Animation / Cartoons | ***Dave Does the Blog

Movie Trailers before “Superman”

A good set of trailers is like a great hors d’oeuvre!

I write down the trailers we saw so you don’t have to!

Well, it would be kind of weird if you wrote down the movie trailers we saw. Just saying.

Project Hail Mary — Ryan Gosling vehicle from the novel by Andy Weir (The Martian). Looks like it has much the same techie gravitas that The Martian had, but with a bit more Ryan Gosling humor and a bit more weirdness. That said, after the trailer, I feel like we’ve seen much of the film. I might watch this on streaming. Or an international airplane ride.

The Naked Gun — I knew Frank Drebbin. I grew up reciting lines from Frank Drebbin. You, Liam Neeson, are no Frank Drebbin. Okay, I guess you’re supposed to be Frank Drebbin, Jr., which makes me feel very old. Anyway, I’m not sure if it’s fondness for the old, or the attempt to update the zany Police Squad humor for a new generation, but the trailer just didn’t click for me. The lack of Abrahams/Zuckers involvement may not have helped.

The Bad Guys 2 — Huh. Does this mean I have to watch The Bad Guys 1? Actually, I’m a sucker for a caper film, so this might go on the “international flight” list.

Fantastic Four: First Steps — Well, I already knew I was going to this one (tickets pre-bought). I’m a little worried that they are showing too much in the current trailer (plot-wise and punchline-wise), a classic complaint about movie ads these days. But I’m still liking what I see. Except maybe for Ben’s beard (!?!).

Caught Stealing — Um … this one didn’t strike me as particularly appropriate for the crowd at Superman, which involved a lot of adults, but also quote a few kids. I mean, it’s being tagged as a “dark comedy” but also a “psychological thriller” and, based on the trailer, a pretty violent example of both. Not my cuppa, but also not what I’d want my 10-year-old watching.

Time for an interlude. How about a commercial … advertising for … the Navy SEALs? Apparently they’re recruiting.

One Battle After Another — Another one that seemed a bit dark for the Superman audience. Another “dark comedy.”

Wicked 2 — Or Wicked: Step Into the Light or Wicked 2: Flying Monkey Boogaloo, or something else inspiring. Looks big and glossy and colorful and even somewhat interesting, and all I could think was, “Jeez, I better watch the first one some time soon.” Will likely be streamed.

Odyssey — Given that I’ve a long love of Greek myths and Homer, and my son was a classics major, that we are going to see this is very much a no-brainer. I can’t see we saw anything spectacular in the trailer, but it certainly has a really cool vibe.

(The trailer we saw is not yet on YouTube.)

Cat in the Hat — I had no idea this was coming out, so … mission accomplished, I guess. I don’t think I’m likely to see it (I’m pretty Old School 2-D when it comes to my Cat), but it doesn’t affect me like fingernails on the chalkboard as the Mike Myers thing did just a few ~~years~~ decades ago.

So a few hits in there, a few things I’m looking forward to in some form. Which is kind of nice.

Movie previews we saw before “Captain America: Brave New World”

Watching the pre-movie trailers is always fun.

We went to see Captain America: Brave New World on its opening Saturday — a key moment for movie studios to advertise upcoming flicks they think that audience will want to come see.

Here are the trailers they fed us (with IMDb links for more info, the trailers themselves, etc.):

Novocaine: Looks like an action-comedy featuring a guy who feels no pain. Which, in real life, is really very dangerous (pain is an important way to keep us from burns and dismemberment), but here is being played for yucks as he tries to rescue his kidnapped girlfriend. I mean, I like Jack Quaid, but this makes me a little queasy.

Warfare: Looks like a gritty, meant-to-be-realistic view of modern warfare, based on the memories of a former Navy SEAL and his time in Iraq. From what I know (which is not a lot), it certainly looks realistic. Which, to my mind, is a great reason not to plan to go see it, because honestly I like my violence a little cartoony.

The Accountant 2: Another in the “cool guy who is a lethal weapon and tackles his job with casual aplomb” genre of films, starring Ben Affleck. I didn’t see the first one, and I don’t see anything here that has me rearing to go and catch the new one, which introduces a “buddy film” vibe by also include the protagonist’s equally-lethal brother.

Sinners: This looks intriguing, lots of interesting visuals, music, FX, period piece (20s-30s) around a pair of black brothers who return to their home town, only to find a Sinister Evil has taken root and etc. etc. I don’t anticipate going to see it because I am not a horror film guy, but it sure looks well done.

