‘Batman Return of the Caped Crusader’ is welcome return to the 1960’s Batman will all of the puns, corny jokes
UPDATED: A sequel has been confirmed with a popular Star Trek actor joining the voice cast. More details below.
With bright colors, corny jokes and cheesy lines, the Adam West and Burt Ward incarnation of Batman and Robin still stands as a fun and iconic version of the dynamic duo. Warner Bros takes fans back decades with their new animated project titled Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders.
To pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Batman TV show, Caped Crusaders uses West, Ward and Julie Newmar as Catwoman, all returning to lend their voice in the pop art inspired Batman project.
Battling a foursome of Catwoman, Riddler, Joker and Penguin, Batman and Robin come to life in the 1960s climate with all of the laughs, gags and references to Bat Anti-Antidote, Bat Anti-Anti-Antidote, Bat Knockout Gas and Bat Wake-Up Gas as the story, battles, and locations are propelled to new levels. The clever feline temptress Catwoman turns the story upside-down turning Batman “evil” and Robin is forced to partner with his frenemy to take down the out-of-control hero.
The Nolan Batman, praised and glorified since the Frank Miller comic book revival, is mocked here as being to overreaching and controlling. From the re-creation of the credits to the fight scenes with caption bubbles, the vintage, kid-friendly Batman is the true hero. Basically this is two episodes comprising one longer film for fans to reflect on the lighter Batman, void of the brooding and melancholy.
That said, the film does make an effort to point out the positives of evolving out of the 1960s mindset with regards to women and becoming more tolerant of others. I loved the jab at the ending of Dark Knight Rises even though some fans may not.
Caped Crusaders is ripe with great lines and a cheesy crosswalk PSA, but delivers for every fans of the TV show. Sit back, don’t try to make sense of just how prepared Batman is or how little sense the solutions make, just enjoy the fun. There are even cameos by Egghead, King Tut and the Minstrel.
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders receives 4 out of 5 stars
If you missed this event, the film is now available on Digital HD with the Blu-ray and DVD arriving on November 1st.
William Shatner has been cast for a role in a sequel, titled Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders 2 for now. At the NYCC, fans learned that Shatner has been cast as the voice Harvey “Two-Face” Dent in the sequel, expected to arrives sometime in 2017. Fans became familiar with the episode cut from the original run, because DC Entertainment turned the script into a comic book called Batman ’66: The Lost Episode #1
