There is no better film to start with than 1993's "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm". The movie was the first for Warner Bros. Animation and it was originally intended to be a direct-to-video film. Warner Bros. then decided that it would be released theatrically and this resulted in two things. The first was that the production team only had eight months to get the film together in a time when it took 3-5 years to complete an animated film project!
Secondly, it also didn't give the studio much time to market the film for its theatrical release. This meant that when it was released, it didn't do very well at all in the box office. Thankfully, when it was finally released on video, it became a massive success and has gone down as one of the best stories ever to feature the Dark Knight.
The movie is primarily based on 1987's "Batman: Year Two". In the movie, Batman faces off against the Phantasm, a new villain that is killing off old mob bosses. Batman is quickly to blame due to a series of unfortunate events. So, not only does Batman have to figure out who the Phantasm is, he also has to clear his name.
The case is also tied into Batman's past from before he donned the cape and cowl. In flashbacks, we learn that Bruce Wayne almost didn't become Batman at all. Despite being obsessed for most of his life with fighting crime, there was a brief moment where he became involved with Andrea Beaumont, a woman whose father appears to have been in league with the criminals the Phantasm is now trying to take down.
The movie came from "Batman: The Animated Series" that started in 1992. The show had become a huge success and was noted as also being even more serious than the live action films being produced at the time. This story is no different as it tells a darker story than what was being made for the box office at the time.
One of the big differences with this movie over the show, though, is that it doesn't have to deal with the Standards and Practices that regulated the television series. This meant that the Phantasm could kill their victims and they can even show a few drops of blood here and there. The filmmakers behind this movie took the material deadly serious and it shows.
The movie is still tied to its parent television show, but this is a good thing. The series is still one of the finest shows ever produced and this movie is a shining example during the show's most popular time. It should have stayed straight-to-video as these animated adventures seem to thrive in that domain, but it ultimately found its audience.
One final shoutout has to go to Shirley Walker, the composer of the movie's score as well as the composer for the show on which this film is based. In the show, she took the theme developed by Danny Elfman for the Tim Burton films and then developed her own style based on that iconic score. With this movie, she took the themes that she had been developing for the show and took them to the next epic level. Sadly, Walker died in 2006 due to complications related to a stroke, but her work will live on forever thanks to films and shows such as this one.
At the end of the day, though, no matter where the movie comes from, "Mask of the Phantasm" is still one of the best Batman adventures ever told on film. It is a tight yet strong film that should satisfy any Batman fan that happens to come upon it.
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