+ADrew Conroy is the best Batman because he is the only actor who has realized that Bruce Wayne is Batman's alter ego and not the other way around. This alone makes his performance head and shoulders better than the rest.
+MKG176 definitely, conroy knew how Bruce Wayne should sound in his casual manner and when he should sound like batman, most batmen now don't seem to do that, especially for the batman of the new animated films such as batman vs Robin, batman bad blood, and the son of batman.
The lines for me were "it...it just doesn't hurt so bad anymore, you can understand that can't you?" I might be quoting it wrong but the point is, I love that line. The hesitation, as if he's scared to admit that their death doesn't haunt him like it used to. And the guilt, because he feels it's wrong to not be traumatized by it anymore. As if that's saying he doesn't care about them. ALL that, just from 1-2 lines.
@@matteoloduca6280 it happened similar to me. In the end when he is in the roof with his eyes closed and appears the batsignal and he looks with a tired look like "here i go again", and the lines you mentioned really makes you feel sad for him, like what he is doing is not his crusade, but his curse.
@@matteoloduca6280 This is something I hate from the newer Batman movies. Aside from the Dark Knight trilogy (that I personally feel was TOO realistic and grounded to be a proper Batman movie) everything I've seen of Batman is all about his strength, his will, the fear he puts in criminals and the "glory" of The Batman. Few of them ever focus on the sheer strain being Batman puts on him, emotionally and physically, or just how broken he is inside. The ones that did that best are for sure the Mask of the Phantasm and the Arkham series of games.
THAT is the Music that pops into my head when I think of Batman. I grew up with this show and its shared universe. THIS IS BATMAN! Also Hamill is a superb Joker.
Also, that isnt Latin that they are singing in the songs. The studio wouldn't credit the performers in the choir, so Shirley Walker being a BAMF wrote their names into the music, backwards. So every performer was credited in the reversed version of the song.
They need Hamil for a live action version of The Killing Joke. At his age he would make a perfect 'old joker'. Or maybe for a Batman Beyond live action movie?
@@RadinV1 they kinda did a live action Conroy Batman on the CW.... It was so bad and out of character... Smiled when I first heard the voice, but CW trashed him.
I remember I showed this movie to my dad, but it seems he has a bias against animated movies, because when the movie finished, his final thoughts were "fun, but cheesy". It seems that the fact that it is animated blocked his mind from the deeper stuff that made this movie great. And I think that exact mentality is what caused this movie to bomb in the first place.
+Arthus850 It really irritates me the bias against animation most adults have. It's like they automatically just assume "Oh, it's animated, that automatically means it's a kid's movie and I shouldn't take it seriously." That's why every time the Oscars come up, they just automatically give the award to Pixar without any care about what other animated films are out there. That's why I'm really curious how The Killing Joke is gonna perform. There are rumors that it will be available in select theaters and if that's true, I'm VERY curious how well it will do and also how many ignorant parents would bring their 5-year olds to see it (it'd be Deadpool all over again lol)
C4DNerd Keep in mind, back then our parents were the ones who decided what movies we watched since we were still young at the time. But these days, we the fans decide for ourselves, and most of us are hyped for the Killing Joke.
+Arthus850 Oh don't get me wrong, I don't think the movie will do terribly by any means. But at the same time, I don't think it's ever going to reach profits on the level of the Dark Knight trilogy or even Batman V Superman just because of that prejudice against animation.
For people wondering why the marketing for the movie was non-existent and lackluster, it's because the decision to make it a theatrical film instead of direct to VHS was done VERY late into development, like last minute late. As a result, there was no time to efficiently market the film, and no one knew it was being played as a result, or if they did, all they saw was hastily slapped together generic trailers.
Honestly if Warner Brothers had handled this right and spent like half a year with a huge ad campaign with both cast and crew interviews and a bunch of trailers animated DC superhero movies would have been there answer to Disney dominance of animated movies.
I watched this movie as a kid, we had it on VHS, and anytime I think of Batman, actually think of who Batman really is, all I can think of is him, crying and begging for forgiveness at his parents grave. This movie created my vision of the dark knight, and I've loved it the whole time.
Doe JrPuck I had this movie on VHS too. Crazy thing, years later, I realized there was an accompanying comic book tucked away in the case of the VHS. It was a nice little surprise. Love this movie. Very nostalgic for me too.
NC, I grew up watching Batman TAS and this is the thing. Kevin Conroy IS Batman. Not Keaton, not Val Kilmer, Not Cloney, not Bale, and not Afleck. Mark Hamil IS The Joker. Hamil and Conroy are so iconic as these characters that they are what we wish the film adaptations were and to make it even better, these two are going to reunite for an animated version of The Killing Joke with an R rating.
+Webshooters1 Couldn't have said it better myself. Pray that the Killing Joke is pulled off well. But then again, consider who is doing the job and the cast, I think we are in for the time of our lives. Seriously, why do the Animated DC movies so good? They can rival or out do the Marvel MCU. Think if The Killing Joke had a budget like the Avengers?
+Rob George I think the killing joke will be excellent, there is something about Batman that transfers so well to animation, they don't compromise and try and tone it down so it's more child friendly, they keep it dark, I get the feeling that marvel are more concerned with selling action figures to go along with there cartoons than trying to do any that are faithful to the source material.
This all basically boils down to the fact that Bruce Timm and Paul Dini are god damn geniuses, and they made the definitive version of Batman. People get so obsessed with Batman being dark and brooding, but he's been pushed so far that it's just silly now. But the torment of the DCAU Batman was so much more powerful for the fact that he was a more realistic person with a full range of emotions. Like this movie shows, it was the fact that he could find joy that made his suffering so much more painful. If all you ever see is the pain, it loses it's impact.
+AkuTenshiiZero This. I've basically been petitioning DC to get at least one of them to work on the DCCU. They'd be able to fix the trash Synder has given us the last two movies.
+AkuTenshiiZero That's one of the things that I do kind of dislike about Batman v Superman having an older Batman. Affleck's Batman has been at it so long that that's all we see is the anger, the rage, and the pain. But to be honest...a lot of people who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder have a hard time moving past the trauma that hit them in the first place, and Bruce Wayne definitely suffers from PTSD and deals with it in a VERY unhealthy way. Yes, we cheer for Batman when he gets the bad guy, but should we? Or should we wonder at how much further it will be before he cracks completely? And that's what I LIKE about BvS's depiction of the character. We see him on the verge of cracking. As rage fueled as he was, there is literally no way that he would've been forced to listen to Superman's pleas if their mothers didn't share a name and hearing it out of nowhere caused a PTSD-related episode. It's something that few of the movies deal with or even get right when they do deal with it. In The Dark Knight Rises, we find a Bruce who left crime fighting because of Rachel's death. Someone filled with the kind of rage that Batman is supposed to be wouldn't drown in sorrows He would've gone right back out there and kept being vengeance, being the night. That's why Conroy and Affleck are my favorite Batmans right now.
This was, is, and shall probably always be my favorite Batman film. Kevin Conrey is, for me, the definitive Batman, and Mark Hamill is the definitive Joker. I wish the people behind the DCCU would look at this stuff when making the movies, as Bruce Timm and his team absolutely nailed it with Batman, Superman, and the Justice League.
I actually loved the killing joke, even the first half, it put more character into a big character, showing Batgirl as the a legitimate human being before she was shot in the beginning of the graphic novel, to really put more punch into the interaction. The second half was very true to the original novel, showing just how evil and twisted the joker truly is, and revealing what I personally believe is the best Joker origin story. Helping show the watchers Joker and Batmans relationship as it is, something the readers have seen for years, but the screen was really lacking. While the first half of the movie, obviously added for more screen time so it could be a full length movie, was arguable in how good or bad it might have been, the second half was a near perfect screen adaptation of what most people consider the greatest Batman comic of all time.
KaZ Neosis the frist half is useless to the story, the second half is amazing. The best 3 are The dark knight returns, under the red hood and all star Superman
justice league war and son of the batman are the worst dc animated films aprt from those yeah DCanimated films are GREAT!!! (especially justice league the new frontier,suerman vs the elite under the red hood and..well this one)
I basically agree. This is the essence of Batman at its best. And the music is a wonderful masterpiece. When I draw DC fanart, I run a playlist that has most of Shirley Walker's work for Batman. Mask of the Phantasm is the perfect score for anything Batman. The opening titles of the movie is just... Batman! Conroy and Hammill were inspired choices, and established a definitive version of both Bats and Joker. Also, it was before Bruce Timm developped a curious fetish for screwed up relationship between Batman and Batgirl (shudders), so it's what I call the Golden Age of the DCAU.
@Mitchell Movie Productions Sorry, but Bruce Timm does indeed have a fetish. He had Bruce amd Barbara date off screen during The New Batman Adventures episodes. And it was confirmed in two or three episodes of Batman Beyond. Plus Timm also draws naughty artwork of Batgirl and a number of characters from his animated series.
+bearlyrandom Ironically? No, that movie is hilarious, Arnold is some prime entertainment in that movie, so are bat nipples. Unironically, yes, yes you are the only one. It isn't good by any stretch of the imagination.
+bearlyrandom Yes and no. That movie was too cheesy and kiddish. It had some interesting parts, great acting, and fun action. But overall, it was too goofy, too kiddy, and too many joke puns in it. It's like the director tried to hard to make it for everyone all together form a kids show to an adult show but put too much in it (cough Bane). But all in all, I have to agree, it was a cheesy goofy movie.