Jurassic World: Rebirth: I had no idea the franchise was continuing onward, this time with action hero Scarlett Johansson and all the dinosaurs that the original Jurassic Park deemed “too dangerous” to have at their amusement park. Looks like lots of CG dinosaurs, lots of guns, lots of action and danger and (I suspect) red shirts. Maybe if I ever get caught up with the franchise I’ll watch it on an airplane flight to somewhere.

How To Train Your Dragon: See! Companies other than Disney can ransack their IP to make oodles of money recycling animated features as live-action-except-for-all-the-CG features! What I saw in the trailer looked pretty good — but the original HTTYD looked (and still looks) pretty good so this one goes in the “when it’s streaming somewhere for super-cheap” stack.

Fantastic Four: First Steps: The same trailer as has been running on TV, only up on a great big screen, which looks pretty darned awesome. I am already planning on seeing this, so the trailer just made me re-aware that it’s one of the three MCU films coming out this year.

Thunderbolts*: Again, this trailer has been on TV already, so it’s just getting to see it embiggened. Still looks like fun, with an obvious “Suicide Squad, only in the MCU” vibe to it (and maybe a bit of that old fave, Mystery Men). Already marked on my calendar.

So there you have it — the only films I’m likely to see from that batch of trailers are the two I was already intending to see. Still, I don’t mind being exposed to some things I likely otherwise wouldn’t know about, so there’s that.

Movie Review: “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (2023)

A more-than-worthy successor to the first film, full of fun, drama, and spectacle.

I won’t talk specifics, but this is a sequel that is at least an equal of the first film, possibly its superior.

By having a commitment to a third film, the creative team could lean into richness of characterization, and creating a cast with depth and texture. Presumably the production was all of a continuum (the third film comes out next year), and that allowed some powerful development to be teed up and fulfilled.

Visually, the film is stunning, playing with color, texture, medium, style, focus and orientation. The animation is amazing in its variety and quality, truly cinematic in everything from quiet dialogue scenes to crazy four-dimensional action sequences.

Writing-wise, the story arguably more complex than Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — again, leaning into having two films to follow up from that first film. But the through-lines are strong — growth, autonomy, destiny, truth, lies, identity. All the primary characters (and there are several) face challenges and conflicts, sometimes with each other. The dive into Spider-Man lore and creating a meta-narrative out of is brilliant.

At the same time, as serious as things get (and they do get damned serious), there is also a tremendous amount of fun, playing with a vast array of Spider-folk (many from canon, many invented for the purpose), as well as others people and places. That contrast between fun and wonder and gut-wrenching drama makes this a pretty special movie, even without its merits as animation or as a super-hero tale.

The music isn’t necessarily my personal cuppa, but it works with the imagery and the action. The voice talent, as with the first film, is top-notch.

All in all, I couldn’t ask for anything better, other than that “To Be Continued” at the end.

This review first appeared, in an earlier form, on Dropbox.

Trailers before “Eternals”

A couple of things I’m interested in, plus an annoying non-movie advert.

I always fine fascinating the question of what’s advertising before which film.

House of Gucci — Gee, a shame they couldn’t find any decent names for this film. But seriously, this is definitely a movie I will not be seeing, but I very much look forward to reading all the articles about it and the story behind it.
Clifford the Big Red Dog — I will likely not go because it is waaaaay too cute, but it looks like a great film for the kids. Even if it doesn’t have The Song.
Morbius — Never one of my go-tos in Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, but this looks nicely dark and creepy. Unlikely to go, as it’s not my wife’s cuppa, but it’s definitely a fresh, horror-tinged leaning into that tormented anti-hero vibe. Better than, alas …
The Batman — I confess I am sooooooo tired of Batman as tormented, anti-hero, insane, vengeance machine, out-grim-grittying-teeth-grinding each previous version in some weird attempt to turn him into an actual villain. Frankly, I think the trend has been out of control since Batman: The Animated Series wrapped up. So, no, I don’t think I’ll be going.
Sing 2 — I did not see the first one, but, damn, if this ad doesn’t make me want to see this one.
[Regal Theaters … why the hell is there a freaking crypto.com commercial in the middle of my movie previews? Also, “Fortune Favors the Brave” is not an investment strategy, no matter how buff Matt Damon looks.]
The King’s Man — Same ad as we saw last going. Looks fun, more so than the original Millar outing.
Encanto — I feel a bit like I am seeing the entire movie, bit by bit, as Disney keeps revising the commercials. But … I will still probably go, because it looks soooooo good.

