Monday, September 19, 2005

TV: The Batman Has a Girl

I'm too old to watch cartoons. But animation? Sure!

Coming off the disaster that was Loonatics Unleashed, I had to admit loading up The Batman was done with just a bit of trepidation. I was coming to the party a bit late, having still not watched the first two seasons of this well-regarded show. And, now, I'm going to have to dig up the saved episodes for watching.

The season three kick off is a multi-parter called Batgirl Begins, a takeoff on the movie of this summer. And it's a dandy barn-burner of a show. It recasts the origins of Batgirl and Poison Ivy. At least as much as they can be modernized. The first episode has an opening credits cliffhanger followed by a "How this predicament came to be" section that was well-done. Nobody seemed perfect, which is rare for a super-hero cartoon (or comic book). There was a genuine sense of drama throughout.

In any cartoon, the first question is: How is the animation? Pretty good. This is a slightly raggedly drawn cartoon, when compared to earlier Batman shows, like Batman Beyond. But that fits with MY concept of Gotham. Batman, Alfred and the Commissioner all are appropriately drawn. I'm not crazy about the new Batgirl suit, which is Catwoman's suit with a cape, but I can get past that. Barbara Gordon and Pam Isely look like the teenaged friends they are in this show (I did say there was a recasting of the origins, didn't I?).

THIS is the kind of cartoon that adults and kids can watch.

No comments: