The series also won four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Animated Program.

When the first season of the series aired on weekday afternoons, it lacked an on-screen title in the opening theme sequence (for episode recaps shown at the beginning of the second half of two-part episodes, the narrator would simply say "Previously on Batman..."). When the series' timeslot was moved to weekends during its second season, it was given the on-screen title The Adventures of Batman & Robin. The series was the first in the continuity of the shared DC animated universe, and spawned the theatrical film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993).

Overview

The series took influence from Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman, as well as Burton's 1992 sequel Batman Returns and the acclaimed Superman theatrical cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios in the early 1940s. In designing the series, Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski emulated Burton's films' "otherworldly timelessness," incorporating period features such as black-and-white title cards, police blimps (though no such thing existed, Timm has stated that he found it to fit the show's style) and a "vintage" color scheme with film noir flourishes. In addition, Radomski issued a standing order to the animation department that all backgrounds be painted using light colors on black paper (as opposed to the industry standard of dark colors on white paper). The distinctive visual combination of "noir" imagery and Art Deco design was dubbed "Dark Deco" by the producers.

The series initially took a variation of music written by Danny Elfman for the Burton films as its theme; later episodes of the series used a new theme with a similar style by Shirley Walker (Walker was occasionally Elfman's conductor for films on which they collaborated). The score of the series was influenced by Elfman and Walker's work on the Burton films, as well as music of 1940s film noir.

The program was more adult-oriented than previous superhero cartoon series. It was the first such cartoon in years to depict outright physical violence, bloodshed, drug use (though both the bloodshed and drug use were minimal due to network censors) and use of firearms (though only one character was depicted as having been shot - Commissioner Gordon, in the episode "I Am the Night," is shown lying unconscious due to a gunshot wound he received offscreen). 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."

The series received critical acclaim for its distinctive visuals and mature themes. Fans of a wide age range praised the show's cinematic tone and psychological motifs. The show was also notable for its supporting cast - a number of well-known actors provided voices for various classic villains, most notably Mark Hamill, who later found success in voice acting thanks to his "cheerfully deranged" portrayal of The Joker. The recording sessions (under the supervision of voice director Andrea Romano) were recorded with the actors together in one studio (as opposed to industry standard of voice actors recording dialogue separately). This method would later be employed for all subsequent series in the DC animated universe.

One of the series' best-known innovations was the Joker's assistant, Harley Quinn, who became so popular that DC Comics later added her to mainstream Batman comic book continuity. The Penguin underwent change for the series; his appearance was remodeled after the version seen in Batman Returns (though still incorporating classic elements of the character), which was in production simultaneously with the series' first season. New life was also given to lesser-known characters for the series such as the Clock King. In addition, dramatic changes were made to villains such as Clayface and Mr. Freeze - the latter character, for example, was changed from a gimmicky mad scientist to a tragic figure whose "frigid exterior [hid] a doomed love and vindictive fury."

Episodes

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.

Animation

In order to complete the first season's 65 episodes, Warner Bros. contracted several different overseas animation houses. These studios included Spectrum Animation, Dong Yang Animation, Sunrise, Studio Junio, Blue Pencil, AKOM and TMS Entertainment. TMS also animated the first season's opening theme sequence. AKOM was eventually fired due to its inconsistent animation in episodes such as "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Moon of the Wolf."

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").

Adaptations

The show also featured numerous adaptations of various Batman comics stories over the years to when the show was produced. The following episodes were adaptations:

