Batman, The: The Complete Animated Series (BD) [Blu-ray]

This review is for the Batman Animated Series Limited Collector's Edition Blu-ray. I'll be focused on the set itself - content, collectibles, case, packaging. If you're considering buying this, you're already a fan of this amazing show and I don't need to tell you how great it is! I pre-ordered this in the summer and paid around $87. I was pretty relieved when this product arrived in good condition, because there are quite a number of Amazon purchasers who had their shipment pretty banged up because of it being mailed in a bubble envelope. Luckily, my Batman box was still in very good shape minus a tiny ding in the back upper corner which you can see in the pictures, along with the actual envelope it came in. I'm not sure I'll actually be keeping the box anyway since the inside case itself is very sleek and displayable and all the packaging box has on it is your limited edition #... which now that they produced 40,000 more than anticipated, isn't actually so limited. I've only watched a few episodes so far but the show really shines in HD. This art style was meant to be seen in a hi-res format like blu-ray due to the show's many shadows, shading, and colors. The animation is super smooth and you can tell that care went into the remastering. The sound is wonderful too as the show is regularly riddled with sharp sound effects and explosions. It's very unfortunate that the Digital downloads are NOT in HD, which I don't believe was ever communicated. I'll be honest though, I originally pre-ordered this at $113 when no Digital inclusion was announced, so I can't really complain about a $25 price cut over the summer plus Digital now thrown in. Not sure I'll take advantage, but I can see how this may be a dealbreaker for some. The extra collectibles in the set are a nice touch, though I'm not really sure what I'll do with these mini-pop's or lenticular cards. The actual booklet that houses all the discs is ordered by seasons, with the two movies and your digital codes in the back. Unfortunately, these cardboard sleeves are NOT user-friendly and you really have to pinch these suckers to extract them from their sleeve. Forget about fingerprints, just be happy you don't damage the disc yanking it out. Pros: - The show you grew up watching and loved is now all collected in a superior format with excellent remastering - Comes with nice physical extras but also some cool special features for the series, plus two movies Cons: - Amazon will probably ship it to you in a bubble mailer instead of a box and the outside packaging could arrive somewhat damaged. Again, this is just the outer box that you probably won't have on display (and may just discard) - Digital version is NOT in high definition - The discs are packaged VERY tightly into their respective sleeves and doesn't make pulling them out easy or worry-free Overall, I'd highly recommend this set just for the main 109 episodes on Blu-ray alone in beautiful HD. Everything else is just a bonus to me, and despite some of the cons, I'm still giving it 5 stars for the main product. It's highly probable a non-limited-edition will be released in the next couple months -- who knows exactly how they'll price it and if the Digital will actually be in HD (my guess is no). Do yourself a favor either way and make sure to pick up this show and relive this glorious 90's animated masterpiece.

I love my box set and hd digital copies. The booklet that the disks come in sleek and nice and has a convenient list of each episode on the disk. I personally don't mind the card board sleeves because I know there blue ray disks which are insanely hard to scratch due to the TDK hard coating they put on them. I've tested the coating with a special features disk I didn't care about from another blue ray set, and I literally took a metal knife to the disks and there was no scratch. though definitely need to use a your shirt or a cloth to take the disks out of the booklet cause without one there is no way your getting a disk out without getting finger prints on it. The lenticular cards are really cool I didn't expect to actually like them plus on the back of each one there is a gorgeous background of different Gotham landscapes. The Funko Pops don't match the art style but there kinda cute and cool at the same time so I don't mind having them. The HD remastered episodes look absolutely gorgeous. The only problem which everyone else has mentioned is Amazon doesn't respect your purchase enough to ship it correctly. They will ship it in a mailer bag which is wrong of them. Others will say that it's not all Amazons fault because of the cardboard WB used for the outer box, but I can tell you for a fact because I have seen it with my own eyes this is not true. I have found copies in actual Walmart stores on the shelves that are in perfect condition, and own a copy a friend bought for me as a present from Walmart thats in perfect condition. I will say also that WB should have got there act together and had Hd digital copies ready fro the launch date but that has been fixed. If Amazon didn't disrespect there customers in the shipping process, and WB had HD digital copies for the grabs from the beginning this set would have been sold out completely already. Hell it did sell out when the limited production number was only 30,000, but than they changed it to 70,000 because of the high demand well technically 69,048 limited copies.

First off: I noticed a lot of these reviews are for the previous DVD versions, so perhaps Amazon may want to separate them. This Oct 2018 Blu-ray release of the series is what I’ve been waiting for. My box arrived damaged but Amazon was very helpful in remedying the issue (thanks again!). Everything inside was fine though. The discs are stored bookstyle, in a thick cardboard case. It comes with the feature length movies “Sub-Zero” (meh) and “Mask of Phantasm” (yay!) If you’re reading this you are already familiar with the quality of the show itself so I won’t get into that. If somehow you haven’t heard of it or seen it...why? Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, Kevin Conroy as THE Batman, Mark Hamil as THE Joker, Arleen Sorkin as THE Harley Quinn. So good... As a test, I watched the very first episode “On Leather Wings” since it would have the oldest animation. It’s in 4:3 and very crisp, brighter but still retains the darker tones somehow. I did see some white specks here and there but they did a very good job of cleaning it up. If you want to see a side-by-side comparison to the DVD version, visit ign.com. It came with a digital copy of the series which is awesome and makes the purchase even more substantial. The set came with mini pop figures of Batman, Joker and Harley. My only gripe is Harley tends to fall over because she’s basically shaped like a “T”, holding her mallet, skinny as she is. Just lean her against Mr. J and she’s all good. It also came with lenticular cards of scenes in the series. They’re nice and make that “zoot” sound (you know what I’m talking about) but likely won’t see much of the light if day. Hoping they do the same thing to Batman Beyond.

