Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
05-21-13 | 01:40 PM
#26
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
Batman TAS and Justice League are some of the best animation IMO. Batman Beyond was great also.
05-21-13 | 01:58 PM
#27
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
In contrast, the stylized look of BAS (dark and noir) and SAS (bright and futuristic) along with top notch voice acting and music make them feel timeless by comparison. Other than the aspect ratio and the video grain in early Batman episodes, they could have been made yesterday.
Maybe I'll give X-Men another shot, but those first few episodes were a real let-down from how fondly I remembered the show.
05-21-13 | 02:21 PM
#28
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
I've already expressed my opinion about Batman: The Animated Series numerous times over. I think it's simply one of the best shows of all time personally. Animation or live action it's just so well written and the way it was stylized it seems to have a timeless look to it if you ask me. I think the show was written in such a way where it was kid friendly but yet not so dumbed down (like a lot of modern animation) that an adult can't enjoy it. I could (and have) watched it numerous times over and not get sick of it. Also Kevin Conroy will always be the definitive voice of Batman in my mind and Mark Hamill's Joker is great too. The rest of the voice cast was fantastic as well.
I honestly didn't watch Superman: The Animated Series as much. I was never a big Superman fan growing up so I just never watched it very often. I just picked up the first volume for $10 at Walmart. I really need to watch the show more but from what I remember it was decent.
I honestly didn't watch Superman: The Animated Series as much. I was never a big Superman fan growing up so I just never watched it very often. I just picked up the first volume for $10 at Walmart. I really need to watch the show more but from what I remember it was decent.
05-21-13 | 02:21 PM
#29
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
I did love the X-Men cartoon at the time, but it feels really dated now. The voice acting and animation are nowhere near BAS or SAS and everything about it reeks of the early 90s...especially Jubilee, who is a terrible character and is often the center of attention.
In contrast, the stylized look of BAS (dark and noir) and SAS (bright and futuristic) along with top notch voice acting and music make them feel timeless by comparison. Other than the aspect ratio and the video grain in early Batman episodes, they could have been made yesterday.
Maybe I'll give X-Men another shot, but those first few episodes were a real let-down from how fondly I remembered the show.
In contrast, the stylized look of BAS (dark and noir) and SAS (bright and futuristic) along with top notch voice acting and music make them feel timeless by comparison. Other than the aspect ratio and the video grain in early Batman episodes, they could have been made yesterday.
Maybe I'll give X-Men another shot, but those first few episodes were a real let-down from how fondly I remembered the show.
And you're spot on about the voice acting. BTAS (and to a lesser extent Gargoyles) were the first action-drama cartoons that really made me notice voice acting.
05-21-13 | 02:29 PM
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
Andrea Romano and DCU have really elevated voice casting.
05-21-13 | 03:32 PM
#31
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
05-21-13 | 04:32 PM
#32
Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
I watched Batman TAS during its initial run and then again in reruns and on DVD when my boys were younger and it still ranks as one of my favorite animated series. Sadly I don't get to watch it much these days but will catch snippets while channel surfing. I was never as interested in Superman but there are some really good episodes mixed in there as well.
05-21-13 | 04:45 PM
#33
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
It still holds up really well today, I think the noir animation style helps with that. I never liked the redesign in the last season however; the style worked for Superman, but not Batman.
X-Men and Spider-Man are still good shows, but yeah, the animation has dated much worse. And from time to time there is a lot of slowdown and fuzziness, kind of reminds me of a Sega CD cutscene.
X-Men and Spider-Man are still good shows, but yeah, the animation has dated much worse. And from time to time there is a lot of slowdown and fuzziness, kind of reminds me of a Sega CD cutscene.
05-21-13 | 04:53 PM
#34
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
Didn't they show the Batman series on Sunday nights in prime time on FOX back in 1992?
I remember watching it.
I remember watching it.
05-21-13 | 08:04 PM
#35
Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
"Two-Face" parts I and II; "Dreams in Darkness"; and "Almost Got 'Im" have stuck with me many, many years after their initial release.
05-21-13 | 09:15 PM
#36
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
Yes, I remember too. Bruce Timm created a truly astounding work. It's a kid's show but it has such a wonderfully sophisticated mentality to it. The music is divine. The writing for the most part, was very good for its target audience. And the voice casting is nothing short of inspired (Paul Williams as The Penguin? Richard Moll as Two Face? Who'da thunk it?)
