Is This the Best Batman Movie?

Is This the Best Batman Movie?
Released	May 10, 2016
Duration	16:17
Previous	Blade
Next	Old vs. New: Cinderella
Link	https://channelawesome.com/is-this-the-best-batman-movie/

(The shortened opening)

NC: Hello, I'm the Nostalgia Critic. I remember it so you don't have to. When people talk about the best Batman movie, what usually comes to mind?

(A shot of the poster for Batman & Robin pops up)

NC: (leaning forward) HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...! But seriously...

(A montage of posters for other Batman movies are shown)

NC (vo): Dark Knight, Batman '89, and...

(The montage of posters goes faster: Batman Returns, Batman Forever, The Dark Knight Rises; finally, the first two Batman movies mentioned are shown side-by-side)

NC (vo): Yeah, usually just those two.

NC: But when it comes to the best representation of Batman as a whole, there's one that everybody always overlooks: the animated one.

(Cut to a clip of Batman: The Animated Series)

NC (vo): Now, I'm not talking about the animated series...

(Cut to a montage of images of various Batman animated movies on DVD)

NC (vo): ...or the dozens of DVD releases.

(Cut to footage of the Batman movie in question that the NC is talking about: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm)

NC (vo): I'm talking about the hand-drawn theatrical release that didn't do well at the box office, but more and more people are discovering every year.

NC: That is Batman: Mask of the Phantasm! (smiles and nods)

NC (vo): Released in 1993, Phantasm was trying to cash in on the rising success of Batman: The Animated Series, taking place in the same universe. It had the same voice actors, same writers, animation team, except on a cinematic level. It was a critical hit and, as mentioned before, is gaining a following as possibly the best Batman movie there is.

NC: (perplexed) But if that's the case, how come it's gotten so little attention?

NC (vo): Not a ton of people talk about it, at least, not on the level of all the other Batman films, and there's not even a Blu-Ray release of it.

NC: Yeah, that's right! The Schumacher films...

(Images of Blu-Ray covers for Batman and Robin and Batman Forever are shown)

NC (vo): ...got a Blu-Ray release...

(Cut back to Phantasm)

NC (vo): ...but the movie with what some consider to be (shot of Kevin Conroy) the best Batman, (shot of Mark Hamill) best Joker, (opening credits show the screenplay as by Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Martin Pasko and Michael Reaves) and best modern-day storytellers of the classic characters, doesn't. Why is this swept under the rug while movies like (poster for...) Dark Knight were declared the best Batman flick, even before it was released?

NC: Well, to better understand, let's take a short, spoiler-free look at the story.

NC (vo): A mysterious villain known as the Phantasm is killing off what appears to be random gangsters. Yeah, killing, as in "this movie is PG when PG actually meant something". People believe it's Batman, as, from a distance, it seems to look like him, and thus, it's up to our hero to find out who's behind these murders while also outrunning the police. On top of that, an old flame named Andrea comes back into his life, as it seemed she was his first love after the loss of his parents. This gives some insight of his transformation into Batman as he is tortured by the fact that, for the first time, he's actually happy and feels as human as he's ever felt since the murder of his parents.

NC: As with all Gothic stories, though, it doesn't end well...

NC (vo): ...leaving the two bitter at each other, despite the fact that each one knows they're hiding information that the other could use. To make things worse, one of the gangsters brings in the Joker to try and take Batman or... whoever is behind this murderous spree down before his life is next. It's a four-way clash between Batman, the Phantasm, the Joker and the police, all trying to see who can take out the other first while solving this complicated mystery.

NC: Sounds promising, but what makes it particularly special in comparison to the other Batman movies? And on top of that, what separates it from just being an extended episode of the animated series?

NC (vo): First of all, the budget is certainly higher.

(Cut briefly to a clip of the Joker in the animated series, before cutting to the Joker in Phantasm)

NC (vo): As wonderful as the animation was on the TV show, you can tell there's a lot more focus and effort on this project. The characters look more solid and three-dimensional, but still lend themselves to exaggerated designs, allowing for greater expressions.

NC: They also stay true to their form as well.

(Cut to a montage of shots of CG in Disney animated movies of the period: Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King)

NC (vo): At this time, every animated film was putting CG everywhere. It was new and looked cool...

(Cut to a shot of the Rock Ogre from Quest for Camelot)

NC (vo): ...but sometimes they put it in places where it didn't belong.

(Cut back to Batman: Mask of the Phantasm)

NC (vo): This movie knew the technology at the time wouldn't look good with their Art Deco style, so they just used it for their opening credits, which adds a little something different, but doesn't distract from anything.

NC: If they tried to have Batman in The Phantasm fight in an animated city, it would look a lot like the animated...

(Cut to a clip of the concurrent Spider-Man cartoon series, whose shots of the city are CG-rendered as Spidey swings through the city on his webs)

NC (vo): ...Spider-Man cartoon at the time; just kind of awkward and phony.

(Cut back to Phantasm)

NC (vo): This film knew to keep to its roots and stay hand-drawn. And much like the show, it doesn't shy away from its dark style, with harsh shadows, grim colors, and a lot of enjoyable light work.