New Batman cartoon staring West and Ward!

[Dick Whitman]

Adam West and Burt Ward revealed at a convention they are voicing Batman and Robin in a new animated movie. It will be next year in time for the 50th Anniversary of their series.

Here is the video of them announcing it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOvzVVrqkJw&feature=share

 

[Christopher]

Interesting... but which version of Batman will it be? I'm hoping it'll be an adaptation of the Batman '66 comics, or something along the same lines, a revival of the show's universe.

My initial assumption was that it would be part of the DC Universe DVD line, but Ward says it's 90 minutes, and those are all in the 70-minute range. Besides, the DCU line tends toward dark, violent, PG-13 stuff.

 

[Doctorwhovian]

West has appeared in some other animated Batmans, although not really as Batman. Most notably the "Grey Ghost", a sort of inspiration for Kevin Conroy's Batman (and sort of a meta-joke or something like that) in Batman: The Animated series.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I think its likely to be a tribute to the style of show. Maybe even on specific stories in the recent comics.

Notice Burt Ward said it might be more than one movie. Maybe it will be split into two films like The Dark Knight Returns was.

I have long thought that WB Animation could and should do this type of thing. Most of their Direct to DVD movies have unique styles and different voice actors. Why not draw upon previous casts from older DC adaptations. There is a built in audience.

West and Ward specifically occurred to me. On the DVD of their theatrical Batman movie, which has been out a number of years, they recorded new short lines in character for the menus. Sure their voices are notexactly the same. But their style of delivery and tone is very much still in character.

 

[Christopher]

West has appeared in some other animated Batmans, although not really as Batman. Most notably the "Grey Ghost", a sort of inspiration for Kevin Conroy's Batman (and sort of a meta-joke or something like that) in Batman: The Animated series.

West has played Batman himself in two animated universes, Filmation's The New Adventures of Batman in 1977 (with Ward as Robin) and the later versions of Hanna-Barbera's Superfriends, aka Super Powers Team, in the early '80s (with Casey Kasem as Robin). (Oddly, in both cases, he was replacing Olan Soule, who'd played Batman in earlier versions of the respective series.) He and Ward reprised Batman and Robin in live action in the two Legends of the Superheroes comedy specials in 1979. West also voiced Batman in a Simpsons episode in 2002 and in a CGI fan film called Batman: New Times.

But yes, since then, he's only played supporting characters in official Batman productions -- Simon Trent/The Gray Ghost in B:TAS, Mayor Grange in The Batman, and Proto-Bot and Thomas Wayne in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. And he appeared as a new character in an episode of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

 

[Dick Whitman]

That reminds me of something. Adam West never appeared in the 1990 The Flash.

Its posted on Wikipedia and Imdb that he appears in the episode "Child's Play" as a Hippy credited as "Awest". I was always curious about that. I could never spot who he was. Even if he was highly disguised I could not spot which character he was.

So recently I messaged the producer of the show Danny Bilson on Facebook. Awest is the name of an artist who worked for them. He designed their Pet Fly Productions logo which is seen at the end of episodes. I did some further searching and that artists real name is Andrew West Reid Jr. So he has no connection to Adam West at all.

Its really frustrating. It shows how unreliable Imdb can be. I have no idea who jumped to that conclusion. But I tried correcting that listing but they won't remove it. It does not help that his own official website has a link to his Imdb page. Which means his own people probably do not pay that close attention to it.

 

[Doctorwhovian]

I also recall some kind of campy reunion special in either the 90s or the 2000s, which I heard was pretty terrible.

 

[Christopher]

That reminds me of something. Adam West never appeared in the 1990 The Flash.

Thanks for the correction! I've edited my post to remove the error. I thought that seemed a little weird, but I guess I was posting too early in the morning to think clearly.

I also recall some kind of campy reunion special in either the 90s or the 2000s, which I heard was pretty terrible.

You're probably thinking of Return to the Batcave, one of the spate of "behind-the-scenes" re-enactment movies from the early 2000s (2003 in this case). I didn't count it because West and Ward didn't play Batman and Robin; they played themselves in a fictionalized story that was a frame for a dramatization of the show's production, with other actors playing their younger selves. (Notably, prolific voice artist Jason Marsden played young Burt Ward playing Robin. He would later play the voice of Robin on the Scooby-Doo segment of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Marsden has also played both young Clark Kent and young Bruce Wayne, making him probably the only actor to play all three of those characters.)

I didn't think it was that bad, but maybe I was watching through a nostalgic haze.

 

[Cyke101]

Adam West and Burt Ward return in a new Anime-version of "Knightfall!" Starring the bone-crushing, back-breaking Bane!

I kid, but I like the idea of an animated Batman '66. That book is a hoot.

 

[Captaindemotion]

I hope that this is basically an animated recreation of the tv series, down to the 'Holy...Batman' and 'kapow, thump' captions. It's a shame Gorshin, Meredith and Romero aren't around to reprise their roles. I hope also that their equivalents will be trying to do the characters in their respective styles.

 

[Christopher]

Let's see, who is still around? Adam West, Burt Ward, Yvonne Craig, and Julie Newmar -- plus Lee Meriwether -- are pretty much it. So if they did revive the '66 continuity, we'd need replacement actors for Alan Napier, Neil Hamilton, Stafford Repp, Madge Blake, and narrator William Dozier as well as the villains. You'd also need a composer who can do a good Nelson Riddle pastiche.

 

[the G-man]

Given its specifically being referred to as a 50th anniversary film, I think it has to be in the style of "Batman '66"

Get Jeff Parker and/or Mike Allred on this and it could be truly awesome.

And they damn well better use the theme song.

 

[JD]

This is awesome news. I just started watching he show last year on MeTV, so this is perfect timing for me. It's a shame that so few of the original cast members are still alive, it would have been a blast if they could have gotten all of them back together. Hopefully they'll try to get the rest of the surviving cast members.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I would love it if they have a window cameo like on the show. Have a cartoon version of a celebrity doing their own voice.

Jack Larson and Noel Neill are still alive. It would be great to have Jimmy and Lois have a cameo.

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

I would love it if they have a window cameo like on the show. Have a cartoon version of a celebrity doing their own voice.

Jack Larson and Noel Neill are still alive. It would be great to have Jimmy and Lois have a cameo.

Or the Harlem Globetrotters or Scooby Doo and the gang.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Or maybe Paul or Ringo.

 

[Christopher]

Get Jeff Parker and/or Mike Allred on this and it could be truly awesome.

Am I the only one who dislikes Mike Allred's art style? His characters are so stiffly drawn and dead-eyed, but he's somehow very popular lately.

 

[Greg Cox]

Julie Newmar, pretty please.

Sad to realize that she and Lee Meriwether are pretty much the last surviving Bat-villains.

 

[Christopher]

^Still, it's impressive that all three Caped Crusaders are still with us.

 

[tharpdevenport]

Interesting... but which version of Batman will it be? I'm hoping it'll be an adaptation of the Batman '66 comics, or something along the same lines, a revival of the show's universe.

It would still be something of a downer. William Dozer is dead (the announcer), Neal Hefti is dead (the theme composer), Nelson Riddle is dead (the main composer, though the other two are dead, too), Alan Napier (Alfred) is dead, as well as all the good actors who played the villains.