“Batman: The Brave and the Bold” is certainly the strangest incarnation for the Caped Crusader but is a fun callback to the old 60s and 70s comic book and allows the normally glum character to interact with an eclectic bunch of other DC and Warner properties. It’s also a series that both kids and adults can enjoy if you know what you’re getting into.
“Batman: The Brave and the Bold”
The Complete Second Season
(2009-11)
Genre(s): Animation, Action, Adventure
Warner Archives | NR – 590 min. – $29.99 | September 9, 2014
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Various Writer(s): Bob Kane (characters) Voice Cast: Diedrich Bader, John DiMaggio, James Arnold Taylor, Kevin Michael Richardson, Will Friedle, Grey DeLisle DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 2.0) |
THE MOVIE – 3.75/5
Original Review (from season 1):
I was a little hesitant when I first got “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” as I had seen various screen shots online since it aired and knew this latest of the “Batman” animated shows was not going to be like the others. In fact, when I watched the first episode, ‘Rise of the Blue Beetle’, I was unsure how I was going to get through all 13 episodes in the first part of season one.
First things first, this is not “Batman: The Animated Series”, a show that is still perhaps one of the best representations of the Dark Knight ever made and in some sectors, even better than the live action films, Nolan’s contributions included. It was dark and damn entertaining as it showed off both sides of Batman and Bruce Wayne. “Brave and the Bold” is a different beast all together. It takes its cue from the 1950s and 1960s comic book both in terms of animation style and tonality with the stories.
Each episode begins with a prologue of sorts showcasing Batman teaming up with another superhero (like Blue Beetle or The Atom) in a short segment that is basically self contained and often times unconnected with the main story, though there are nuggets of wisdom that do tie in. This incarnation of Batman uses his semi-brooding voice over explaining various ideas about his latest crime-fighting partner and such. What makes “Brave and the Bold” stand out – and why some young Batman purists used to “The Animated Series” or the dark Nolan version of the character might hate – is he teams up with extraordinary sidekicks and while he often reiterates that he likes working alone, he seems to willingly volunteers to help others resolve issues.
In terms of the voice talents, once again voice casting director Andrea Romano (who has worked on a ton of DC-related projects including most if not all the DCU Animated Movies) puts together a nice cast. Although Kevin Conroy will always be THE voice for Batman and Mark Hamill for The Joker, Diedrich Bader and Jeff Bennett respectively both do the characters justice and fit much more with the style and lighter tone than at least Conroy could have.
Overall, give “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” a chance even if you are a diehard of the “The Animated Series”. While most of the time it is a tad silly – last year Bats shows up in the 1800s, this time he appears in 1940s during WWII – but pretty dang entertaining.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 0/5
No features were included.
VIDEO – 3.75/5
Warner Archives releases “Batman: The Brave and the Bold”: The Complete Second Season onto Blu-ray shown in its originally televised 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. The picture isn’t altogether different from season one showcasing excellent colors and sharp detail. There didn’t seem to be any obvious flaws making for a nice transfer.
AUDIO – 3.5/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo track is a decent upgrade over the standard Dolby Digital track from the DVD but it’s relatively limited though the dialogue does sound good and the score makes the most out of the dual channels. It’s a solid lossless track that is a slight upgrade over its DVD counterpart.
OVERALL – 3.5/5
Overall, “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” is certainly the strangest incarnation for the Caped Crusader but is a fun callback to the old 60s and 70s comic book and allows the normally glum character to interact with an eclectic bunch of other DC and Warner properties. It’s also a series that both kids and adults can enjoy if you know what you’re getting into. The Blu-ray release unfortunately has no features but the video/audio transfers were decent enough.
Published: 09/15/2014