• "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.
• "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 and #472, of 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.
• "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" is a loose adaptation of "The Riddler!" from Detective Comics #140, October 1948.
• "Off Balance" is a direct adaptation of "Batman: Into the Den of the Death-Dealers" of Detective Comics #411, May 1971 by Dennis O'Neil famous for the first appearance of the character Talia al Ghul.
• Also a direct adaptation is the two-part episode "The Demon's Quest", based on "Daughter of the Demon" from Batman #232, June 1971, and "The Demon Lives Again" Batman #244, September 1972, also by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams. Famous for introducing one of Batman's deadlier foes; Ra's al Ghul, father of Talia.
• 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 Dennis O'Neil with art by Neal Adams, followed by "The Laughing Fish" and "Sign of the Joker!" from Detective Comics #475 and #476, of 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 because the show's creators could not adapt them separately, because their content and thematic elements would not have been cleared by the censors.
• Part 1 of "Robin's Reckoning" takes its cues from Detective Comics #38 June 1940.
• "A Bullet for Bullock" is based on the comic of the same name from Detective Comics #651, October 1992, by Chuck Dixon.
• 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.
• The episode "Almost Got 'Im" where Two-Face's strategy (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. In a back up tale both Batman and Robin were tied to a giant penny that was catapulted onto spikes by a lesser known villain the Penny Plunderer.
• The episode "Appointment in Crime Alley" is based on "There Is No Hope in Crime Alley" from Detective Comics #457 (March 1976) by Dennis O'Neil and Dick Giordano.
• The episode "Sideshow" is loosely based on "A Vow From the Grave" by Dennis O'Neil. This episode adapted the comic book story with the inclusion of a separate Killer Croc story.
• The episode "Dreams in Darkness" is loosely based on "Batman: The Last Arkham" of Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1-4 by Alan Grant. This episode adapted the comic book story with the inclusion of The Scarecrow instead of Victor Zsasz and Dr. Bartolomew instead of Jeremiah Arkham.

Feature films

• Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) " based on the animated series, the film started production as a direct-to-video release, but was ultimately changed into a theatrical release. Although the film was not a financial success upon its initial release, it earned widespread acclaim and has since become a commercial success through its various home video releases.
• Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998) " a direct-to-video release, which was produced as a tie-in to the 1997 film Batman & Robin, but due to the poor reception of the live-action movie, SubZero's release was delayed until the following year.

Comic adaption and novelization

See Batman Adventures for more information The television series was accompanied by a tie-in comic book, The Batman Adventures, which followed the art style and continuity of the television series instead of other Batman comic books. The Batman Adventures, through several format changes to reflect the changing world of the series and its spin-offs, outlasted the series itself by nearly a decade, finally being cancelled in 2004 to make way for the tie-in comic of the then-new, unrelated Batman animated series, The Batman.

There was also a short-lived series of tie-in novels, adapted from episodes of the series by science fiction author Geary Gravel. To achieve novel-length, Gravel combined several related episodes into a single storyline in each novel. The novels included:

• Shadows of the Past ("Appointment in Crime Alley", "Robin's Reckoning" two-parter)
• Dual to the Death ("Two-Face" two-parter, "Shadow of the Bat" two-parter)
• The Dragon and the Bat ("Night of the Ninja", "Day of the Samurai")
• Mask of the Phantasm (Batman: Mask of the Phantasm movie)

Characters

New villains such as Red Claw, Baby-Doll, Kyodai Ken, Tygrus and the Sewer King were invented for the series, but to little acclaim. On the other hand, the Joker's accomplice Harley Quinn, Gotham City police detective Renee Montoya and the vigilante Lock-Up achieved such popularity that they became characters in the comics. Older villains that were lesser known from the comics, such as Count Vertigo, the Mirror Man and the Clock King, were modified for the series in both appearance and personality. The series was also the first to suggest that Harvey Dent had a pre-existing dual personality before becoming Two-Face. This idea came from Alan Burnett, one of the series' producers and head writers.

Aside from creating characters that crossed over into the main line of DC Comics, several of the series' reinterpretations were carried over as well. Mr. Freeze was revised in the comics to emulate the series' tragic story, the success of which actually compelled DC to bring the character back after "killing" him off some years earlier; Clayface was revised to be much more similar in appearance to his animated counterpart; and Two-Face's double-sided, black-and-white suit has become a common appearance for the character.

Bruce Wayne

One of the most noteworthy changes made in Batman: The Animated Series was 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. In the animated series, his character is instead treated more seriously; he is assertive and 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 secret deal with a timber company in the Amazon rainforest. In addition, during the episode "Night of the Ninja", he revealed to reporter Summer Gleeson that he has some martial arts training, as the reporter previously researched that he once lived in Japan, though he later throws a fight with the ninja Kyodai Ken in front of Gleeson to disguise his prowess.