TV Review: Invincible, Season 1 (2021)

This bloody take on four-color teen heroes is even better, and bloodier, on-screen.

Yeah, there are spoilers here. Sorry. TL;DR: Bloody, but good.

I was a big follower of Robert Kirkman’s Invincible from Day 1 to its conclusion, and I have a complete set of the graphic novels. So I was both looking forward to, and prepared for, the animated series airing on Amazon Prime.

Sort of.

On one level, Invincible is the tale of a high school kid who finally inherits the super-powers he expected from his dad, a Superman-type called Omni-Man. The tale is full of teen angst, learning capabilities, trying to mature, dealing with girlfriends and best friends and having to duck out (yet again) to save the world. It’s conventional in a lot of ways, but well done for all that.

Mark Grayson and his fellow students — It’s like Riverdale, only with super-powers

The other level is a darker story, of nothing being what it seems. The various other heroes we meet are full of egos, short tempers, and bad personalities. The Global Defense Agency, run by Cecil Stedman, is big picture enough that it engages in sketchy behavior to maintain world order. And, after a relatively idyllic first episode of Mark gaining and learning about his powers, training with his dad, and getting both a costume and a code name …

… his father, Omni-Man, ambushes and kills the Justice League-esque Guardians of the Globe.

And not in a “ha-ha, secret death gas that quietly and cleanly makes them softly collapse” kind of way. It’s a bloody, brutal, flesh-crunching, ichor-spattering, dismembering sort of battle. Superman taking out the Justice League, any way he can. Which Kirkman’s original comic did, but which has a greater impact in animation than on the still page.

Invincible - Omni-Man — Omni-Man has a bad day

That sets the tone for Invincible — a lot of “normal” comic book action, but, when violence occurs, a brutality that is hypothetically realistic (what would it look like if Superman punched someone in the face with all his strength?) but also shocking in its gore factor.

This is a comic book series not for kids. R-rated, at the very least.

That said, it all works, at least for me. The tension between that juxtaposition, the mystery of why Omni-Man killed those super-heroes, and if, and how, his guilt will be unveiled, and what that will mean for his marriage and to his son, Mark — that’s hanging over the season like a sword, and when it finally drops, it is utterly a game-changer, and about has violent as you can imagine a fight between a really pissed-off Superman and an equally angry Superboy could be.

The show all also a rare opportunity for a creator — Robert Kirkman (of Walking Dead fame) — to collaborate on redoing a major opus of his for a new medium and to clean up and improve his story. Which he actually does. As I got into the series, I went back and reread those early graphic novels. Kirkman maintains all the dramatic beats and characters and challenges, but he largely improves on them, tightens them up, makes them work as a coherent tale. Distractions get trimmed. Core development gets better focus. Time frames are accelerated/compressed. Some ethnic diversity gets introduced in some key roles (on screen and in the voice work). It’s overall a better tale in this retelling.

Invincible - Amber — Mark’s sometimes-girlfriend Amber gets recast to add diversity. She’s also rewritten as a better, stronger character.

Invincible is not for everyone. My sainted wife dealt with the series gamely until the final installment. Graphic super-hero violence is on display — not gratuitously, nor incessantly, but, like real-world violence (and this is sort of the point) slamming onto the scene just when you least expect it. Kirkman wants to address what it means when someone throws a bus full of people, or demolishes a building, or what happens when an alien invasion lands downtown and those aren’t convenient “disintegrators” they’re wielding.

Invincible trying to save people — And not all stories have happy endings.

But he also wants to give us coming of age tales, teens with power figuring out what those abilities mean, how they should or shouldn’t use them, and why, and what sort of codes of morality they’re going to adopt as they get faced with life-and-death decisions. Mark, as Invincible, is the focus here, but there’s a large cast, and everyone has moral and ethical dilemmas they have to face.

Invincible cast — Some of the (large) cast of Invincible. Kirkman does great names.

The animation, from Korea, is top-notch, and very much in line with the original artwork by Ryan Ottley and Cory Walker. The voice talent is good (even if some of the casting doesn’t altogether work for me), and the story fully engaged me, even knowing where things were leading.