***** But there's only one Joker that's as good as Mark Hamill's... Mark Hamill's. Seriously, there's no contest. I mean yeah, he was good in the original Star Wars trilogy, but DAMN is his Joker incredible.
Taking the most tactful way out, I don't think Luke and the Joker are at all comparable. Hamill's Luke is iconic, but how much of that was actually Hamill? I'm no actor, but Luke really doesn't seem like a challenging role. When I learned (not long ago, actually) that Hamill had been the definite voice of the Joker for decades, my respect for him multiplied exponentially. The animated Joker voice is so perfect and natural to the character that I'd never even thought to look up an actor - it was just "The Joker". So yeah, the Joker is a better role than Luke, but the comparison isn't exactly fair. It's like saying Ledger's Joker is better than his role as the son in the Patriot. :p
+James Gardner He's just a great psychotic villain, period. A funny thing is they found Hamill because of his role on the old Flash show as the Trickster, and basically modeled the mannerism of Joker similar to it. Leave it again to the Flash to create chaos lol
To be fair, I think Hamill’s acting has matured a _lot_ since the OT. His performance as Luke is way better in Last Jedi- if he disagreed with the script’s take on his character, he didn’t let it show in his performance.
"But Andy, what will vengeance solve?" "If there's anyone who knows the answer to that Bruce...it's you." This movie went a lot of places I never expected, and it's still my favorite Batman film as an adult.
Harley Quinn even as I child that line confused me XD I actually recall going to mom and asking how it was expelled because I swore it was spelled with an "e". Wow. This movie gives me nostalgia so hard I reconnected with 4yr old me.
@@Darth234Ravenous No way he is no George Lucas he actually was invovled with the shows and contributed them just as much as Eric Radomski and Paul Dini it's not like Lucas where it was his other producers and collaborators helped him.
You forgot to mention one of the most impressing aspects of this film. It's only 76 minutes long, which is crazy considering how much the movie manages to cover.
"It's not ashamed to be a comic book movie, as so many films were for a while." The sad thing is, I think a lot of movies still are. Fant4stic is a great example, trying to show things like Reed Richard's body stretching like something out of a terrifying body horror movie, but then when you see him stretching around in an action scene fighting Doctor Doom it just looks silly; the two just don't gel. Dare I say, even The Dark Knight trilogy almost seemed to be ashamed of it's comic book origins. Still to this day I don't understand why they included Catwoman but didn't have her in an actual cat costume. "Well, we're obviously trying to make this a more realistic and believable story, and no one is going to take a woman in a cat costume seriously and she'll just end up looking silly when she's standing next to our main hero A MAN IN A BAT COSTUME!"
There is an episode of The X-Files where a guy can stretch and contort his body to fit in small places and get into places to kill. That was way more terrifying as you barely saw him stretching but just enough to know what he was doing and when he looked at something you were scared of what even smaller places he could escape through
In Dark Knight Rising's defense, they did have Catwoman in what was essentially her Adam West costume. Which is probably the only thing I can say in that movies defense.
That must be why the trilogy was chock full of references to classic Batman comic storylines (Year One, Killing Joke, Knightfall) because it was so "ashamed". Really annoys me to no end when people say garbage like that.
Because fan service has never been cynically used to earn free points from the fan base. It's always been out of love for the source material, right? On a different note, know what bothered me the most about the pretensions of realism that those movies carried? The lack of the mob Wars set up in the first flick. It would've made much more sense than bane in the third flick and I can almost guarantee that it would've been executed better as well. But a recognizable name was more important than a coherent story, which brings us back to the aforementioned cynicism.
So instead of a brutal intelligent terrosrist systemically destroying Gotham while forcing Bruce to watch, rubbing his nose in his faliure to save the city, We'd have a bunch of generic mobsters warring it out with each other while the police waste time chasing Batman? How exactly is that better again?
Same here, even as a kid I knew this was an amazing movie. Sad I forgot about it for so long. But I'm glad Doug brought it up. Even with watching most of the Batman movies, I can safely say this was the best.
Charles WoodsonGOAT What's wrong with advertising to all audiences? It's better to include all audiences than just one group that'd be the only ones that get the source material
This movie makes you realize where the divide between Batman, the symbol and Batman, the person is. In addition, it makes you pity Bruce because the longer he wears the cowl, the more he loses what makes him a person
Mark Hamills Joker I just can't tell you how amazing he adapted his laugh accordingly. It's hard to watch the more "realistic" version in Ledger because the distinctive nature of the myriad kinds of laughter is such a way to nuance the character making it an icon stylistically. Personally I think good animation is always gonna be more faithful than translating such ideas into live action. Man i need to go watch this movie!
Mask of the Phantasm is one hell of an overlooked gem. I don't think any other Batman film has the emotional weight this one has, and that's where this one stands out. Batman turns from being a cool escapist character into a real human being.
Personally, I've always had Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker as my favorite animated Batman movie (mainly because it's the best story of how the Batman v. Joker rivalry finally ends, as well as Terry's deconstruction of the Joker and how to truly beat him - don't punch him, laugh at him), but Phantasm is up there. Top 3, definitely.
"The art of the mystery." That always bugs me. "Worlds greatest detective" and 9 times out of 10 there's nothing to figure out, and when there is it's all hardware and tech, as opposed to good old fashioned observation and deduction.
To me, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is just as dark and mature as any other Batman movie (live action or animated). Yeah, it doesn't have enough blood or swearing to get a PG-13 rating, but that isn't what makes it dark. What makes it so dark to me is how damn tragic it is. It spends a good portion giving Bruce hope for happiness and showing how great his life almost was just to completely take it all away from him in the end. And nothing is gained from what was lost, Bruce and Andrea just lose. Batman 89 ended on a triumphant note; Batman Returns had a more bittersweet ending, but the movie itself was so detached from reality that I couldn't really get invested; the Schumacher films were jokes; Batman Begins and TDKR had fairly positive endings. The only one that seemed to be as tragic was The Dark Knight, which is the only Batman movie I consider to be better than this one.
It may not have done alot at the box office but it was really well critically received at the time. I remember actually seeing this in the movies, it is a classic, I think it paved the way for DCs current run of animated movies, which are far superior to marvels attempts.
+darkashtar the box office failure was because they originally wanted to release directly to video, but the studio suddenly decided "oh no, let's release in a few theaters. They spent a lot of money in that magnificent animation and art style. Let's do it immediately"
***** Affleck is a decent Batman. But he isn't Conroy. Conroy can pull off the suave ladies man that Bruce Wayne pretends to be and the serious tone that Batman is. Also he was the first person to do the dual voice for Batman/Bruce Wayne. He actually started to do that on his own while recording and they loved it, so it stuck and everyone has copied it since.
I love the strange, odd touch of an ottoman sliding in from off-screen as the Joker meets the mobster. It makes no sense as to how it happened, but it makes as much sense as the Joker himself. I also love that he reaches out for the knife and, because it's for kids and it's the Joker, he attacks with the bologna.
Batman Returns was the least liked of the Burton films because it was "Too Dark". The studio gave Burton full reign over the production and it came out exactly as you would expect, a Tim Burton movie lol
Jacob Sabastian why does it matter? This is animated, not live action. HD doesn't make much difference with animation. Besides, toy can just play the DVD version on blu Ray player lol
Rocket Man nah it’d still get pg...of course by today’s standards it’d only barely get it but it’d still get it reason why is because they don’t cuss once in the entire movie maybe the word hell or god is in their but even by today’s standards that’s not an actual cussword so I’m pretty sure it’d still be of even by today’s standards
Mark Hamill is MY Joker. No one will EVER replace that for me.... EVER. I know he's said he's done voicing the character (after the Killing Joke) but the voice, the mannerisms, and THAT LAUGH is forever The Joker; and with that Joker came the creation of Harley Quinn.
Here's a pitch "Batman The Greatest Detective: The Movie". Half the time Batman googles stuff while drinking coffee and grabbing his chin going "hmmm". The other half he's sneaking into the morgue and the police station to get CSI and autopsy reports and using their photocopier to make copies of them -- but he brings his own paper and refills the toner because he knows the department is understaffed working with little budget; he's not a monster. At the big climax he swoops into Gordon's office and tells him: *Batman*: I know who did it, commissioner: it was col. Mustard in the dining room with an icepick. *Gordon*: No one's escaped Arkham this week? *Batman*: No, but crime never sleeps. *Gordon*: Maybe you should take a vacation, Bruce, get some rest. Thank you for clearing the case for us, but seriously I'm worried about you. *Batman*: Thank you, commissioner. I'll think about it. And then he swoops out the window. THE END
+Stefan B. Yeah, it's sad that detective stories are so boring. Holmes, Poirot, Sam Spade, pretty much every show on CBS - who would want to watch those.
+datdudebeghost 001 I wished I had, I just cheaped out. Fortunately, I have the special editions of Bad Blood, JL vs TT, Batman vs. Robin, and plan on getting the Killing Joke special edition (and I'm driving 4 hours just to see the Killing Joke in theatres.
The main reason no one seems to talk about this film is because Warner Bros. kind of screwed it over: The film was originally meant to hit direct-to-video markets instead of the theater before WB decided to put it on the big screen as a last-minute choice. To make a long story short, the marketing team didn't have enough time to advertise the film properly given such a short notice, to the point where no one even knew it came out at the time. Nowadays, with the advent of the internet and DVD, more people have the opportunity to learn about it and see it for themselves. That and, if we're talking about the best animated DC film, Return of the Joker is still the king...or the jester, I guess.
