THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN: Such great, overdue news…
We’ve been saying for a very long time that Warner Bros. (or Warner Bros. Discovery now) needs to remaster and re-release the 1968 Adventures of Batman cartoon produced by Filmation.
Folks, it’s happening.
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Check out the official news release from Warners (with some editing for brevity):
THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION
POPULAR FILMATION PRODUCTION IS NEWLY REMASTERED FOR ITS FIRST-EVER RELEASE ON BLU-RAY™ STARTING FEBRUARY 28, 2023
BURBANK, CA – One of Filmation’s most beloved animated series has been newly remastered in high definition for release on Blu-ray for the first time ever! Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will distribute The Adventures of Batman: The Complete Collection on February 28, 2023, as a two-disc set featuring all 34 episodes of the classic series for $29.98 SRP (USA) and $39.99 SRP (Canada).
The Adventures of Batman was one of the spotlight animated television series to be produced by Filmation, who generated more than 50 animated series, over a dozen television shorts, specials and movies, and eight feature films. The Adventures of Batman was also paired with another famous DC Super Hero to become The Batman/Superman Hour.
Filmation veteran Olan Soule (Super Friends, The Towering Inferno) provided the voice of Batman, while American Top 40 co-founder & host Casey Kasem (Scooby-Doo franchise) played Robin. The supporting cast featured two-time Emmy Award winner Ted Knight (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Caddyshack) as Commissioner Gordon, Larry Storch (F Troop) as Joker, and Jane Webb (Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Archie Show) as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl.
Soule and Kasem became the reigning voices of Batman and Robin, respectively, for several years as the Dynamic Duo would appear in two The New Scooby-Doo Movies crossovers, various versions of Super Friends, and The New Adventures of Batman.
Premiering on September 14, 1968, The Adventures of Batman also featured Batman’s primary rogues’ gallery at the time – Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, Riddler, Scarecrow, Dollman, Mad Hatter and Simon the Pieman – as well as some notable team-ups of those villains.
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A few thoughts:
— The remastered Filmation Aquaman cartoons are gorgeous, so these should be beautiful too.
— The release is incorrect in one respect: Ted Knight played the show’s villains. Larry Storch did not play the Joker on the ’68 show. That’s an urban legend that will not die.
— It appears the set will include digital versions of the cartoons. What’s not clear is whether they will be able to be purchased from, say, iTunes.
— It’s also not clear when or if they will stream on HBO Max, whose programming decisions can be inscrutable.
— We’ve covered 1968 Filmation Batman up, down and every which way over the years, so make sure you check out the links below.
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MORE
— The FILMATION BATMAN Index. Click here.
— The TOP 13 FILMATION BATMAN Episodes — RANKED. Click here.
November 14, 2022
I look forward to this.
November 15, 2022
Hopefully this will get a region two release
November 15, 2022
Thrilled about this, of course. Still hoping the legal hurdles will be cleared, and we’ll see SUPERBOY, one day.
November 14, 2022
“The Joker” was voiced by Ted Knight, NOT Larry Storch! I fail to see how people can’t tell the difference in the voice patterns of the two actors because Larry Storch has his own peculiar voice pattern, and Ted Knight’s voiceover is absolutely unmistakable! and he Storch didn’t start voicing cartoons with Filmation Associates until 1970 with the debut of CBS”s “SABRINA AND THE GROOVY GOOLIES”, and Hal Sutherland’s son, Keith Sutherland can also verify this fact, so somebody is in total error here! With that said, the BluRay release of “The Adventures of Batman” would really be nice if Warners also included “THE BATMAN-SUPERMAN HOUR” original credit opening, as this was the cartoon debut of Batman & Robin decades before FOX’s “BATMAN-THE ANIMATED SERIES” (Rest In Peace, Kevin Conroy, for your amazing voiceover as Batman!),but Warner Bros. Home Video has a bad track record for not putting exceptional and relevant special features into items like these, and that is insulting! Eventually, they must also include the Superman and Aquaman Filmation cartoons onto Blu Ray as well, and hopefully, with their original credit and title openings, and also, the Superboy segments as well!
November 14, 2022
You’re right about Knight, Joe. I’ve updated the story to reflect that. Storch wasn’t on the ’68 show despite persistent myth.
November 15, 2022
But seems I remember his name (Storch) appearing in the closing credits, under “Voices”. Why would this be?
November 15, 2022
Mandela effect? Check out this video, 1:54 mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82RPenBLqqQ
November 15, 2022
What Joe S. Hill said.
November 14, 2022
The New Adventures of Batman featured Adam West and Burt Ward rather than Soule and Casem.
November 14, 2022
Hopefully there will be a complete Superman set which includes the Superboy shorts.
November 14, 2022
This piece of news sounds very exciting. I’ve seen the ’60s “Batman” shorts back in the ’90s.
November 16, 2022
Never seen this cartoon series but will buy the Blu-Ray.
November 28, 2022
Oh, and just as I finished the dvd version and listened to yourself and John S Drew do the great recap. Oh well, this will be an excuse to watch again 🙂
Hopefully one day all these old Filmation series will see an HD release. Would love to see Sealab 2020 and Journey to the Center of the Earth get a bluray or digital release, however unlikely that is. If for no other reason to preserve them before something happens to the master film stock like it sadly has with numerous series like He-Man etc.