Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

**Batman: Mask of the Phantasm** is a 1993 American animated superhero/action film directed by Eric Radomski & Bruce Timm, which was released on December 25, 1993 by Warner Bros. Pictures under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label.

The film is a continuation of the animated TV series, "Batman: The Animated Series."

## Plot

The follows Batman (voiced by Kevin Conroy) as he deals with his reconciliation with a former lover, Andrea Beaumont (voiced by Dana Delaney) and has to go up against a mysterious vigilante who is murdering Gotham City's crime bosses.

## Voice Cast

* Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne / Batman:
* Dana Delany as Andrea Beaumont/The Phantasm:
* Hart Bochner as City Councilman Arthur Reeves
* Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred Pennyworth
* Mark Hamill as The Joker
* Abe Vigoda as Salvatore "The Wheezer" Valestra
* Stacy Keach as Carl Beaumont
* Robert Costanzo as Detective Harvey Bullock

## Production

Impressed by the success of the first season of "Batman: The Animated Series" on the Fox network, Warner Bros. assigned Alan Burnett to write a story for a full-length animated film.

The original concept for the film was to have Batman being captured by his enemies at Arkham Asylum and be put on a trial by them, as they wanted to show that he was guilty of making them what they had become.

However, it was considered "too brainy" as it required Batman to be immobile for a long time, so the idea was later used in the series' episode "Trial", which was aired after the film's release.

Although the Joker does play a pivotal role in the film, it was Burnett's intention to tell a story far removed from the television series' regular rogues gallery. He also cited he *"wanted to do a love story with Bruce because no one had really done it on the TV show. I wanted a story that got into his head."*

Members of the creative team have claimed that they did not intend for the Joker to appear in the film; Paul Dini has contradicted this, stating that the Joker's role was always part of the story from the beginning of the film's production.

The writers were highly cautious of placing the Joker in the film, as they did not want any connection to Tim Burton's 1989 film, "Batman", but writer Michael Reaves said: *"We then realized that we could make his appearance serve the story in a way that we never could in live-action."*

In order to keep the Joker as a solo threat, Bruce Timm and Burnett convinced frequent "Batman: The Animated Series" writer Dini to not use Harley Quinn in the film for that reason. The same technique was previously used in the episodes "Joker's Wild" and "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne."

Aiding Burnett in writing the script were Martin Pasko, who handled most of the flashback segments; Reaves, who wrote the climax; and Dini, who claims he *"filled in holes here and there."*

The film's plot was heavily influenced by the 1987 miniseries, "Batman: Year Two" written by Mike W. Barr and illustrated by Alan Davis, Paul Neary, Alfredo Alcala, Mark Farmer and Todd McFarlane. Orson Welles' classic 1941 film, "Citizen Kane" served as an influence for the flashbacks

The character of Hazel, the cook robot of the World of the Future Fair, was named by Burnett after Hazel the Maid (portrayed by actress Shirley Booth), The Saturday Evening Post protagonist of cartoonist Ted Key's TV series "Hazel."

On the other hand, the design of the Phantasm went into 20 different versions until one was found which convinced the film's crew.

According to Burnett, the Phantasm was like the Grim Reaper with a cape, although the idea was to make him resemble the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come of Charles Dickens' novel, "A Christmas Carol" (something that even the Joker mentions in the finished version of the film).

Early in production, Warner Bros. decided to release "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" theatrically, rather than straight to video. That left less than a year for production time (most animated features take well over two years from finished story to final release).

Due to this decision, the animators went over the scenes in order to accommodate the widescreen theatrical aspect ratio. The studio cooperated well, granting the filmmakers a large amount of creative control.

Warner Bros. also increased the production budget to $6 million which gave the filmmakers opportunities for more elaborate set pieces. The opening title sequence featured a flight through an entirely computer-generated Gotham City.

As a visual joke, sequence director Kevin Altieri set the climax of the film inside a miniature automated model of Gotham City, where Batman and the Joker were giants.

This was an homage to a mainstay of Batman comic books of the Dick Sprang era, often featuring the hero fighting against a backdrop of gigantic props (they would later do another homage to Sprang's works in The New Batman Adventures episode "Legends of the Dark Knight").

From start to finish, "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" was completed within eight months.

## Box Office

"Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" grossed $1,189,975 during its opening weekend. Overall, it grossed only $5,635,204.

The filmmakers blamed Warner Bros. for the film's unsuccessful marketing campaign, which is commonly attributed to the rushed production schedule due to studio's last-minute decision to release it theatrically.

Despite this, "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" eventually turned a profit with its various home media releases.

## Critical Reception

"Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" received generally positive reviews from critics.

On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 85% based on 33 reviews with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's consensus reads: *"Stylish and admirably respectful of the source material, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm succeeds where many of the live-action Batman adaptations have failed."*

Empire cited it as the best animated film of 1993, and felt it contained better storylines than Tim Burton's "Batman" and "Batman Returns".

TV Guide Magazine was impressed with the Art Deco noir design that was presented. In addition, the film's climax and Batman's escape from the Gotham City Police Department were considered to be elaborate action sequences.

However, Stephen Holden of The New York Times thought that the voice performances were *"flat and one-dimensional."*

Chris Hicks of the Deseret News said that the film *"didn't come alive until the third act"*, feeling that the animators sacrificed the visuals for the storyline. In addition, he felt Mark Hamill *"stole the show."*

Leonard Klady of Variety had mixed reactions towards the film, but his review was negative overall. He felt that the overall themes and morals were clichéd and cited the animation to be to the *"point of self-parody."*

Richard Harrington of the Washington Post called it *"the strangest PG film of the year"*, saying: *"The film does look good on the big screen, very Burtonesque from a long opening-credit journey through Gotham's dark architecture, to the Gothic/deco shapes and angles. The voices are good too, from Gary Conway's brooding Batman and Mark Hamill's insane Joker, to Dana Delany's troubled Andrea. As usual, it's the colorful and loquacious Joker who is most riveting. Shirley Walker's orchestral score is also quite powerful."*

Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert regretted not having viewed "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" during its theatrical release and gave it a positive review on their television series, "At the Movies" when it was released on home media, with Siskel feeling that it was better than "Batman Returns" and Joel Schumacher's "Batman Forever" and only slightly below "Batman."