Post by PreachCaleb on Apr 10, 2018 19:45:47 GMT
Batman: The Animated Series is an inconsistent show. Some episodes were solid, but others ranged from mediocre to downright lousy. The voice acting was pretty stiff in the early episodes and the animation was shoddy on many occasions. I would also say that Harley Quinn is one of the worst things to ever be incorporated into the DC universe, and I really don’t understand why she exists in the first place.
More than solid, Batman the animated series was an Emmy award winning show. Sure there were some stinkers (I will never defend I've Got Batman in My Basement), but at its best, the show phenomenal. Feat of Clay, Two-Face, It's Never Too Late, Heart of Ice, Robin's Reckoning, and The Demon's Quest just to name a few are all brilliant. The voice acting was show stealing. Those actors defined the characters not just for that generation, but for some of the future generations. After all, almost nobody really brings up The Batman when discussing the quintessential versions of the characters.
And apart from a few off-character models, the animation was smooth and immediately caught the eye. Casual audiences immediately could tell what show they were watching. It was as recognizable to Batman as the yellow characters are to the Simpsons. The backgrounds painted on black paper (something which remains unique to BTAS) perfectly fit and enhanced the tone and atmosphere of the show. It was dark, gloomy, gritty, and ground, yet never afraid to be fantastical.
Harley exists to give Joker a more unique, striking mook. Rather than some big tough guy in drabby colors, she's a smaller colorful energetic character. Harley quickly became both a fan and creator favorite and transcended the animated series for those reasons and more, which, yes, does include her backstory.
While we’re at it, I would say that The New Batman Adventures and Batman Beyond are flat out atrocious. I don’t understand how anyone can stand those. TNBA just felt cringeworthy and meatless (and had too much Harley Quinn), while BB felt like it was trying too hard to seem “hip”, and the entire premise of a teenage Batman feels too much like Muppet Babies. They’re just embarrassing.
TNBA, while admittedly not as good as its predecessor, is far from atrocious. The change in animation style allowed for simpler designs leading to more on-character models and even smoother animation. Always a plus. And far from meatless, TNBA had captivating episodes such as Sins of the Father, Girls Night Out, Legends of the Dark Knight, Old Wounds, Over the Edge, and Mad Love.
I fail to see how Batman Beyond would feel like the Muppet Babies, as that show was built on the characters using their imagination to have make-believe adventures, where as BB was an action packed show that followed a broken down Bruce Wayne training the next generation of heroes. And again, it contained some episodes that were outstanding in their characters and stories: Rebirth, Meltdown, Disappearing Inque, and The Call. And of course, this is the show that led to the much lauded Return of the Joker which, up until The Dark Knight, fans referred to as the definitive Joker movie.
The rest of the shows in the DCAU don’t annoy me as much as TNBA and BB, but they aren’t anything special either. Superman: The Animated Series is bland, JL/JLA is average at best, and Static Shock relied way too much on crossovers with other DC characters, in addition to some bizarre celebrity guest appearances. I can’t say I cared for Wonder Woman’s characterization in those shows either.
Superman: the Animated Series did for Clark what BTAS did for Bruce. It made them fully rounded characters with a great supporting cast. Lois, Jimmy, Emil Hamilton, and Lex Luthor are all brought to life not just by the story telling and character driven plots, but by their incredible voice actors. The action was solid. Superman really got to show off all his powers, not just his super strength and flight. The action is thrilling, and I don't think the show's sound design gets enough credit for how good it was.
While BTAS gave birth to the DCAU, STAS opened it up. It brought in The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and of course, the New Gods. It's trilogy of New Gods two-parters (Apokolips, Now; Little Girl Lost; and Legacy) are some of the best episodes, not just of STAS, but the entire DCAU. And it's crossover episodes with Batman are all excellent. In only 90 minutes, World's Finest told a much better story than Batman vs Superman in two and a half hours.
And all of this leads to Justice League. The culmination of the entire DCAU. Rather than average, the creators pushed themselves with what they could do. Not only were the stories all two-parters (what other series, animated or live action, did the same?), but the fights scenes were bigger. More characters, more action. And just as with all the previous shows, it was the personalities of the characters, both heroes and villains, that drove the stories. It wasn't just good and evil, they had motivations beyond that. Justice League Unlimited then took all those fleshed out characters and dropped them into some long term story arcs. Story threads started in one episode would continue throughout others as they built to big season finales.
I never watched Static Shock so I can't comment on its quality. But I did enjoy seeing him cross over onto the JLU in The Once and Future Thing, which brought characters from four shows together: Batman, Batman Beyond, JLU, and Static Shock.
What’s the deal? What reason do people have for continuing to sing praises for those shows, outside of nostalgia?
It's incorrect to assume nostalgia. After all, there are plenty of younger fans of those shows who didn't grow up on them. Nostalgia is enjoying something because we liked it in the past. Fans of the DCAU enjoy the shows, not because of how they made us feel, but because of how they still make us feel.
These are series I will continue to enjoy for many years to come.