From: tcw@kepler.unh.edu (Timothy C Webb)
Subject: Re: batman
Organization: University of New Hampshire  -  Durham, NH
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 21:12:47 GMT

In article <1992Sep6.1476.3709@channel1> "eric walker" <eric.walker@channel1.com> writes:
>
>     The "sneak preview" premiere episode just aired yesterday as I type
>     this, and it's quite interesting.  It's definitely a step in the right
>     direction for "action/adventure" TV animation, and it's far, far
>     superior to the Hanna-Barbera "Super Friends" TV series.

   Whoa! Hold it right there! :)

>     The "Batman" animated series was made to cash in on the popularity of
>     the phenomenally popular "Batman" movies, and the cartoon tries for
>     the "dark" look-and-feel of the movies.  It's smart enough to base the
>     characters of Batman and Commisioner Gordon on the comic books and not
>     the movie characters, though the design of Gotham City tries to
>     imitate the wild, eye-catching scenery and art direction Tim Burton
>     brought to the movies.

   It kind of annoys me that this _was_ made to cash in on the films (very few
current cartoons don't try to promote something), but I'm hoping they can get
away from this as the series continues. One difference will be the appearance
of Robin, of course. I don't know when he'll be introduced in the series, but
he'll be there. Hopefully they'll use other villains aside from The Joker, The
Penguin, and Catwoman who were in the two movies (how about the Riddler?).
 
>     The quality of the animation is quite good, for a TV cartoon.  Fans of
>     "realistic" animation who enjoy the lush, crisp animation of the
>     Disney Afternoon may be disappointed with the style of "Batman's"
>     animation, but I think it's an interesting move.  As has been
>     mentioned already, it tries for an "Art Deco" look, in which
>     Batman/Bruce Wayne is a square-jawed muscleman whose head is flatter
>     than Boris Karloff's Frankenstein, but it works.  Wild, angular
>     drawing is prevalent throughout the whole cartoon, and that adds to
>     the "Burton-esque" feel of the show.

   I enjoy the animation very much myself, and am impressed with the way it
stands out from other shows at this point in time, when every cartoon looks
the same.

>     Less successful is Batman's characterization.  There's not much you
>     can do with a cartoon/comic book character, but the voice actor's
>     attempt to imitate Michael Keaton's attempt to do a "deep throat"
>     vocalization of Batman tends to lessen his character.  He can only
>     talk in two tones of voice: monotone and monotone.  Perhaps this will
>     improve as the series progresses.

   I think the voice they chose for Batman is horrible!

>     The dialogue has been written so that actions speak louder than words
>     for once: the entire plot is not summarized every five seconds to
>     "explain" the story to the little kiddies.  We see Catwoman cutting a
>     window with her claws to steal a diamond necklace.  She uses her
>     trained cat to get the necklace, and all she says is "Now, Isis!"
>     It's a lot better than the usual cartoony dialogue we would hear on
>     other TV shows: "Now, Isis, walk through the security beams and bring
>     me the lovely necklace!"  Talk is cheap, especially on TV cartoons,
>     and the emphasis on action over talk shows us that Warner Bros. put a
>     lot of care into the creation of this show.

   Excellent point. Nothing pisses me off more than hearing every move
explained to me like a play-by-play sports report. I have two eyes and believe
I have the capacity to understand what's going on without useless words 
describing it to me.

-- 
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|    Tim Webb             |     tcw@kepler.unh.edu                          |
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|  "I wouldn't worry about it, Mrs. Brady. With the songs the way they are  |
|   nowadays you can't hear the words well enough to understand that what   |
|   you would have heard is something you wouldn't have understood anyway"  |
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Newsgroups: rec.arts.animation