The psychological issues stemming from his parents' deaths are usually shown in the form of self-hatred when Bruce is alone.

Kevin Conroy is notable for being the first person in animation to use two distinct voices to portray Bruce Wayne and Batman, which was his own idea.

Dick Grayson

Another noteworthy change in the series was the redefining of the original Robin, Dick Grayson. While much of Dick's past remained the same, his Robin costume was updated to a more modern look of the 1990s (with short sleeves and long tights), exactly like Tim Drake's original Robin outfit, but with a non-italicized "R" symbol. In addition, Dick was given a more serious 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 have a mutual romantic attraction to each other, but neither one knows that the other is secretly Robin and/or Batgirl, respectively. Their relationship is one of the plot elements of the film Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero.

Cast

Protagonists

Voice Actor	Role
Kevin Conroy	Bruce Wayne / Batman
Clive Revill	Alfred Pennyworth (first three episodes in production order)
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.	Alfred Pennyworth (rest of the series)
Bob Hastings	Commissioner James Gordon
Robert Costanzo	Detective Harvey Bullock
Loren Lester	Dick Grayson / Robin
Melissa Gilbert	Barbara Gordon / Batgirl

Supporting protagonists

Voice Actor	Role
Ingrid Oliu	Officer Renee Montoya (season one)
Liane Schirmer	Officer Renee Montoya (season two)
Brock Peters	Lucius Fox
Mari Devon	Summer Gleeson
Diana Muldaur	Dr. Leslie Tompkins
Lloyd Bochner	Mayor Hamilton Hill
Marilu Henner	Veronica Vreeland
William Sanderson	Karl Rossum
Bill McKinney	Jonah Hex
Julie Brown	Zatanna
Adam West	Simon Trent / The Gray Ghost

Antagonists

Voice Actor	Role
Mark Hamill	The Joker
Arleen Sorkin	Dr. Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn
Paul Williams	Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin
Adrienne Barbeau	Selina Kyle / Catwoman
Richard Moll	Harvey Dent / Two-Face
John Glover	Edward Nygma / The Riddler
Michael Ansara	Dr. Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze
Diane Pershing	Dr. Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy
Henry Silva	Bane
David Warner	Ra's al Ghul
Henry Polic II	Dr. Jonathan Crane / The Scarecrow
Aron Kincaid	Waylon Jones / Killer Croc
Ron Perlman	Matt Hagen / Clayface
Roddy McDowall	Jervis Tetch / The Mad Hatter
Marc Singer	Dr. Kirk Langstrom / Man-Bat
George Dzundza	Arnold Wesker / The Ventriloquist

Supporting antagonists

Voice Actor	Role
Ed Asner	Roland Daggett
Jeff Bennett	HARDAC
Ray Buktenica	Hugo Strange
Michael Gross	Lloyd Ventrix
Robert Ito	Kyodai Ken / The Ninja
Alison LaPlaca	Mary Dahl / Baby Doll
Joseph Maher	Dr. Emile Dorian
Kate Mulgrew	Red Claw
George Murdock	Boss Biggis
Michael Pataki	Sewer King
Alan Rachins	Temple Fugate / The Clock King
Helen Slater	Talia al Ghul
Steve Susskind	Maximillian "Maxie" Zeus
John Vernon	Rupert Thorne
Bruce Weitz	Lyle Bolton / Lock-Up
Treat Williams	Professor Milo
Michael York	Count Vertigo

Broadcasting

Batman: The Animated Series premiered on the Fox Network's children's block Fox Kids on September 5, 1992 and aired in that block during weekday afternoons at 4:30pm. In December, just three months after its debut, Fox also began airing episodes of the series on prime-time Sunday evenings, marking one of the few times a show created for Saturday Morning Television was scheduled for prime-time broadcast. However, the TV ratings fell short (as the show aired opposite the perennial favorite 60 Minutes), and the series was removed from this time slot in March 1993.