Mark Hamill was always the best Joker imo. Ledger's Joker is awesome, but he feels less like Joker and more like a more generic madman, I dunno. Not enough jokes maybe, not enough false light-heartedness? Maybe it's just Hamill's laugh =D
7 ปีที่แล้ว +16
I think so too, Heath Ledger nailed the modern/bronze age Joker perfectly, but Hamill (and somewhat Nickolson I must say, but not entirely), nailed all three ages (Bronze, Silver, and Gold).
Daiyuki117 agreed. Hamill has that spot for the awesome campy, gory fun, Ledger’s was also very well done and of course absolutely terrifying! Its hard to pick and obviously Suicide Squad Joker (please excuse me using Sucicide Squad as i am not good at remembering names) had worked out like a looney too and thats what i’m sure people love to see! Effort! And sometimes in cases like Hamill, they were just born for the role. It fits them. Ya get me?
Heath played a good villain, but not a good Joker. Hamill and Nicholson felt like they were actually Joker. They had a certain confidence and bravado missing from Ledger's portrayal, which seemed to be nothing but mumbling and rambling. Another good Joker was Michael Emerson in Dark Knight Returns. He nailed it as a Joker who is aging and desperate for one more shot to piss Batman off. (And damn did he piss him off) Actually, Dark Knight Returns is probably my all time favorite; both the Frank Miller comic and the animated telling. I wish Batman vs Superman had used DKR as its basis. Instead, we got a train wreck of a movie with a VERY coked up Lex Luthor. I guess having Joker commit mass murder like he did would've been too much even for a Batman movie. (Guy gasses 100+ people, then hands out poisoned cotton candy to children, then runs around the tunnel of love, gunning down random people. )
I dont like the Ledger Joker. He was a good but not as Joker but a regular psycho. He wasnt funny at all. Joker even at his most terrifying can be funny as hell.
Oh yea man out of all the jokers, Hamill is the best, no contest. The cartoon joker and batman are the way i usually imagine them being, i don't imagine Batman talking in that weird extra low gravely voice unless im making a joke about batman investigating his own parents murder and it turned out the killer was his mom who is also a vampire (Actually happened in the comics)
+Deus Umbra I live in Mexico, so I only heard Hamill in the animated series a few years ago, but I met him in the Arkham Asylum game and as soon as I heard his voice I was like "who's this guy? THIS sounds like THE joker" and absolutely loved it
***** Screwattack, Desk of Deathbattle, theres an episode where she talks about a crazy fucking comic where Batman gets shot by Darkseid's undodgeable laser (which batman has dodged before but superman couldn't) and it sends him back in time and whipes his memory, he ends up in prehistoric times, kills a giant bat, wears its skin, becomes Cave Batman basically, then he ends up on Blackbeard's ship and is his first mate, then hes a detective investigating his own parent's murder, finds out his mom that died wasn't really his mom and just a body double, his mom ordered the hit, turns out shes a vampire, he kills her, ends up back in the present just a few moments after getting shot. This is canon btw.
I've had this movie for a long time, and I love it. There's just one problem: the disc is scratched, so it doesn't play anymore 😔 Despite this, I still enjoy it.
You know, they _do_ make devices that clean and repair CDs and DVDs. They may be a bit harder to find with the very near death of the format, but they're out there. Unless the disc is practically destroyed, you can probably find a solution somewhere.
I do have to say I noticed most people forget Mark Hamill even voiced Joker and Trickster at the same time and honestly out of all the versions of both characters that have voices that I have seen he is the best one because he actually stayed true to the comics while throwing his own personality into the characters plus I love how in the Arrowverse on CW Jay Garrick's version of Trickster is dressed similar to Joker combining the two into one character played by Hamill and I want them to have him play Joker in Batwoman if they bring Joker into that multiverse
And not far behind would be the made-for-direct market video BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER... especially if you get the uncensored, original cut!!!
+David Crader Honestly, this film might edge ahead of Phantasm for me. I think the only reason it loses to Phantasm as a Batman movie is that you have to have some prior idea of what Batman's history is in order to really appreciate it.
+jeramahia123 I WAS ABOUT TO BRING THAT UP!!! I was amazed that Phantasm was back and probably as one of the most dangerous and important roles. Phantasm was suppose to be the one to put Terry down the path of batman. The one who killed Batman's parents.
+ultimaT Not only that, but another reason was because the Phantasm felt that the idea of committing murder to try to make a new Batman spat in the face of everything that Batman stood for.
I remember seeing Mask of the Phantasm once a long time ago, and I recall really liking it, it really is deserving of high praise. :) I also remember "Batman and Mr. Freeze: SubZero" being a really good one, about Mr. Freeze kidnapping Batgirl because she has the same rare blood type as his wife and thinks he can use Batgirl to cure her, that's a good one too! :D
9:05 I made a batman suit myself, and after putting on the suit, cape, gloves, and boots, I asked my cousin to play this music when I was putting on the cowl. The soundtrack of this movie is the best
Marvel's animation is notorious for being shithouse though. In fact Marvel is known for being worse than DC in just about every regard (aside from the live action movies). Also, use of the term 'SJW' pretty much disqualifies anything you have to say.
***** Actually I say that because people who use the term SJW are bitchy little snowflakes who are offended by people being offended and the very idea of a strong lead who isn't a white guy. I'm guessing you had a hissy fit when they cast Michael B. Jordan in Fan4stic. Also, how are writers restricted in any way? The most significant cases of censorship I've seen have been from the hard-line conservatives. Sure, if you put in a female character who gets raped, for example, you're going to get feminists complaining. You'll also get to hear from the PTC and be barred from showing your content in every conservative-run country in existence. But back onto the topic, I've seen both Marvel and DC's animation firsthand, and while both studios can have their bad days, Marvel's seem to be more frequent. Look at the shithouse Spooderman animation in this very video for proof of concept. And then there was the show which had midget versions of all the Marvel characters. Also, when you don't care about something, it tends to be shithouse. Also also, *It **isn't ***remove 'a' ****shithouse, *****just didn't ******give *******replace 'any importance' with proper English ********about a million missing commas *********about a million missing capitals **********full stop. That was your first paragraph.
Sucks to be you. Alas, I was TOO young, I think. I couldn't appreciate it as much as I would now. The action was great, but the character development bored me. I also didn't understand some things. Like just what happened to that old man that offered Joker money for help. The grin was the least of it.
Conroy and Hamill reprising their roles in the upcoming film "The Killing Joke" has me excited for it! I miss the DCAU. BATS, SATS, Justice League, JLU, and Batman Beyond. So many fond memories. For me, Conroy IS Batman and Hamill IS Joker. There have been some other guys who did well in those roles, but those two set the bar.
fromolwyoming honestly, the killing joke movie went there but it could of been darker, also they turned Barbara Gordon into...well just another stereotypical Mary Jane
Not doing any advertising counts as frakking up. But, more specifcially... [quote] The film did not have a pre-release screening for critics, which hurt it badly, since when a production company does that, it indicates that the film is probably awful. The reviews that did come out were generally positive, but they were on a Saturday, instead of the launch day, and generally, movie reviews on a Saturday are passed over by readers. [/quote] Simply handing the movie to the critics would have made it go from Cult Classic, to Box Office Hit, likely.
Least it doesn't have godawful Bale acting or Batman blowing people away with grenades. Don't know how anyone took the Dark Knight Trilogy seriously with Bale being Office Batman.
Just watched this movie, absolutely brilliant! Especially since they did all that in 75min! Great characters, great development and story. I think the best Batman movie
i watched this movie when i was like 10 years old and it left such a big impact on me when i was a kid , the music especially was seared into my soul to this day , such an amazing movie but i always just asumed it was a classic but now that you point it out yea no one talks about it
9:15 I love this moment when Bruce puts the mask on and becomes the Batman. I particularly love it when he suddenly gets those scary white eyes between all the black. Reminds me of those lego figures, where Bruce got a little white area on his forhead, so that when the mask is put on he also got those eyes.
Doug, you've given the perfect review. I have been a die hard fan of the Animated Series ever since it came out. Phantasm is a masterpiece. The whole Bruce Timm cast and animation team just had EVERYTHING right. If you don't have their "Batman Animated" behind the scenes book, you're really missing out on just how perfect their team was. As a kid, I probably watched Mask of the Phantasm over 100 times--wearing that tape out. The stakes were ALL raised just enough to relay to you the fact that this was a truly epic production. Even Bruce's snarky commentary was stepped up ("Nice handkerchief Arthur. You know where you can STICK IT!"). I totally agree that Mask of the Phantasm is the best Batman film so far, just like the Animated Series is the most true-to-character variation the Dark Knight has had. Keaton is great, Kilmer was...alright. I liked Affleck but they really need to focus on his intellect and detective skills if they're going to keep him from wearing out his welcome. I really don't like the Nolanverse films--bad, very generic "anarchy" Joker and goofy Bane and throat cancer Bale just cheapen the whole spectacle, and that's ever before the lunacy of the third act of "Rising" with "Robin" and the freaking nuke... Anyway, I know you, like me, will be snatching up the Killing Joke this summer--it's the FULL CAST of the Bruce Timm team again. Kevin Conroy, Mark Hammill, the works. Now, I do wish they had used the Animated Series models, but still---a hard "R" animated Batman film done by the only people I can yet call "the masters" of the Batman license...I can't wait!
Kevin and Mark have and always will until my soul leaves this Earth, be my favorite versions of my favorite characters. Conroy is The Batman, and Hamill is The Joker. Long live both of them.
Technically speaking the best batman movie isn't a movie at all, but a game... I felt like arkham asylum captured the essence of batman with leaving you in a good mystery.... since its just batman being batman.
I've heard a rumor that it's actually supposed to be based of "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth" comic. Batman: Arkham Asylum game took huge inspiration from it.
I honestly prefer the Telltale version of Batman, which mostly operates as a political thriller/mystery while also providing a neat new perspective on Batman's psyche (more specifically, having the player determine how Bruce would react to his new situations). It accomplishes this by putting a shocking twist to an established lore we all knew so dearly and having both Bruce and the player experience losing everything because of it, while also providing fresh new takes on villains and characters that have a much more personal connection. Plus, the current season of the game excels at creating a brand new version of the Joker, one we can actually sympathize with but still be terrified with his unpredictability.
As far as the Arkham Games go, I rank it 1. City, 2. Asylum, 3. Origins, 4. Knight. Yeah I know putting Knight below Origins, seems wrong, but there are two major reasons. 1. Way too much Bat-Mobile. 2. Shoehorning the Joker into an Arkham game again. You can say the same about Origins, but it makes sense. It is the Origins of Batman, so having Joker in it is kind of needed. With Arkham Knight, you are just shafting a great villain like the Scarecrow, just so Joker can be in the spotlight again.
I strongly agree. This is my favorite batman movie in terms of source material. It's hard to pick which is the best. Nonetheless, this movie is criminally underrated.
This movie is one of the greatest Batman animated movies. I remember watching it a longggg time ago, and it has always stayed with me ever since. It was just very intense, dramatic, emotional, and more.
Oh this brought back memories. I remember seeing this in theaters. Even my Dad liked it and he abhors cartoons as universal kiddy fare. Phantasm was such a cool villain, and the story was engaging. it needs a blu-ray release, it must have one.
Return of the Joker is fantastic. My favorite scene in the movie is probably the reveal of the Joker. I love the use of shadows, the atmosphere, the pacing, the voice acting, it's superb, as is the rest of the movie.
I met Kevin Conroy himself at Comic Con and he said this was his favorite Batman, so we might wanna listen
+ADrew cool
+ADrew Conroy is easily my favourite Batman.
+ADrew Conroy is the best Batman because he is the only actor who has realized that Bruce Wayne is Batman's alter ego and not the other way around. This alone makes his performance head and shoulders better than the rest.
+MKG176 definitely, conroy knew how Bruce Wayne should sound in his casual manner and when he should sound like batman, most batmen now don't seem to do that, especially for the batman of the new animated films such as batman vs Robin, batman bad blood, and the son of batman.
+fallenangel2100 yeah that's true.
"I didn't count on being happy"
That one line...so much tears
The lines for me were "it...it just doesn't hurt so bad anymore, you can understand that can't you?" I might be quoting it wrong but the point is, I love that line. The hesitation, as if he's scared to admit that their death doesn't haunt him like it used to. And the guilt, because he feels it's wrong to not be traumatized by it anymore. As if that's saying he doesn't care about them. ALL that, just from 1-2 lines.
@@matteoloduca6280 Mask of the Phantasm to me is truly the greatest Batman movie of all time, probably the greatest Dc one.
@@hashimahmed7271 same, it's a shame that it's not on netflix anymore
@@matteoloduca6280 it happened similar to me. In the end when he is in the roof with his eyes closed and appears the batsignal and he looks with a tired look like "here i go again", and the lines you mentioned really makes you feel sad for him, like what he is doing is not his crusade, but his curse.
@@matteoloduca6280 This is something I hate from the newer Batman movies. Aside from the Dark Knight trilogy (that I personally feel was TOO realistic and grounded to be a proper Batman movie) everything I've seen of Batman is all about his strength, his will, the fear he puts in criminals and the "glory" of The Batman. Few of them ever focus on the sheer strain being Batman puts on him, emotionally and physically, or just how broken he is inside.
The ones that did that best are for sure the Mask of the Phantasm and the Arkham series of games.
I love how scared Alfred is the first time he sees Bruce in the mask. He is genuinely freaked.
+Van PastorMan It makes no sense tho, like shouldn't he know what he looks like by now....
+Ticklemonster k It was the first time dude
+DynMads Lol he didn't understand it was the first time.
Oh my god, I had chills! :'D
+Van PastorMan Alfred: My god.........how the hell do you do that with your eyes?!? XD
THAT is the Music that pops into my head when I think of Batman. I grew up with this show and its shared universe. THIS IS BATMAN!
Also Hamill is a superb Joker.
any idea what it's called?
- I think of the Hans Zimmer but this music is still great.
Does anyone now the name of the music playing throughout the video
Also, that isnt Latin that they are singing in the songs. The studio wouldn't credit the performers in the choir, so Shirley Walker being a BAMF wrote their names into the music, backwards. So every performer was credited in the reversed version of the song.
no, Hamill is THE Joker. Every other iteration is just a poser by comparison.
"Instead of Nicholson and Ledger, maybe throw in Hamill."
BOI YOU ACT LIKE I DON'T SAY HAMILL EVERY DAMN TIME
They need Hamil for a live action version of The Killing Joke. At his age he would make a perfect 'old joker'. Or maybe for a Batman Beyond live action movie?
Same goes for Conroy.
Exactly what I say
Sounds like a good idea now, but back then impossible because of Skywalker
@@RadinV1 they kinda did a live action Conroy Batman on the CW....
It was so bad and out of character... Smiled when I first heard the voice, but CW trashed him.
Conroy and Hamill, BEST, period. Hands down. No contest.
Especially their plentitude of content where they reprised their roles.
I say a good second place for me is Romero not just because he was the first but you could tell he had fun with the roll. Hamill is at the top for me.
I really love him as joker. But I grew up with ledger so I would give it to him. But hamill is still great
I remember I showed this movie to my dad, but it seems he has a bias against animated movies, because when the movie finished, his final thoughts were "fun, but cheesy". It seems that the fact that it is animated blocked his mind from the deeper stuff that made this movie great. And I think that exact mentality is what caused this movie to bomb in the first place.
+Arthus850 Yep
+Arthus850
It really irritates me the bias against animation most adults have. It's like they automatically just assume "Oh, it's animated, that automatically means it's a kid's movie and I shouldn't take it seriously." That's why every time the Oscars come up, they just automatically give the award to Pixar without any care about what other animated films are out there.
That's why I'm really curious how The Killing Joke is gonna perform. There are rumors that it will be available in select theaters and if that's true, I'm VERY curious how well it will do and also how many ignorant parents would bring their 5-year olds to see it (it'd be Deadpool all over again lol)
C4DNerd Keep in mind, back then our parents were the ones who decided what movies we watched since we were still young at the time. But these days, we the fans decide for ourselves, and most of us are hyped for the Killing Joke.
+Arthus850 I've movie lovers hate Grave of Fireflies and Metropolis based on what you describe.
Also Cowboy Bebop.
+Arthus850
Oh don't get me wrong, I don't think the movie will do terribly by any means. But at the same time, I don't think it's ever going to reach profits on the level of the Dark Knight trilogy or even Batman V Superman just because of that prejudice against animation.
For people wondering why the marketing for the movie was non-existent and lackluster, it's because the decision to make it a theatrical film instead of direct to VHS was done VERY late into development, like last minute late. As a result, there was no time to efficiently market the film, and no one knew it was being played as a result, or if they did, all they saw was hastily slapped together generic trailers.
Yeah that's what I heard also. The official trailer for the film seemed more like a teaser.
Honestly if Warner Brothers had handled this right and spent like half a year with a huge ad campaign with both cast and crew interviews and a bunch of trailers animated DC superhero movies would have been there answer to Disney dominance of animated movies.
I only remember the ad in the Fox Kids Club magazine as the promotion for Christmas 1993. That's it.
It was released in theaters during Christmas eve.
I watched this movie as a kid, we had it on VHS, and anytime I think of Batman, actually think of who Batman really is, all I can think of is him, crying and begging for forgiveness at his parents grave.
This movie created my vision of the dark knight, and I've loved it the whole time.
Doe JrPuck I had this movie on VHS too. Crazy thing, years later, I realized there was an accompanying comic book tucked away in the case of the VHS. It was a nice little surprise. Love this movie. Very nostalgic for me too.
Yah it was this version of batman that made me love batman. No other version can top this momment.
Mark Hamill is the best Joker, he had a laugh for every situation.
You can't spell Mark Hamill without Arkham.
+SilverHairedFreak25 Now I'M laughing too
a Jedi-joker
The student has become the Joker.
Oh. My. GOD.
mARK HAMill
How does nobody else notice that?!
Incidentally, it's finally getting a Blu_Ray release on July 25th, 2017.
ironballs16
OMG really!!!
how have i not heard about that until now, i gotta go buy that shit!
OMG thank you for this comment, seriously.
Yes. But only through Warner Archive.
TO AMAZON!!!
Hey that's my birthday!
I bought it
9:16 That "My God" from Alfred gives me chills every time.
Please do an actual review of Mask Of The Phantasm!
