Glen here…
"That Mr. Freeze is a baaaaaaaaad guy, daddy!" insisted my four year old son as we were driving to the grocery store the other day.
"Oh yeah?" I prompted, simply having to see where this was going. "How do you know that?"
"Cause he’s always bothering Batman. And so are his water doggies!" (a reference to Mr. Freeze’s Polar Bear companions in SUBZERO).
Plain. Simple. To the point. "And what does Batman do when Mr. Freeze is bothering him?" I continued.
"He stops him because he doesn’t want Mr. Freeze to be sad anymore."
I was floored? A slightly oblivious four year old had assimilated and comprehended the emotional nuance and dichotomy of a very complex characterization and story design - much to the credit of the writers, producers, directors, and artists who have labored so passionately to bring BATMAN through his recent animated incarnations.
Consistently among the best written, directed, and conceived series on television (for children or adults), the animated BATMAN adventures have…for many years…demonstrated that something doesn’t have to be minimalist simply because it is drawn and painted. Against all odds, this series has shown that the writers, directors, and artists of a mere "cartoon" are capable of delivering as much (if not more) punch, drama, comedy, and gusto as those who lord over weekly live-action television shows.
So, why was my little boy thinking about BATMAN while we were driving to the store?
First off, this is a kid whose first "security blanket" was the Batmobile from BATMAN FOREVER - the one that had the little button on it which activated the glowing generator engine inside the vehicle’s chassis. For him, this was a toy and a night light - by his insistence, not mine.
Also, my son’s been watching the Cartoon Network’s numerous re-airings of BATMAN AND MR. FREEZE: SUBZERO. Literally, he’s seen it every time it has aired since it debuted on that network a few weeks back, and watched it multiple times on tape before that.
Finally, my son was probably inspired to think of BATMAN because he’d just seen me flipping through a wonderful new book devoted exclusively to the making of the BATMAN animated series.
BATMAN: ANIMATED is a new "coffee tbale" book which covers the conception and development of the animated BATMAN adventures. It spans from Warner Brothers’ initial announcement that it would be developing animated product from some Warner-controlled properties, to recent episodes of the animated television series which rose from that fateful decision.
A while back, a guy named Bruce Timm was working on TINY TOONS. He went to a meeting, at which Warners announced its intent to develop some animated properties based on (yadda yadda yadda). Timm rushed back to his desk, immediately set to work presenting his vision of "Batman". He ended up with a series of positions and images of the Bat, which would eventually become the final "model sheets" for the Batman character.
This being accomplished and accepted, design and story board work began on a very short mini-movie…a vignette…which would reflect the fundamentals of this new approach to (and visualization of) BATMAN. Said vignette would seem very familiar to anyone remembering the series’ original title sequence. The story boards for this vignette, and Timm’s original Batman "model sheets", are presented in the book.
The vignette was completed…scored with music from Danny Elfman’s BATMAN soundrack…and shown to The Powers That Be. And so it began…
BATMAN: ANIMATED enumerates many trials and tribulations in the development & production of an animated series, especially a series with aspirations as high as BATMAN’s.
One brief example discussed in the book: the censorship the series often faces, citing the original plans to show the death of Dick Grayson’s parents in a horrendous circus accident.
The censors objected to a sequence in the episode "Robin’s Reckoning", in which a young Dick Grayson would see his parents fall to their deaths - presented in a way which left no doubt as to the horror of their fate. The censors pressed for changes, and the issue became: how to present a dramatic and life-altering moment on-screen, still get the impact across, but not make it feel cheesy or clumsily realized? The solution: convey the Grayson’s demise in a more implied manner, giving rise to greater artistry, and enabling the audience’s imaginations to fill-out the horrific implications of the accident’s end result.
Interestingly enough, while the authors acknowledge the notion of censorship not always sitting well with those who are creatively inclined, they indicate feeling fortunate that the censors with whom they have dealt at both Fox and Kid’s WB are as forgiving and understanding as they are.
