On November 10, 2022, the world lost an amazing talent. Kevin Conroy, American actor and iconic voice of Batman since 1992, passed away. Kevin Conroy for many was the voice of the Caped Crusader. We argue everyday about the best live action portrayal of the Dark Knight, but when it came to the animated Batman, Kevin Conroy was the only name on everyone's lips for a good while. While many actors have stepped in the booth, none have become as synonymous with the hero as Kevin Conroy has. It is a bit difficult to write this since Kevin Conroy was, and always will be, my favourite Batman. The way he slipped between Bruce Wayne and Batman gave the performance more life and believability than most of the live action actors (Looking at you Kilmer and Clooney). Batman means a lot to a lot of people, and Kevin Conroy really got the power and pain of the character. To honor him, and his legacy, I have decided to take a look at the first animated Batman movie to reach the big screen, 1993's Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
A new menace sweeps over the city of Gotham, and it is striking some prominent gang members. While everyone believes that Batman has gone off the deep end, Batman is trying to get to the bottom of the new mysterious being known as the Phantasm, which becomes difficult when one of the targeted gang members gets The Joker involved. Meanwhile, an old acquaintance reignites some memories in Bruce Wayne, memories that deal with becoming the Masked Vigilante. The mystery of the Phantasm is solid, and the flashbacks can be downright heartbreaking. The entire plot is suspenseful and intense, especially when The Joker gets involved. They do leave a few things unexplained, but nothing that is really essential to the overall plot of the movie, the whole plot was exciting and intriguing and really made you feel for the characters. I do feel like the crew behind the Animated Series really understood Batman better than most other people who work on Batman do.
This extends to the characters, what really makes the Animated Series Batman my favourite Batman is that they really understood batman's Lawful alignment. The episode "Trial" is one of my all-time favourites, as it is a perfect example of this. Well, this movie is the same Batman we know and love, and he, as usual, is voiced perfectly by the late Kevin Conroy. The rest of the characters are great as well, the love interest Andrea Beaumont is very much a lot like Bruce in a lot of ways, trying to hide the pain of the past. Of course, The Joker is a wonderful mix of entertaining and threatening, and Alfred also gets some good snark in once and a while. This is all emphasized by amazing voice talent, of course with Mark Hamill as The Joker, but also Dana Delany, Hart Bochner, Dick Miller, Stacy Keach, and Abe Vigoda, all turning in excellent performances. I never would have thought Abe Vigoda would translate into the booth very well, but he surprisingly did. I also really got to give kudos to the writing, not just the writing of the plot, but of the dialogue. Many characters are given small lines that a lot of movies would probably have cut out, just small little reactions to each other that makes them feel much more real. Really, this dialogue is just the icing on an already really good cake.
What really got me in this movie were the intense and thrilling action scenes. Not just because of how well they were done, but because of the music. The background score did what a good backing score should do, it emphasized the scene without distracting from it or fading into the background too much. Striking this balance can be difficult, so major props to Shirley Walker. Let's also not forget the animation, the animation for this movie is top notch. While some close-ups look odd and there is one scene where Batman uses his grappling hook that just didn't look right to me, the rest of the animation is phenomenal. Minor facial expressions are scattered around this movie which give us an idea of what the characters are thinking, the impact of physical blow can almost be felt, of course The Joker is always fantastically animated, and I really love the opening credits, panning through a stylized CG rendering of Gotham City, it is all very cool.
So of course, the question now has to be asked, where does this rank amongst the other Batman movies? Honestly, I think the answer depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for a more old school comic book movie, you have Batman '89, but a more serious crime drama would give you The Dark Knight, while The Batman 2022 is much more of a serious murder mystery, and this one has a little bit of all three. In the end, I guess it depends on what kind of Batman movie you want, do you want a comic book movie, a crime thriller, a murder mystery or something in between. I do think this movie serves as a good transition point between the milder 80s and 90s Batman movies and the much darker Nolan trilogy and 2022 movie.
Despite failing at the box office, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm has become recognized as one of the greatest superhero movies of all time, and for good reason, this movie is very well done. The animation is great, the music is stellar, the writing is believable, the action scenes are intense and thrilling, and the mystery is solid and keeps you thinking. It has a little bit of everything for a Batman fan, and if you're a fan of the animated series, well it's just a no brainer to give this a watch, but if you are a new comer, I really only recommend watching the Animated Series first because it's just a fantastic show, but you can come into this movie completely blind. It has a little bit of everything for a Batman fan. It's exciting, suspenseful and humanizes the main cast, it is easily one of the best Batman movies ever made, I can't recommend it enough. Rest in Peace Kevin Conroy, we'll all miss you.
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