Better yet, review all of the Batman animated movies. Do Bat Month!!!
That's seems impossible with how many movies there are
For nostalgia critic to do that, he'd have to do at least two to three months of reviews for a lot of the batman films.
+judeskater93 I would be so happy to have someone like Doug mock the shit out of 'Son of Batman' though. It's just astonishingly bad.
+Gerardo Otero Ohyeah!
+Trevor Kovacs Bat-cember?
NC, I grew up watching Batman TAS and this is the thing.
Kevin Conroy IS Batman. Not Keaton, not Val Kilmer, Not Cloney, not Bale, and not Afleck.
Mark Hamil IS The Joker.
Hamil and Conroy are so iconic as these characters that they are what we wish the film adaptations were and to make it even better, these two are going to reunite for an animated version of The Killing Joke with an R rating.
+Webshooters1 Couldn't have said it better myself. Pray that the Killing Joke is pulled off well. But then again, consider who is doing the job and the cast, I think we are in for the time of our lives. Seriously, why do the Animated DC movies so good? They can rival or out do the Marvel MCU. Think if The Killing Joke had a budget like the Avengers?
+Rob George I think the killing joke will be excellent, there is something about Batman that transfers so well to animation, they don't compromise and try and tone it down so it's more child friendly, they keep it dark, I get the feeling that marvel are more concerned with selling action figures to go along with there cartoons than trying to do any that are faithful to the source material.
Don't you think that could be possibly BECAUSE you grew up watching TAS? Not that there's anything wrong with that.
+Char Aznable The animation looks weird
***** Is the voice acting terrible (by that I mean delivery because its fucking Kevin and Mark doing the voices)?
This all basically boils down to the fact that Bruce Timm and Paul Dini are god damn geniuses, and they made the definitive version of Batman. People get so obsessed with Batman being dark and brooding, but he's been pushed so far that it's just silly now. But the torment of the DCAU Batman was so much more powerful for the fact that he was a more realistic person with a full range of emotions. Like this movie shows, it was the fact that he could find joy that made his suffering so much more painful. If all you ever see is the pain, it loses it's impact.
those two guys made me tears for Solomon Grundy TWICE!!! they don't have the respect they deserve
+AkuTenshiiZero Preach!!
+AkuTenshiiZero And then Batman became the "I'm Batman" stereotype, starting with the Arkham games.
+AkuTenshiiZero This. I've basically been petitioning DC to get at least one of them to work on the DCCU. They'd be able to fix the trash Synder has given us the last two movies.
+AkuTenshiiZero That's one of the things that I do kind of dislike about Batman v Superman having an older Batman. Affleck's Batman has been at it so long that that's all we see is the anger, the rage, and the pain. But to be honest...a lot of people who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder have a hard time moving past the trauma that hit them in the first place, and Bruce Wayne definitely suffers from PTSD and deals with it in a VERY unhealthy way. Yes, we cheer for Batman when he gets the bad guy, but should we? Or should we wonder at how much further it will be before he cracks completely? And that's what I LIKE about BvS's depiction of the character. We see him on the verge of cracking. As rage fueled as he was, there is literally no way that he would've been forced to listen to Superman's pleas if their mothers didn't share a name and hearing it out of nowhere caused a PTSD-related episode. It's something that few of the movies deal with or even get right when they do deal with it. In The Dark Knight Rises, we find a Bruce who left crime fighting because of Rachel's death. Someone filled with the kind of rage that Batman is supposed to be wouldn't drown in sorrows He would've gone right back out there and kept being vengeance, being the night. That's why Conroy and Affleck are my favorite Batmans right now.
I always say Hamill is the best Joker because of both the animated series and the games
Well he has the best laugh by far.
This was, is, and shall probably always be my favorite Batman film. Kevin Conrey is, for me, the definitive Batman, and Mark Hamill is the definitive Joker. I wish the people behind the DCCU would look at this stuff when making the movies, as Bruce Timm and his team absolutely nailed it with Batman, Superman, and the Justice League.
+Halo Canon Justice league for me is the best superhero show and even the best media representation of the genre
Souji Mura I still rewatch it like crazy on Netflix.
God I absolutely LOVED Mask of the Phantasm, since I was a kid to today, everytime I watch it it's always as awesome as before.
Joker’s final laugh was fucking blood curdling! I will never forget it.
Fun Fact: If you ignore the Killing Joke, DC's animated films are by far the most superior adaptations to film.
it was the one that i liked the most actually
I actually loved the killing joke, even the first half, it put more character into a big character, showing Batgirl as the a legitimate human being before she was shot in the beginning of the graphic novel, to really put more punch into the interaction. The second half was very true to the original novel, showing just how evil and twisted the joker truly is, and revealing what I personally believe is the best Joker origin story. Helping show the watchers Joker and Batmans relationship as it is, something the readers have seen for years, but the screen was really lacking.
While the first half of the movie, obviously added for more screen time so it could be a full length movie, was arguable in how good or bad it might have been, the second half was a near perfect screen adaptation of what most people consider the greatest Batman comic of all time.
KaZ Neosis the frist half is useless to the story, the second half is amazing. The best 3 are The dark knight returns, under the red hood and all star Superman
wah wah another whiny bitch that didnt like the barbara / bruce pairing.
justice league war and son of the batman are the worst dc animated films aprt from those yeah DCanimated films are GREAT!!! (especially justice league the new frontier,suerman vs the elite under the red hood and..well this one)
I basically agree. This is the essence of Batman at its best.
And the music is a wonderful masterpiece. When I draw DC fanart, I run a playlist that has most of Shirley Walker's work for Batman. Mask of the Phantasm is the perfect score for anything Batman. The opening titles of the movie is just... Batman!
Conroy and Hammill were inspired choices, and established a definitive version of both Bats and Joker.
Also, it was before Bruce Timm developped a curious fetish for screwed up relationship between Batman and Batgirl (shudders), so it's what I call the Golden Age of the DCAU.
8:46 My balls dropped from pure awesomeness when that choir started chanting.
@Mitchell Movie Productions Sorry, but Bruce Timm does indeed have a fetish. He had Bruce amd Barbara date off screen during The New Batman Adventures episodes. And it was confirmed in two or three episodes of Batman Beyond. Plus Timm also draws naughty artwork of Batgirl and a number of characters from his animated series.
I really liked Batman Under the red hood
yeah!
Soooo am i the only one who liked batman and robin?
AGREED!
+bearlyrandom Ironically? No, that movie is hilarious, Arnold is some prime entertainment in that movie, so are bat nipples. Unironically, yes, yes you are the only one. It isn't good by any stretch of the imagination.
+bearlyrandom Yes and no. That movie was too cheesy and kiddish. It had some interesting parts, great acting, and fun action. But overall, it was too goofy, too kiddy, and too many joke puns in it. It's like the director tried to hard to make it for everyone all together form a kids show to an adult show but put too much in it (cough Bane). But all in all, I have to agree, it was a cheesy goofy movie.
Mark Hamil is better as the Joker than he is Luke Skywalker in my opinion.
As a huge Star Wars fan... I can't really argue with this statement. I mean c'mon; listen to that laugh.
***** But there's only one Joker that's as good as Mark Hamill's...
Mark Hamill's. Seriously, there's no contest. I mean yeah, he was good in the original Star Wars trilogy, but DAMN is his Joker incredible.
Taking the most tactful way out, I don't think Luke and the Joker are at all comparable. Hamill's Luke is iconic, but how much of that was actually Hamill? I'm no actor, but Luke really doesn't seem like a challenging role.
When I learned (not long ago, actually) that Hamill had been the definite voice of the Joker for decades, my respect for him multiplied exponentially. The animated Joker voice is so perfect and natural to the character that I'd never even thought to look up an actor - it was just "The Joker".
So yeah, the Joker is a better role than Luke, but the comparison isn't exactly fair. It's like saying Ledger's Joker is better than his role as the son in the Patriot. :p
+James Gardner He's just a great psychotic villain, period. A funny thing is they found Hamill because of his role on the old Flash show as the Trickster, and basically modeled the mannerism of Joker similar to it. Leave it again to the Flash to create chaos lol
To be fair, I think Hamill’s acting has matured a _lot_ since the OT. His performance as Luke is way better in Last Jedi- if he disagreed with the script’s take on his character, he didn’t let it show in his performance.
"Try listening to this without getting chills"
I lost 10 bucks
i jizzed my soul
Best Batman ending hands down.
We all lost everything.......it was totally worth it
iCoolCarGuy g
The Último Knight your damn right it was
"But Andy, what will vengeance solve?"
"If there's anyone who knows the answer to that Bruce...it's you."
This movie went a lot of places I never expected, and it's still my favorite Batman film as an adult.
"Watch this and try not to get chills."
I failed spectacularly.
I knew exactly what scene it was an INSTANTLY got chills
The VGC I _didn't_, and same!
+The VGC Which scene tell me?
I didn't get chills, but I did smile.
I have it on my phone. I play the opening on loop. Perma-chills.
Girl: What about the I word?
Me and Bruce: The I word?
Girl: Engagement
Me: GIRL WTF DID YOU GO TO SCHOOL!?
(I realized Bruce's face he was like what did I get myself into!) xD
Harley Quinn even as I child that line confused me XD
I actually recall going to mom and asking how it was expelled because I swore it was spelled with an "e".
Wow. This movie gives me nostalgia so hard I reconnected with 4yr old me.