Invincible comic art — Invincible and Atom Eve, comic art

Invincible and Atom Eve animated — Invincible and Atom Eve, animated. They did a great job with the clean style from the comics (except that Eve’s chest logo usually looked like it was a Venus symbol with an X on it, not with an electron cloud).

Looking forward to Season 2. If you have Amazon Prime, and don’t mind some impactful (but meaningful) gore, it’s highly recommended. Rating:

Invincible — For all the pain and angst, the joy Mark has while flying is always a great thing to see.

Do you want to know more?

RIP, Jack Sheldon

As we roll credits on that distinctive “Schoolhouse Rock” voice.

Jack Sheldon, jazz musician who lent voice to many Schoolhouse Rock videos of the 1970s, has passed away, age 88.

Two of his most famous hits were “Conjunction Junction” …

… and “I’m Just a Bill” …

He actually played a role in a number of the Schoolhouse Rock videos:

– The Little Things We Do (2009) … Vocals (voice)

– Report from the North Pole (2009) … Vocals (voice)

– FatCat Blue: The Clean Rivers Song (2009) … Fat Cat Blue (voice)

– Windy and the Windmills (2009) … Vocals (voice)

– Presidential Minute (2002) … Vocals (voice)

– I’m Gonna Send Your Vote to College (2002) … Boothy (voice)

– Where the Money Goes (1995) … Dad (voice)

– The Tale of Mr. Morton (1993) … Vocals / Mr. Morton (voice)

– Busy Prepositions (1993) … Vocals (voice)

– Them Not-So-Dry Bones (1979) … Vocals (voice)

– The Energy Blues (1979) … Earth (voice)

– The Body Machine (1979) … Vocals (voice)

– Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla (1977) … Albert Andreas Armadillo (voice)

– Mother Necessity (1976) … Vocals (voice)

– I’m Just a Bill (1976) … Bill (voice)

– Conjunction Junction (1973) … Conjunction Junction Conductor (voice)

Sheldon was a noteworthy trumpeter, as a number of his other IMDb credits show. He was part of Jack Webb’s stable of actors for Dragnet and Adam-12, and served nearly two decades as Merv Griffin’s music director and “sidekick”.

Thank you, Mr. Sheldon, for your talent and for the many memories you left us, especially those educational earworms.

So, tell me again why we have a new kinda-live-action “Lion King”?

Besides the obvious.

That is, besides the fact that it will make Disney massive amounts of money. Which I don’t begrudge them because, well, they’re making something that people will spend money on because they want it.

I just don’t quite get it myself. I like the original just fine. The trailer shows some (mostly) very impressive CG, and looks to be a faithful rendition of the “original,” but … nothing that makes me want to shell out theater prices. Or, honestly, even video prices. Maybe, at some point, streaming prices, but nowhere near the top of my list.

I guess what I’d like to see with these live-action remakes, if not a shot-for-shot of the original (purely from a technical perspective), is something that actually reshapes the story along the way. Gives it a new perspective. Alters the tone, or the focal lesson, something. Justifies a remake artistically, not just financially.

That’s likely the last thing Disney would ever do, because changing things artistically would possibly endanger that financially part of the equation. It would just make me feel better.

Still, pretty. They’re still struggling with having animals “talk” in a consistently non-uncanny-valley fashion, but pretty.

Ingress, the … Animated Series?

I was, um, very big into Ingress when it kicked off and for several months thereafter. I'm curious as to what this series will look like, and also what the revamped game will do with lessons learned both from the original and from Niantic's Pokemon GO augmented reality game (which I dabbled with but never quite got into in the same way).

#gaming

‘Ingress: The Animation’ Coming to Netflix (EXCLUSIVE) – Variety

Original Post

We Binge-Watched Season 6 of “Voltron: Legendary Defender”

Which is not the sort of thing we usually do in this household, but was relatively easy to do in an evening, because it's only seven whole episodes.

But it's seven whole great episodes. And while there are some story threads I could imagine expanding into more time than given, it rally didn't feel like they compromised on the overall story they were trying to tell. Indeed, they had enough time to include a truly delightful done-in-one ep that deserves to be a trope in many other shows. Or maybe its own series.

I won't spoil anything, but there's some fine cuing up for Season 7, which apparently is a thing, thank heavens. [1]

Good times.

—-

[1] MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR S. 6 ==> http://comicbook.com/anime/2018/06/22/voltron-season-7-netflix-what-to-expect/ <== MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR S. 6

Original Post

Happy 30th Birthday to "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"

A cool article about the movie and about how groundbreaking Bob Hoskins' acting as Eddie Valiant was.

