DC Animation ‘Batman: Caped Crusader’: Animated Series From Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves Greenlit

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

I thought the secret ingredient of this show would be Ed Brubaker. As both a producer and story editor, I was expecting... more.

Even on a rewatch, the show feels stiff, limited and frankly, restricted. Hamish was great, but it all feels... perfunctory. Whereas B:TAS has so much life in it. Even the poorer episodes are bursting with energy and great artistry. Here's hoping season two ups the ante.

 

[donuts]

For all the talk about how Bruce Timm was now free of network restrictions, and about how his view of the Batman had changed through the years, it came off as a slightly remixed rehash of the original series, where everything's done worse than in the OG series.

And even without comparison, I thought the series was rather sluggish, uninspired and featuring some rather bad designs and animation.

Animation is a ground where you can things live action cannot. And with the breadth of Batman material, you'd expect a new animated series to actually do something interesting when combining the character and medium.

As an exploration of the Batman mythos itself, I feel like it's just going round and round the concepts that Christopher Nolan and Matt Reeves have explored in much better fashion in live action.

It's a frustratingly stagnant series.

And the first post TAS animated Batman series that had me bored to death most of the times. The season had some peaks, but... eh...

I'm not saying Bruce Timm should retire, but maybe he'd be more inspired if he had the chance to "jump ship" and adapt some Marvel characters for a change? Or something else entirely?

I feel like he has said everything about these characters that he had to say.

The DC Original Animated Movies already were an indication of that. Starting out really strong, and then heading towards increasingly dull territory.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

For all the talk about how Bruce Timm was now free of network restrictions, and about how his view of the Batman had changed through the years, it came off as a slightly remixed rehash of the original series, where everything's done worse than in the OG series.

And even without comparison, I thought the series was rather sluggish, uninspired and featuring some rather bad designs and animation.

Animation is a ground where you can things live action cannot. And with the breadth of Batman material, you'd expect a new animated series to actually do something interesting when combining the character and medium.

As an exploration of the Batman mythos itself, I feel like it's just going round and round the concepts that Christopher Nolan and Matt Reeves have explored in much better fashion in live action.

It's a frustratingly stagnant series.

And the first post TAS animated Batman series that had me bored to death most of the times. The season had some peaks, but... eh...

I'm not saying Bruce Timm should retire, but maybe he'd be more inspired if he had the chance to "jump ship" and adapt some Marvel characters for a change? Or something else entirely?

I feel like he has said everything about these characters that he had to say.

The DC Original Animated Movies already were an indication of that. Starting out really strong, and then heading towards increasingly dull territory.

I honestly get the vibe you didn't watch the show. Because this is not describing the show I watched. Like at all.

 

[donuts]

I honestly get the vibe you didn't watch the show. Because this is not describing the show I watched. Like at all.

I watched every episode.

 

[J.Drangal]

Have to sadly agree with a lot of post around here.

When the series was announced as being more “adult,” I was hoping for more than just a (often) superficial addition of violence, anticipating more complex storylines. But the series offered neither, and that's precisely where it disappoints me the most : without necessarily wanting to compare it to BTAS, the writing simply lacks ingenuity.

There’s interesting reinvention but their actual use seems very timid. Oswalda's sons are ultimately treated as disposable henchmen, Harley is a deviant psychiatrist but somehow just sends dumb muscle at Batman, Flass seems to use Bullock and pushes him to get his hands dirty, but in the end the duo didn't explode, there are no interesting little finds around the Onomatopea gimmick...
Despite all the freedom promised, each viewing actually gives me the opposite impression of a rather rigid and sometimes superficial writing, and a series that ends up missing the mark of its noir intentions.

Visually, I really like the art direction (the background paintings are beautiful) but in terms of actual animation, you can really feel the budget constraints. Despite that, I still think things could have been better, if the characters—even with limited movement— have had better posing and benefited from a more sophisticated lighting.
Online, you can find quite a lot of concept art for the characters and even some storyboards, and it's heartbreaking to see how these drawings, yet static, have more energy than the final product.

I still enjoy the series, because Batman paired with Bruce Timm's style of art holds a special place in my heart. But to be completely honest, that enjoyment stems more from what it could have been (or will become) than what it actually is. I remain hopeful that the second season will find its footing.

Ironically enough, after what I said about the writing, the very simple short film “Strange Days”, which partially inspired the series, seems superior in every way. And since my favorite episodes are the ones featuring Clayface, Gentleman Ghost, and Natalia Knight—and knowing that there's a sort of consensus on this—I wonder if the series shouldn't lean more toward this kind of pulp horror rather than crime drama...