Harley Quinn I was watching this with subtitles, and it said, "ingagement." I was confused.
Ikr
Bruce Wayne has a reputation for dating women with killer bodies and no brains. It is all part of his act to hide his identity as Batman.
Bruce Timm is an artist. Anything he touches turns to gold. It is timeless
Maybe in the past but after what happened with Batman and Harley Quinn and how that turned out he may be falling into the same trap George Lucas did.
@@Darth234Ravenous atleast we can all still trust Paul Dini.
@@Darth234Ravenous No way he is no George Lucas he actually was invovled with the shows and contributed them just as much as Eric Radomski and Paul Dini it's not like Lucas where it was his other producers and collaborators helped him.
@Mitchell Movie Productions how so?
You forgot to mention one of the most impressing aspects of this film. It's only 76 minutes long, which is crazy considering how much the movie manages to cover.
"It's not ashamed to be a comic book movie, as so many films were for a while." The sad thing is, I think a lot of movies still are. Fant4stic is a great example, trying to show things like Reed Richard's body stretching like something out of a terrifying body horror movie, but then when you see him stretching around in an action scene fighting Doctor Doom it just looks silly; the two just don't gel. Dare I say, even The Dark Knight trilogy almost seemed to be ashamed of it's comic book origins. Still to this day I don't understand why they included Catwoman but didn't have her in an actual cat costume. "Well, we're obviously trying to make this a more realistic and believable story, and no one is going to take a woman in a cat costume seriously and she'll just end up looking silly when she's standing next to our main hero A MAN IN A BAT COSTUME!"
There is an episode of The X-Files where a guy can stretch and contort his body to fit in small places and get into places to kill. That was way more terrifying as you barely saw him stretching but just enough to know what he was doing and when he looked at something you were scared of what even smaller places he could escape through
In Dark Knight Rising's defense, they did have Catwoman in what was essentially her Adam West costume. Which is probably the only thing I can say in that movies defense.
That must be why the trilogy was chock full of references to classic Batman comic storylines (Year One, Killing Joke, Knightfall) because it was so "ashamed". Really annoys me to no end when people say garbage like that.
Because fan service has never been cynically used to earn free points from the fan base. It's always been out of love for the source material, right?
On a different note, know what bothered me the most about the pretensions of realism that those movies carried? The lack of the mob Wars set up in the first flick. It would've made much more sense than bane in the third flick and I can almost guarantee that it would've been executed better as well.
But a recognizable name was more important than a coherent story, which brings us back to the aforementioned cynicism.
So instead of a brutal intelligent terrosrist systemically destroying Gotham while forcing Bruce to watch, rubbing his nose in his faliure to save the city, We'd have a bunch of generic mobsters warring it out with each other while the police waste time chasing Batman? How exactly is that better again?
Batman Eats A Hotdog.
best film ever.
+David Marshall LMAO
The Joker **bows dramatically** thank you, thank you.
I'm here all week!
*****
Yes.
👌👌👌👌👌👌
A hotdog eats Batman. Best sequel ever.
Just google it if you haven't seen it yet.
I love Mark Hamill as the Joker every time he does a line and the laugh at the same time makes me smile as well and happy!
"Hello Operator, I believe my party has been disconnected....hahahahahahaaha." - Joker.
Great line
Interesting note, the "Latin" in the music is actually Warner Bros staff's names sung backwards
Very interesting. Thank you!
That's just funny
It actually credits people who werent getting credit (for some reason) for preforming and helping with the song
I remember owning this movie on VHS. I loved it as a kid.
same
Same here, even as a kid I knew this was an amazing movie. Sad I forgot about it for so long. But I'm glad Doug brought it up. Even with watching most of the Batman movies, I can safely say this was the best.
+mattbenz99 Reviews same here. Saw it when I was as young as 6
same. watching this movie as a kid made me fall in love with the bat.
Me too.
This is the best batman movie for fans of the comic. Tim Burton's batman and Nolan's especially weren't made for comic book fans.
Charles WoodsonGOAT What's wrong with advertising to all audiences? It's better to include all audiences than just one group that'd be the only ones that get the source material
Charles WoodsonGOAT still the Movie can be debatable between The Dark Knight And Burton's Version if It's the Best Batman Movie...
That's basically every live-action comic book ever.
Charles WoodsonGOAT I've watched this movie a ton of times as a kid and yet I don't remember anything about it. I think it's time to revisit it.
I've never read a DC comic. All of Bruce Timm's DC series were _amazing_ because they were great story telling.
This movie makes you realize where the divide between Batman, the symbol and Batman, the person is. In addition, it makes you pity Bruce because the longer he wears the cowl, the more he loses what makes him a person
Mark Hamills Joker I just can't tell you how amazing he adapted his laugh accordingly. It's hard to watch the more "realistic" version in Ledger because the distinctive nature of the myriad kinds of laughter is such a way to nuance the character making it an icon stylistically. Personally I think good animation is always gonna be more faithful than translating such ideas into live action. Man i need to go watch this movie!
Mask of the Phantasm is one hell of an overlooked gem. I don't think any other Batman film has the emotional weight this one has, and that's where this one stands out. Batman turns from being a cool escapist character into a real human being.
+WatcherOfThe2000s rest in peace Watcher, you were good, very good, maybe even the best cartoon reviewer :\
I absolutely agree. I'm looking forward to your last episodes watcher, you were great.
Personally, I've always had Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker as my favorite animated Batman movie (mainly because it's the best story of how the Batman v. Joker rivalry finally ends, as well as Terry's deconstruction of the Joker and how to truly beat him - don't punch him, laugh at him), but Phantasm is up there. Top 3, definitely.
+Michael Ramon That is definitely one of the best Batman movies. Batman Beyond deserves way more love.
+Michael Ramon World's Finest is still my go to BvS movie. nolan had a lot to compete with...
that's an overlooked one as well!
"The art of the mystery."
That always bugs me. "Worlds greatest detective" and 9 times out of 10 there's nothing to figure out, and when there is it's all hardware and tech, as opposed to good old fashioned observation and deduction.
Remember in The Dark Knight, when The Joker said that people show who they really are when they're about to die? Well, here, the Joker laughed. Scary.
To me, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is just as dark and mature as any other Batman movie (live action or animated). Yeah, it doesn't have enough blood or swearing to get a PG-13 rating, but that isn't what makes it dark. What makes it so dark to me is how damn tragic it is. It spends a good portion giving Bruce hope for happiness and showing how great his life almost was just to completely take it all away from him in the end. And nothing is gained from what was lost, Bruce and Andrea just lose. Batman 89 ended on a triumphant note; Batman Returns had a more bittersweet ending, but the movie itself was so detached from reality that I couldn't really get invested; the Schumacher films were jokes; Batman Begins and TDKR had fairly positive endings. The only one that seemed to be as tragic was The Dark Knight, which is the only Batman movie I consider to be better than this one.
Tocuba What about the ending to under the Red Hood?
It may not have done alot at the box office but it was really well critically received at the time. I remember actually seeing this in the movies, it is a classic, I think it paved the way for DCs current run of animated movies, which are far superior to marvels attempts.
+Jin Kazama They are working on killing joke
+darkashtar the box office failure was because they originally wanted to release directly to video, but the studio suddenly decided "oh no, let's release in a few theaters. They spent a lot of money in that magnificent animation and art style. Let's do it immediately"
I have always thought that Kevin Conroy and mark Hamill were the best batman and joker
Reasons why it's not popular:
1) It's an animated cartoon.
+blahinthe There is no dinosaur too. That's the second reason. Dinosaur = success
Kevin Conroy IS Batman.
Yup. ~_~
+Kyle Smith And Mark Hamill IS the Joker
DragonHunter1
Again- Yup.
~_~
+Kyle Smith He is vengeance...He is THE NIGHT...HE IS BATMAN!
***** Affleck is a decent Batman.
But he isn't Conroy. Conroy can pull off the suave ladies man that Bruce Wayne pretends to be and the serious tone that Batman is.
Also he was the first person to do the dual voice for Batman/Bruce Wayne. He actually started to do that on his own while recording and they loved it, so it stuck and everyone has copied it since.
I was watching this, I was so hooked on it I watched it 3 times, the action was amazing, the mystery story was amazing.
This is evidence that TV Violence will make you violent.
Don't worry Critic, it is finally getting the Blu-ray release.
That's good because... let's be honest, it is better than the Schumacher "Batman" movies.
Fuck yea!!!!!!!!!
8:57 *gets chills
I think you mean 8:47
When Alfred said “My God!”, I got chills
I love the strange, odd touch of an ottoman sliding in from off-screen as the Joker meets the mobster. It makes no sense as to how it happened, but it makes as much sense as the Joker himself.
I also love that he reaches out for the knife and, because it's for kids and it's the Joker, he attacks with the bologna.
if only the live action movies were made as well as The Animated Series, theaters would truly be packed each and every showing.
Why do people not like Batman Returns.... love that movie😓
XO ForLife
I definitely don't consider it the best... however it is indeed my favorite!
So do I! In my opinion, it's one of the best Batman movies, excluding The Dark Knight Trilogy.
I like it
Probably all the sex jokes 😂 I like it too but I get why other people don’t. It’s really “Burtonish”, at least noticeably more so than Batman 89’
Batman Returns was the least liked of the Burton films because it was "Too Dark". The studio gave Burton full reign over the production and it came out exactly as you would expect, a Tim Burton movie lol
It's coming to bluray everyone! Rejoice!
