Product Details

• Actors: Rino Romano, Alastair Duncan, Evan Sabara, Danielle Judovits, Kevin Michael Richardson
• Writers: Christopher Yost, J.D. Murray
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: CW Television Network
• DVD Release Date: February 7, 2006
• Run Time: 30 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000CEXFZ6
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,576 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #5 in	Movies & TV > Animation > Cartoon Network > The Batman
  #31 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Series & Sequels > Batman
  #35 in	Movies & TV > Animation > DC Comics Collection

• This is item 1 in The Batman (WB) Series.

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Batman is an action-packed animated series that chronicles the life of Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego Batman who lands him in a variety of precarious situations. The newly anointed Caped Crusader of Gotham City confronts updated versions of familiar foes such as The Joker, The Penguin, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze and The Riddler. In this series, the Dark Knight takes his war on crime to the next level utilizing brand new Bat-gadgets and a 21st Century-styled Batmobile operated by his remote-controlled invention the "Batwave." The Batman currently airs on Cartoon Network and Kids WB.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very rough, uniquely decent, December 21, 2005

By	Simon (Brampton, ON) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This set collects the first 13 episodes of The Batman, the newest incarnation of the Dark Knight. Warner Home Video has finally wised up, ditched the meager single discs and given fans and collectors an affordable way to get this series on dvd.

But wait...are there any fans and collectors? The general bat-fan will tell you this show sucks, while the small but vocal die-hards will pump The Batman for all its worth. This is a very difficult show to rate. Not only does it feel like Batman as envisioned by corporate focus groups, but the general writing is way below par compared to the classic Batman: Animated series.

In my opinion, these problems are mostly confined to the first season. This is definitely the show at its worst, and the newer seasons have been much more kinetic and entertaining. It's painful here to watch Bruce eat nachos and cast opera aside for bubblegum pop. It's painful to watch him resort to an endless array of bat-gadgets to take down foes. But the show has occasional moments of brilliance. When Batman slips into a coma after being thrashed by Bane, there's a very poignant look at the night of his parents' murder. The villain designs, wacky and grotesque as they may be, are fiercely original and fun if you go in with the right expectations. And the season finale, written by Gargoyles creator Greg Weisman, brings the show to a near-BTAS level with a brand new interpretation of Clayface. It's really worth checking out.

Again, this is a difficult recommendation. Season 1 is mostly weak, and I can't blame anyone for shunning it. However, the second season onwards is definitely worth looking into. I at least give kudos to WB for giving us The Batman in a season set that has more appeal to adult collectors. For those on the fence, check out season 2 when/if it is eventually released, then go back and see if you'd like season 1 for completion purposes. In the meanwhile, rent for the Clayface finale.

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Just Because It's a Cartoon Doesn't Mean the Characters Need to Be Flat, January 31, 2006

By	D. C. Ober "Audiophile" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Let's start with what I do like. The style of the cartoon is actually pretty good. At first I was a little turned off by the whole "X-treme" Batman, but considering this is Bruce Wayne in his younger days I think it works.

However, the characters are reduced to nothing. Batman has absolutely no edge to him. In the original series we got to know his past and saw him really struggle with the death of his parents, and lets be honest, the best thing about Batman is that he's the first superhero who's given a real motive. In this series the death of his parents are brough up a few times, but as a driving force it's generally ignored.

The villians are all one-note characters. In the original series each villian had some kind of conflict. It wasn't just good versus evil; it was about that in-between grey. The Man-Bat is just some mad scientist. Mr. Freeze is just some jewel thief. They're run of the mill pedestrian characters. The only exception is Clay Face. Lets hope this new version of Clay Face is pointing to a new direction to the series. Maybe the writers will wise up and give us some good stories. Until then I'll be watching the DVDs of the original Batman: The Animated Series.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but some legit complaints..., February 9, 2006

By	Jordan Lund "Jordan" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

"The Batman" does have issues. Weak, poorly developed characters, a more modern style that sometimes causes the characters faces to bend into unusual and un-natural shapes as they move from frontal to profiled views.

On the whole though the show does produce some impressive visuals.

My major complaint is that each episode is barely 20 minutes long, counting the opening and closing sequences. This probably says more about the state of modern 1/2 hour television than it does the show, but it does answer a lot of the complaints.

It's hard to have character development, plot and story in only 20 minutes.