After the series produced its 65th episode (the minimum number necessary for a TV series to be successfully syndicated), Fox Network executives ordered a second season of 20 more episodes that was later reduced to airing weekly on Saturday mornings. The second season featured Robin more prominently and, as a result, was retitled The Adventures of Batman & Robin in the title credits; this run of episodes had two new opening sequences and ending credits. In total, Batman: The Animated Series reached 85 episodes before finishing its original run of episodes on September 15, 1995.

In 1997, following the end of Fox Kids' five year exclusive broadcast contract, the series began airing in re-runs on The WB Network's children's block Kids' WB, alongside Superman: The Animated Series.

Cartoon Network began airing re-runs of the series on March 2, 1998. From 1998 to 1999, the show was aired after Cartoon Network's action block Toonami, and then in 2000 it was aired on Toonami itself.

The show later began re-airing on September 30, 2007 on Toon Disney's Jetix lineup, again alongside Superman: The Animated Series (despite Warner Bros. being one of Disney's biggest competitors). Both shows continued to air on Toon Disney's successor, Disney XD, which began on February 13, 2009, but they were removed from the channel in 2010.

The show airs on Teletoon Retro (a Canadian broadcasting channel), debuting on January 8, 2010. The first 65 episodes were confirmed, with the first being "The Cat and Claw, Part 1". The show was scheduled to air on a weekly basis, airing at 7:00 AM, 6:00 PM, and midnight. All times are Eastern.

The Hub started broadcasting the series on September 6, 2011. The network aired a 10-episode marathon of the series on July 20, 2012 to coincide with the theatrical release of The Dark Knight Rises and even created an animated version of one of the film's trailers, featuring Kevin Conroy and Adrienne Barbeau re-dubbing Batman and Catwoman's dialogue from the trailer.

Music

Batman: The Animated Series featured a strong musical score written by several different composers throughout the course of the series. The main theme of the show, which was heard during the opening and ending credits of each episode, was composed by Danny Elfman. At first, Elfman turned down Bruce Timm's offer to compose the theme for the show and so Timm hired Shirley Walker to do so. However, Elfman later changed his mind and composed a variation of his 1989 Batman movie theme for the series. Walker's unused theme went on to become the main theme for the second season of the show, when the name was changed to The Adventures of Batman & Robin.

In 1996, Walker won her first Daytime Emmy Award for her music direction of the episode "A Bullet for Bullock" (scored by the late Harvey R. Cohen). She would then go on to win another Daytime Emmy Award in the category of music-composition for Batman Beyond in 2001.

Although at least twenty-four different composers worked on the series, Walker, Lolita Ritmanis, and Michael McCuistion are regarded as the main contributors. After the series finished up in 1995, the three then went on to score Superman: The Animated Series (which also featured a theme by Walker) in 1996, The New Batman Adventures in 1997 and Batman Beyond in 1999. Television composer Kristopher Carter scored alongside Walker, Ritmanis, and McCuistion throughout the many DCAU series and later filled in for Walker after her death in 2006.

On December 16, 2008, La La Land Records announced the release of a soundtrack companion to Batman: The Animated Series onto a two-disc CD set. The release was limited to a pressing of 3,000 copies, which sold quickly. 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."

Upon its release, the soundtrack received outstanding reviews, and is now completely sold out. The 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).

In July 2012, La La Land Records released a four-disc CD set with further music cues from the series, titled Batman: The Animated Series " Original Soundtrack From The Warner Bros. Television Series, Volume Two.

Volume 3 is planned for 2013 from La La Land Records, which will be the final volume (and will not include every episode score of the initial 65) before moving to the later incarnations of the series, as well as Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League in following years.

Track listing

Reception

Batman: The Animated Series has been consistently ranked as one of the greatest animated series ever made. It has been highly praised for its sophistication, mature writing, voice acting, artistic ambition, and faithfulness to its source material. In the 1992 year end issue, Entertainment Weekly ranked the series as one of the top television series of the year.

