Criminals’ Worst Nightmare: 14 Rules for Creating Batman: The Animated Series

The Dark Knight got darker, thanks to rules laid down in the show bible for Batman: The Animated Series.
Criminals’ Worst Nightmare: 14 Rules for Creating Batman: The Animated Series

Towering skyscrapers. Dark color palette. Neo noir storytelling. For a certain cross-section of Gen X and Millennials, Batman: The Animated Series defined the character of The Dark Knight for decades to come…all while being a Saturday morning cartoon. It was wholly different from the campy, groovy dude Batman of the 60s, and if we're being serious, it was wholly different from the low-budget, mouth-breathing toy commercials that were things like Masters of The Universe. 

But creating something wholly out of cloth requires some ground rules. You can't do a serious Two-Face  origin one week and a pun-fun Arnold Mr. Freeze the next week. So the creators had to all get on the same page.

Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Mitch Brian had a different animated Batman in mind than the one who showed up on Saturday morning’s Super Friends. In the series’ show bible, the creators laid out the rules for a darker Knight.

The Dark Knight is a SOLO ACT CRACKED.COM NO BOY WONDERS CONSTANTLY BY HIS SIDE. NO JUSTICE LEAGUERS SWOOPING IN TO SAVE THE DAY. ALTHOUGH HE HAS ALLIES IN ALFRED AND ROBIN, IT WILL BE BATMAN WHO CARRIES THE BULK OF EVERY EPISODE.
The villains PLAY FOR KEEPS CRACKED.COM THEY WILL BE AS DARK AND SINISTER AS WE CAN MAKE THEM. THAT MEANS A JOKER WHO IS FRIGHTENING AS WELL AS FUNNY, PRONE TO PSYCHOTIC, MURDEROUS MOOD SWINGS.
The disguise is BRUCE WAYNE CRACKED.COM BATMAN IS THE TRUE PERSONA. TO THROW OFF SUSPICIONS, BRUCE IS A JERK - - SELF- CENTERED, SEEMINGLY STINGY, AND A WOMANIZER. WHEN BRUCE WAYNE IS OUT OF THE PUBLIC EYE, HIS PERSONALITY IMMEDIATELY RETURNS TO THAT OF THE BATMAN.
No kitschy references to POP CULTURE CRACKED.COM THE SHOW'S ART DECO DESIGN WAS CHOSEN TO KEEP THE SHOW TIMELESS AND RELEVANT FOR YEARS TO COME. 1992 WRITERS WERE INSTRUCTED TO LEAVE OUT THE REFERENCES to ROSS PEROT, MALL OF AMERICA, AND BOYZ II MEN.
This Batman doesn't partner with THE POLICE CRACKED.COM THE POLICE HAVE NO BAT-SIGNAL OR RED HOTLINE PHONE TO CONTACT BATMAN. IF HE WANTS THE POLICE, HE'LL CALL THEM DETECTIVE HARRY (L'ATER HARVEY) BUELOCK WOULD JUST AS SOON 'SHOOT BATMAN AS ARREST HIM.
Solo flights were planned for ROBIN CRACKED.COM DICK GRAYSON NOW LEADS A SEPARATE LIFE AS A COLLEGE STUDENT AND SOLO CRIME FIGHTER. WHAT BETTER WAY TO PROTECT YOUR SECRET IDENTITY THAN TO STUDY CRIMINOLOGY AT GOTHAM STATE?
Everyone knows the freaking ORIGIN STORY WAYNE CRACKED.COM WE'LL SAY IT HERE FIRST- WE WILL DO NO STORIES ABOUT BATMAN'S ORIGIN. PRODUCERS KNEW ANYONE WHO'S SNIFFED POP CULTURE FOR THE PAST CENTURY KNOWS ABOUT BRUCE'S DEAD PARENTS. IF YOU'RE THIKING OF STORIES ALONG THOSE LINES, FLUSH THEM.
Fewer Bat-gadgets, more DETECTIVE WORK CRACKED.COM STAYING TRUE TO THE BATMAN'S ORIGINAL CONCEPTION AS 'THE WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE, WE WANT TO STRESS HIS MENTAL ABILITIES WHETHER HE BE ASSEMBLING CLUES IN A CASE OR USING HIS SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IN THE BAT CAVE'S LABORATORY.
Writers were advised to SHOW NOT TELL CRACKED.COM LARGER-THAN-LIFE ACTION SEQUENCES WERE PREFERRED LAZY, EXPOSITORY SPEECHES. WE HOPE TO ENCOURAGE OUR WRITERS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE ALMOST LIMITLESS VISUAL POSSIBILITIES ALLOWED BY ANIMATION.
Batman appears ONLY AT NIGHT CRACKED.COM NIGHT IN GOTHAM CITY. THAT'S HOW THE SHOW BIBLE BEGINS AND IT SETS AN AESTHETIC FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES B:TAS PROMISED A DARKER LOOK AND TONE STEERING AS FAR FROM THE POP-ART COLORS OF THE 1960S TV SERIES AS POSSIBLE.
He's facing most villains for THE FIRST TIME CRACKED.COM WITH THE EXCEPTION OF JOKER, PENGUIN AND CATWOMAN, THIS IS BATMAN'S FIRST MEETING WITH CLASSIC AND NEW VILLAINS. OVER THE SERIES RUN, HE'D ENCOUNTER SUCH BADDIES AS THE RIDDLER, MAN-BAT, SCARECROW, CLAY FACE, HUGO STRANGE, AND RA'S AL GHUL.
The show's look is inspired by FILM NOIR CRACKED.COM DARK DECO WAS THE NAME PRODUCERS USED TO DESCRIBE THE SHOW'S VISUALS, WITH A NOD TO THE CRIME FILMS AND NOVELS OF THE 1940S. ANOTHER VISUAL INSPIRATION WAS MAX FLEISCHER'S SUPERMAN CARTOONS- AGAIN, A CLASSIC FROM THE 1940S.
Batman has an uneasy alliance with COMMISSIONER GORDON GRACKED.COM BATMAN'S CLOSEST CONTACT ON THE POLICE FORCE IS ONE JAMES GORDON-- BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE PALS. GORDON HOLDS AN ADMIRATION FOR THE DARK KNIGHT, WILL NOT ALWAYS APPROVE OF HIS METHODS.
Every commercial break is a CLIFFHANGER! CRACKED.COM NO FADING OUT FOR THE INEVITABLE ADS WITHOUT A ,STING, REVELATION, OR DO-OR-DIE MOMENT FOR THE DARK KNIGHT. IN THE DAYS BEFORE STREAMING, KEEPING VIEWERS HOOKED THROUGH THE AD BREAK WAS CRUCIAL.
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