Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders

I've heard of this upcoming project for about a month and a half (or longer) but I finally came across much more information. This coming fall (October/November) there is to be a Blu-Ray and a DVD release of an animated film called Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders. The thing that makes this film unique is that Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar are the voices of Batman, Robin, and Catwoman (the roles they played in the mid '60s live-action television series).



As you could tell from the trailer and from the cover art of the Blu-Ray and DVD the characters are more or less patterned after the actors and actresses that portrayed them in the TV series. The Joker is faithfully on-model with Cesar Romero and for those curious there's no indication of a painted over mustache and I'm glad that they decided not to add that touch. If the animators had done that kind of thing it would've been more insulting than respectful.

Maybe it's a rhetorical question but how come there's so many comments from people on social media (YouTube, specifically) wondering why the animated movie is being presented in this fashion? Do these people that are making those kinds of comments realize that a very popular live-action Batman television series existed in the mid '60s? This may be Earth shattering news for some but Batman wasn't created in the 1990s...the character goes back to 1939! 

This idea that the Batman characterization HAS to be brooding, gritty, sarcastic, and anti-social just because that's the way he's interpreted in contemporary cartoons is nonsense. Yes, I know that the original presentation of Batman in the late '30s and into the mid '40s depicted the character in much the same fashion as he is today; so, yes, I'm familiar with the argument that the contemporary Batman cartoons are simply "returning the character to his roots"...but lost among all the brew-ha-ha on social media (from those that are unfamiliar with the 1960's TV series) is that this upcoming animated movie is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the live-action TV series 1966 debut. This upcoming animated movie isn't meant to be part of the contemporary DC Universe continuity. It's simply a salute to the 1960's live-action TV series and I, for one, can't wait to get the DVD!!

You can pre-order the DVD at Amazon by clicking HERE. I'll post my thoughts of the entire film in November.