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Batman - The Animated Series - The Legend Begins

Batman - The Animated Series - The Legend Begins

List Price: $14.97
Your Price: $13.47
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Animated Series Ever
Review: There is a large group of people who lavish anime (japanimation)with praise for it's simplistic and stylized look. They must have never seen 'Batman: The Animated Series.' Bruce Timm's emmy-award winning art design and production, creates a sleek, timeless retro-modern look for Gotham City and it's inhabitants. A century from now, this will still look as classy and modern as it does now. This, matched with an incredible writing team headed by Paul Dini and spot-on voice talent including Mark Hamill as the Joker, secures this as the best animated series ever. Yes, even better than 'The Simpsons.'

Warner Bros. has had a poor commitment to TV on DVD. Up until now, everything they've released has been "Best of" compilations. While 'Batman: TAS' isn't being released in seasonal box sets as I'd hoped, it's the first series that Warner Bros. is releasing cronologically (by production order.)

If your a fan of comics, animation, film noir, or a really good mystery, you owe it to yourself to pick this up when it streets in April.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: the DEFINITIVE Batman
Review: There's no doubt about it. This animated series, which was made after the success of the Tim Burton BATMAN films, is regarded by many as the definititive version of the Dark Knight. This DVD contains the first 5 episodes which were produced. Included are 2 episodes featuring Batman's archfoe, the Joker, as well as adventures which introduce the monsterous Man-Bat, the sinister Scarecrow, and the deadly Poison Ivy. Unlike the live-action movies, this series is intelligently plotted and brimming with character depth and motivation. Also, the wonderful music and dark art-deco design (a cross between the 30's and Gothic styles)provides wonderful richness to the whole thing. The voice acting throughout the series is especially top-notch. Kevin Conroy is perfect as both Bruce Wayne and Batman. Mark Hamill, who replaced Tim Curry, shines as the insane Joker. While the DVD is somewhat skimpy on the extras, this is still a series that respects its audience....both young and old alike. Highly recommended for Bat-fans and fans of animation in general.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Great Series, Weak DVD with only 5 of the first episodes
Review: This includes merely the first 5 episodes in the Batman: Animated Series. The series gets better as time goes on, but having the first 5 is kind of interesting. They were just getting started here, so I thought the animation was choppy, and I enjoyed just 2 of the 5 tales, the other 3 are pretty basic plots. The extras on this disc aren't even worth mentioning, one is a mindless game for kids, the type seen in 5 dollar DVDs and the other is very brief video showing you how they draw Batman's face. I disliked the stories with Scarecrow, Poison Ivy and the Man-Bat, the other two are with the Joker and thankfully are better quality, thanks to great writing and Mark Hamill's voice talent as Joker. Hopefully, new B:TAS DVDs will be out sooner and include more for our money.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Classic Comic and an Uncommon Cartoon
Review: This is the beginning of a great series. This version of the Batman legend positively influenced me as a child. It provides adventure marked by a moral hero. I plan to collect this series for future generations in my family. I hope you enjoy this masterpiece too.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Batman reborn
Review: This version of the Batman is the first animated series to capture the true depth of the comic series. The creators of this show really did their homework and it showes. The look of the city, the characters, and even the story lines reflect classic comic book archetypes; yet,this show has a fresh unique style. It feels like the orginal art-deco Batman has been reborn in the modern world. Buy this dvd and every one that comes after it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the dark knight forever
Review: well let me put it like this batman has always been a favorite of mine even when bob kane started batman in 1939 we had and insight to what it was all about i think that we all have a little darkness in us but this movie gives mr kane a thumbs up on his creation it also gives a story on how bruce wayne became batman and mark hamill is especially demented as the joker so my review is thumbs up

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buy the Best Animated Series EVER!!
Review: When this show first came out in 1992 I was spellbound. The stories, the animation and the voice-acting were all superb. Now as I watch it ten years later, it still blows me away. You do not need to justify this purchase. Buy it now, and thank yourself later. It is easily a 5 star DVD. ...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Alright, finally!
Review: While I was hoping WB would release an awesome boxed set featuring every episode (how awesome would that be?!?!), this was a sure surprise. I started watching this series the moment it came out, and I think THIS is truly the way Batman should be portrayed, unlike the cheeseball movies in which he was poorly portrayed. While some origins were tweaked or slightly changed, this is the best comic adaptation to ever come out. Also, while some didn't like it, I LOVED it when the series moved to the WB Network and the animation style changed slightly, removing the stupid yellow and black emblem and replacing it with the traditional solid black logo. I'll never forget how mature some of these episodes were. I just hope WB realizes what a hit they have on their hands and release EVERY episode and bribe Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, and co. to make new episodes.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Rocks
Review: While not up to par with the following seasons, the first season of Batman was one of the best things on at the time, and still is. Fun, clever, and atmospheric.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Oh my Lord...
Review: You know, there are a number of well written televisions shows out there: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Simpsons, X-Files, Angel, Friends, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to name a few.

Who would've ever thought that an ANIMATED show would top 'em all?

This is the Dark Knight in his finest form. The movies and the past TV shows are all put to shame by this wonderfully crafted show. The animation is excellent and the writing is way above par (seriously, Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and the rest of the staff go head-to-head with Joss Whedon [Buffy] and his team in terms of writing dialogue. They are that dang good.)

So on this delightful little DVD, we are treated to the first five episodes produced:

On Leather Wings: The story is really nothing special, but the animation... oh my gosh. It is breathtaking. It's rich, it's smooth, and it really shows the capabilities of the animation team. Rating: **** (out of 5)

Christmas with the Joker: One of the more underrating episodes. Any episode featuring the Joker is a delight for fans of witty dialogue and this is no different. Again, nothing out of the ordinary, just another fun episode. Rating: ***½

Nothing to Fear: Our first look at the Scarecrow. It's a rather bland episode, mainly because I find the Scarecrow at this stage to be rather bland. A typical payback-gone-wrong story. Rating: ***

The Last Laugh: Joker Episode. Excellent Dialogue. This is another one of those Batman-chases-Joker-through-half-the-city-before-catching-him sprinkled with some great dialogue and a KILLER music track. Rating: ****

Pretty Poison: A villian with a cause. This is probably the most interesting episode on the DVD because we get to witness firsthand the origin of one of the more interesting villians, Poison Ivy. Plus, she's kind of hot (okay, so I'm a little whacked) Rating: ****

The Extras: The reason why we buy DVDs... and for the most part, they're not great. The side commentaries are interesting, but that's probably the only extra that's worthwhile. Everything else just seems like filler. This is what essentially brings the rating down to 4 stars.

The final note: Heck, it's Batman the Animated Series! That reason alone should be enough to make you go out and buy this DVD! Yeah, it's not the collection of the best episodes, but hey, we'll get to the good ones eventually. Meanwhile, this should be more than adequate to whet your appetite for future DVD releases.


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