| Batman - The Animated Series - The Legend Begins | 
| Actors: Kevin Conroy, Loren Lester, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $3.00
You Save: $11.98 (80%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $2.77
Avg. Customer Rating:   (36 reviews)
Sales Rank: 13854
Format: Animated, Color, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Portuguese (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 110 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.5
MPN: WARD22319D
ISBN: 0790766493
UPC: 085392231928
EAN: 9780790766492
ASIN: B00005Y71J
Release Date: April 23, 2002
Theatrical Release Date: September 5, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Description
In the original five episodes of the Emmy-winning Batman The Animated Series, Batman must battle The Joker, The Scarecrow, Poison Ivy and more to protect Gotham City.
Amazon.com
Taking a cue from the caped crusader's comic book rebirth in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One, this 1992 animated series saved the TV Batman from a fate worse than camp and drew an unexpected audience for an afternoon cartoon: adults. The initial five episodes gathered here feature such supervillains as Man-bat, the Scarecrow, and Poison Ivy, but the deliciously demented Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill) steals the show in his two appearances, especially in the twisted "Christmas with the Joke." Escaping Arkham Asylum in a rocket-powered Christmas tree, the clown prince of crime preempts a TV showing of It's a Wonderful Life with his own homicidal holiday treat. It's a solid start to a sleek, stylized, smartly written series that only improved with time. Ages 7 and up. --Sean Axmaker
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| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
 If you can only afford to buy one dvd of the batman series, then I guess you should go ahead and get this. March 21, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
But the fact that you can get 85 episodes for around 80-90 dollars, this disc is ONLY for people who are JUST getting this one.
So you can get this for 2.50 used on amazon and if you are already buying a bunch of stuff then this is a good buy, as long as you really like this show like me, then you need to get the very cheap boxed sets.
So all of these episodes are classics be sure to at least get this disc even if you are not a batman fan.
ON LEATHER WINGS- First ever episode created of the series, but not the first shown. Surely the network thought that it was a little too dark and decided to show cat and claw like past reviewer said. Their is a funny scene where a security guard and a nurse go to the back romm to get it on and when they start kissing in comes the man bat to save this from becoming a porno. I always found little touches like this perfect for a kids-teenagers show. Little did I realize that I would still love this show hust as much 10 years later. The man bat is not one of my favorite episoed but would have been a nice premiere.
CHRISTMAS WITH THE JOKER- A very dark episode to start out with where the Joker escapes form arkum and kidnaps the commish, his daughter, and bullock just for laughs. AND SOME VERY GOOD LAUGHS THEY WERE. The joker episodes were always the strongest, and they were certainly the best at the start of the series when the creators were still getting there feet wet. So the joker has a great line in this movie where he says if the bat doesn't come and save the commish and company, and then he does like a throat slash. Maybe he didn't or couldn't say kill but the gesture was even stronger. So everything wraps up real nicely in this one with some nice batman electrifying torture and a classic joker falls into the lava pit or something and batman saves him at the last second.
NOTHING TO FEAR- The origin of the scarecrow is shown in this episode and is done so VERY slick. They easily could have done a 2-part series buy very nicely made it into a single complete episode.
THE LAST LAUGH-this was a very inventive one and has one of my favorite character."You've killed Captain Clown".
PRETTY POISON-
I believe this is the first episode that has harvey dent(later two-face). It is also the first appearence of Poison Ivy.
It's too bad that this disc only has 5 episodes but when these first came out this was the best cause all the rest had mother effing 4, only 4 episodes on it. They certainly came out with the new batman series pretty quick, didn't they.
Also if you are a real collector of this series, then this is worth 2-5 dollars for you also. It has essential interviews with bruce timm talking about each episode and his thoughts on them individually. This was THE only thing that was good about these scrawny little dvd releases. He talks about how the first episode would have been perfect because it is batman versus a man-bat creature. He also talks about introducing harvey dent to the series rather than just throwing two-face at you and having no sympathy for a very sad man. Phantom of the opera obviously had influence on this, but still a great remake, redo version.
5 stars for the show, not the DVD. June 23, 2005
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Batman - The Animated Series is one of the best animation shows that aired during the 90s. This DVD provides the first 5 episodes of the First Season. I have listed my reviews for the episodes separately, followed by my review of the DVD.