Look, we all know the original delivery of this set had some issues. Yes, the package presented some damage, which is an understandable complaint for collectors, but to base your entire review on it? And giving the thing a 1-star rating? There are places for that, and this isn't it. Why punish the set makers for something that's not their fault? I'm here to give a fair review to the actual set and not the shipping issues, which are entirely unrelated. CONTENT: The set contains the whole animated series: Season 1 (Batman: The Animated Series), Season 2 (The Adventures of Batman & Robin) and Season 3 (The New Batman Adventures), plus the movies "Batman - Mask of the Phantasm" and "Batman & Mr. Freeze - Subzero". Most of the included discs come with extras (commentaries, analyses, concepts, behind the scenes, etc.), plus there's a whole bonus disc exclusive for extras. Outside of that, there are 7 lithographs showing pictures in the original series art style with a 3D effect, and 3 Funko POP minifigures (Batman, Joker and Harley Quinn). There's also a code for a digital copy included. PRESENTATION: The set comes in a thin cardboard box with the series' logo and three small windows showing the Funko POP minifigures. Being a limited edition, the back of the box presents a golden sticker with the production number. The actual discs come packed in a beautiful hardcover book-style holder with sleeves for each disc (holding 12 discs total) and includes art in the style of the series. The lithographs come in their own cardboard envelope. QUALITY: The visual quality is amazing. They clearly didn't just repackage the DVD sets and call it a day. They obviously took the effort. Audio is also fantastic. The episodes in the discs come with English, French and Latin american Spanish audio and subtitles, while special features only have English audio but subtitles in all three languages. The lithographs are just gorgeous. While not depicting scenes taken from actual episodes, no one would call you a fool for believing they do. In the back, they also present some pictures of scenery from the series. The Funko POP minifigures are a point of contention. People either love them or hate them, with very little in the middle. I don't mind them regularly, but the small size of these ones is a bit of a problem: it's practically impossible to get the Harley figure to stand without using hot water to bend her neck and/or feet a little. It's probably a good idea to leave them in the box. The discs being in sleeves rather than cases is another point of contention. These being Blu-Rays and not DVDs, it's not such a big problem, since Blu-Rays are more resistant to scratching, and the sleeves are covered in a shiny plastic film that's much more friendly to the discs than simple cardboard would be. The problem is that the discs fit too tight in the sleeves, so it's nearly impossible to get them out without getting your fingers on them. I recommend to take a ruler or the back of a knife to the sides of the sleeves to "open" them a little bit more without damaging them (unless you don't have this problem, which might very well be exclusive to my set). The digital copy seems to be another issue. I generally don't care about them, but I understand people who do will be disappointed to know that the provided copy is only SD and only available for VUDU with no iTunes option. Furthermore, only the series is included and not the movies. CONCLUSION: Yes, the set has some issues. No, they absolutely are not worth an angry 1-star review (specially the ones that aren't even the fault of the publishers). They aren't even worth a 4-star one. I'd give it a 4.6-4.8, but since Amazon won't let me do that I'll give it a 5. Granted, if all you care about is the series and aren't interested in the movies, figurines or lithographs, I'd wait for a regular release. If you only care about digital copies, you can already buy that elsewhere in better quality. But I'd say this limited release is well worth the money for what it has, and it's a definite recommendation.

I was extremely hesitant before buying because I saw several reviews upset about the shipping conditions and damage to the box. I took a chance and ordered, received it quickly and was extremely happy with my purchase. First things first, it was shipped in a box, not an envelope like many have said, and it was in perfect condition. Secondly, everything in the set with the exception of maybe the mini Funko figures is great quality. I noticed some spots on at least one of my figures were missing some paint, nothing huge but still noticeable and worth mentioning. The box and book the blu rays are in are very nice, with a good build quality. Most importantly, the show itself is beautiful in HD and I am happy to say as a lifetime fan of Batman and this series in particular it was more than worth the price. Let's not forget the set comes with two movies, one of which is Batman Mask of the Phantasm, possibly the greatest Batman movie(to lots of fans) to have been made so far. Very happy with this collection. tl;dr, shipped in a box, everything is great, Funko figures are a bit iffy but still cool, great HD quality, worth the price.