On the development front, the book is loaded with nicely reproduced artwork, images, and information detailing the design & conceptualization of the series’ numerous and varied heroes and villains - including mini-bios of good guys, bad guys, in-between guys, and their various alter-egos. This element is usually accompanied by artwork (mostly full-color), which illustrates the design evolution of the characters.
The gang’s all here (I think I counted seventeen individual character breakdowns, though I may be off by one or two), all presented in varying degrees of detail. Some of the more interesting developmental anecdotes include:
Bruce Timm’s first glance at Paul Dini’s initial sketch of Harley Quinn. Timm laughed & responded simply "That’s going right into the blackmail file". It remained in "the blackmail file" until it appeared in this book.
Originally, plans were afoot to present Penguin as a Norman Bates-style "mama’s boy", who was constantly under the thumb of an over-protective and nagging mother (Batman would even have called Penguin "mama’s boy" to his face). These plans were scrapped when Warner Brothers insisted the animated Penguin and Catwoman be presented in a manner which better evoked Tim Burton’s live-action characterizations in BATMAN RETURNS.
The Riddler: described s the most difficult of the Batman villains to write for, because he’s not physically threatening. The authors describe "at least" a half-dozen scripts sitting in a "dead script" file, which were either too complex (the Riddler’s riddles were too tricky) or too silly to produce.
Also included in the book are numerous story boards and color design evolutions of characters, as well numerous renderings of vehicles and Gotham City itself; quotes from writers like Neil Gaiman and Kevin Smith; an episode guide covering up to episode # 110 ("Judgment Day"); a bit on the making of the animated movies MASK OF THE PHANTASM and SUBZERO; a gatefold gallery of episodic "title cards" (stylized, episode-specific background graphics indicating the episode’s name, presented here with the varied title-design fonts); and more.
This book suffers the same damnation many books face these days, it’s a bit on the pricey side (prices seem to be ranging from $35 or so, to the suggest retail price of $50). I am told there is a less expensive trade-paperback version available as well. Either way, if you’ve any love for this series, and have appreciated the effort it has made to broaden the canvas of storytelling (both in the super hero genre and animation in general), then this is a product you’d be well advised to look into.
BATMAN: ANIMATED is definitely for fans of the show. Lay persons may not get why it’s as cool as it is, or what makes the book so interesting and special. But if you’re like me - or my four year old - and you "get it", you'll likely find this a lovely publication.
The book’s final spread contains a graphic reading "fade to black - to be continued". Bring it on…
BATMAN: ANIMATED is written by Paul Dini and Chip Kidd. Cover design and introduction by Bruce Timm. Photos by Geoff Spear. From Harper Entertainment ( http://www.harpercollins.com), ISBN 0-06-757531-5
FOLKS, HARRY HERE! JUST ADDED SOME PICS FOR GLEN!
Now I think Glen wrote a wonderful piece up above.
This book, quite simply is a prized possession of mine. It sits, literally on my Work Station, and I find myself at least every other day putting on Shirley Walker's MASK OF THE PHANTASM and flipping through and reading it. It is wonderful.
I've been an advocate for this show and now... I find myself sneaking over to COAXIAL to comment. I can't help myself, GO BUY THIS BOOK!!! Beg your parents, your girlfriend, your boyfriend, your grandparents, strangers on the street... Whatever, but get this book!
Instead of taking up your time with some unnecessary words worshipping the wonderful work of PAUL DINI and CHIP KIDD (them dudes that done did da book), I'm gonna give you just three of the pics out of the book. There are tons more, but you're gonna have to get your ass to a book store and look at the book to see em.
Then, you'll feel yourself walking to the checkout counter, then your credit card will be in that jolly checkout person's grip and they'll say, "Are you a member of our special ______ Shopper's Club?" And you'll go.... "Book buy now." And they'll just shake their head.
This first one is from BATMAN BEYOND
Like the above image by BRUCE TIMM, this next one is by him as well, but it is one of the myriad of behind the scenes looks at all that goes into the animated BATMAN. Notice some of the rules the animators have to go with....
And below is well, it's explained, but gosh... I just love Harley...
Sorry Glen, I couldn't help myself. This book is too cool!