Jacob Sabastian why does it matter?
This is animated, not live action. HD doesn't make much difference with animation. Besides, toy can just play the DVD version on blu Ray player lol
Wow. It matters SO. MUCH. MORE.in animation.
on amazon theres only the dvd
I think it would get a pg-13 rating now
Yes
True
yes it would kim
Yes, it would.
Rocket Man nah it’d still get pg...of course by today’s standards it’d only barely get it but it’d still get it reason why is because they don’t cuss once in the entire movie maybe the word hell or god is in their but even by today’s standards that’s not an actual cussword so I’m pretty sure it’d still be of even by today’s standards
Mark Hamill is MY Joker. No one will EVER replace that for me.... EVER. I know he's said he's done voicing the character (after the Killing Joke) but the voice, the mannerisms, and THAT LAUGH is forever The Joker; and with that Joker came the creation of Harley Quinn.
+LadyMulti He's said he's done before, though. Between like every Arkham game at least. He may be our Joker, but that Joker is also *his.*
Dude, if there was ever an 11/10 music score, this was it
Here's a pitch "Batman The Greatest Detective: The Movie". Half the time Batman googles stuff while drinking coffee and grabbing his chin going "hmmm". The other half he's sneaking into the morgue and the police station to get CSI and autopsy reports and using their photocopier to make copies of them -- but he brings his own paper and refills the toner because he knows the department is understaffed working with little budget; he's not a monster. At the big climax he swoops into Gordon's office and tells him:
*Batman*: I know who did it, commissioner: it was col. Mustard in the dining room with an icepick.
*Gordon*: No one's escaped Arkham this week?
*Batman*: No, but crime never sleeps.
*Gordon*: Maybe you should take a vacation, Bruce, get some rest. Thank you for clearing the case for us, but seriously I'm worried about you.
*Batman*: Thank you, commissioner. I'll think about it.
And then he swoops out the window. THE END
+Stefan B. Yeah, it's sad that detective stories are so boring. Holmes, Poirot, Sam Spade, pretty much every show on CBS - who would want to watch those.
Under the Red Hood is also pretty awesome.
Definitely!
+datdudebeghost 001 I wished I had, I just cheaped out. Fortunately, I have the special editions of Bad Blood, JL vs TT, Batman vs. Robin, and plan on getting the Killing Joke special edition (and I'm driving 4 hours just to see the Killing Joke in theatres.
Batman the killing joke might surpasses all under the red hood. Cuz the animation for killing joke is very similar to under the red hood..
Overall, the Batman cartoon movies do it right.
I love that movie so hard. It was actually the movie that made me more interested in Batman.
The main reason no one seems to talk about this film is because Warner Bros. kind of screwed it over: The film was originally meant to hit direct-to-video markets instead of the theater before WB decided to put it on the big screen as a last-minute choice. To make a long story short, the marketing team didn't have enough time to advertise the film properly given such a short notice, to the point where no one even knew it came out at the time. Nowadays, with the advent of the internet and DVD, more people have the opportunity to learn about it and see it for themselves.
That and, if we're talking about the best animated DC film, Return of the Joker is still the king...or the jester, I guess.
"This movie is PG when PG actually meant something."
I miss those days 🤧
Mark Hamill was always the best Joker imo. Ledger's Joker is awesome, but he feels less like Joker and more like a more generic madman, I dunno. Not enough jokes maybe, not enough false light-heartedness? Maybe it's just Hamill's laugh =D
I think so too, Heath Ledger nailed the modern/bronze age Joker perfectly, but Hamill (and somewhat Nickolson I must say, but not entirely), nailed all three ages (Bronze, Silver, and Gold).
Daiyuki117 agreed. Hamill has that spot for the awesome campy, gory fun, Ledger’s was also very well done and of course absolutely terrifying! Its hard to pick and obviously Suicide Squad Joker (please excuse me using Sucicide Squad as i am not good at remembering names) had worked out like a looney too and thats what i’m sure people love to see! Effort! And sometimes in cases like Hamill, they were just born for the role. It fits them. Ya get me?
Heath played a good villain, but not a good Joker. Hamill and Nicholson felt like they were actually Joker. They had a certain confidence and bravado missing from Ledger's portrayal, which seemed to be nothing but mumbling and rambling.
Another good Joker was Michael Emerson in Dark Knight Returns. He nailed it as a Joker who is aging and desperate for one more shot to piss Batman off. (And damn did he piss him off) Actually, Dark Knight Returns is probably my all time favorite; both the Frank Miller comic and the animated telling. I wish Batman vs Superman had used DKR as its basis. Instead, we got a train wreck of a movie with a VERY coked up Lex Luthor. I guess having Joker commit mass murder like he did would've been too much even for a Batman movie. (Guy gasses 100+ people, then hands out poisoned cotton candy to children, then runs around the tunnel of love, gunning down random people. )
I dont like the Ledger Joker. He was a good but not as Joker but a regular psycho. He wasnt funny at all. Joker even at his most terrifying can be funny as hell.
Oh yea man out of all the jokers, Hamill is the best, no contest. The cartoon joker and batman are the way i usually imagine them being, i don't imagine Batman talking in that weird extra low gravely voice unless im making a joke about batman investigating his own parents murder and it turned out the killer was his mom who is also a vampire (Actually happened in the comics)
+Deus Umbra I live in Mexico, so I only heard Hamill in the animated series a few years ago, but I met him in the Arkham Asylum game and as soon as I heard his voice I was like "who's this guy? THIS sounds like THE joker" and absolutely loved it
+Deus Umbra Wait. What comic was the vampire thing?
***** Screwattack, Desk of Deathbattle, theres an episode where she talks about a crazy fucking comic where Batman gets shot by Darkseid's undodgeable laser (which batman has dodged before but superman couldn't) and it sends him back in time and whipes his memory, he ends up in prehistoric times, kills a giant bat, wears its skin, becomes Cave Batman basically, then he ends up on Blackbeard's ship and is his first mate, then hes a detective investigating his own parent's murder, finds out his mom that died wasn't really his mom and just a body double, his mom ordered the hit, turns out shes a vampire, he kills her, ends up back in the present just a few moments after getting shot. This is canon btw.
I brain not after thing. Herp derp mah flerp. Burr durr murr flurr gurrrrrrrrrrrrrrr lurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr turrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
+Deus Umbra That... is canon?...
Whoever DOESN'T consider Conroy and Hamill the best Batman and Joker? :O
No sane person would do that.
People who don't know who they are and think cartoons are for kids.
+Sukuraidogai so idiots.
+92Beyo So the Joker doesn't consider them the best.
+Sukuraidogai people who have opinions
+LuciousEverett yeah idiots who have opinions
I still own mask of the Phantasm on VHS still an amazing timeless movie
I've had this movie for a long time, and I love it.
There's just one problem: the disc is scratched, so it doesn't play anymore 😔
Despite this, I still enjoy it.
+Josh Pirate Bay BoyZ
+Josh still enjoy it....as a coaster?
You know, they _do_ make devices that clean and repair CDs and DVDs. They may be a bit harder to find with the very near death of the format, but they're out there. Unless the disc is practically destroyed, you can probably find a solution somewhere.
"You think you know everything about me, don't you?"
"I diapered your bottom, I bloody well ought to. Sir."
Best dialogue ever.
I owned this on VHS, and it got ruined by all the times I played it...this is my favorite batman movie as well
I owned it as well and it sadly got ruined in a flood. Not that I even have a vhs player anymore, but it would've been nostalgic to still own it.
Its Batman's 80th birthday so here I am
I’m from the future, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm has a Blu Ray release now
Now this strikes a nostalgic nerve, I remember owning this movie as a kid and watching it over and over and over again.
I did too and I didn't really watch much cartoon batman but I watched this over and over
I adore this art style. It’s so gorgeous and puts me in a real jazzy, goth mood. I don’t know how people can forget because they’re timeless
I do have to say I noticed most people forget Mark Hamill even voiced Joker and Trickster at the same time and honestly out of all the versions of both characters that have voices that I have seen he is the best one because he actually stayed true to the comics while throwing his own personality into the characters plus I love how in the Arrowverse on CW Jay Garrick's version of Trickster is dressed similar to Joker combining the two into one character played by Hamill and I want them to have him play Joker in Batwoman if they bring Joker into that multiverse
And not far behind would be the made-for-direct market video BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER... especially if you get the uncensored, original cut!!!
nice film
+David Crader Oh my god that longer original version is fantastic.
+David Crader I 100% agree! Return of the Joker is soo gritty and soo good
I love the extended flash back. It is a nice counterpoint and forshadowing of the climax.
+David Crader Honestly, this film might edge ahead of Phantasm for me.
I think the only reason it loses to Phantasm as a Batman movie is that you have to have some prior idea of what Batman's history is in order to really appreciate it.
The Phantasm made a cameo in Justice League: Unlimited. Probably the best episode EVER! An episode that also GETS Batman.
+jeramahia123 You mean the episode Epilogue?
+jeramahia123 YES, the batman beyond episode, was amazing.
+jeramahia123 I WAS ABOUT TO BRING THAT UP!!! I was amazed that Phantasm was back and probably as one of the most dangerous and important roles. Phantasm was suppose to be the one to put Terry down the path of batman. The one who killed Batman's parents.