"Two-Face" parts I and II; "Dreams in Darkness"; and "Almost Got 'Im" have stuck with me many, many years after their initial release.
"Two-Face" parts I and II; "Dreams in Darkness"; and "Almost Got 'Im" have stuck with me many, many years after their initial release.
05-21-13 | 09:36 PM
#37
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
About half of the voice actors are pretty good, but almost everybody delivers their lines in a slightly stilted and overly dramatic way...kind of reminds me of William Shatner.
That said, there are a few story arcs that are well worth revisiting, and I'll be looking at some "best episodes" lists to check them out since they are so easy to stream on Netflix. At a minimum, I want to go back to some of the solo Wolverine episodes and the Phoenix Saga.
05-21-13 | 09:46 PM
#38
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
It's still my favorite cartoon from the 90s, and I think it's held up quite well.
As for TMNT, the 80s series can be hard to watch sometimes but I still appreciate it since it impacted me so much as a child. The 2003 series is out of print on DVD since Nickelodeon bought the property, but if you can find it in other ways (I don't know if its on Netflix or Amazon Instant), I recommend watching it. Great stories and decent animation.
05-21-13 | 10:33 PM
#39
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
X-Men switched animation studios half way in, didn't they? I recall something to that effect as far as the variation in quality between episodes.
05-22-13 | 05:30 AM
#40
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
I remember when something like the last few episodes changed animation which was odd.
05-22-13 | 07:30 AM
#41
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
I remember it premiering around the same time as BTAS (maybe even the same week) and I was a HUGE X-Men fan at the time but recognized, even at 11 or 12 years old, that BTAS was a far far better show. It was cool to see characters I liked on X-Men but the animation, voice acting, writing, music etc were all light years behind BTAS. I've re-watched both and X-Men is still just ok. It's a decent children's animated show but BTAS is just a great show, regardless of format or audience.
05-22-13 | 10:47 AM
#42
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
The 80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series still has it's charm and I don't mind it since I grew up with it but yeah. I can only watch so much of it at a time before tiring of it. I've never seen the 2003 version but have been curious about it. It seems like it was a bit more serious take on the characters.
05-22-13 | 11:06 AM
#43
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
The final six episodes were produced by an animation studio in the Phillippines, while the rest of the series was animatd by AKOM in Korea. The true fifth season (without the Season 3 holdovers) looks vastly different than the rest of the series because of this.
05-22-13 | 01:46 PM
#44
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
05-22-13 | 07:11 PM
#45
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
05-22-13 | 09:16 PM
#46
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
The 80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series still has it's charm and I don't mind it since I grew up with it but yeah. I can only watch so much of it at a time before tiring of it. I've never seen the 2003 version but have been curious about it. It seems like it was a bit more serious take on the characters.
I also remember taking a look at Thundercats once I was older, yeah, the voice acting was horrible, stories were fine, I like the newest one that cancelled without a final!
05-22-13 | 10:59 PM
#47
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
I also never saw the 2003 version, often it is just timing and once I was a teenager and adult my animated programs where mostly based on comic books which Turtles is, just one of those things. I have seen the newest one and aside from a couple having their heads too small I like the character models.
I also remember taking a look at Thundercats once I was older, yeah, the voice acting was horrible, stories were fine, I like the newest one that cancelled without a final!
I also remember taking a look at Thundercats once I was older, yeah, the voice acting was horrible, stories were fine, I like the newest one that cancelled without a final!
05-23-13 | 07:16 AM
#48
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Re: Does Batman and Superman Animated Series from the 1990s still hold up today?
(The first movie from 1990 was also faithful to the original comics with many scenes in the movie taken straight out of the comics. Then the second movie went completely bonkers and was more like the cartoon series.)
I was going to buy the DVD sets for the 2003 series but looking at Amazon what a mess they appear to be. There's season sets that are split into two volumes for seasons one and two but from there on out it gets messy. The rest of the seasons are split into a bunch of single releases it appears and I don't think the seventh (last season) is out at all.
05-23-13 | 12:13 PM
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