Think You Know Batman: The Animated Series? Get Featured in DC Universe Encyclopedia!

DC_Community · September 15, 2020, 5:11pm

This week, we’re asking DC fans to submit their fun trivia facts about an animated series that defined a generation of Batman fans. It is a four-time Emmy Award-winning American animated series adaptation of the comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero, Batman.

This animated series conveys the dark mood of the original “Batman” comic books. Unlike the light action “Batman” show of the 1960s, Gotham City’s Caped Crusader, Bruce Wayne, is sometimes moody. And Robin’s alter ego, Dick Grayson has a more-mature personality than in the original series.

Of course, we can only be talking about the one and only Batman: The Animated Series!

Let us know all your little-known intel in the comments below, and it could be selected for featuring in our new “Trivia” Encyclopedia section! Anyone whose Fun Facts are selected will receive a rare “Daily Planet Editor” badge!

Remember – All facts MUST be cited with their source to be considered for- it can be any source! Just be sure you cite it.

Would You Like To Know More?

—CITE your facts with a credible source by providing a link, a magazine, commentary, DVD featurettes; anything that can validate your fact.

—If we are not able to VALIDATE your fact, or if it does not fit the tone of our Encyclopedia entries, we may not use the fact right away.

—If REPEAT facts are submitted that we would like to use, the first user to post that fact will receive the credit.

—You can submit AS MANY facts as you’d like! However, submission to this thread DOES NOT guarantee that your fact will be selected for featuring in the Encyclopedia. The selection process is entirely up to the discretion of DC Universe.

—We have RECRUITED our very own @HubCityQuestion, master of all trivia, to help sort out the facts and answer the questions you have moving forward in our weekly installments. He remains duty-bound to keep this party going!

—We will be accepting fun facts now through Tuesday, September 22nd!

—To ensure your information has not ALREADY BEEN CITED in our existing Encyclopedia, you can find the current Batman entry here:

nameless2004 · September 15, 2020, 5:23pm

It won an Emmy in 1993 for an episode called,”Robins reckoning,” part 1.

TaimurDar · September 15, 2020, 9:00pm

Wow, I’m so used to Think You Know submissions for characters that I never expected one for a show!

TaimurDar · September 15, 2020, 9:06pm

Tim Curry was originally supposed to voice the Joker but was replaced by Mark Hamill after he came down with bronchitis.

Apparently, according to John Glover during the DC FanDome All Super- Villains panel, Mark Hamill was supposed to voice the Riddler, but when Hamill ended up as the Joker that’s when Glover took over the role somewhat last minute.

TaimurDar · September 15, 2020, 10:00pm

Censors didn’t allow the following on the show - Guns, Drugs, Breaking glass, Alcohol, Smoking, Nudity, Child endangerment, Religion, Strangulation which Bruce Timm hilariously parodied in this image

Mister.Miracle · September 15, 2020, 10:01pm

Kevin Conroy was the first actor to have Batman disguise his voice.

https://whatculture.com/comics/10-mind-blowing-facts-you-didnt-know-about-batman-the-animated-series?page=5

Riddler · September 15, 2020, 10:03pm

Kevin Conroy was the first gay man to play Batman

Mister.Miracle · September 15, 2020, 10:04pm

The show is the first ever appearance of Harley Quinn, and Condiment King, among others. They later went onto being in the comics with Harley now a key character in the DCU.

Renee Montoya was preemptively introduced into the comics shortly before her debut in B:TAS, but she was created for the show originally by Dini and Timm. Due to the fact that comic books take less time to make then animated shows, the appearance of Montoya in comics that Dini and Timm gave permission for after creating her for show that hasn’t released yet came months before.

Harley:

Montoya:

Condiment King:

Riddler · September 15, 2020, 10:07pm

Famous Hellboy artist Mike Mignola designed the now-iconic Mr. Freeze look.

Devi_Amuro · September 15, 2020, 10:48pm

Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski created a two minute pilot to pitch to Fox Kids. When the show got picked up, the pilot was then redone to fit the opening title sequence in which Batman fights the bank robbers.

Devi_Amuro · September 15, 2020, 11:26pm

Probably my favorite fact about the entire series, 60’s Batman actor Adam West plays Gray Ghost, in “Beware the Gray Ghost”. Neat tie in to the entire universe.

