Batman: The Animated Series was a big part of many young millennial and generation X people. As a women who grew up with this series and its follow-ups, and who knows many women who grew up with it as well, it's safe to say it was one of those shows that was just so well done that it transcended gender. Along with the great action sequences, it had the depth, humor, and heart to reach so many for so many different reasons. It drew me in by the great writing and voice acting, and this show as well as its predecessors kept me invested well into my twenties. It's pretty amazing to think that it all started with a two-minute pilot animation that served as the team's pitch to the high-ups at Warner Bros.
While watching the pilot, you are likely to notice that the animation looks very familiar. The pilot animation was so well done, that much of it was used as the introduction to the series proper. It detailed something with which Batman fans are very familiar. He interrupts a jewel heist, knocks out the robbers, and leaves before the police can arrest him. That's all there was to it, but it works so well since it very well could be a typical night in the life of Batman. The only weird thing here was his ability to swiftly dodge bullets, which was thankfully left out of the series. Batman did pull off more superhuman feats as the show turned into a shared universe, but the original series was very much grounded in reality. Well, at least in as much reality as is possible when dealing with a man jumping off a skyscraper dressed as a bat.
The voice of Kevin Conroy isn't there yet, so Batman stays silent throughout. In fact, the only real voice to be heard is when a police officer yells a warning to Batman. Other than that, it is a silent short apart from the grunts from the robbers as Batman fights them. This works well for a character that is as dark and brooding as Batman had become since the success of Frank Miller's graphic novel, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
In behind the scenes material, it was revealed that the studio requested that the show adhere to the characters most recent film, which was also the most successful Batman live action adaptation up to that point, Tim Burton's Batman. The pilot was completed in 1991, so the Burton's 1989 hit was still on the minds of both the studio heads and the public. Even as early as this short, the influence from the film could be felt. It incorporated the fantastic main theme from the film, which was composed by the talented Danny Elfman. This score fit in so well with the animation that it was also included when the short was retooled into the intro animation once the series was greenlit.
The Batman: The Animated Series pilot is more than a simple curio or a piece of animation history. Its use in the into animation means that it is well ingrained in the minds of anyone who watched the series. Its use of the iconic Batman score by Danny Elfman gave it the gravitas that was needed for a series created so close to the classic 1989 film. Other than the superhuman feats shown at one point in the animation, it is darn near perfect.
Final Score:4½ out of 5
