Despite all the talk of “Who played the best Batman in movies?”, the small screen is often overlooked. Special one performance. Batman: the animated series is a 90s television staple, as well as one of the most groundbreaking animated series of all time. Created by Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Mitch Brian, BTAS somehow perfectly blended a period aesthetic, film noir and comic book sensibility into one seamless show. Countless animated versions of Batman have come and gone in the 30 years since BTAS debuted, and it has yet to be surpassed. Batman: the animated series is the gold standard of The Dark Knight.
With Batman so prevalent in all forms of media, including new series and animated films, Batman: the animated series ever be surpassed? It hasn’t happened yet, but the game has been upgraded with things like Harley Quinn and the DC animated movie universe. Batman: the animated series is a perfect storm of animation, writing and voice acting. Nearly every cell is artistic perfection, each script captures Gotham’s unique goons and heroes, and each voice performance fits its respective character perfectly.
What would it take to beat? Batman: the animated series?
Groundbreaking and Rich Animation from Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: the animated series was and remains a revelation in animation. It featured the best of film noir from a film reel to the animation cel. The visual representation of the characters is minimalistic but also very detailed. Everything from the protagonists to the dark corners and shady alleys was sharply realized by a host of animators. This included Sunrise, Spectrum Animation, Dong Yang Animation and others to realize this unique visual style.
Animation has made technological leaps forward in the three decades since BTAS. Still, the computer-generated landscapes and characters of the DC animated movies and other DC dishes just don’t have the same visual appeal. As good as it looks, modern animation has a neutral sterility to it. It can be compared to an overproduced piece of music; it sounds slick, but loses some of its soul in the process. To make another series come close, they would have to do it by hand rather than a mouse click. That’s right, we’re animation Boomers, and BTAS walked 10 miles in the snow every day to go to school.
Iconic Voice Performances
No matter how many voice actors play Batman or how good they are, no one will ever be able to match Kevin Conroy’s iconic version. There have been some great runners-up in recent years, such as Bruce Greenwood (Under the red hood), Jason O’Mara (DC animated film universe), and Peter Weller (the dark knight returns).
The deep, growling tone with which Conroy scared the criminals of Gotham, interspersed with the scaly nice male voice used for the “fake” Bruce Wayne character, is a one-two combination rarely seen in a single animated character. Conroy’s Batman Is So Good It’s Been Transferred In Countless Justice League-related series and animated films. Conroy even made the leap from the cartoon to the games console and pronounced Batman for the famous Arkham Series. The performance can be ranked as the best Batman of all time, both in animation and live-action, but definitely the former. It is unlikely that a new best-animated Batman will come to defeat BTAS.
The great voices don’t end with Conroy. The Joker by Mark Hamill goes down as an elite takes on the Clown Prince of Crime. The two opponents are made to be complete opposites. Batman is cool and composed, with low notes and little humor, while the Joker is a quip who spins in the air, screeching with high-pitched laughter after each line. Hamill’s Joker can be downright scary when angry, making him a very close second to Heath Ledger’s all-time Joker in The Dark Knight.
BTAS is like a rare band without a bad song; every voice actor does it in this series. Loren Lester’s optimistic and bright Robin serves as a perfect defender of Batman. Weathered but hopeful Bob Hastings’ Jim Gordon plays the duo of vigilantes in their shared frustration with the state of Gotham. Efrem Zimbalist Jr’s wise and wise Alfred Pennyworth is always there with words of reassurance and encouragement. The entire Rogues’ Gallery, from Two-Face to Scarecrow to Mr. Freeze and countless others, speaks with voices that we now read the comics with in our heads. Not to mention the creation of a little character named Harley Quinn in the series. BTAS bats 1,000 for voice acting, a standard unlikely to be surpassed by any new Dark Knight project.
Batman: The Animated Series Elite Script
As good as BTAS was like a child, it still holds up to the adults we have become. It has all the action and fun kids look for in a cartoon, but the scripts are extremely sophisticated, thoughtful exercises when writing on television. Each character is multidimensional and fully fleshed out, thanks to the work of Paul Dini, Sean Catherine Derek and others. The stories and dialogue explored dark and mature themes of loss, anger and redemption. Heavy lifting for younger viewers, but the writing met kids and adults halfway through BTAS.
The best, but not the only one
All this is not to say that there aren’t other great versions of Batman in the animation world. the batter had a very cool twist on the early 2000s character. Jason O’Mara’s long run as Batman in the DC animated movie universe will be hard to beat in the upcoming sequel phase with the title morning fresh. After all, DC is now infamous for having a suspicious track record on the big screen, but a powerhouse on the small.
There will always be a new Batman. Whether in real life for live action or straight to Blu-ray and streaming. It’s a cloak that was handed down literally generations ago, but no one treated that honor better than Batman: the animated series and Kevin Conroy did. And it’s unlikely that any animated series ever will.