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With: Olan Soule, Casey Kasem, Ted Knight, Jane Webb, Larry Storch (voices)
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Written by: Dennis Marks, George Kashdan, Bill Keenen, Bob Haney, Bill Butler, Oscar Bensol
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Directed by: Hal Sutherland
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MPAA Rating: NR
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Running Time: 378
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Date: 02/28/2023
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The Adventures of Batman (1968)
Holy Blu-ray!
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
This Saturday morning cartoon, which ran for 17 episodes in the fall of 1968 and early 1969, was apparently the very first animated version of Batman. It has been available online for years, but now Warner Bros. Home Video has released it on a new Blu-ray. Despite the cover art, which suggests the darker Batman stories that began to emerge (thanks to artists like Neal Adams) in the late 1960s, this seems to follow in the footsteps of the campy live-action TV show (1966-68), focusing on humor (lots of quips and puns) and speed. It's from Filmation, a company known for making cartoons for TV fast and cheap, although this Batman is just a little more textured and detailed than many of their efforts. And the voice cast, including Olan Soule as Batman, Casey Kasem as Robin, Jane Webb as both Batgirl and Catwoman, Larry Storch (who is uncredited) as the Joker, and Ted Knight as the narrator and many other voices (Commissioner Gordon, the Riddler, the Penguin, Mr. Freeze, etc.), brings plenty of enthusiasm. The 22-minute cartoons, which consists of a two-part story with 7 minutes per half, and then a standalone, short 7 minute tale, are bright and silly and fun. There's even a Christmas episode! Those that grew up during this time, or small children, or Batman completists, will be happy, but anyone expecting the high quality of Batman: The Animated Series will be let down. The Blu-ray includes two discs full of neatly-restored cartoons, with audio tracks in English, French, and Spanish, and optional subtitles. Recommended.
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