for those who have seen both. did you guys think there was a huge difference in terms of quality between the two ?
Batman mask of Phatasm vs Batman series
By skinnylizard | Monday, April 10, 2006 at 12:24am
#1
Batman mask of Phatasm vs Batman series
Not particularly. Maybe a bit higher production values on Phantasm, but not a major difference. This is from memory, btw. I haven't seen either in a while.
I can't remember too much of a difference between the two. I do, however, think there was a huge difference between the series and the latest DTV movie, Mystery of the Batwoman.
I just watched the Mask of the Phantasm about week ago. The animation quality looks pretty much the same as the series. Seeing it now, the animation seems generally limited and the movements seems stiff, though I remembered being really inspired by it when I was little. I still enjoy the story and the overall feel of both the movie and series. It was really different from the other cartoons back then.
I was just thinking that while the Mystery of the Batwoman movie was better than the Mask of the Phantasm (and the series at that time), the series had moved up in quality that matched the MotB movie when it came out. I think I remember the series getting a boost in quality when they redesigned all the characters and it became the New Adventures of Batman and Robin.
No, there is a difference. It's not that major... Bruce Timm simplified the characters so the animation process would go more quickly. The most obvious change is in the Joker (no lips!) But thats it. Go and pick up the "Art of the Batman animated series" book... not sure of the real title.
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I have Mask, a disc with the first 4 episodes of the show, and the Art Of book, which is my favorite of the three. Both discs are pretty good examples of modern animation, and make me wish I was a lot younger. I think they're intelligent enough, for being aimed at 16 year olds. They feel a bit goofy to me, now. But then, for me, the first half season of the 60s TV show (it was a mid-season replacement) is the epitome of the concept. Of course, there were many silly episodes in season 2, and season 3 was pretty awful. But basically, I find it hard to not laugh at superheros. Exept The Incredibles, which knew exactly how much and when to laugh at itself.
Now, if you like the look of the Batman animated series and haven't checked out the Fleischer Bros Superman cartoons, you should. I recently got a copy of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow-- which is a dopey movie that warms my heart for some reason, but got names like Jude Law and Gweneth Paltrow (who was a GREAT Lois Lane!) and both the budget and everybody's expectations got bloated all out of proportion. But anyway, the original short is actually called "Mechanical Monsters" using almost the same font as the Superman cartoon. The robots that originally attack New York are a very slight redesign of the robots from the cartoon, yet the cartoon isn't mentioned at all on the disc. And they're otherwise all about identifying their influences. Strange...
actually Sky Captain reminds me of a Superman episode of long ago called the Thirteenth Hour. i dont remember who animated it but it had a Fritz Lang Metropolis feel to it which i also kind of got from Sky Captain
It is odd that it didn't get mentioned there. I've seen the cartoon referenced in interviews elsewhere with the guys behind this movie. The influence is unmistakeable.