| Batman - The Animated Series, Volume Four (From the New Batman Adventures) (DC Comics Classic Collection) | 
| Director: Bruce Timm
Actors: Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $44.98
Buy New: $21.98
You Save: $23.00 (51%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $19.00
Avg. Customer Rating:   (64 reviews)
Sales Rank: 3411
Format: Animated, Box Set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 521 minutes
Number Of Items: 4
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.5 x 1.1
MPN: WARD68801D
ISBN: 1419805584
UPC: 012569688018
EAN: 9781419805585
ASIN: B000B7QCHC
Release Date: December 6, 2005
Theatrical Release Date: September 5, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Description
In the hit show that continues the Batman storyline from the EmmyO-winning Batman: The Animated Series, two years have passed and Batman still protects the streets of Gotham City from the demented criminals that inhabit its dark alleys. But irreconcilable differences with Dick Grayson lead to the collapse of the Batman/Robin crimefighting duo and to the birth of Gotham's new hero Nightwing. Batgirl fights at Batman's side, and a new Robin takes flight after Batman's chance encounter with young Tim Drake. In these 24 thrilling episodes, the Gotham Knights face their worst enemies - Joker, Penguin, Mr. Freeze and many more - in a comprehensive 4-disc set that completes the Batman animated saga!DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary on "Over the Edge", "Critters" and "Legends of the Dark Knight" by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Glen Murakami, James Tucker, Dan Riba and Moderator Jason Hillhouse
Featurette:Arkham's Finest: Inside Batman's Rogue Gallery
Amazon.com
The fourth and final volume of Batman: The Animated Series is a little uneven but still encompasses some great episodes. Start with "Over the Edge," a nightmarish scenario in which Commissioner Gordon dedicates himself to hunting down Batman following the death of his daughter, Batgirl. "Critters" is a tribute to Japanese monster movies, "Mad Love" recounts the origin of Harley Quinn, and "Legends of the Dark Knight" animates both a '50s-styled Batman adventure as well as a scene from Frank Miller's Return of the Dark Knight. This run of 24 episodes has a lot of Batgirl, too little Nightwing, and a lot of the new Robin, Tim Drake, whose origin is explained in "Sins of the Father." Drake gets a mostly solo adventure, Batgirl teams with Supergirl, and there's still a sense of fun, with goofy humor that includes an appearance by the Three Stooges as the Joker's henchmen. Guest voices include Sela Ward as Calendar Girl and Tippi Hedren, and Mark Hamill continues the excellent work as the Joker that created some early rumors about his taking the live-action role in the sequel to Batman Begins. By this time, Batman had become part of the Batman/Superman Hour, so viewers can choose the opening sequence for either that or the original animated series. That, as well as the unbalanced number of episodes in the seasons (e.g., the first season of the animated series was 60 episodes), is why Batman: The Animated Series was released in volumes rather than as single-season sets. --David Horiuchi
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| Customer Reviews: Read 59 more reviews...
 The weakest in the series November 18, 2008
Batman: The Animated Series is a great show in its own right. The New Batman Adventures (Volume 4) is good, but not really that spectacular.
For one thing, the animation has been changed, so that it looked similar to the Superman animated series that ran along with it. Some parts of the animation has improved, but the redesigns of the characters can't cut it. I hate the way the male and female anatomies are in stark contrast: the men are tall and muscular, and the women are short and skinny. In BTAS there were hardly any contrasts between men and women. Is it because boys these days prefer their girls shorter and skinnier than they are?
And it's not just the anatomy, it's the villains as well. I really don't like what they did to the Penguin. I mean, Burton's re-imagining of the character made him more interesting. I enjoyed his presence in BTAS. But here in TNBA, he's back to the traditional comic book look. I do respect the comics, but the Penguin now looks very dull. I prefer his more bird-like appearance. Next, there's the Mad Hatter. In BTAS, he was of average height. But here he's now a midget. I don't have anything against midgets really, but here the Mad Hatter now looks like a stereotype of the typical Disneyesque Mad Hatter we have in our minds. Catwoman here is shorter and skinnier, and her white eyes really ruin it. She looks more of a weakling here than in BTAS. The Riddler's green suit and bowler hat have been replaced with a green jumpsuit. Why? He looked way more intelligent when he had that business suit on. Why take it away from him? Oh, and let's not forget about the Joker. His red lips are gone, and his eyes are more cartoonish. He looks less threatening in "Joker's Millions" and "Beware the Creeper" than in "Joker's Favor" and "The Laughing Fish."
But not all redesigns are bad. Clayface, Two-Face, and Harley Quinn somewhat stay the same. Killer Croc looks and sounds more humane, while Bane still has that killer appearance. The Scarecrow is now more frightening than ever, though I do miss Dr. Jonathan Crane, who dons the mask in BTAS. Mr. Freeze is sorta . . . meh.
As for our heroes, they're not all bad, except when it comes to Batgirl. She's in too many of the episodes, and she's sometimes annoying. And so is Timothy Drake as Robin. The creators must've created him to appeal to younger folks. He won't work well with older viewers. I can tolerate the fairly cleaner appearances of Comissioner Gordon, Detective Bullock, and Officer Montoya, though Gordon looks a lot weaker here.
