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11 years after the Blu ray format was launched, Batman: The Animated Series FINALLY makes it debut in high-definition format with this release of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), the first and only animated feature spin-off of the classic 1992-1995 Batman animated series. This is arguably the best that series ever looked AND for many fans it IS the best Batman film produced to date. It is certainly the finest animated/action/adventure theatrical spin-off of a MAJOR superhero, if not the most popular superhero in the world.
I'll continue this review with a few negative notes. One, this Blu ray is VERY basic with a static menu (not a big deal, it means the disc loads faster!) and only the original theatrical trailer as an extra. Yep, after 24 years, WB has not deigned it practical or desirable (yet!) to do any sort of extras for this film despite its cult status. You think they would have gotten key production personnel to talk about the making of the film in a documentary or commentary track but it didn't happen. Also, there WAS a mini-featurette tie-in about the making of this film produced for HBO that aired around the time of the original theatrical release back in 1993 but that wasn't on the disc, either!
My second pet peeve is aimed at the film itself. It is NOT an original story. This is an uncredited adaptation of a 4-part storyline, "Batman: Year Two," that was published in Detective Comics in 1987! Don't believe me, read the comic yourself and you'll see -- the major plotline of a grim-reaper antagonist, lost love, etc -- it's all there. They made some changes for the feature film but it is still basically "Batman: Year Two" in the main. This has never been acknowledged even though more recent animated films and TV series are doing a better job of crediting the original storyline writers and character creators.
Now, back to the disc...
The video quality is excellent, by far the best this film has looked on home video. The original film grain is evident but not overdone. It gives the film a nice, organic look that is lacking in digitally produced animation made for direct-to-video (which ironically was the original intent for the film until a studio executive saw the storyboards, liked them, and ordered the film be retooled for theatrical release). It looks like a THEATRICAL movie, not a sterile home video.
The audio quality is serviceable but it's not extraordinary. I think it's basic stereo, not 5.1... Would have been nice to hear another language track had one been made for this film. My guess is that there are probably vocal audio tracks recorded in other languages considering the animated Batman TV series was redubbed in French, Spanish, and Japanese for sure!
One of the best qualities of this film aside from the visual aesthetics is the symphonic soundtrack which is among the best of any Batman film. It's a rousing re-invention of the themes first heard in the 1989 Batman movie and reinvented and elaborated on in the later 1992-1995 Batman animated series. This film has a beautiful score and even an excellent throw-away pop song played over the end credits.
The vocal performances in this film are excellent and never over the top. This is not campy Batman but it's also not the dreary, bleak, depressing mess that so many recent Batman projects have devolved into, either. (And it's WAY better than the recent Batman and Harley Quinn movie.) That's a credit to both the actors and the voice director who I believe was Andrea Romano who just announced her retirement. You'll hear not only Kevin Conroy and Dana Delany (in her first major animation voiceover prior to being cast as Lois Lane for Superman: The Animated Series) but also character actors Dick Miller, Abe Vigoda, and of course, Mark Hamill as The Joker. Stacy Keach voices the title villain, the Phantasm, who has one of the major plot twists of the film and one of the big departures from the original comic mini-series this film was based on.
Today was the first time in a while I've seen the film... I was just checking out the Blu ray to see how well it was done. It's an A-1 high-definition remastering job and a credit to a film that has withstood the test of time 24 years later...
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From the manufacturer
BRUCE WAYNE / BATMAN
ALFRED
COMMISSIONER GORDON
JOKER
ANDREA BEAUMONT
CARL BEAUMONT
BUZZ BRONSKI
PHANTASM
WE NEED THE FULL SERIES
I am a tremendous fan of this series and was waiting forever for this. I pre-ordered it and just put it in the blu-ray player. It looks amazing. Beautiful colors, clean picture, sounds great. Best it ever looked. My wife even made a comment at how great it looked in passing. It is my understanding that the technical complications in creating this soaked up the budget and didn't allow for any special features. I don't buy that. Surely all those DC Collectible figures based off the series that are always flying off the shelves would warrant putting in a little more into this for fans. Below are some things that they should have done. I hope when the actual series gets done they go the extra mile. The popularity of Harley Quinn alone should validate that for DC/Warners.1) Box Art - Make the fans feel like they are getting something new. I would have used the Bruce Timm art that was on the comic adaptation (photo included). Fans would have flipped for that. Bruce Timm has legions of fans these days and all the dc animated movies always say "New from Bruce Timm" etc. already...why not put some Bruce Timm art on it? It would be equivalent to a stamp of approval for a re-release. The box art on the actual series dvd is bad and off model. Fans pay attention to that stuff. Definitely redo that art when you blu-ray the full series.2) Commentary - It was a bad move to not put commentary on this. It couldn't have cost that much to do. Please please please do full commentary on ALL the episodes on the series blu-ray (not just the few that already exist). You should mix it up too. Not just Timm and Radomski, but some tracks should be like oh I don't know... Mark Hamill and Arleen Sorkin!! or Martin Pasko and Joe Lansdale!!! Switch it up every episode. The rarer and unique the commentary the better.3) Bonus - Behind the scenes featurettes, making of, concept art, etc. There is no lack of resources for this stuff so put it on the movie (and series). Again, put in the extra dough for this WB! This show built DC Animation as far as I'm concerned.Again, the quality of the actual movie on the blu-ray is great. So four stars for a job well done, but brought it down a star for not going the extra mile. Hopefully a full series release will have more love put into it.
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