The New Adventures of Batman

I don't think this cartoon was as bad as some may think. Of course, I was only five at the time it came out. But, I did find it very entertaining at the time and would still give it a look today if given the opportunity. Batman and Robin being voiced by Adam West and Burt Ward was a nice touch, and gave it a sense of familiarity for me as I was also watching re-runs of the campy 1960's live action show "Batman" at that age. This cartoon also introduced some new twists I had forgotten all about, like "Bat-Mite" for instance. Looking back on it, I'm sure he was likely as annoying as many think, but he didn't bother me much at the time. The best I can recall, his voice sounded like a cross between Dumb Donald and Orko. Gee, I wonder why? :) Anyway, give it a look if you can and make up your own mind. You might be surprised.

The New Adventures of Batman is a cartoon made by Filmation, who in the past, has made cartoons based on DC Comics. However, this was made in a time when Hanna-Barbera was making its Super Friends cartoon, and also in a time when TV standards had changed.

Here, Batman and Robin (voiced by Adam West and Burt Ward, reprising their roles from the TV show that aired during the 1960's) continue their never-ending battle against criminals who threaten Gotham City. This time around, they are joined by Batgirl (voiced by Melendy Britt), and, possibly as a demand from the networks, they are aided by Bat-Mite (voiced by Lou Schiemer, an imp from another dimension known as Ergo (which is different from the Bat-Mite in the comics) who is Batman's biggest fan and wants to help, only for his tricks to sometimes end up hinder the Dynamic Duo instead.

This cartoon is a product of its time. As Filmation got into hot water with parental groups over the New Adventures of Superman cartoon due to its display of the typical violence and fisticuffs seen in the comics it was based on, which led to its cancellation, New Adventures of Batman would end up doing away with those as the networks were now wanting to do away with such violent content (the same reason why Super Friends, for most of its run, did not have violence of any kind, and was more of a light-hearted show). The New Adventures of Batman would do the same, as the series instead shows the detective side of the Dynamic Duo (and if needed, their wide variety of gadgets). And Bat-Mite I can understand, as he is more of a hinderance than help (making Bat-Mite another Scrappy that was put in because the network thought younger Bat-fans would like him).

When it comes to villains, this is also impacted. As this series aired alongside Challenge of The Super Friends (which also had Batman and Robin), there would be many villains that would be restricted to one cartoon or the other, and with this show, The Riddler is off limits (despite being seen in the intro in a pink outfit, and being mentioned in an episode), as well as The Scarecrow, as both appear in CoTSF as members of the Legion of Doom. However, NAoB would be able to use Batman villains like The Joker, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, and even Clayface, the fourth villain making his television debut in this series, as well as original villains like the Sweet Tooth, Professor Bubbles, and Zarbor.

Basically, the episodes are all written to be light-hearted, with some corny jokes and the end of each one having a segment teaching a moral related to the adventure the Dynamic Duo went through. This is more of a show for younger superhero fans due to the more lighthearted nature it takes due to the standards of the era this first aired, as older Batman fans will hate Bat-Mite and the tone.

After seeing nothing but negative reviews so far, I strongly feel this series needs at least one positive review and that's clearly a job for me.

Why a positive review you might ask? Simple. While most fans first exposures to Batman were either through the comic books or the TV series (if you grew up in my time). For me personally, the New Advetures of Batman was my first ever exposure to the Batman universe. While this series is nothing and cannot hold a candle to the likes of Batman: The Animated Series, I feel it's the best quality version of the Silver Age Batman animated for Saturday mornings.

They only made 16 episodes and reran them endlessly from 1977 to 1981 starting off alone and then with Tarzan and the Super 7. I never once tired from watching these shows. The New Adventures of Batman put me on the map and led me to the TV series and then the comic books and finally, the SuperFriends, another top favorite of mine.

The best element this series had was the voices of Adam West and Burt Ward who portrayed Batman and Robin a little more serious or a little less campy than in live action. Commissioner Gordon finally looked like his comic book counterpart and I enjoyed Batgirl, the Joker, Penguin and his quack cackle, the sexy voiced Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, and Clayface. The best original villain let alone best episode this series had to offer was the Moon Man. Electro was also good. I also loved the full body rotoscoping animation style that was used plus most of the 70's style music for this series.

The worst elements this series had were, the inclusion of BatMite, but if they had to have him, at least he was regarded as a pest and a hindrance than as a friend like other useless cartoon tag alongs were. BatMite replacing Alfred was a bad move and the Riddler's absence from the series, yet his appearance on the intro in a wrongly colored red costume made no sense to me at all. And new villains like Sweet Tooth, Professor Bubbles,the Chameleon, and Zarbor all left a bad stain on this series.

I was glad to see this series again when the WB network aired them for a while in 2001 and if this series is ever released on DVD, it will be my holy grail. To me, Adam West was the best pre Kevin Conroy Batman voice over and the New Adventures of Batman is well worth checking out. I give it two thumbs up for making me the Batman fan that I am today. If you want the worst representation of Batman, I recommend Legends of the Super Heroes or "The Batman" series on WB.

