It would feel wrong to not write about this legendary show, as it is the entire reason I got into animation in the first place. Batman: The Animated Series is everything you could ever want from an animation, and a Batman show, where the script, aesthetic, and movement all lend themselves to each other creating one, ultimate show.
What is it?
Batman: The Animated Series was an animated tv show from Warner Bros and DC airing through the 90s after the success of Tim Burton's "Batman" (1989). The show was created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, and it carried a similar soundtrack to "Batman" (1989) jowever it was a completely seperate thing on its own, with a vision to redefine what people thought of Batman.
But why is it good?
There is an endless amount of reasons this show is amazing, however, I could talk about this show for ages, and therefore it seems better to just cut this down to the main reasons it is my favourite show of all time; aesthetic and story.
Aesthetic
Batman: The Animated Series had a revolutionary aesthetic, both in terms of backgrounds and character design. Batman: The Animated Series was animated on black animation tiles, in order to create a darker tone and feel overall, with the norm being using white tiles, this was different to what anyone else was producing at the time. The backgrounds were all done using pastel, and then scanned in so that the character's could be placed over the top. The Character designs were all done by Bruce Timm, and the idea was to relay the character's detail and muscle shape whilst feigning detail. The simplicity of the character designs show this incredibly well and allow for a lot of emotion and fluid movement all the time.
Story
The stories in Batman: The Animated Series were written by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, and rewrote some of the classic Batman character's and gave every character so much depth and character. An example of this is Mr Freeze, in the comics, he had just been an enemy with no real backstory, however Paul Dini gave him a backstory which was both relatable and easy to empathise with. This episode was called "Heart of Ice" and won awards due to its amazing story and animation. Many episodes from this series were nominated and won awards due to their story. My main example of amazing story, is introducing the character of Harley Quinn, the Joker's sidekick/love interest. She was introduced as a low down henchman, and people loved her so much from one episode that she is now a pop culture icon who is cosplayed and loved all over the world. Overall, the stories offered empathy, depth and feel for every character, as well as giving everyone a new look at Batman.
Conclusion
I could talk about this show for hours, however I feel that this is a good place to end it, if you'd like to see what I mean, here are a few of my favourite episodes:
"Christmas with the Joker"
"The man who killed Batman"
"Heart of Ice"
"Robin's Reckoning"
"Joker's millions"
"Almost got 'im"
And "Two Face"