In his reference book, Batman: The Complete History, Les Daniels described The Animated Series as coming "as close as any artistic statement has to defining the look of Batman for the 1990s." Deirdre Sheppard, a reviewer for Common Sense Media who posted her review on Go.com, described the series as a "fairly violent cartoon" with an "overall grim quality." Animation historian Charles Solomon gave the series a somewhat mixed assessment, commenting that "the dark, Art Deco-influenced backgrounds tended to eclipse the stiff animation and pedestrian storytelling" and concluding that the series "looked better in stills than it did on the screen."

IGN listed the series as the best adaptation of Batman anywhere outside of comics, the best comic book cartoon of all time, and the second best animated series of all time (after The Simpsons). Wizard magazine also ranked it #2 of the greatest animated television shows of all time (again after The Simpsons). CraveOnline also ranked the show #2 for Top 5 Best Superhero cartoons behind the 1940s Fleischer Superman cartoons.

Influence

Due to the success of the 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. The New Batman Adventures premiered in the fall of 1997 on The WB, airing alongside Superman: The Animated Series as part of an hour-long program titled The New Batman/Superman Adventures.

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. 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.

The dramatic writing and stylized art of Batman: The Animated Series sets it apart from 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. 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 heavily employed in the 2009 video game Batman: Arkham Asylum and its 2011 sequel, Batman: Arkham City. Furthermore, Batman's design and costume in the series are featured as an alternate skin in Arkham City. It is available as downloadable content or as an early unlock with a pre-order at GameStop and a valid membership to Power-Up Rewards. There are also Animated-inspired alternate skins for Catwoman, Nightwing and Robin.

Accolades

Saturn Awards

• 1993 - Best Genre Television Series (nominated)

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 W. 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 W. Timm, Randy Rogel and Dick Sebast for "Robin's Reckoning: Part 1" (won)

Daytime Emmy Awards

• 1993 - Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program - Michael Reaves, Sean Catherine Derek, Martin Pasko and Paul Dini (won)
• 1993 - Outstanding Animated Program - Tom Ruegger, Eric Radomski, Frank Paur, Kevin Altieri, Alan Burnett, Jean MacCurdy, Bruce W. 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 W. 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)
• 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)

Young Artist Awards

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

Home media releases

VHS

United Kingdom

Title	Episodes	Release Date	Run Time
Batman - the Animated Series: Superpowers	"How Many Herrings in a Wheelbarrow?" "A Bird Out of Hand" "From Catwoman with Love" "The 1,001 Faces of the Riddler" "The Cool" "Cruel Mr Freeze".	3 July 1995	52 minutes
The Adventures of Batman and Robin: Batman	"Dreams in Darkness" & "Beware the Gray Ghost"	7 October 1996	40 minutes
The Adventures of Batman and Robin: Fire and Ice.	"Fire From Olympus" & "In Deep Freeze"	13 October 1997	46 minutes
The Adventures of Batman and Robin: Batman's Greatest Villains	"Almost Got 'Im" & "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne".	13 October 1997	41 minutes
Batman and Robin - Batman The Dark Knight	"I Am the Night" & "Perchance to Dream".	13 October 1997	41 minutes
The Adventures of Batman and Robin: A Fight to the Finish	"Bane" & "Mudslide".	13 October 1997	40 minutes
Batman - the Animated Series: Mask of the Phantasm	Feature film	23 June 1997	73 minutes
Batman - the Animated Series: Bumper Collection	"Feat of Clay Part I" "Feat of Clay Part II" "It's Never Too Late" "Joker's Favour" "Nothing to Fear" "Pretty Poison" '"Be a Clown" "Appointment in Crime Alley".	20 October 1997	169 minutes
Batman and Robin Bumper Collection	"Harley and Ivy" "Harley's Holiday" "Catwalk" "Batman Returns" "The Demon Quest Part 1" "The Demon Quest Part 2".	20 October 1997	117 minutes
Batman - the Animated Series: Volume 1	"Cat and the Claw Part 1" & "Cat and the Claw Part 2"	24 November 1997	43 minutes
Batman - the Animated Series: Volume 2	"On Leather Wings" & "Heart of Ice".	24 November 1997	43 minutes
The Adventures of Batman and Robin: Robin	"Robin's Reckoning Part I" & "Robin's Reckoning Part II"	24 November 1997	40 minutes
The Adventures of Batman and Robin: The Joker	"Christmas With The Joker" & "The Laughing Fish"	24 November 1997	42 minutes
The Adventures of Batman and Robin: The Riddler	"If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" & "Riddler's Reform"	24 November 1997	41 minutes
The Adventures of Batman and Robin: Two-Face	"Shadow of the Bat Part 1" & "Shadow of the Bat Part 2"	24 November 1997	41 minutes
The Adventures of Batman and Robin: The Penguin	"Birds of a Feather" & "The Mechanic"	24 November 1997	41 minutes
The Adventures of Batman and Robin: Joker's Return	"Make 'em Laugh" & "Harlequinade"	24 November 1997	40 minutes
The Adventures of Batman and Robin: Poison Ivy	"Eternal Youth" & "House & Garden"	24 November 1997	40 minutes
Batman the Animated Series - the Legend Begins	"On Leather Wings" "Christmas with the Joker" "Nothing to Fear" "The Last Laugh" "Pretty Poison"	26 July 2004	110 minutes