The episodes themselves are somewhat mixed. "Growing Pains" and "Never Fear" contain high suspense, while "Critters" and Love is a Croc" can't live up to BTAS episodes like "On Leather Wings" and "Mudslide". "Girl's Night Out" is just flat-out irritating. "Beware the Creeper" is rightfully entertaining as The Creeper falls for Harley Quinn. Episodes with Nightwing/Dick Grayson are great as well. "Over the Edge" ranks with the classics.
The New Batman Adventures really is a weak point in the animated series. But it's not as bad as the horrid new series called "The Batman."
HALF GOOD November 3, 2008
I love Batman TAS but The New Batman Adventures is just not as good. So lets just get to the point. The new batman adventures takes place in the same continuity as Batman TAS so just think of it as a sequel to Batman TAS. There are 24 episodes in this volume. I only enjoyed 13 episodes out of the 24. The 11 eleven remaining not so much, because either they were disappointing or just plain awful. Some bad episodes are, Critters, Beware the Creeper, Mean seasons, and the list goes on.
I was really disappointed by some of the joker episodes. I'm sure they're good episodes but I just hate how the joker looks. Those stupid eyes that he has, what were they thinking? This is a Batman show, not Animaniacs. The fact that the joker looks stupid pretty much ruins most of the joker episodes for me. I just can't take him seriously, he looks like one of the animaniacs or something. BAD redesign.
There were too many joker episodes in this volume and just too many average episodes. There's no Riddler episodes which is a shame. They could of made two riddler episodes and replace some crappy episodes. Another catwoman episode wouldn't of hurt. More Nightwing would of been cool.
Anyways there is some GREAT episodes in the volume like , Legends of the Dark Knight, Over the Edge, Old Wounds, You scratch my back, Cult of the cat, and a few more.
So this box set is pretty much a mixed bag. You have your GREAT episodes but then you have a few god awful episodes, some average episodes and some descent ones. I still want to buy this volume, believe or not, simply because I really love some of the episodes included here, especially the ones with nightwing. I already own Batman TAS volume 1-3,and I'm willing to buy volume 4, but it will be for the right price.
 PEOPLE WHO CANT DRAW October 28, 2008
IVE SEEN DRAWING BY MONKEYS THAT HAD MORE DEPTH. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE DAYS OF REAL ANIMATION LIKE WICKED CITY GHOST IN THE SHELL 8MAN. HELL EVEN LOONEY TOONS .WHATS WITH ALL THIS SAMURI JACK STYLE????? IF YOU CANT DRAW SEMI PHOTO REALISIM THAN DONT BOTHER BECOMING AN ANIMATOR DO THE WORLD A FAVOR AND BECOME A PASTERY CHEF LIKE YOUR ANCESTORS.
The End of an Era October 2, 2008
Two years after the end of Batman: The Animated Series, the show was revived as The New Batman Adventures, which encompasses the 24 episodes on this set. By the time the show returned, it had lost a couple of key creative people, and the entire look of the series was reconceived in a more angular fashion. The real life break was mirrored in the series' chronology, meaning these episodes take place 2 years after the events of the last set.
Evening knowing all this, the transition from the last set to this one is jarring. It is not immediately clear why Batgirl is allowed in the Batcave, or why a new Robin, Tim Drake, has replaced Dick Grayson. A couple characters are so radically redesigned it is not clear who they are at first. A few secondary characters have been recast, and in most cases you will miss the original actors.
A lot of fans have expressed a dislike of the new artwork, and which admittedly lacks the charm of the original designs. Some characters - like Batman, Bane, and the now truly scary Scarecrow - look better than ever. Others, like Harley Quinn and Clayface, look basically the same as before. And unfortunately, some characters (Mr. Freeze, the Ventriloquist, and the Mad Hatter spring to mind) look much, much worse. You will adjust to the new look, but not until midway through the set.
These episodes also stray from some of what made the original series so special. More action oriented than before, the show lacks the atmosphere and mood that made the earlier episodes so fascinating. Many of the new villains fall flat, lacking the psychological depth of the original Rogues Gallery. The focus on wham-bam action also leaves less time for character development, a hallmark of the original series.
There are still some great episodes on this disc. The faster pacing and increased action pays off in spades during "Over the Edge," which shows the aftermath of Batgirl's apparent demise. "Old Wounds" is a fascinating exploration of why Dick Grayson quit being Robin (that would have benefited from being two parts). This set also has what is in my opinion the series' best episode, "Mad Love." Recounting Harley Quinn's origin, it has the kind of deliberate pacing and emotional maturity that was so successful on previous sets, as well as career best performances by Mark Hamill and Arleen Sorkin as the Joker and Harley Quinn, respectively.
In fact, the saddest thing about this set is how it ends just as it finds its groove. The last 8 or so episodes are quite strong, and it's a shame this new group of artist and writers weren't given more time to play in this world.
This set has some interesting extras, particularly the Interactive Arkham Asylum (basically a group of featurettes on the main villains). Unfortunately, the customary 4 commentaries have been reduced to 3, with one of them wasted on the absolutely awful episode "Critters." Given the reduced episode count, an increase in extra content would have been welcomed.
Fans of the show should definitely check this set out. It may not be quite as good as the old episodes, but it is still better than 90% of the current crop of action cartoons.
What the hell October 1, 2008
I dont get why they changed the animation for the final season. It was great before. In the more recent ones they made the animation all bright and crappy looking. I dont get how crappy animation some how became in??? cuz its all i see. I love batman.Huge fan. but these episodes were hard for me to watch
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