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Smart writing and unique aesthetics that broke the rules regarding child-friendly cartoons let Batman: The Animated Series change animation forever.
While nominally produced as a child-friendly cartoon, Batman: The Animated Series broke and forever changed the rules regarding American animation. In this, the series emulated other comics and media of the time period (like Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Tim Burton’s Batman movies) which fought against the popular perception that superheroes, comic books and cartoons were only fit for children. It is Batman: The Animated Series, however, which had the greatest overall impact and the longest-lasting legacy, thanks to its universal appeal and ability to attract both child and adult audiences with equal ease.
While nominally based upon the Batman movies directed by Tim Burton, Batman: The Animated Series drew upon the full comic book history of The Dark Knight and employed many of the legendary writers who had written Batman’s greatest stories, such as Dennis O’Neil and Len Wein.This writing team was particularly impressive given that quality writing was not a major priority for American animated series at the time. Most cartoons were cheaply produced and made for the major networks’ Saturday morning blocks, to meet federal requirements that each network devote a certain amount of time to children’s programming. The producers of Batman: The Animated Series set out to change this.
How Batman: The Animated Series Changed Cartoons
Beyond a focus on smart stories that would appeal to adults, the production team of Batman: The Animated Series pioneered a unique visual look unlike anything in American animation at the time. Instead of painting with dark colors on white paper, the background artists used light colors on black paper. The character designs were kept streamlined and simplified. The end result was much darker than traditional action cartoons and far more memorable.
Batman: The Animated Series also changed the way American cartoons handled sound and music. In another major break with tradition, the series hired composer Shirley Walker to write unique musical scores for every single episode, treating each story like a short animated movie rather than a television show. The series also recruited actors who didn’t typically work in animation, such as Mark Hamill as the Joker and Kevin Conroy as Batman. While many questioned the wisdom of casting Luke Skywalker as the Joker at the time, both Hamill and Conroy have come to be regarded as the definitive voices of Joker and Batman.
Why Batman: TAS’ Legacy Was Defined By Breaking Cartoon Rules
It was unheard of to produce an animated series that kids and adults could enjoy, which could air on Saturday mornings and in prime-time. By targeting a more universal demographic and creating, in the words of Bruce Timm, “a show that we, ourselves, would watch as adults,” which also appealed to kids, the creators behind Batman: The Animated Series defied the conventional wisdom which dictated there was a divide between the two audiences that could not be bridged. History proved that wrong, however, and there have been multiple action-adventure animated series since then that have found a similar level of broad appeal thanks to smart writing and quality animation.
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