Bob Hoskins Invented the Modern Blockbuster Performance in ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’
Robert Zemeckis’ 1988 masterpiece turns 30, and Bob Hoskins in Who Framed Roger Rabbit pinpoints the exact creation of modern Hollywood acting.

Original Post

No-Spoiler Movie Review: “Incredibles 2” (2018)

Our family is big fans of the original Incredibles movie. After a 14-year wait, can even Brad Bird and Pixar give us something that could live up to expectations?

In short? It was worth the wait.

1. The movie, plot-wise, manages to echo the original’s themes (family, family roles, supers in society) in a way that expands on them, not repeating them.

2. The artwork / animation is also clearly an evolution from the original — nothing radical, but with a lovely increase in detail and texture. This is a successor, but with 14 years of improvement in CG animation.

3. As with the art, the story, too, is more finely textured than the original. It’s a more complicated tale, with many more characters to work with. And yet it still works, and remains understandable. The complexity doesn’t lose the core of the story — this very special family and their friends and their dreams of both normalcy and greatness.

I’m very impressed, because there are so many ways this could have gone wrong — a repeat of the original, or shooting off in an odd or different direction, or (the fatal flaw of so many sequels) an exaggeration of the “best” parts of the original (cranking those elements up to 11, and discarding the rest).

Bird and Pixar have managed to avoid all of that. This could have actually worked as the first movie in a series. Good stuff.

4. As I mentioned, there is a raft of new characters, and we get just enough detail from enough of them to make them feel fleshed out. That, too, is a delicate balancing act, and one that works.

5. The movie is much more real-world in its setting than the original’s focus on Nomanisan Island. And it’s beautifully done, with a dazzling modern take on Mid-Century Modern style.

6. In some very real ways, Frozone is the most demonstrably bad-ass character in the movie. At the same time, I am very ready to meet his wife, Honey.

7. There is some remarkable heroism in this movie. There’s one that comes up late in the film that I won’t detail, but that was noteworthy in its difference from the original.

8. There are some media properties used as background — again, some fine representations of mid-century aesthetic — that I very much appreciate.

9. We saw the movie in 3-D. I was intentional about this, because I thought that the style would make good use of that third dimension, and it did. I’m sure it’s also fine in 2-D, but 3-D was quite nice.

10. There is no end-of-titles tag scene, but not only are the credits nicely enhanced all through, but there are some musical elements late in the credits that are definitely worth sitting there for.

Excellent movie. Very glad we went.

. . .

Okay, the elephant in the room: Did I like it better than the original?

Nope. But I like it nearly as much, and I could see resetting that conclusion upward in a few years, after I’ve had a chance to see it several more time.

In Album 6/16/18

Original Post

Waiting for the “Incredibles”

Tickets bought for this weekend. Definitely eager to see Incredibles 2.

(This HT is for the original, but it whet my appetite still more.)

Original Post

TV Cartoons of Saturdays Past

For those who wonder why I am how I am today, I blame Saturday Morning Cartoons. This crop is from when I was in kindergarten or so, and (aside from Casper) I was an avid viewer of most of these at one time or another.

Original Post

The next Star Wars TV show gets announced

Welcome to Star Wars Resistance, set in the pre- Force Awakens universe.

StarWars.com is thrilled to announce that production has begun on Star Wars Resistance, an exciting new animated adventure series about Kazuda Xiono, a young pilot recruited by the Resistance and tasked with a top-secret mission to spy on the growing threat of the First Order. … Featuring the high-flying adventure that audiences of all ages have come to expect from Star Wars, Star Wars Resistance — set in the time prior to Star Wars: The Force Awakens — will feature the beloved droid BB-8 alongside ace pilots, colorful new characters and appearances by fan favorites including Poe Dameron and Captain Phasma, voiced by actors Oscar Isaac and Gwendoline Christie, respectively.

Though David Filioni and a bunch of other Clone Wars and Rebels folk are in charge again, there’s no word (yet) about the dangling Rebels story lines that remain out there. Still, given the folk involved, I’m definitely on-board.

Star Wars Resistance, All-New Anime-Inspired Series, Set for Fall Debut | StarWars.com
Lucasfilm announces Star Wars Resistance, an all-new animated and anime-inspired series that will focus on the era before Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

View on Google+

The return of “Rocky and Bullwinkle”?

