Animated 66 Batman Movie: Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders

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chrisbcritter
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Re: Animated 66 Batman Movie: Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders

Post by chrisbcritter »

So I finally sat my tail down and watched it. I did end up enjoying it quite a bit; I got used to the age in Adam's voice pretty quickly. I did expect the Penguin to sound more like Burgess Meredith, but what I really would have liked would have been more facial animation - especially in closeups. Of course it's the nature of the beast (and budget) but I missed what the live actors, especially Frank and Julie, did with their expressions.

I did notice a couple in-jokes I wasn't expecting - oddly, both from the same source:
bat1.jpg
The host of Gotham Palace was Miranda Monroe, plus at least twice in the film Robin is referred to as "Boy Genius" - like on the record - rather than "Boy Wonder" (was he ever called "Boy Genius" in the '66 series?).

Now the end credits sequence? Straight out of the AIP Beach Party movie series! :lol:

To sum up, I'm glad I got to see it and I'm looking forward to the sequel - it will be interesting to see what they'll do with only one villain this time.

P.S. Yes, I was happy to see Sandman, OK? :roll:
"To the medical eye, such childish claptrap means only one thing, young man: You need some sleep."
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The Boss
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Re: Animated 66 Batman Movie: Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders

Post by The Boss »

chrisbcritter wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2017 12:35 am
To sum up, I'm glad I got to see it and I'm looking forward to the sequel - it will be interesting to see what they'll do with only one villain this time.
Every report I have heard states that Julie Newmar will be pary of it so, that should mean that there will be two vilians although even if she isn't I'm more interested in seeing how they handle the origin of Two-Face in '66 style.
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SprangFan
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Re: Animated 66 Batman Movie: Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders

Post by SprangFan »

Resurrecting this thread because I am so very late to the party.

I finally saw this film on Amazon Prime Videos yesterday. Not sure why I waited so long to get around to it; it was on my "buy" list forever but somehow I never got around to pulling the trigger. Too many other distractions, I guess.

Anyway, in the end I'm glad I saved my money. This one was not for me. First, though, the good stuff: I liked how clean and uncluttered the animation was (even if there was something "off" about the character models), the computer-assisted animations of the Batmobile, Batcopter and Bat-Rocket were impressive (this a technique I first noticed on "Futurama" and it's a major step up from the B:TAS Batmobile that seemed to bend in the middle when turning tight corners) and Julie's voice sounds like 50 years never happened, and whoever did the Riddler (Wally?) and the Joker were spot-on impersonators.

Other than that, though, not much for me to love. It's too long for one thing, and almost feels like 3 episodes of a TV show strung together. The music is awful, in my opinion, and at points is mixed in so loudly we can't hear dialog. Several sequences would have played better without music at all; IMHO half of competent scoring is knowing when to leave silences.

I didn't respond well to Batman turning evil. Even if it was perversely satisfying to have someone finally just come out and state the obvious (Gordon and O'Hara are incompetent, Harriet is a tiresome ninny), the fact is you can't get that genie back in the bottle once it's out. Once you acknowledge these things, the spell is broken and so is the show. Similarly, I didn't care for the way the script repeatedly danced to the edge of suggesting Harriet felt Bruce and Dick's "fishing trips" were a cover for an inappropriate (and illegal) relationship. They always snatched us back from the edge at the last second, but the intention was clear, and unwelcome.

My wife was across the room on her tablet as I watched, halfway listening, and she commented with the same opinion I felt back in 2016 when the trailers came out: "That voice is way too old for Batman." With all love and respect to Adam, it was indeed off-putting.

Little things bugged me, too, like the "TV dinner" trap. Would even a 5-year-old believe that lemon pudding is acidic enough to even partially dissolve ropes? And if the point was to incinerate the Duo, wouldn't a "dummy" meal have been good enough? Why bother taking the time to fill the tray with real food? Yes, I know it's silly to insist on logic here, and it's in keeping with the original show, but it was another thing that took me out of the action.

There was one gag I can't decide whether I like or not: Batman ordering Gordon and O'Hara to take off their uniforms, upon which we learn the blazer and eyeglasses comprise a "Commissioner uniform," and the Batman double dons them to take over.

To end on a positive note, I did like Catwoman's "in joke" about retiring with Batman to go sip drinks in a French cafe. And the sight gag of a Soviet space station complete with minarets. And the moment where the Riddler creates potholes in the street to slow the pursuing Batmobile, prompting Robin to exclaim, "Holy Crumbling Infrastructure!" :lol: Also the whole "space" angle, while way over the top, got a pass from me because of my youthful obsession with the 1969 comic that saw Batman and Robin "on the Moon."

Image

Again, not so much my cup of tea. But at least better than the Two-Face movie, which I tried first. That one put me to sleep. (Good job making Shatner look like his '66 Captain Kirk self, though, and like Julie, he sounds 50 years younger).
"You were right again, Batman. We might have been killed."
"Or worse. Let's go..."
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