Las aventuras de Batman

Of course, I'm a kid at heart. I remember the '60s. That's when cartoons had the power to convey action. Unlike today's watered down, politically correct wannabes. Batman and Superman teamed up. Not in the same cartoon, of course, they had their own cartoons and their own stories. Not everybody knows this, but Superman and Lex Luthor, Superman's nemesis here on Earth, were once friends. What happened? Well, when they were in high school, Superman, (a.k.a., Clark Kent), blew out a fire in Lex Luthor's hair, causing him to go bald and insane. As for Batman, he and Robin, fought the Joker and other villains in Gotham City.

This is one of my all time favorite cartoon shows. The two elements that made up the show had plenty of action and just enough violence to keep you interested. And even though it was violent, I still turned out to be a normal adult and not a psychotic killer. Too bad that parents groups thought that it was too violent, or my generation would have been spared such shows as Shazam, Isis and Super Friends.

I managed to miss this 1969 series as a child, but I recently watched 20+ episodes (some titled BATMAN, some BATMAN AND ROBIN)taped off of Cartoon Network a number of years ago. Like most Filmation product of the era, the animation is limited, but the pace is fast-moving and the supporting voice actors over-play the roles as if in an old serial or melodrama, so the limited technique does not become a problem, and certainly would not have been a problem for the juvenile audience at which this show was aimed. The template for the show was the 1960s BATMAN TV show, and Olan Soule and Casey Kasem bring interpretations to the characters of Batman and Robin that are similar to those of Adam West and Burt Ward (although camp was not a concept grasped by most seven-year-old youngsters in 1969, so Soule and Kasem rein in the hokum somewhat). The children's versions of the various villains--Joker, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, etc.--are fun and colorfully acted by the voice talent. Also, isn't that Ted Knight narrating these? If you need a break from the recent dark,expressionistic interpretations of Batman--even in animated form--this simple, entertaining children's show should do the trick. Don't know if these are in print or presently being aired, but an internet search should turn up some episodes for you...

Very kid-friendly Filmation superhero cartoon.

I watched this as a kid and found it very entertaining. Today's little ones will probably like it as well.

However, if you are a middle aged adult (like me) wishing to recapture your childhood (by watching this) you may run into an unexpected problem. Despite other Filmation cartoons of this period (Aquaman, Fantastic Voyage) still being fun to watch - this one comes over as a little average???

After 30 minutes or so the limited animation and dull dialogue starts to get your nerves a little. But it was a knockout for 30 minutes, so don't let this review stop you from re-watching it.

Not really sure what the problem is but maybe the fact that both Batman and Superman have been done in such wonderful live action productions (the 1966 Adam West series, the 1978 Superman movie) the cartoon comes over as a bit so, so. Unlike Filmation's Aquaman (1967), which still stands as the one and only GREAT version of this under water adventure (the 2018 movie was terrible).

A final comment about 60s Filmation cartoons in general, they all have wonderful music cues playing over them and The Batman/Superman Hour is no exception.

When I was a kid my cousin let me borrow a video that consisted a collection of episodes from this show. Having seen the campy 1960s Batman TV show, it was nice seeing the action in cartoon mode. All the characters were colorfully drawn with rich animation; especially liked the animation of The Joker and Batgirl.

The cartoon is pretty dated by 2010's standards, but it's still fun fare for children - a little bit of good guy vs. bad guy action that is sure to keep the kids glued to the TV. Watching this brings back some fond childhood memories, as I grew up reading the comics and watching the Batman TV shows.

Grade B