|
Post by cstower on Jul 16, 2015 19:12:32 GMT -6
I once tried to get a thread going on another forum about The DC Animated Universe, but it didn't really get much response; I know there are some fans in the Dissolve crowd, so I'm going to try relaunching it here.
First up- what the heck am I talking about? Here's a breakdown:
There's the "Timmiverse" (those shows produced by Bruce Timm and sharing a common continuity):
BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (including it's continuations THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN AND ROBIN and THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES)
SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES
BATMAN BEYOND
JUSTICE LEAGUE and JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED
(plus two related shows, STATIC SHOCK and THE ZETA PROJECT, which are stylistically different but share the same continuity)
As well as a series of shows which all have their own distinct styles and continuities:
TEEN TITANS
THE BATMAN
LEGION OF SUPERHEROES
BATMAN: BRAVE AND THE BOLD
YOUNG JUSTICE
BEWARE THE BATMAN
and GREEN LANTERN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (which some have suggested IS part of "The Timmiverse"; It was produced by Bruce Timm, is stylistically consistent with those early shows, and does not directly contradict their continuity)
And a series of "direct-to-video" movies, some of which are connected to various series (such as BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER), and some of which are very distinctly stand-alone (such as THE NEW FRONTIER, which retells the origins of the JLA as a late 1950s period piece).
Of course, the quality varies from project to project, but on the whole, it's a very worthy body of work, and the best of it is, quite simply, some of the best work done with these characters in ANY medium.
Let's get the conversation started!
|
|
|
Post by cstower on Jul 16, 2015 19:17:08 GMT -6
And just because I like to keep things lively, here's a clip- DCAU head honcho Bruce Timm's personal contribution to Batman's 75th Anniversary: what a Batman cartoon made in 1939 might have looked like- and a lovely little homage to old school Universal Horror, too!: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFwOS2R9o_8
|
|
|
Post by cstower on Jul 16, 2015 19:27:38 GMT -6
And here's a look at Timm's newest animated project... and frankly, kind of a controversial one: GODS AND MONSTERS, an ultra-dark revamp - no, more like INVERSION of the DCAU: An "Alternate Reality" version of the Justice League, where different characters inhabit the identities of the established heroes. Here's "Superman"- the son of Zod, raised in poverty on Earth: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYSxN4ezhO4Here's "Wonder Woman"- now one of the New Gods: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOWLqnjFN64And here's "Batman"- Kirk Langstrom- in the most controversial installment; it's clearly a deliberate attempt to push "Dark Batman" too far on purpose. www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpu6yPAFHrsThere's these three shorts, an animated feature coming out on dvd in a few weeks, and more shorts in the works. I'm not crazy about Timm jumping on the "all dark, all the time" bandwagon... but they ARE well done. (and it's not the "real" versions, so it doesn't count, right?)
|
|
|
Post by cstower on Jul 17, 2015 5:07:01 GMT -6
GRATUITOUS MUSICAL NUMBER! In fact the BRAVE AND BOLD episode "The Mask Of Matches Malone" was never aired on the US Cartoon Network BECAUSE of this little ditty, which has some rather risque lyrics! www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMnJNjo2SGg
|
|
|
Post by cstower on Jul 17, 2015 9:56:29 GMT -6
One of the lesser know corners of the DCAU is the DC NATION shorts, which play around with oddball variations. Never regularily scheduled, they would show up in between other programs on Cartoon Network. Here's THE BAT MAN OF SHANG HAI, a martial arts spin on the Caped Crusader: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3UJagJ-tnA
|
|
|
Post by apizzo on Jul 17, 2015 11:46:32 GMT -6
MINOR SPOILERS FOR DEATH OF SUPERMAN
One of the most well made and shocking things I had seen in a while came out of this movie. It's after Superman has been "killed" by Doomsday, and everyone is reeling from it, but Luthor is cleaning up loose ends. He's sent his valet from the animated series, Mercy, out to "take care" of these things so no one can bring anything back to him, and when she confirms that she's done everything, in silhouette, you see him pull a gun and shoot her. It's such a shocking moment, and so well staged.
|
|
|
Post by cstower on Jul 17, 2015 12:38:27 GMT -6
There's a similar, if much more discreet bit in an early episode of S:TAS, where Lex tells Mercy to escort out a scientist working for him, and they exchange meaningful glances.... and later, when Lois confronts Lex and tells him she can get the scientist to tell her what's going, Lex just says "Only if you can FIND him..." and then exchanges the same look with Mercy again.
One of the reasons Timm and company are so good at using shocking violence so well is because, for years they had to AVOID using it... and they REALLY developed a sense of how to get the maximum impact from the minimum actually SHOWN.
|
|
|
Post by seankgallagher on Jul 17, 2015 19:30:17 GMT -6
One of the things I love about the DCAU is how it managed to get into dark territory despite having to fight the constraints put on it as "kids" television. And that includes the humor as well as the emotional stuff.
|
|
|
Post by cstower on Jul 17, 2015 19:37:29 GMT -6
And they understood that the best way to make this material appealing to adults wasn't to make it "darker"... but to make it more SOPHISTICATED.
|
|
|
Post by Gillianren on Jul 18, 2015 11:46:45 GMT -6
We just watched the episode of Justice League Unlimited that launched the Suicide Squad, but they weren't allowed to call it that.
|
|
|
Post by Herr Director on Jul 18, 2015 13:33:10 GMT -6
I absolutely love "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm." A great examination of the character in a film that manages to be so tonally consistent that it never feels ludicrous, even if it goes from heart-breaking emotional drama to the finale's theme park showdown.
In fact, I consider it to be the best Batman story ever theatrically released.
*Hides behind a shield*
|
|
|
Post by apizzo on Jul 18, 2015 13:35:46 GMT -6
I'm with you, Herr Director. Mask of the Phantasm is absolutely my favorite Batman movie.
|
|
|
Post by cstower on Jul 18, 2015 15:54:50 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by cstower on Jul 19, 2015 8:37:25 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by artdork on Jul 19, 2015 16:46:08 GMT -6
Can I get a recommendation from the group? I need a gift for Mr. Dork and he's a Batman guy. LIke all the way. We have all the movies, and he's played all the Arkham games. He used to read the comics as a kid, and while I know he still has some of them, they're in a box in an attic in Oklahoma now. What comics/graphic novels/dvd's do you think he needs for his collection?? I'm thankfully close to a great comic shop, so I should be able to get stuff easily!
|
|