MOVIES & TV | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

Jul20

The Single Best Sequence of FILMATION BATMAN

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Jul 20, 2019

The Single Best Sequence of FILMATION BATMAN

An exciting scene worthy of any Batman movie, show or comic… — UPDATED 7/20/19: John S. Drew and I have wrapped up our episode-by-episode look at Filmation’s 1968 The Adventures of Batman cartoon series with a special overview on The Batcave Podcast. Click here to check it out. I think you’ll dig it. Meanwhile, it’s the perfect time to re-present some fave Filmation columns — including this piece from 2017. Enjoy. — Dan — I’ve been having a blast over at The Batcave Podcast discussing every episode of the 1968 Filmation Batman series. (Click here and here for more on that.) This week, host John S. Drew and I check out How Many Herring in a Wheelbarrow?, a Joker corker by Bill Keenen, and the weak sauce In Again, Out Again Penguin, also by Keenen. (Click here or here to listen, or download it on iTunes — you’ll dig it.) While I still haven’t picked an overall favorite episode yet — though Herring is definitely a strong contender — there’s no question in my mind that the series hit its pinnacle with a single sequence in this entry: When Batman and Robin slide toward their doom, zipping toward a fiery furnace bearing the ebony carved face of the Joker. It’s fantastic and for decades has remained the most memorable aspect of the entire series for me. The set-up is simple: Batman and Robin get lured into a dark room and the Joker taunts them by flashing on full-size wall panels bearing his image. Next thing? A trap door drops the Dynamic Duo onto a slide, as the Joker watches them on CCTV, heckling them all the way: They round a curve and … Awesome. It’s reminiscent of Catwoman’s trap from the live-action episode The Purr-fect Crime. But it’s edited so smartly, with exciting music and quick cuts, that it stands on its own as a 1-minute, 14-second masterpiece until the screen fades as the cliffhanger reaches its climax before the commercial break. (SPOILER ALERT: They escape at the beginning of Part 2.) Anyway, there’s a lot more to recommend the episode and John and I also have fun with the highly questionable logic of the Penguin one-parter that accompanies it. So head on over to The Batcave Podcast here or here or download it on iTunes. You’ll be glad...

Jul19

13 GREAT THINGS About Filmation’s 1968 BATMAN Cartoon

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Jul 19, 2019

13 GREAT THINGS About Filmation’s 1968 BATMAN Cartoon

A groovy classic… — UPDATED 7/19/19: John S. Drew and I have wrapped up our episode-by-episode look at Filmation’s 1968 The Adventures of Batman cartoon series with a special overview on The Batcave Podcast. Click here to check it out. I think you’ll dig it. Meanwhile, it’s the perfect time to re-present some fave Filmation columns — including this 2018 piece celebrating the show’s 50th anniversary. Enjoy. — Dan — I’ve spent quite a bit of time on the Filmation Batman cartoon over the last couple years. It was an indelible part of my childhood and I’ve really enjoyed exploring it in depth, especially on The Batcave Podcast, where host John S. Drew and I have been reviewing every episode. (Click here.) And now we’re at the show’s 50th anniversary. The series debuted Sept. 14, 1968, as part of The Batman/Superman Hour but I was much too young to watch it when it was in first run Saturday mornings on CBS. Instead, I discovered it a few years later in syndication on Channel 5 in New York. Since then, it’s etched itself in my Bat-psyche, an essential part of my formative years as a fan, alongside Batman ’66, Megos, the 1973 Ideal Batman playset and, of course, comic books. If you’d like to check out all of our Filmation Batman coverage – and why wouldn’t you – click here. You’ll find not only a series of features and tributes, you’ll find the links to all The Batcave Podcast episodes on the series. You’ll also find 13 QUICK THOUGHTS: The Kitschy Kick of FILMATION BATMAN, which takes a broad look at what made the show tick. (Click here to jump right to it. Go ahead. We’ll wait.) But for the anniversary, I wanted to hone in on the specifics, the elements that make an often silly cartoon resonate 50 years later. So dig these 13 GREAT THINGS ABOUT THE 1968 BATMAN CARTOON: — 1. Olan Soule as Batman. Adam West may be the era’s definitive screen Batman, but Olan Soule provided him with the perfect voice — so much so that he was later hired by competing studio Hanna-Barbera for Scooby-Doo and Super Friends. Soule’s Batman — and Bruce — was authoritative and confident, the ideal combination for a Silver Age interpretation. I’d even argue that his animated Batman voice was...

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