Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

People are voting emotionally.

Load of rubbish!!

Awesome Movie

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Though 'Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (1993)' does feel suitably cinematic, it is still very much an extension of 'Batman: The Animated Series (1992)', taking place after the first season and having tangible consequences for the show as a whole. It is never so to the detriment of the narrative, however, rather the opposite. The feature builds upon the solid - and usually universally known - foundations of its source-material to craft a story all of its own, ultimately becoming both a superb stand-alone and a solid supplement, too. It's really a character-driven mystery at its heart and I will say that the enigma that fuels the piece is particularly well-handled, played to perfection at every moment. We learn just enough to keep us guessing but never enough so that the eventual reveal is too obvious (or, indeed, a cheat). It intertwines initially slightly slow and, wrongfully, unnecessary-seeming flashbacks into its plot, which cleverly filter the bat's backstory through relevant characters so that they strongly connect to the current-day narrative in more ways than one. The flick provides a strong emotional connection to every sequence, including a real sense of pain in the punch-ups and some real stakes overall, because the protagonist, sans mask, is given a lot more time and development than he usually is in his animated outings. This means that we care not only about the Dark Knight catching the crook but also about Bruce Wayne maybe finally finding some semblance of personal happiness, too. It's a brilliant balance and one key in the feature's success. It is one of the best Batman outings to come to our screens, big or small, and is a consistently enjoyable, engaging experience. It's entertaining, exciting and intriguing, an intelligent tale that takes itself seriously and makes you care about its characters. The animation and voice-work are both top-notch, too, and I'd say that this easily sits among the best of the Bat's big-screen adventures. 8/10

I don't fancy myself much of a fan of the superhero genre, but at least Batman is one of the more watchable of superheroes for me, as he relies on gadgets and cunning and have no otherworldly or superhero powers.I sat down to watch "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" with my seven year old son, as he enjoy superheroes. However, he quickly lost interest in the storyline told in this 1993 addition to the story of the Caped Crusader. And I must admit that my interest was also becoming fast tested to its limits. Why? Well, because the storyline was essentially pointless and lacked the ability to captivate me.Sure "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" had Mark Hamill on the cast list doing voice acting for The Joker, but not even this was sufficient to salvage this movie and make it even somewhat worthwhile for me.What I had the biggest issue with was the art style, because I am not fan of that particular drawing style. Needless to say that I wasn't much of a fan of the animated series either.I did find the Phantasm character to be somewhat interesting and added a good element to the story. And it is, of course, always a blast to have The Joker in a movie.I was told that I should watch "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" as it supposedly was one of the better animated Batman movies. I must admit that I failed to see that aspect to this 1993 animated movie. There are other animated movies in the Batman universe, which far surpasses this particular one.

Here was a "cartoon" that was written for adults. It could be viewed by older kids, but it had great depths for the adults who took any time with it. Each episode (or couple of episodes) acts as its own mini-movie. The structuring of the story in each one is just so well executed. As well, the animation (for its time) was quite good, and still holds up well enough today. Another difference from other animation, is that the color palette is quite dark- which, again, only makes it more interesting. All of the great villains are here (and others you may not have heard of), but they get a very serious and, at times, philosophical explication. One of my favorite things about the series, is that every episode has its own orchestral score- meaning, the music that you hear is tailored to fit the exact moment you are watching. Shirley Walker manages to come up with so many sub-themes and variations on the main theme- and works them in so well with the happenings on screen. For those of you that have seen the series and remember it fondly, you might be interested to know that a box-set of the first 28 episodes was recently released- you can get it just about anywhere.

This film is terrific this is how Batman should look like and not some crazy Joel Schumacher Bat Nipples creature. Kevin Conroy returns as the Dark Knight for the film that is truly considered one of the best batman films ever made for some even better than the Dark Knight Trilogy and i think that the Phantasm was a very underrated character Mark Hammil also returns as Joker enough said and i believe this one has a very awesome Batman theme and a great way to show the birth of the Batman. It has also some cool fight scenes and it's always awesome watching Batman going against the Joker. Batman Mask of the Phantasm is Awesometacular!!!