United States

Title	Episodes	Release Date	Run Time
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - International Menace	"Off balance" "Avatar" "Night of the Ninja" "Day of the Samurai"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Friends and Foes	"Beware the grey ghost" "The mechanic" "The man who killed Batman" "Sideshow"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - The Joker	"Be a clown" "The last laugh" "Almost got 'im" "The laughing fish"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - The Trials of Harvey Dent	"Pretty poison" "Two-face Part 1" "Two-face Part 2" "The trial"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Partners	"Robin's reckoning, pt. 1" "Robin's reckoning, pt. 2" "Shadow of the bat, pt. 1" "Shadow of the bat, pt. 2"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Kings and Prawns	"The Clock King" "Time Out Of Joint" "The Underdwellers" "Prophecy Of Doom"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Super Friends	"Knight time" "World's finest Part 1" "World's finest Part2 " "Girl's night out"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Cold Fear	"Deep freeze" "Cold comfort" "Nothing to fear" "Never fear"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Mean Streets	"Appointment in crime alley" "Sins of the father" "Legends of the dark knight" "Torch song"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Monsters	"On leather wings" "Feat of Clay, Part I" "Feat of Clay, Part II" "Moon of the wolf"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Monsters and Mayhem	"Tyger, tyger" "Mudslide" "Growing pains" "Demon within"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Villians Without Costumes	"Forgotten" "The cape and cowl conspiracy" "I am the night" "Paging the crime doctor"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Scratches and Other Wounds	"Cult of the cat" "You scratch my back" "Animal act" "Old wounds"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Batman The Animated Series: Fear and Madness	"Fear of victory" "Dreams in darkness" "Mad as a hatter" "The worry man"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Cops and Robbers	"P.O.V." "Vendetta" "Riddler's reform" "A bullet for Bullock"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - The Cat and The Claw	"The cat and the claw, part I" "The cat and the claw, part II" "The lion & the unicorn" "Cat scratch fever"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Perceptions and Reality	"House and garden" "Chemistry" "What is reality?" "Blind as a bat"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Matters of the Heart	"Heart of ice" "It's never too late" "Zatanna" "Showdown"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Scared Straight	"Judgment day" "Second chance" "Love is a croc" "Double talk"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Harley	"The Joker's favor" "Harley and Ivy" "Harley's holiday" "Harlequinade"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Villians	"Read my lips" "Fire from Olympus" "Bane" "Catwalk"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Stir Crazy	"Ultimate thrill" "Lock up" "Beware the creeper" "Baby doll"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - A Million Laughs	"Joker's wild" "Christmas with the Joker" "Mad love" "Joker's millions"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Animal Acts	"Critters" "Love is a croc" "Terror in the sky" "Birds of a feather"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Body and No Soul	"See no evil" "Heart of steel" "Heart of steel, Part II" "His silicon soul"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Dreams and Nightmares	"Perhance to dream" "The strange secret of Bruce Wayne" "The demon's quest, part I" "The demon's quest, part II"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Trio	"Make 'em laugh" "Eternal youth" "I've got Batman in my basement" "The terrible trio"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman Animated Series Collector's Edition - Batgirl	"Batgirl returns" "Over the edge" "Holiday nights" "Mean seasons"	Unknown	100 minutes
Batman - Mask of the Phantasm	Feature Movie	11 May 1994	76 minutes
Adventure of Batman & Robin - Robin	"Robin's Reckoning Part I" & "Robin's Reckoning Part II"	6 June 1995	46 mintues
Adventure of Batman & Robin - The Riddler	"Why Aren't You Rich" & "Riddler's Reform"	6 June 1995	45 minutes
Adventure of Batman & Robin - Two-Face	"Shadow of the Bat Part 1" & "Shadow of the Bat Part 2"	6 June 1995	45 minutes
Adventures of Batman & Robin - The Joker	"Christmas With The Joker" & "The Laughing Fish"	6 June 1995	45 minutes
Adventures of Batman & Robin - Robin/ Joker 2 VHS Gift Set (with stickers)	"Robin's Reckoning Part I" "Robin's Reckoning Part II" "Christmas With The Joker" & "The Laughing Fish"	25 March 1997	91 minutes
Adventures of Batman & Robin - Two-Face/ Riddler 2 VHS Gift Set (with stickers and book)	"Shadow of the Bat Part 1" "Shadow of the Bat Part 2" / "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" "Riddler's Reform"	25 March 1997	90 minutes
Adventures of Batman & Robin - Batman	"Dream in Darkness" & "Beware of the Grey Ghost".	20 May 1997	46 minutes
Adventures of Batman & Robin - Fire & Ice	"Fire from Olympus" & "Deep freeze"	20 May 1997	46 minutes
Adventures of Batman & Robin - The Penguin	"Birds of a Feather" & "The Mechanic"	20 May 1997	46 minutes
Adventures of Batman & Robin - Poison Ivy	"Eternal youth" & "House & garden"	20 May 1997	46 minutes
The Batman Superman Movie	Feature Movie	18 August 1998	64 minutes
Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero	Feature Movie	17 March 1998 (Re-release 21 December 1999)	70 minutes
Batman - The Animated Series - The Legend Begins	"On leather wings" "Christmas with the Joker" "Nothing to fear" "The last laugh" "Pretty poison"	23 April 2002	110 minutes
Batman - The Animated Series - Tales of the Dark Knight	"The underdwellers" "P.O.V." "The forgotten" "Be a clown"	23 April 2002	89 minutes
Batman Video Collection - Batman the movie (1966)/Batman Mask of Phantasm/Justice League: Secret Origins (3 VHS)	3 Feature Films	23 April 2002	243 minutes
The Animated Series - The Legend Begins/Justice League	2 Feature Films	22 April 2003	140 minutes
Batman Animated Collection (Sub Zero/Batman Beyond - The Movie/Mask of the Phantasm)	3 Feature Films	22 April 2003	185 minutes
Batman - The Animated Series - Out of the Shadows	"Two-Face" "It's never too late" "I've got Batman in my basement" "Out of the shadows"	22 July 2003	88 minutes
Batman - Mystery of the Batwoman	Feature Movie	21 October 2003	75 minutes
Batman Animated Series: Secrets of Caped Crusader	"The cat and the claw" "Heart of ice" "See no evil"	19 October 2004	89 minutes

Chinese Subtitled

Title	Episodes	Release Date	Run Time
Batman Animated - On Leather Wings and Heart Of Ice!	"On Leather Wings" & "Heart Of Ice!"	Unknown	Unknown
Batman Animated - Feat Of Clay Part 1 and 2	"Feat Of Clay Part 1" & "Feat Of Clay Part 2"	Unknown	Unknown
Batman Animated - It's Never Too Late and Joker's Favor	"It's Never Too Late" & "Joker's Favor"	Unknown	Unknown
Batman Animated - The Cat And The Claw - Part 1 and 2	"The Cat And The Claw Part 1" & "The Cat And The Claw Part 2"	Unknown	Unknown

