Does Timm remember what he's done?

[Spider-Bat]

There have been a few times I've seen interviews with Bruce Timm and he'll say things that don't always add up.

Like I was just watching one where he's talking about how dark Superman/Doomsday is and that it's unlike his past series that were done for 6-11 year olds. Now, that's not true, especially with Justice League, there were some very dark and adult JL's and espacially JLU's. Even some Superman episodes, and alot of Batman.

I understand he can do more in a PG-13 dvd movie, but he still did alot of dark more adult stuff in his other cartoons, and he's said this about them before aswell, also, all of the Timm animated series were not for 6 to 11 year olds, far from it.

 

[Artistsean]

What he probably meant was that what the censores allowed him to do, especially on the original Batman and Superman cartoons for Saturday mornings, was suitable for 6-11 year olds. That the age range the censored allowed them to do. Maybe they couldn't let stuff in that would target older viewers, even on JLU they couldn't show certain things. For example, maybe they had a list of things they could get away with doing on the show, and anything beyond that list was not allowed. On JLU they still couldn't show death really, and I am not sure if they could use real guns or mention religion and stuff like that.

But here is what is different about the Death of Superman:

Spoiler

-Lex Luther shoots a woman in the head at close range with a real gun.
-Perry White says someone is kicking Superman's a**
-More cussing than his usual stuff.
-Lex Luther has a sort of obsesive stalker relationship with Superman.
-Most likely there will be several deaths in the film. (like Superman and Doomsday's and maybe even others like a deer.)

Its much more adult themed than his previous stuff.

 

[Dr. Fate]

I seem to remember listening to the audio commentary on Starcrossed Part 3, they mention that during the climax when Hawkgirl faces off with Hro Talek, originally Talek was supposed to grab her by head and smash her face into the wall, but the censors would not allow it, probably because it seemed like violence-against-women, so they changed it to have Talek zap her with his energy axe instead. In a way that strikes me as funny - it's okay for a man to electrocute a woman with a deadly weapon yet it's wrong to show him banging her face into a wall. It's like on Thundercats where the characters couldn't actually punch each other because it was "violent" but it was okay for Lion-O (main character) to zap some random villain with the Sword of Omens which, you've got to admit, would hurt way more than a simple fist in the mouth attack.

The old Batman series Timm did back in the early 90s had regular guns. Ironically, the animated Spider-Man series that came out years later was forbidden by the censors to use real guns so the criminals all somehow managed to get their hands on Stark Trek like blasters, even though the Batman series had been using regular guns. Ah, the ironies of life.

 

[I Am The Knight]

"Does Timm remember what he's done?"

Did he kill someone....



I think there are times when an artist wants to go beyond what he is allowed to do and show more gritty, darker stuff. Sure, JLU is not made specifically for the 6 year old crowd, but it is not very mature either.

 

[Artistsean]

6 year olds is the target I think. This is what the censors allowed them to make (that a 6 year old would be able to watch, according to the censors.)
But it was targeted at older viewers mostly.

I did notice that they thugs and mobsters carried real guns, although in the art of Batman the animated series, Timm mentions a list of things they couldn't show:
guns
drugs
breaking glass
alchohol
child endangerment
religion
strangulation
nudity
smoking

So I am surprised he did have guns on the show, maybe they couldn't have them actually hit anyone. Maybe that was it.

and there were things, warnings or changes to scripts, they were given by the censors:
things like the third thug must be white.
Batman cannot slug someone in the stomach (but kicking them, or hitting them with his whole arm is OK).
Scarface cant call someone Scumbag.
Batman can't punch someone in the face.
Batman can't say "I'll see you in hell!"
Bane can't pick up Robin by the head because its immatatable.

Timm even said in an interview about all this,
Sometimes saying, he said, "Oh shoot." wouldn't cover it.

 

[TheVileOne]

The problem with SUPERMAN/DOOMSDAY is that they totally brush aside the fate of Doomsday. Kind of stupid to put Doomsday in the title when he's gone after the first act.

 

[Hush]

Off topic but Superman/Doomsday come out tom. and im pumped!

 

[CFE]

The problem with SUPERMAN/DOOMSDAY is that they totally brush aside the fate of Doomsday. Kind of stupid to put Doomsday in the title when he's gone after the first act.

I agree, they should've just called it "The Death of Superman."

But of course they wouldn't do that since they don't want to give away the big twist...even though the story came out a decade ago

CFE

 

[RogerW]

I've always been curious about the age they were going for with the DCAU - primarily JLU later seasons. They were constantly having sexual references or something would cut off before a sexual statement/a violent - profane statement was going to be made.

 

[Spider-Bat]

After seeing Superman/Doomsday I see what he means, JLU did have violence and sexual references, but this new movie was really a step beyond anything he'd done before.

But it seems like there are times when he'll say he hasn't done some things but I've seen him do something like that, or he'll say he didn't do something in a good way but he really did do it well, I'm not trying to bash Timm, he has done a great job with all these DC projects.