Chances are if you were anywhere from a pre-teen to young adult in the early 1990s you watched this series. It was put out as one of the Fox kids show a few years after the original Tim Burton Batman movie, which definitely (down to the score) played a large inspiration in the series. It had mostly a blend of the two original movies, the darker comics, and even a couple nods to the old tv series throughout its run. Kevin Conroy did a great job as the voice of Batman, and Mark Hamill was awesome as the Joker, which was the villain that appeared the most throughout the run. It was introduced the character of Harley Quinn, which has become more popular over the years. The set has all three "seasons" of the show which spanned from 1992 to 1998 and aired on a couple different networks. The first season had 65 episodes, the second had 20, and the third had 24. The two movies Mask of the Phantasm and Sub-Zero are also included. Most of the discs have extras (usually commentary tracks, but there are also some interviews with the actors and showrunners. There is also a separate bonus disc which has an hour and a half long making-of feature (broken into about 4 parts which you can play all at once) and a minute and a half long featurette on how they came up with Harley Quinn. The Mask of the Phantasm disc only has the trailer as an extra, but the Sub-Zero disc has every Mr. Freeze episode from the animated series, including Batman Beyond. The series looks about as good as a 25-year old cartoon can on blu-ray. It is a good transfer, but it is not going to look like a movie from the mid-2000s forward does on blu-ray. The packaging for the discs, at least in the collector's edition which is the one that came with the figurines, sucks. They are the very tight slipcases, so you have to pull hard on the discs to get them out while holding the two sides of the slipcases apart. Luckily the blu-ray discs have the anti-scratch coating on them so they are protected, but they are impossible to get out without getting fingerprints on the media side, so have a soft cloth handy otherwise you may have playback trouble if you do not clean the fingerprints off. That is what knocks it down a star for me. For fans the series is iconic. For a long time (between the Tim Burton movies and the Nolan Trilogy) it was the best version of Batman (at least that was not a comic book) that there was. It also spawned the Superman and Justice League animated series, as well as Batman Beyond which brought Kevin Conroy back as an older Bruce Wayne, as well as the video games which have come out over the years. Really only The Killing Joke movie is all that is missing that would have completed the set, but given that it is rated R, there is really no way it can be included in a set that is otherwise suitable for kids. The issue with the packaging aside, it is a great series, and definitely worth a pickup.

This is the complete collection of arguably the finest Batman series in any medium. The stories and animation hold up to comparison with any modern series. Batman: The Animated Series even has a progressive continuity, with an early introduction to Harvey Dent, Robin becoming Nightwing and replaced by Tom Drake, and even introduced a character who continues to be one of the most popular characters in the DC line, Harley Quinn. As a bonus, two animated feature films are included, Mask of the Phantasm and Sub-Zero. The new transfers are exceedingly sharp, with the lines clearly defined and the colors vibrant. It includes bonus features and commentary from the original DVD sets, and a new feature revisiting the brilliant creators of the the show. The numbered limited edition also includes a set of 3D lenticular cards with some of the classic shots for the series, and Funko Pocket Pops of Batman, Joker, and Harley Quinn. The only caveat is the book that holds the 15 discs holds them a bit too tightly; I even thought I was going to tear the book getting one disc out, so use extreme caution! Okay, a second caveat is (unless I haven't run across it yet) that we still don't have the opening theme and graphics for the Superman/Batman Adventures combined series that was used in the latter portion of the run. This is a minor frustration. The set is - obviously - highly recommended.

I received my copy of “Batman: The Animated Series” last week. I had seen numerous negative reviews about how they were shipped and how the streaming version was incorrect through the Vudu service. I was understandably nervous when the package arrived and I went to open it. Many customers complained that the item had been shipped in a bubble mailing envelope and that the product box had been damaged. Imagine my surprise to find that the item had been shipped in a sturdy box with bubble wrap to protect it. The product box was not damaged in any way. (Kudos, Amazon!) Shortly after opening the product, I checked each of the discs. I’m not crazy about the holders. It makes the discs difficult to take out and I think Warner Bros. made a big mistake with this design (although the booklet design is pleasing). I could not remove any of the discs without getting fingerprints on them and I was concerned about scratching. Replacing the discs into the sleeves was also difficult. All of the discs are in great shape and play without issue. The quality of the remastering is amazing. I compared some of the episodes on BR to the same episodes on DVD (yes, I own the DVD set, too) and I was completely blown away. The colors are deeper and the animation really looks better than the original airings (or DVDs). The episodes are in their original aspect ratio (remember, they were made in a time before HD and the 16:9 ratio). I’ve seen people complain that they were not remastered in 16:9 or full-screen. Trust me, it would have detracted from the outstanding quality of the remaster (not everything was made to be remastered). The mini “Pops!” are cute and would probably look good displayed somewhere, but they appear to be difficult to remove from the holder and I do not want to damage them. The next thing I did was redeem the code for the digital version of the series through Vudu. Everyone who preordered or purchased the series when it was released complained of receiving the SD version of the series and neither of the movies. It appears the problem has been corrected. I immediately received the series and both movies in HD. (Warner Bros. and Vudu should have had this resolved prior to the series being released. This was a major inconvenience to their customers – especially for a release this big. Hopefully, in the future, this will not happen again.) All-in-all, I’m enjoying watching this series all over again. Now, if they would just get “The Superman Adventures” and “Batman Beyond” remastered the same way I would be one happy geek.