Detective7 · September 15, 2020, 11:27pm

There was once an episode called The Gun Story that was banned for focusing on a weapon. Batman: The Animated Series | Censorship | Fandom

DC89 · September 16, 2020, 3:21am

The look of Gotham City and of BTAS in its entirety was based in part on Max Fleischer’s Superman animated shorts that were produced between 1941 through 1943 (the segment that explores this info starts at the 38:40 min mark).

Lincolnfan78 · September 16, 2020, 4:52pm

Warner Bros wanted Penguin to look like Danny Devito’s Penguin from Batman Returns. Bruce Timm visited the set and draw Penguin based on his look!

Source: Batman Animated

The Batman Adventures comic was based on the series, originally it was meant to be a six part miniseries, then it was change to be on going.

Source: Scott Peterson the editor in The Batman Adventures #1.

NYJt3 · September 17, 2020, 1:21am

Batman favorite food according to the series is French onion soup.

Source: BTAS Season 1 Episode 23

TaimurDar · September 17, 2020, 3:18am

As revealed by Paul Dini in Dark Knight: A True Batman Story, he had an idea for an episode that would feature Sandman characters Death and Morpheus. John Hurt was considered to voice the character.

Hyperia90 · September 17, 2020, 3:49am

Kevin Conroy revealed in this 2019 Comic-Con panel that when he did his first cold-read audition for Batman, he was fairly unaware of the character outside of the Adam West series. When Bruce Timm explained to him that this character would be a much darker, noir iteration of Batman, Conroy decided to draw on his stage-acting background in Shakespeare and the Greek tragedies to evoke what would become the iconic voice of the character. He said, “They were looking for someone to play a classic, dark, hero role - and someone who wouldn’t do it in a cartoony voice. I thought, okay, this is Hamlet.” In keeping with this frame of mind, Conroy also stated that his “hook” into the Batman voice is imagining the moment when Bruce witnesses the murder of his parents, the moment of trauma that defines Batman as a tragic hero.

1:15-3:00 & 7:00-10:00

Devi_Amuro · September 17, 2020, 6:21pm

Catwoman aka Selina Kyle was voiced by Adrienne Barbeau who also played “Alice Cable” in the 1982 film, Swamp Thing.

DC89 · September 17, 2020, 8:14pm

Now, you may have to check my math on this, but not too long after the BTAS premiered I’m pretty sure it was either Bruce Timm or original Harley Quinn voice actor Arleen Sorkin who in an interview about the show had stated that when Harl was originally created she was templated in part from classic screen actor Judy Holiday’s brilliant Oscar winning performance as Billie Dawn in the 1950 George Cukor helmed film Born Yesterday . You can kinda’ glean the similarities between Harl and Billie in a number of scenes from the movie:

In many ways Born Yesterday co-star Broderick Crawford, who plays Billie’s overbearing and verbally abusive husband Harry Brock, could easily be construed as a less refined and rougher edged version of the BTAS era Joker character in terms of his and Billie’s relationship dynamic.

Actually, after a bit of research, I’ve found an September 2017 interview with Entertainment Weekly wherein Harley Quinn creator Paul Dini discusses seeing Judy Holiday as a prime inspiration in the creation process of the character-

Over the years since BTAS Harl has blossomed into an incredibly defined and compellingly evolved character who I absolutely adore and I look forward to many, many more years of amazing Harleyness to come!

Green_Loontern · September 17, 2020, 10:59pm

It won a Day Time Emmy Award in 1996 for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for the episode “A Bullet For Bullock,” season 2 episode 2.

It is the first tv show in the DC Animated Universe

For season two of the series, it was rebranded “The Adventures of Batman & Robin.” The series had a different theme song than season one and featured Robin more prominently.
TABAR_-_Intro
According to WhatCulture, Fox asked for the series name to be changed and Robin to be included more. Thankfully, Robin was already a popular character.

“[Eric] Radomski[, show co-creator and co-producer,] issued a standing order to the animation department that all backgrounds be painted using light colors on black paper (as opposed to the industry standard of dark colors on white paper).”
Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, audio commentary for “On Leather Wings”, Batman: The Animated Series , Warner Bros, Volume One box set DVD.

edit: this fact is too good not to add
The Series’ Font Was Used On Murray Franklin’s Show In Joker (2019)
https://whatculture.com/comics/10-mind-blowing-facts-you-didnt-know-about-batman-the-animated-series?page=6