Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Batman Series Episode 4

When Batman was a huge success in 1989 a new Batman animated series was immediately approved, but due to the production time of animation it did not premiere until 1992. With a heavy dose of Tim Burton’s Gothic style but a mood more loyal to the original comics, allowing for such baddies as Clayface and Harley Quinn to fit alongside Joker and Penguin, Batman: The Animated Series was a huge hit reaching outside the normal after-school cartoon demographic to Batman fans of all ages. With the series’ success, an original animated feature film got promoted to the big time-a theatrical release. So on Christmas day, 1993, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm became The Dark Knight’s fourth appearance on the silver screen. Featuring Mark Hamill as the iconic voice of Joker and Kevin Conroy as Batman both fighting against a new, lethal vigilante The Phantasm, does this animated film actually supersede Burton’s live-action films? Listen to Stuart, Jakob, and Arnie’s review to find out!