+Danny Caracciolo Thankfully the phantasm didn't do it, because the phantaasm wasn't cold hearted.
+ultimaT Not only that, but another reason was because the Phantasm felt that the idea of committing murder to try to make a new Batman spat in the face of everything that Batman stood for.
The Dark Knight Returns Part 1&2 are my favorite.
I remember seeing Mask of the Phantasm once a long time ago, and I recall really liking it, it really is deserving of high praise. :)
I also remember "Batman and Mr. Freeze: SubZero" being a really good one, about Mr. Freeze kidnapping Batgirl because she has the same rare blood type as his wife and thinks he can use Batgirl to cure her, that's a good one too! :D
When you hear Luke Skywalker laugh maniacally....Your day is complete.
That opening with the choir still give me chills. My favorite Batman animated film
I reckon Batman Begins is also overlooked.
9:05
I made a batman suit myself, and after putting on the suit, cape, gloves, and boots, I asked my cousin to play this music when I was putting on the cowl. The soundtrack of this movie is the best
Jesus, that happened?!?! REALLY?!?!?!?!
I can't wait for the Killing Joke film. :D
+LordVader1094 I.....am.....hyped
August 2nd!!!!!!
Marvel's animation is notorious for being shithouse though. In fact Marvel is known for being worse than DC in just about every regard (aside from the live action movies). Also, use of the term 'SJW' pretty much disqualifies anything you have to say.
***** Actually I say that because people who use the term SJW are bitchy little snowflakes who are offended by people being offended and the very idea of a strong lead who isn't a white guy. I'm guessing you had a hissy fit when they cast Michael B. Jordan in Fan4stic.
Also, how are writers restricted in any way? The most significant cases of censorship I've seen have been from the hard-line conservatives. Sure, if you put in a female character who gets raped, for example, you're going to get feminists complaining. You'll also get to hear from the PTC and be barred from showing your content in every conservative-run country in existence.
But back onto the topic, I've seen both Marvel and DC's animation firsthand, and while both studios can have their bad days, Marvel's seem to be more frequent. Look at the shithouse Spooderman animation in this very video for proof of concept. And then there was the show which had midget versions of all the Marvel characters.
Also, when you don't care about something, it tends to be shithouse.
Also also, *It **isn't ***remove 'a' ****shithouse, *****just didn't ******give *******replace 'any importance' with proper English ********about a million missing commas *********about a million missing capitals **********full stop.
That was your first paragraph.
+Rangaman w
This was a cinmatic release?! Goddammit i was born too freaken late!
+Nath an nice avgn reference
+Michael G thanks was wondering if anyone would get the reference
same.
I feel your pain brother.
Sucks to be you. Alas, I was TOO young, I think. I couldn't appreciate it as much as I would now. The action was great, but the character development bored me. I also didn't understand some things. Like just what happened to that old man that offered Joker money for help. The grin was the least of it.
Conroy and Hamill reprising their roles in the upcoming film "The Killing Joke" has me excited for it!
I miss the DCAU. BATS, SATS, Justice League, JLU, and Batman Beyond. So many fond memories. For me, Conroy IS Batman and Hamill IS Joker. There have been some other guys who did well in those roles, but those two set the bar.
fromolwyoming honestly, the killing joke movie went there but it could of been darker, also they turned Barbara Gordon into...well just another stereotypical Mary Jane
Fun Fact This is the FIRST batman movie I has seen that introduce me to batman
*pauses video, watches Mask of the Phantasm, returns to video*
It's not mentioned because it's animated. Period. (And probably tied into the BTAS thing)
+Mitchell Anderson Or, more specifically...WB frakked up the advertising. Nobody heard about it, and it wasn't screened for critics.
And yet Batman and animation go hand in hand. I'm glad this movie is getting more recognition lately though.
Not doing any advertising counts as frakking up. But, more specifcially...
[quote]
The film did not have a pre-release screening for critics, which hurt it badly, since when a production company does that, it indicates that the film is probably awful. The reviews that did come out were generally positive, but they were on a Saturday, instead of the launch day, and generally, movie reviews on a Saturday are passed over by readers.
[/quote]
Simply handing the movie to the critics would have made it go from Cult Classic, to Box Office Hit, likely.
Least it doesn't have godawful Bale acting or Batman blowing people away with grenades. Don't know how anyone took the Dark Knight Trilogy seriously with Bale being Office Batman.
Conroy and Hamil are my favorite portrayals of the characters. I like the other big names we've had, but these are just so good
Just watched this movie, absolutely brilliant!
Especially since they did all that in 75min!
Great characters, great development and story. I think the best Batman movie
8:55, "Just try listening to this without getting chills." *Music starts playing,"aaaaa-AA-a-AAAAAAH"*
----*INSTANT CHILLS*. :)
...so I guess the score is *COOL* in more than one way ;)
0:17 usually casual Batman fans say that, real Batman fans usually have an hour long list
i watched this movie when i was like 10 years old and it left such a big impact on me when i was a kid , the music especially was seared into my soul to this day , such an amazing movie but i always just asumed it was a classic but now that you point it out yea no one talks about it
9:15 I love this moment when Bruce puts the mask on and becomes the Batman. I particularly love it when he suddenly gets those scary white eyes between all the black. Reminds me of those lego figures, where Bruce got a little white area on his forhead, so that when the mask is put on he also got those eyes.
Doug, you've given the perfect review. I have been a die hard fan of the Animated Series ever since it came out. Phantasm is a masterpiece. The whole Bruce Timm cast and animation team just had EVERYTHING right. If you don't have their "Batman Animated" behind the scenes book, you're really missing out on just how perfect their team was. As a kid, I probably watched Mask of the Phantasm over 100 times--wearing that tape out. The stakes were ALL raised just enough to relay to you the fact that this was a truly epic production. Even Bruce's snarky commentary was stepped up ("Nice handkerchief Arthur. You know where you can STICK IT!").
I totally agree that Mask of the Phantasm is the best Batman film so far, just like the Animated Series is the most true-to-character variation the Dark Knight has had. Keaton is great, Kilmer was...alright. I liked Affleck but they really need to focus on his intellect and detective skills if they're going to keep him from wearing out his welcome. I really don't like the Nolanverse films--bad, very generic "anarchy" Joker and goofy Bane and throat cancer Bale just cheapen the whole spectacle, and that's ever before the lunacy of the third act of "Rising" with "Robin" and the freaking nuke...
Anyway, I know you, like me, will be snatching up the Killing Joke this summer--it's the FULL CAST of the Bruce Timm team again. Kevin Conroy, Mark Hammill, the works. Now, I do wish they had used the Animated Series models, but still---a hard "R" animated Batman film done by the only people I can yet call "the masters" of the Batman license...I can't wait!
Kevin and Mark have and always will until my soul leaves this Earth, be my favorite versions of my favorite characters. Conroy is The Batman, and Hamill is The Joker. Long live both of them.
Technically speaking the best batman movie isn't a movie at all, but a game... I felt like arkham asylum captured the essence of batman with leaving you in a good mystery.... since its just batman being batman.
I believe the first Batfleck solo movie will be taking place in Arkham. It will probably have a similar plot as well.
Dragonk116 I can't be the only one that thought arkham asylum was not as good as city.
I've heard a rumor that it's actually supposed to be based of "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth" comic. Batman: Arkham Asylum game took huge inspiration from it.
I honestly prefer the Telltale version of Batman, which mostly operates as a political thriller/mystery while also providing a neat new perspective on Batman's psyche (more specifically, having the player determine how Bruce would react to his new situations). It accomplishes this by putting a shocking twist to an established lore we all knew so dearly and having both Bruce and the player experience losing everything because of it, while also providing fresh new takes on villains and characters that have a much more personal connection. Plus, the current season of the game excels at creating a brand new version of the Joker, one we can actually sympathize with but still be terrified with his unpredictability.
As far as the Arkham Games go, I rank it 1. City, 2. Asylum, 3. Origins, 4. Knight. Yeah I know putting Knight below Origins, seems wrong, but there are two major reasons. 1. Way too much Bat-Mobile. 2. Shoehorning the Joker into an Arkham game again. You can say the same about Origins, but it makes sense. It is the Origins of Batman, so having Joker in it is kind of needed. With Arkham Knight, you are just shafting a great villain like the Scarecrow, just so Joker can be in the spotlight again.
I strongly agree. This is my favorite batman movie in terms of source material. It's hard to pick which is the best. Nonetheless, this movie is criminally underrated.
This movie is one of the greatest Batman animated movies. I remember watching it a longggg time ago, and it has always stayed with me ever since. It was just very intense, dramatic, emotional, and more.
Oh this brought back memories. I remember seeing this in theaters. Even my Dad liked it and he abhors cartoons as universal kiddy fare. Phantasm was such a cool villain, and the story was engaging. it needs a blu-ray release, it must have one.
I still think Return of the Joker is the best one ^^
Glad I'm not the only one who loves that movie !
Return of the Joker is fantastic. My favorite scene in the movie is probably the reveal of the Joker. I love the use of shadows, the atmosphere, the pacing, the voice acting, it's superb, as is the rest of the movie.
I mean that is Batman Beyond. Even though it features Joker and Bruce. it is still about the Clone batman.
I liked that one, but the depth of the personal backstories and dark tone of this movie make it a masterpiece.
Both this and Return of the Joker are very underrated.
Mask of the Phantasm is my introduction to Batman the Animated Series, great memories.