Spanish Subtitled

Title	Episodes	Release Date	Run Time
Batman:Mask of the Phantasm	Feature film	26 April 1994	77 minutes
Adventures of Batman & Robin: Robin	"Robin's Reckoning Part I" & "Robin's Reckoning Part II"	7 October 1997	40 minutes
Adventures of Batman & Robin: Riddler	"If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" & "Riddler's Reform"	7 October 1997)	40 minutes
Adventures of Batman & Robin: Two-Face	Shadow of the Bat Part 1" & "Shadow of the Bat Part 2"	7 October 1997)	45 minutes
Adventures of Batman & Robin: Joker	"Christmas With The Joker" & "The Laughing Fish"	7 October 1997	42 minutes
Adventures of Batman & Robin: Batman	"Dreams in Darkness" & "Beware the Gray Ghost"	7 October 1997	40 minutes
Adventures of Batman & Robin: Fire & Ice	"Fire From Olympus" & "In Deep Freeze"	7 October 1997	46 minutes
Adventures of Batman & Robin: Penguin	"Birds of a Feather" & "The Mechanic"	7 October 1997	46 minutes

DVD

Region 1

Warner Home Video 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. 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. The DVD was originally on sale for a limited time only and went out of print in January 2009. Warner Home Video then released a second printing of the DVD in May 2009, but withdrew the DVD in August 2009.

DVD Name	Episode #	Release Date	Additional Information
Batman: The Animated Series " Volume 1	28	July 6, 2004	Commentary on "On Leather Wings" and "Heart of Ice" "The Dark Knight's First Night" Featurette "Batman: The Legacy Continues" Featurette Tour of the Batcave Trailers
Batman: The Animated Series " Volume 2	28	January 25, 2005	Commentary Tracks Robin Rising Featurette Gotham's Guardians Featurette Voices of the Knight Featurette
Batman: The Animated Series " Volume 3	29	May 24, 2005	Audio and Video Commentaries Extra Animated Cell 4"x6" In Some Sets Gotham's New Knight "? Featurette on Batgirl as Batman's Newest Ally
Batman: The Complete Animated Series	109	November 4, 2008	All 85 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series All 24 episodes of The New Batman Adventures 40 page collector book

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 are exclusive to the retail chain HMV in the United Kingdom.
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. Volume 2 was released in the same way on March 3, 2009. As of 2012, Volumes 3 & 4 are availabile to buy with Regions 1 / 2 / 3 & 4 compatibility.

In Bulgaria, Volumes 1 and 2 were released in early 2006. Each disc was sold separately in amaray case. They were Regions 2 and 5.

Region 3

In China, 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.

Region 4

In Australia, Volume 1 was released on October 19, 2005, but nothing has ever been released since. Volumes and the boxset are available at websites like eBay.com, Amazon.com and Quicksales.com. All four seasons are also available on the Australian iTunes Store.

Video games

Several video games based on the animated continuity were released during the 16-bit game-machine era, using the The Adventures of Batman & Robin second season branding. Konami developed a game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), while Sega released versions of the game for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Mega-CD and Game Gear. The SNES, Genesis/Mega Drive and Game Gear versions were side-scrolling action games, while the Mega-CD version featured a 3-D driving adventure. All of the games had art true to the series, while Sega's versions featured art elements directly from the show's creators. The CD version has over 20 minutes of original animated footage comparable to the most well crafted episodes, with the principal voice actors reprising their roles. The critical reception of these games were varied but above average.

There was also a game made for the Game Boy based on the series and created around the same time. Developed and published by Konami, this game was distinctive upon the fact that it still used the earlier Batman: The Animated Series moniker instead of the The Adventures of Batman & Robin second season title given to the other games.

Though not directly related, the 2009 game Batman: Arkham Asylum features some of the old voice talent from Batman: The Animated Series reprising their roles, and the 2011 game Batman: Arkham City features Batman, Robin and Catwoman's costumes from the series as downloadable content.

See also

• Gotham Girls