Also, the new Batman cartoon blows

[coldcut]

Completely and utterly. It's like it's written by the same people who did Scooby Doo.

[Joe Schmoe]

Saw one episode, and wanted to die.

[AfterglowNoMore]

Yeah, why did they redesign the Joker? He just looks ridiculous. And I know about looking ridiculous.

[Blackbat]

The best word I can describe it with is "Soft". The original Batman: The Animated Series, had a gritty feel to it. Made it feel like what Gotham would really look like.

Plus, once you've heard Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamil as Joker there is no going back to a half-assed versions.

I'll stick to watching Teen Titans and JLU.

[8 Ball]

Anyone else notice it's done by the same animation team that did the Jackie Chan cartoon? That about did it for me :P.

[coldcut]

The best word I can describe it with is "Soft". The original Batman: The Animated Series, had a gritty feel to it. Made it feel like what Gotham would really look like.

Plus, once you've heard Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamil as Joker there is no going back to a half-assed versions.

I'll stick to watching Teen Titans and JLU.

The original was art. Bruce Timm cut down the level of detail so that he could play with the visuals more, and the result spoke for itself. Also, the writing in the original was perfect. It was adult, but adult-in-public, so it was still alright for children.

I'm not even going to get into criticizing the current pile of crap. I went beyond that when I saw Batman getting beaten up by falling birdcages and going after women like a sappy teenager.

[Blackbat]

IMO Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was the best Batman film ever. If a live film could even come close to that, the Batman franchise would redeem itself.

[Randomus]

Yeah.

It sucks.

A lot.

[WingedAvenger]

There's a new Batman cartoon? When and where?

[AslanC]

I've watched two episodes and even I, who watches most everything Batman (despite not liking the character) couldn't stomach it.

But then I am not a Teen Titans fan either, just too cute for me.

[Esbat]

Maybe if they turned it into a purely Catwoman cartoon I'd watch more than 3 episodes....

[Kinetix]

Isn't it called 'The Batman'

[Blackbat]

(despite not liking the character)

Urge to kill rising.....rising....

There's a new Batman cartoon? When and where?

http://www2.warnerbros.com/thebatman/

[Solario]

Since it hasn't been shown here (and hopefully never will), I can't comment on it, other than what I've heard from others and seen in promos etc. And personally it sounds horrible.

[iggy880]

Totally agreed, darker villains, with batman having eyeballs the size of his head. Also, on the Mr. Freze one I saw, they butcherd the backstory to their own ideas.

[Rottweiler]

Why they feel the need to rewrite Bat-history is beyond me. Take that Dr. Freeze episode... the villians are just fine the way they are. If you don't like their origin, make a NEW villain. Common thief stumbles upon and enters an unstaffed, zero-security but fully-operational cryogenics lab. WTF? Don't even get me STARTED on the Joker. Whatever that guy was, he's got a cool design and all, but he is NOT Joker. Joker is suppose to be a sick, twisted f#ck... feared, not bordering on likeable.

Furthermore, there's no such thing, nor need there be, as a BatWave... and why does it go off to show a NEWS report? Ever heard of police band radio? They tend to know when crime happens sooner than Channel 9, idiot.

I don't so much mind the animation, although its very Xmen Evolution (which pales greatly in comparison with Timm). I just have a TREMENDOUS problem with the ...well, its beyond 'trend,' isnt it?... of people not leaving well enough alone. Animators of the world, STOP STOP STOP this 'revamping, updating' bull$#!t. Here's a kooky idea --

MAKE. SOMETHING. NEW.

Take a minute. Own that concept for a minute. Let it soak in. Now tell me why The GL Corps, Justice Society, Legion, Avengers or (let's take a REAL chance here) an up-and-coming title like Hench (http://www.ait-planetlar.com/hench.shtml) or Common Grounds (formerly 'Holy Crullers!') (http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/news/108843005999259.htm) aren't on my TV screen?

And I leave you with a matter of personal opinion. Stop making cartoons for kids, D@MM!T - they have enough! Screw em!

[Randomus]

There WAS an Avengers cartoon.

It was even worse than this.

[Impact]

There WAS an Avengers cartoon.

It was even worse than this.


Much much much worse..... :shinner:

[Griimace]

Was that the one with the stripper look Hawkeye?

And The Batman wouldn't be that bad if the Dini/Timm version hadn't been made beforehand. How can you possibly compete with that? Also, the redesign of the villains all seem to suck so far. Penguin wasn't bad, at least until he started that Crouching...Hidden... type crap.


BTW, Teen Titans, while very "cute" in the animation, is very dark at times. The Slade episodes, the Brother Blood stuff, the giant robot guy episode, Red X....it's like a gateway drug into Timm's DCU.

[WingedAvenger]

OMG, even looking at the website for this show is enough to scare me off of it permanently. What a hideous-looking show.

[Solario]

I agree with Grimace, while I love Batman: TAS more than Teen Titans, it's actually not bad. At times it's very character driven and while the animations might seem cute, it can be a very dark and well... Good.