So the general zaniness seems there, and the art style a modern equivalent to the Jay Ward animation of that early 60s era.

What the film clip doesn’t show is whether they’ve managed to slip in the sort of political commentary that the original had in abundance. That might seem more difficult in this era of polarization, but it would be a shame if that element were missing.

New ‘Rocky and Bullwinkle’ Series Heads to Amazon Along with Another ‘Kung Fu Panda’ Show
The first Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle trailer has arrived to tease the new show coming to Amazon Prime in May. Plus, later this year will see a new Kung Fu Panda series added to the streaming service too.

View on Google+

The “Incredibles 2” Official Trailer

The good:

The Incredibles!
It looks like they’ve successfully spanned the difference between the CG of the original and the stuff that can be done today. It looks very nice, but also clearly an Incredibles movie.
More Elastigirl! Woot!

The problematic:

I didn’t see anything that really surprised me. Family sitcom, in both situation and comedy. Granted, it’s a short little trailer, and I really don’t want massive spoilers. But I’ve been worried about what they’ll do here, and the answer seems to be “When the wife gets the big important job and the husband has to stay home to watch the kids, hilarity ensues!” — and while that can (and, from the look of things, will) be funny, it’s also not exactly ground-breaking.

Not that anything is going to keep me out of the theaters the weekend of June 15th, but I’m not feeling quite as optimistic as I’d like.

View on Google+

The “Star Wars Rebels” Finale

[No spoilers, I hope, but I can’t speak for the comments.]

The kid and I watched the final six episodes of Star Wars Rebels last night, which were tremendously fine, lots of fun, wrapped up a ton of plot points, set up some new ones for a future David Filoni production, and revealed the secret behind the voice of Chopper.

All in all, good stuff.

The finale episode … Some Q&A: … Rebels Recon (with an interview of Filoni)

When Rebels started up (in the premature ashes of Clone Wars), I enjoyed it but was a bit disappointed for the narrower scope, the focus on the kid, the apparent Disneyfication of the tale. But even if that was an accurate description at the time, the saga grew substantially over the years into something really, really cool, pulling in elements from Clone Wars (and other bits of Star Wars lore) and making a something quite enjoyable.

I’ll miss it, but I’m glad it had an awesome wrap-up.

View on Google+

Cruz says the the Dems are Lisa, the GOP are Homer, Marge, Maggie, and Bart

What?

At CPAC (the annual Conservative Political Action Committee conference), Ted Cruz said in his speech, “The Democrats are the party of Lisa Simpson and Republicans are happily the party of Homer, Bart, Maggie and Marge.”

So the Dems are a mature, intelligent, agency-filled, loving girl, and the GOP are the generational icon of a doofus, his juvenile delinquent son, his pacifier-sucking baby, and his confused, enabling wife?

Tell us more, Ted.

Ted Cruz claims “The Simpsons,” minus Democrat Lisa, for Republicans — and gets roasted for it
Not sure if Cruz intended for the remark to be a compliment, but Lisa is by far the smartest character on the show

View on Google+

“Batman: The Animated Series” is coming to Blu-Ray

Welp, that’s going on the Christmas list … in 2018. There’s discussion in the comments about what the Blu-Ray release will improve from the DVD box sets — the picture should be crisper, and the sound quality likely better. For me the big bonus is freeing up about three inches of video shelf space.

I just posted the other day about some of the history behind BTAS. The article quoted there, plus this announcement, are part of the 25th Anniversary (!) of the show, which was a ground-breaking super-hero animation effort in style and substance. Glad to see it’s going to be getting a more convenient format with better quality.

At Long Last, Batman: The Animated Series Is Coming to Blu-Ray
Batman: The Animated Series turned 25 this past September, and while it’s one of the most beloved animated shows of the past three decades, it’s been confined to DVD box sets for years. That’s about to change, because the animated Dark Knight is finally coming to HD.

View on Google+

An Oral History of “Batman: The Animated Series”

BTAS was groundbreaking, a revolutionary taking of super-hero cartoons as something potentially serious and cinematic, not “The Justice Friends Meet the Harlem Globe-Trotters” kind of 2nd Grade low-quality silliness.

This lengthy article has quotes from the major creators of the series — producers, writers, artists, and voice actors. They emphasize how special BTAS was — and still is.

An Oral History of ‘Batman: The Animated Series’

View on Google+