What can you say about a campy cartoon based on a campy television show done in the 1960's? You can go in one of three directions: A) it doesn't work; B) it works very well; and C) it works most of the time.
I'm going to go with C. I grew up watching the show in the '60's, so I knew about the formula from Day One. And the formula here isn't any different. In this rendition, Batman and Robin return to foil the canonical dastardly group of super-villains who have acquired a duplicator ray and threaten to copy the Earth itself.
Batman to the rescue! Taking on the Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman, and the Riddler--not to mention an equally dastardly spray that turns Batman evil--good triumphs once again.
Good points. It was nice to hear Adam West and Burt Ward reprising their roles as Batman and Robin respectively. Julie Newmar is terrific as Catwoman, and the other voice roles, particularly the super-villains, are handled surprisingly well, considering the originators of the voices are no longer on this plane of existence.
There is also a lot of sly humor, references to the 1989 Batman movie, and Frank Miller's Batman--"This is an operating room, and I'm the surgeon"...that line has always stood out to me.
Downer points. The animation is good, not great. It seems that DC cut a few corners in its animation department. It isn't terrible by any means, but it isn't memorable, either. You can also hear the age in Adam West's voice, although Burt Ward still sounds like his old self. Julie Newmar is somewhere in between.
That aside, the reaction shots--face palms, grins, nods to the camera--seem out of synch, almost telegraphed. There weren't too many, but they were noticeable.
All in all, though, this was an enjoyable Bat-Swing down nostalgia lane, and it was great to hear Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar do what they do so well. Long live the Bat...and thank you, Adam West and company, for making this viewer's childhood fun.
I'm going to go with C. I grew up watching the show in the '60's, so I knew about the formula from Day One. And the formula here isn't any different. In this rendition, Batman and Robin return to foil the canonical dastardly group of super-villains who have acquired a duplicator ray and threaten to copy the Earth itself.
Batman to the rescue! Taking on the Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman, and the Riddler--not to mention an equally dastardly spray that turns Batman evil--good triumphs once again.
Good points. It was nice to hear Adam West and Burt Ward reprising their roles as Batman and Robin respectively. Julie Newmar is terrific as Catwoman, and the other voice roles, particularly the super-villains, are handled surprisingly well, considering the originators of the voices are no longer on this plane of existence.
There is also a lot of sly humor, references to the 1989 Batman movie, and Frank Miller's Batman--"This is an operating room, and I'm the surgeon"...that line has always stood out to me.
Downer points. The animation is good, not great. It seems that DC cut a few corners in its animation department. It isn't terrible by any means, but it isn't memorable, either. You can also hear the age in Adam West's voice, although Burt Ward still sounds like his old self. Julie Newmar is somewhere in between.
That aside, the reaction shots--face palms, grins, nods to the camera--seem out of synch, almost telegraphed. There weren't too many, but they were noticeable.
All in all, though, this was an enjoyable Bat-Swing down nostalgia lane, and it was great to hear Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar do what they do so well. Long live the Bat...and thank you, Adam West and company, for making this viewer's childhood fun.
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