Rating:  -
Two years after the end of Batman: The Animated Series, the show was revived as The New Batman Adventures, which encompasses the 24 episodes on this set. By the time the show returned, it had lost a couple of key creative people, and the entire look of the series was reconceived in a more angular fashion. The real life break was mirrored in the series' chronology, meaning these episodes take place 2 years after the events of the last set.
Evening knowing all this, the transition from the last set to this one is jarring. It is not immediately clear why Batgirl is allowed in the Batcave, or why a new Robin, Tim Drake, has replaced Dick Grayson. A couple characters are so radically redesigned it is not clear who they are at first. A few secondary characters have been recast, and in most cases you will miss the original actors.
A lot of fans have expressed a dislike of the new artwork, and which admittedly lacks the charm of the original designs. Some characters - like Batman, Bane, and the now truly scary Scarecrow - look better than ever. Others, like Harley Quinn and Clayface, look basically the same as before. And unfortunately, some characters (Mr. Freeze, the Ventriloquist, and the Mad Hatter spring to mind) look much, much worse. You will adjust to the new look, but not until midway through the set.
These episodes also stray from some of what made the original series so special. More action oriented than before, the show lacks the atmosphere and mood that made the earlier episodes so fascinating. Many of the new villains fall flat, lacking the psychological depth of the original Rogues Gallery. The focus on wham-bam action also leaves less time for character development, a hallmark of the original series.
There are still some great episodes on this disc. The faster pacing and increased action pays off in spades during "Over the Edge," which shows the aftermath of Batgirl's apparent demise. "Old Wounds" is a fascinating exploration of why Dick Grayson quit being Robin (that would have benefited from being two parts). This set also has what is in my opinion the series' best episode, "Mad Love." Recounting Harley Quinn's origin, it has the kind of deliberate pacing and emotional maturity that was so successful on previous sets, as well as career best performances by Mark Hamill and Arleen Sorkin as the Joker and Harley Quinn, respectively.
In fact, the saddest thing about this set is how it ends just as it finds its groove. The last 8 or so episodes are quite strong, and it's a shame this new group of artist and writers weren't given more time to play in this world.
This set has some interesting extras, particularly the Interactive Arkham Asylum (basically a group of featurettes on the main villains). Unfortunately, the customary 4 commentaries have been reduced to 3, with one of them wasted on the absolutely awful episode "Critters." Given the reduced episode count, an increase in extra content would have been welcomed.
Fans of the show should definitely check this set out. It may not be quite as good as the old episodes, but it is still better than 90% of the current crop of action cartoons.
Rating:  -
I dont get why they changed the animation for the final season. It was great before. In the more recent ones they made the animation all bright and crappy looking. I dont get how crappy animation some how became in??? cuz its all i see. I love batman.Huge fan. but these episodes were hard for me to watch
Rating:  -
We couldn't stop watching this! If our kids watched an episode without us, we'd have to go back and watch it by ourselves. Great series with really interesting characters. This is a must for any Batman fan!
Rating: -
I just learned of Batman The Animated series in 2007 and rented the first two volumes through Netflix. They were so good I bought volumes three and four from Amazon. I was terribly disappointed in volume four, because the animation is no where near the quality of the first three volumes, so visually it is not as good. Gone are the shading, shadowing and face definition that made the first three volumes so pretty and compelling to look at. The new format of telling a story fastpaced in 15 minutes takes some getting use to, however would have been ok had the visuals not been compromised. The new Robin is a child and the idea of a child being able to be effective after seeing the young man Robin, took a leap of faith. The one good thing about this set is that the voices remained the same. Unfortunately, I could not get past the third show in this volume and cannot recommend this set.
Rating: -
Now a days they have all these revamped cartoons of Batman and others... I personally will always enjoy these that started in the early 90's because they have more of a real life feel with a kid's touch for viewing so old and young can enjoy. The new ones are way too cartoony and takes away from the real life feel to it. I mean have you seen how they updated the new joker for the new Batman series I find it strange. I guess it depends what era you grew up on and these were it. I highly recommend this final box set to the 90's series. I will always go back and watch them with my kids.
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