The Adventures of Batman

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...

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.

Like I said with the Superman/Aquaman Adventure Hour, I would have loved to have been around when this series originally aired on CBS Saturday mornings. However, it was on a few years before my time. My first exposure to these Batman cartoons was on the Bozo show along with Superman and Superboy when I was around 11 to 12 years old. These cartoons were awesome despite the limited animation. I'd actually seen the 1977 Batman series first when I was about 5 or 6 years old. So I knew I was going to enjoy these shows since the character designs for Batman, Robin, and Batgirl as well as their alter egos in addition to the Joker and Penguin were all the same in both series. Catwoman was wearing her costume in the comics of the time period. The only screw up they did was making Commissioner Gordon look younger with brown hair and a clean shaven face as opposed to his comic book appearance.

I was mighty surprised to hear the voices of Olan Soule and Casey Kasem as Batman and Robin since I heard them on the SuperFriends, but I felt they were the second best voice overs for the roles compared to Adam West and Burt Ward. The Batman cartoons reminded me of the live action TV series only without the camp and the Dynamic Duo used their detective skills much more. Ted Knight used a lighter pitched voice as the narrator as opposed to the Ted Baxter voice he used on Superboy and Aquaman. Knight also voiced over Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, and the male villains. Jane Webb was good as Batgirl, but I hated that screechy witchy voice she used for Catwoman. From what I once saw, they would always air a 2 part episode first and then a 6 minute complete story. The one thing that made this Batman series better than the 1977 series were the inclusions of Alfred, Chief O Hara, and the Riddler. Sadly, their attempts to do Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter really bombed. And Simon the Pieman was nothing but a sick joke. At least we get to see Batman and Robin as well as Batgirl fight with their fists. Something that the parent groups and BS&P would outlaw in cartoons in the 70's, which would make Batman and Robin into gadget heroes in that decade.

As for Superman and Superboy, the one thing I noticed about these particular shows, is that the animation style had changed and they were animating Superman in the same style they were with Batman. In addition, the Superman episodes became 2 parter episodes as well while Superboy contained fully 6 minute shows in the new animation style.

I only wish that Filmation could have put Superman and Batman and Robin together in one show doing a World's Finest story. My final evaluation is this. WB needs to release the Batman, Superman, Superboy, Aquaman, and the DC Heroes cartoons on DVD. Don't leave them out.

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

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.