Perry White
11-08-2001, 11:09 AM
Here is a review by Matthew Hunter, a moderator at our Looney Tunes forum, "The Termite Terrace Trading Post".
WARNING: This review contans some spoilers!
I have always enjoyed the Batman/Superman series out of Warner animation; they were among the greatest television cartoons of the nineties, and possibly all time. Now, most of the same team brings the characters back thanks to Cartoon Network, and this time they've got company.
Set in what is percieved to be the future, The pilot episode begins with a mission to Mars, in which the American Earth astronauts encounter big trouble. The very well-drawn Mars-scapes are interesting to look at, and the scene where the astronauts fall into the hole is a good way to begin.
The title sequence on our preview tape is still a work in progress, though the preliminary drawings are good... in fact they'd be well off setting the sequence of impressionistic drawings to music with some transitional footage of some kind and call it an opening, it's great!
The real action begins when we see Batman investigating some strange happenings at the Metropolis branch of Wayne enterprises. Batman's design here will please the hardcore comic book fanatics; he looks just like the pictures I've seen of Bob Kane's original version. He is a bit more detailed than the "New Batman Adventures" design, but still lacks the yellow border around the logo on his suit, and his "ears" are noticeably longer. Kevin Conroy returns as the voice. When Batman encounters some mysterious criminals in the lab, he is assisted in fighting them by the local superhero, Superman himself. Superman, his design the same as in "Superman Adventures" but his voice noticeably different (newcomer George Newbern), is plagued by mysterious headaches that cause him to see brief and frightful visions. Superman and Batman already know each other's identities (see: "World's Finest"), and although not the best of friends they have a mutual respect for one another. We do not see Batman as Bruce Wayne here, but we do see Clark Kent, who has been designed to look more like Superman without the suit (makes sense!)
I won't go into too much detail on the plot details, but the basic idea is that several large meteors from space land all over the world, releasing robotic creatures that seek to destroy it. Each of the superheroes represented here, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman (we see her origin here) Hawkgirl (a female reincarnation of sorts of Hawkman, only cooler than he was!), Green Lantern, The Flash, and J'onn J'onnz (from Mars) play a part, and they all realize the danger to Earth and team up to thwart it.
The relationships between these characters are well thought out, the new characters' origins explained when needed (I never had to find myself asking "where'd ___ come from?) and their designs a cross between the stylized "New Batman Adventures", "Batman Beyond" and the comics themselves. I was particularly intrigued by the idea that Batman still prefers to work alone, as does, to some extent, The Flash. This is not the original "Superfriends" from the 1970's, there are no Wonder Twins, there is no stupid "Apache Chief" (don't look in Ted Turner's basement) and the animation and artwork make the older series look like a dinosaur. This has potential, we may be looking at a new classic. In a few places, I was reminded of "Star Wars", "The Matrix", "Batman Beyond", the original "Jonny Quest" (there was a similar spiderlike robot used in that series) and stuff like "Close Encounters" and "War of the Worlds". Plus, it's not just geared toward kids; it's very adult and very serious at times. I hope that Cartoon Network will promote this towards their already-hungry adult and teenage audience. Move over, Powerpuffs.
-Matthew
WARNING: This review contans some spoilers!
I have always enjoyed the Batman/Superman series out of Warner animation; they were among the greatest television cartoons of the nineties, and possibly all time. Now, most of the same team brings the characters back thanks to Cartoon Network, and this time they've got company.
Set in what is percieved to be the future, The pilot episode begins with a mission to Mars, in which the American Earth astronauts encounter big trouble. The very well-drawn Mars-scapes are interesting to look at, and the scene where the astronauts fall into the hole is a good way to begin.
The title sequence on our preview tape is still a work in progress, though the preliminary drawings are good... in fact they'd be well off setting the sequence of impressionistic drawings to music with some transitional footage of some kind and call it an opening, it's great!
The real action begins when we see Batman investigating some strange happenings at the Metropolis branch of Wayne enterprises. Batman's design here will please the hardcore comic book fanatics; he looks just like the pictures I've seen of Bob Kane's original version. He is a bit more detailed than the "New Batman Adventures" design, but still lacks the yellow border around the logo on his suit, and his "ears" are noticeably longer. Kevin Conroy returns as the voice. When Batman encounters some mysterious criminals in the lab, he is assisted in fighting them by the local superhero, Superman himself. Superman, his design the same as in "Superman Adventures" but his voice noticeably different (newcomer George Newbern), is plagued by mysterious headaches that cause him to see brief and frightful visions. Superman and Batman already know each other's identities (see: "World's Finest"), and although not the best of friends they have a mutual respect for one another. We do not see Batman as Bruce Wayne here, but we do see Clark Kent, who has been designed to look more like Superman without the suit (makes sense!)
I won't go into too much detail on the plot details, but the basic idea is that several large meteors from space land all over the world, releasing robotic creatures that seek to destroy it. Each of the superheroes represented here, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman (we see her origin here) Hawkgirl (a female reincarnation of sorts of Hawkman, only cooler than he was!), Green Lantern, The Flash, and J'onn J'onnz (from Mars) play a part, and they all realize the danger to Earth and team up to thwart it.
The relationships between these characters are well thought out, the new characters' origins explained when needed (I never had to find myself asking "where'd ___ come from?) and their designs a cross between the stylized "New Batman Adventures", "Batman Beyond" and the comics themselves. I was particularly intrigued by the idea that Batman still prefers to work alone, as does, to some extent, The Flash. This is not the original "Superfriends" from the 1970's, there are no Wonder Twins, there is no stupid "Apache Chief" (don't look in Ted Turner's basement) and the animation and artwork make the older series look like a dinosaur. This has potential, we may be looking at a new classic. In a few places, I was reminded of "Star Wars", "The Matrix", "Batman Beyond", the original "Jonny Quest" (there was a similar spiderlike robot used in that series) and stuff like "Close Encounters" and "War of the Worlds". Plus, it's not just geared toward kids; it's very adult and very serious at times. I hope that Cartoon Network will promote this towards their already-hungry adult and teenage audience. Move over, Powerpuffs.
-Matthew