When kids of today think of Batman most would draw upon the versions produced
Christopher Nolan or
Zack Snyder, but there is one iconic version that should never be forgotten; in 1966 television producer
William Dozier
cast Adam West as the world renowned Caped Crusader, and not as a the
Dark Knight detective known to comic book readers, but as a straight man
to an array of camp villains and goofy criminal capers. The series
sadly only lasted three seasons but now
Warner Bros. Pictures has given this classic show a little bit of a comeback with an animated movie called
...
Basing an animated movie on a
decades old television show,
one containing a version of Batman far from the grim vigilante today’s
audiences are familiar with, could be considered a bit of a gamble, but
if anyone has seen Zack Snyder’s
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
I’d say the world is in need of a nice jolt of fun lighthearted Batman.
The studio deciding to go the animated route allowed three of the cast
members to return;
Adam West as Batman,
Burt Ward as Robin and
Julie Newmar
as Catwoman are the only actors to reprise their roles, most of the
other cast members have sadly passed away, and as Adam West is no
newcomer when it comes to voice acting things on that score are pretty
safe. As to who provides the voices for the other members of the rogue’s
gallery, Julie Newmar being the only original villain returning,
Warner Brothers decided to just use hard working voice actors from their rooster of animated shows.
Notice the classic “Dutch Tilt” from the original series.
The Joker is voiced by
Jeff Bergman who does a pretty good impression of Cesar Romero, as does
Wally Wingert with his Frank Gorshin impression for the Riddler, but
William Salyers
doesn’t even attempt to mimic Burgess Meredith’s Penguin. That may have
been for the best because as good as Bergman and Wingert’s impressions
were they never quite capture the manic intensity of either Romero or
Gorshin, and when their impressions occasionally slip it makes the fact
that these aren’t the original actors more noticeable. On the positive
side the character designs are bang on, making this movie really look
like a big budget version of the original show, and with the
scintillating tones of Adam West it does seem like a trip back in time.
The
basic story this time out deals with the Joker, Riddler, Penguin and
Catwoman stealing a type of replica ray gun that can multiply anything
that it hits. Joker and The Riddler pooh-pooh Penguin’s prosaic notion
of using it to, “
Multiply money, diamonds…females” as they have
a grander scheme in mind, but of course standing in their way is the
Dynamic Duo who are still able to solve any riddle, using the most
convoluted train of thought possible to lead them to their opponent’s
next move, and then *
Bam* *Socko* *Ker-Plow!* Batman and Robin duke it out in their classic camp style.
With a nice nod to Golden Age Batman comic book artist Dick Sprang.
Now
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusader
isn’t a straight up animated copy of the 60s television as it throws in
quite of few nods and winks to some of the goofy conceits that have
both puzzled and delighted fans of the show. Aunt Harriet is still
questioning Bruce and Dick’s frequent “fishing trips” but now alluding
to her having figured out their “Big Secret” which is of course that
they are gay and not secret crime fighters. In the original series
Commissioner Gordon and Chief O’Hara never seemed to actually worry
about dealing with crimes themselves, much easier to just make a call on
the Batphone, and in this outing it’s made clear that the police can’t
even manage to handle the average shoplifter if Batman isn’t around. All
the visual trademarks from the show make an appearance here; the
Batmobile is still the customized 1955 Lincoln Futura, the Batcave is
entered by triggering a switch in a bust of William Shakespeare (though
the cave itself includes the large dinosaur statue from the comics and a
different looking atomic pile), and of course the show has the standard
deathtraps for our heroes to escape.
“Holy last meal, Batman!”
This
animated movie is both a beautiful nostalgic trip to a time when Batman
had a bit of a sense of humor, and a loving jab at the direction in
which the character has gone in the recent years, director
Rick Morales even pokes fun at the ridiculous Paris epilogue in
The Dark Knight Rises,
but overall it is a love letter to a show I adored when I was a child.
This is a movie that I can recommend to any fan of the Batman, young or
old, as its art direction is fantastic, Adam West is in full comic
deadpan mode, and the caper that the villainous fiends attempt to pull
off is a real doozy. So my advice to you is to rush out and snatch up
the Bluray of this beauty as soon as possible.
“Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed.”
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