First off I would like to give a comparison to two Batman animated series that were produced by Filmation Productions in the 60's and mid-70's. Lets start with the first animated "Batman" installment titled "The Adventures of Batman and Robin"(narrated by the great Ted Knight) which was part of "The Superman/Aquaman/Batman Hour" which premiered right after the TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward went off the air in 1968. Here the dynamic duo continue their adventures which was mostly seen on Saturday mornings and I remember this show vividly as a kid. Still for one the story premise was exactly like the TV series and the comic book with Batman and Robin fighting evil doers/villains and maintaining order in Gotham City alongside with the help of Batgirl.

In this series,you have the stylish animation of veteran Hal Sutherland who took part in the directional duties and some excellent writing from Batman creator Bob Kane. But the voice overs for Batman and Robin were done by actor Olan Soule and radio personality Casey Kasem(who would go on to do voice overs for a array of cartoon characters including Shaggy from Scooby Doo)who would go onward to do the voice overs for the dynamic duo again in "Superfriends"(which was produced by Hanna-Barbera) which premiered during the early 70's. But getting back to the first and only original format of the Batman animated series from the late 60's is this: it maybe old and crappy but here it packed a heavy load of non-stop excitement and adventure each week because it kicked butt even for a hourly segment it still held even better than the crap that's on these days(prime example: Batman Beyond---why destroy the image of a great superhero format?). Like I said,the series was produced by Filmation associates(productions)and it ran from 1968-70.

Then,the unthinkable happened which almost killed the Batman franchise entirely.........

In the fall of 1977,Filmation produced a new concept called "The New Adventures of Batman". Filmation produced 16 episodes and recycled them endlessly in repeated episodes from 1977 to 1981. This was shown as part of a lineup of shows for Saturday Mornings which CBS-TV at the time produced a 90 minute format called "Tarzan and the Super Seven" which consisted of episodes "The New Adventures of Batman","Tarzan:Lord of the Jungle","The Adventures of Shazam and Isis", along with The Lone Ranger and Zorro all on the same bill since this was part animated cartoon along with a live-action bit as well,"Jason Of Star Command" which was mostly seen on Saturday Mornings and some Sunday Mornings in repeated episodes until CBS canceled them all in 1981. But getting back to the new Batman format,this second installment of the Batman series(besides Superfriends) was by far the worst(not to mention pathetic) representation of Batman ever conceived and it shows if you see the episodes you know what I mean. It sucked. For one,this version brought back most of the cast from the Batman TV series of the 1960's,and it featured the voice overs of Adam West(Bruce Wayne/Batman),Burt Ward(Dick Grayson/Robin),and Yvonne Craig(Barbara Gordon/Batgirl). The rest of the characters stayed in place,but what was missing from the original was the butler Alfred. The villains? Well,they did however bring back four of the most gruesome diabolical characters The Dynamic Duo ever face....The Joker,The Penguin,The Riddler,and The Catwoman. Did they ever bring Eartha Kitt out of retirement to do the voice-over for Catwoman,not to mention bringing back veteran actors like Burgess Meredith and Frank Gorshin to do the voicework. But they couldn't get Cesar Romero? New villains were added to the series were Professor Bubbles,The Moon Man,and Electro. The show had perfectly good stories and great exciting adventures including Batman and Robin defending Gotham City from the forces of evil. But what killed it and ruined the entire concept not to mention killing the series? The most annoyingest character ever devised.......

BAT-MITE! A total nuisance and one pain in the butt. Out of all the animated characters ever made BAT-MITE comes in behind THE WONDER TWINS PLUS WENDY AND MARVIN(from Superfriends),and ORKO(from another Filmation production "HE-MAN")as one of the most worst in the bunch and it shows alongside two Joel Schumacher masterpieces'(Batman Forever w/Val Kilmer and the pathetic as hell Batman and Robin w/George Clooney,Chris O'Donnell and an obese Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl--please as if?)

Believe me,compare the two and see what I mean.

Adam West and Burt Ward return in this cartoon version of Batman.

As other reviewers have noted, this short lived series is damaged by a silly creature named "Bat-Mite" and the network demanding that everything be kept very kid-friendly. 1966 live action Batman was made for both for kids and adults. So basically, if you enjoyed 70s cartoon Superfriends you will probably get a blast out of this as well.

In 1977 it would have been out of the question for Filmation to re-start the 60s live action series but when watching "New Adventures" the presence of West and Ward almost feels annoying because it comes over as a wasted opportunity - if the guys are here then give us a live action version!

Filmation was very skilled at making live action super hero shows - see Shazam! (1974) - so we can only wonder what things would have been like if they did a live action take on Batman a few years before 1977.

But again, if you liked Superfriends then you will probably get a blast out of The New Adventures of Batman (1977).