Review of the Episodes:
1. On Leather Wings: A winged bat-like creature is spotted flying above Gotham, stealing chemicals from various pharmaceuticals (recently from Phoenix Pharmaceuticals, where it also injured a night watchman). The Police suspect that it is Batman. To clear his name, Batman goes to the scene of the crime and finds a tape along with a strand of the creature's hair. Having his suspicions, he goes to Dr. March and Dr. Langstrom to ask their opinion on the evidence. However, since the Doctors give him a faulty explanation, Batman is convinced that one of them is the cause for the crimes. Can Batman find out who Man-Bat is and get him in time?
A good start to the series, we get to see how Batman clears his name by going after the Man-Bat. (4/5).
2. Christmas with the Joker - The Joker has escaped from Gotham Asylum during Christmas time. Meanwhile, Dick convinces Bruce to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" to let Bruce get into the holiday spirit. However, the Joker makes all the channels broadcast to his show called "Christmas with the Joker", where he intends to share his Christmas `joy' with the citizens of Gotham. It is up to Batman and Robin to save the people of Gotham while Joker holds Commissioner Gordon, Detective Bullock, and reporter Summer Gleeson hostage.
This is a little different, but still a good episode where we get to see Batman and Robin in action. The highlights of this show are the scenes where Batman and Robin save the people on the train and when they go to the Laffco Toy Factory to defeat Joker. (4/5).
3. Nothing to Fear - A new villain called the `Scarecrow' is stealing and vandalizing the University. However, the Scarecrow's intention of robbing the University is not for the money, but for revenge (especially on Dr. Long, the head of the University). It is up to Batman to catch the crook, but will he be able to succeed, knowing that the Scarecrow is making Batman live his darkest fears?
This was another great episode where we get to see Batman confront his darkest fears while trying to catch the Scarecrow, who is putting fear on the citizens of Gotham. (5/5).
4. The Last Laugh - It's April Fools Day and the Joker is back to spread havoc on Gotham. He spreads a laughing gas through the city, and people who inhale it start laughing until they become insane. Once again, Batman has to stop the Joker, but as usual the Joker has new tricks up his sleeve.
I loved this episode because it was purely action-based, and kept me at the edge of my seat throughout. The scenes where Batman is trapped underwater, or where he is trying to defeat "Captain Clown" is terrific! (5/5).
5. Pretty Poison - An area of exotic wildflowers is being removed to build the Gotham Penitentiary. There is a woman who is against the destruction of these flowers, and wants to make sure that Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent pay for their crime, as it was them who initiated the project.
The first episode with Poison Ivy in it, this was a good episode, but was a little slow and predictable. It was nevertheless fun to watch Batman fight a female villain for a change. (3.5/5).
Review of the DVD:
Since the official Season Boxed Sets of "Batman - The Animated Series" is now available, it is rather pointless to buy this DVD when you can buy the complete sets with more extras included in them. However, it you are a fan of the show, you can still purchase this DVD, as it contains wonderful episodes containing The Joker, Poison Ivy, and The Scarecrow, to add to your collection. Otherwise, it is better to buy all the 3 Volumes of Batman which contain all the episodes of the entire series, instead of this.
 The saturday morning cartoon of dreams! December 21, 2004
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I started watching this on saturday mornings ages ago and i loved it, when i heard that it was coming to dvd i was exstatic!
I quickly went out and bought it and boy i wasn't dissapointed.
the acting was fantastic, kevin conroy being better than val kilmer, michael keaton and george clooney at being batman and mark hamill suitably maniacal as the joker and the artwork is gorgeous!
Only 2 bad things about the DVD, 1)The amount of episodes, i need much more than 5! 2)The amount of extras, the introduction by Bruce Timm is insightful, but the how to draw batman is just lame! we may as well just copy the front cover.
Overall this DVD is worth every penny and it's not just for kids, unless your parents are villians!
the dark knight forever July 10, 2004
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
well let me put it like this batman has always been a favorite of mine even when bob kane started batman in 1939 we had and insight to what it was all about i think that we all have a little darkness in us but this movie gives mr kane a thumbs up on his creation it also gives a story on how bruce wayne became batman and mark hamill is especially demented as the joker so my review is thumbs up
Wonderful for Older Kids April 25, 2004
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Great animation, great stories, wonderful villians. This Batman series show the Dark Knight at his best. Batman's endless arsenal of nifty gadgets fascinated my kids. My younger son is four and he was frightened by some of the stories. The episode featuring the Joker especially disturbed him. The Joker is a brilliant villian, but a bit cold and definitely without a conscience. I recommend this movie for older children and adults. My favorite episode was the one with the Scarecrow. When Batman gets sprayed with Scarecrow's gas and faces his deepest fear, we are able to glimpse a human side of the Caped Crusader that he rarely reveals.
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