[iggy880]

Why they feel the need to rewrite Bat-history is beyond me. Take that Dr. Freeze episode... the villians are just fine the way they are. If you don't like their origin, make a NEW villain. Common thief stumbles upon and enters an unstaffed, zero-security but fully-operational cryogenics lab. WTF? Don't even get me STARTED on the Joker. Whatever that guy was, he's got a cool design and all, but he is NOT Joker. Joker is suppose to be a sick, twisted f#ck... feared, not bordering on likeable.

Furthermore, there's no such thing, nor need there be, as a BatWave... and why does it go off to show a NEWS report? Ever heard of police band radio? They tend to know when crime happens sooner than Channel 9, idiot.

I don't so much mind the animation, although its very Xmen Evolution (which pales greatly in comparison with Timm). I just have a TREMENDOUS problem with the ...well, its beyond 'trend,' isnt it?... of people not leaving well enough alone. Animators of the world, STOP STOP STOP this 'revamping, updating' bull$#!t. Here's a kooky idea --

MAKE. SOMETHING. NEW.

Take a minute. Own that concept for a minute. Let it soak in. Now tell me why The GL Corps, Justice Society, Legion, Avengers or (let's take a REAL chance here) an up-and-coming title like Hench (http://www.ait-planetlar.com/hench.shtml) or Common Grounds (formerly 'Holy Crullers!') (http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/news/108843005999259.htm) aren't on my TV screen?

And I leave you with a matter of personal opinion. Stop making cartoons for kids, D@MM!T - they have enough! Screw em!

Your a post to late on that :D

[Xielos]

And I leave you with a matter of personal opinion. Stop making cartoons for kids, D@MM!T - they have enough! Screw em!

Which is exactly the reason I turned to anime, I'm tired of stupid kid shows :mad:

[Cold Quake]

Gah, I wish they still showed Batman: TAS up here. *sniff*

[Mana Child]

They have the first two seasons on dvd and I think the thrid will be out soon.

[Randomus]

There are lots of adult-oriented cartoons. They're just not based on superheroes. Thanks to that whole CCA/McCarthy/"Seduction of the Innocent" fiasco 50 years ago, comic books are still seen as a children's medium.

Here's a secret: making all the heroes angstbucket antihero badasses in leather isn't helping. That just makes the creators-- and thus the readers-- look 13. No offense Tark.

But there are adult cartoons. Clone High, Undergrads, Drawn Together, Family Guy, Futurama, Quads, Home Movies, the list goes on and on.

[Solario]

I've only seen Futurama, Family Guy and Drawn Together, but those are pretty entertaining.

I just started watching Drawn Together and have to say I love the racist and homophobic princessess.

[Blackbat]

Gah, I wish they still showed Batman: TAS up here. *sniff*

It used to play on Cartoon Network, Family Channel and The WB. I haven't seen one aired since last year though. But I have the DVD's.

[Gaia]

I completely agree with all of you on the fact this new Batman cartoon bites. I could not even make it through the first epsiode. And the toys in the toy store are awful too. Unfortunately my daughter thinks its great and my husband even likes it a bit. Joker is terrible. Re-writing the cannon is terrible and an insult to anyone that knows the characters. Bruce Wayne needs a serious nose job. (You see the size of his schnoz?) and some plastic surgery (his face is kind of squished in my opinion). All it is is a big marketing ploy to get people to buy more toys for their kids who will break them and want more. Not to mention I was forced to reset my blasted vcr because they moved JLU to a later time slot.

[Blackbat]

Not to mention I was forced to reset my blasted vcr because they moved JLU to a later time slot.

Yeah, completely screws up my Saturday night viewing now. It used to be Teen Titans then JLU. Now it's Teen Titans, The Batman and then JLU. What a waste.

On a side note, JLU rocks. I didn't think I would like the big change when they went to Justice League Unlimited because I had loved the first 3 seasons of Justice League just fine. Especially with the Season 3 finale of "Starcrossed". But it's so much better seeing more heroes.

[suburbanhell]

There's a new Batman cartoon? When and where?

Exactly what I was thinking, though right about now I'm thinking I shouldn't bother to watch it, that and "wait Mark Hamil is the Joker?", anyway... O_o

[Blackbat]

Exactly what I was thinking, though right about now I'm thinking I shouldn't bother to watch it, that and "wait Mark Hamil is the Joker?", anyway... O_o

Mark Hamil has the perfect voice for it, he IS The Joker. If you've ever watched BTAS or any of the animated feature films with the Joker in them then you've heard him.

[Esbat]

He's the Joker in BTAS and he's also the Hobogoblin on the 90's Spider-Man cartoon... and Marverick on the Wing Commander cartoon.

[Griimace]

You mean they didn't have Mark Hamill voice The Joker in the new cartoon? Blasphemy. It can't be done. Even the craptastic Birds of Prey show knew better than that.

[Yin]

I'm more pissed it took the time slot of Justice League Unlimited, an actual superhero cartoon show. I wouldn't even consider this new Batman cartoon a superhero show. It's down their with the Teletubbies.

[Half Life]

I watched one episode, the one where Penguin was the main bad guy. As soon as the penguin started jumping around doing all this ninja crap is when i said "screw this, sorry son, but you are not watching this crap" and changed the channel.

[TroubleWolf]

Well, look at the bright side. Sure, the new Batman totally blows. But, hey, at least they didn't screw up any cool comic book legends!

Honestly, people, it's just Batman. Michael Jackson in tights. No big deal. Move along.

[Pitfiend]

Every time I flip by The Batman I inexplicably feel compelled to stop and watch it for a minute to see how they're revamping whatever new character they're revamping, out of the unreasonable hope that they might start doing them right. I'm always wrong about that though. And I always feel a little dirty from the whole experience :mad:

But I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who would wipe their ass with this show if they could. Maybe if we all scream loud enough, someone will hear and flush this crap.

And the Teen Titans are the Man :)

[Jade_Dragon]

And the Teen Titans are the Man :)

"You da man!... um... girl!... um... Way to go!!!"

[Blackbat]

And the Teen Titans are the Man :)

BOOYAH!...

[AfterglowNoMore]

When there's trouble you know what to do... Call Cyborg!
He can shoot a rocket from his shoe... Cause he's Cyborg!

[coldcut]

BOOYAH!...

My personal favorite:

MOO YAH!

[Jade_Dragon]

When there's trouble you know what to do... Call Cyborg!
He can shoot a rocket from his shoe... Cause he's Cyborg!

"Ya da da da big fluffy cat..."

I loved that. :D

[coldcut]

Well, since this thread has gone on for so long, I guess I'll actually go into this.

I have a hard time critiquing this thing without comparing it to the original Animated Series. That's a strike against it in the first place. It's not like the BTAS was that long ago. It's essentially still competing against it's predecessor, and it doesn't stack up as well. But I'll try and do this without comparing it to any predecessors.

The worst problem with the thing is that it's trying to be a cross between a light hearted comic book and the darker movies and animation that's preceded it. So it doesn't pull off either very well. The "comedy" bits are really lame, even if you're a 12 year old. The villains are too stereotypical and they aren't allowed to be violent enough to be really dark. Nobody's ever in any real danger.

If you knew nothing about Batman, you might assume that he's a teenager in this cartoon. For all I know, that may be the premise. For a guy who's trained himself to the pinnacle of human fitness, he turns into a simpering goober anytime he's around anything remotely female. I imagine this is supposed to be a nod to Peter Parker, but Parker was a dork. There were real reasons that girls didn't like him. But Bruce Wayne is tall, rich, suave and handsome. His woman troubles aren't just silly, they're implausible.

The fight scenes are just boring for some reason. Even when characters are moving fast, there's something slow about it. I'm not the most visual guy, so maybe I'm missing something, but I think there's too much reliance on facial expressions in the action sequences.

As I said before, the plot lines read like Scooby Doo scripts. They're just not very good. There's no real mystery going on, there's nothing particularly clever happening, the character interaction is marginal at best...

But I think the most damning bit about the whole thing is that there's no sense of fun to it. Even if the show was completely out of whack with Batman continuity done in a wholely new style and had cheezy plotlines, it could still have been decent. After all, it's basically targeted at children. But it can't decide whether or not to be serious or cartoony, and so it comes off with the worst of both: an adolescent creation that's ashamed of itself.

On the positive side, I kinda liked the theme. But it still wasn't as good as the Danny Elfman original.

[Blackbat]

I agree with all your statements Coldcut. In reality, there are just to many things wrong with this show to even list or to fix. Forget about the look of it, forget about the sub par plots and storylines. Bottom line is that this new, reinvented Batman just sucks. His personality is nowhere near where it needs to be, he's to talkative when in uniform, to happy, he actually has a friend (the cop) and he just seems dimwitted and slow on the uptake.

I don't understand why they felt they needed to recreate the character when they did such a fantastic job the first time around with BTAS. Hell they even did a great job with Batman Beyond by sticking with some of the same writers and voices. Why screw with a good thing? This shouldn't be a Batman show. This should have a whole other name and be about a completely different character. That's how screwed up it is.

[Impact]

They should have just continued Batman Beyond. I really, really liked that show....maybe even more than B:TAS :o

[Sable Phoenix]

Batman Beyond was an extremely worthy successor to the original animated series, at least until season 3 when the writing just tanked. That entire run of the original team headed by Timm and Dini, which included Batman: TAS, Superman: TAS, The New Batman Adventures, and Batman Beyond, as well as two outstanding movies (Mask of the Phantasm and Return of the Joker) and one decent movie (Batman and Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero), will not, I think, ever be equaled again in superhero film. From the way the show just came together in a way that seemed fated, to the absolutely stellar production quality from everyone involved including writers, directors, musicians, actors and anyone else involved with them, to the ability to expand on the mythos while mainting even more faithful to it than the comics do, in my opinion -- there was a magic there that just will not and perhaps cannot be captured again.

By comparison, The Batman is just a travesty.