Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Produced by
Screenplay by
Story by Alan Burnett
Based on DC Comics characters
Batman by Bob Kane
Starring
Music by Shirley Walker
Edited by Al Breitenbach
Production
companies
Distributed by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
Release dates
  • December 25, 1993 (1993-12-25)
Running time
 76 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $6 million
Box office $5.6 million[1]

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (also known as Batman: The Animated Movie) is a 1993 American animated neo-noir superhero mystery film featuring the DC Comics superhero Batman, and is based on the 1990s Batman: The Animated Series. Released by Warner Bros., the film was directed by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm, produced by Alan Burnett, Michael Uslan, Benjamin Melniker and Timm, and has a screenplay credited to Burnett, Paul Dini, Martin Pasko and Michael Reaves. Phantasm features the vocal talents of Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. (all reprising their roles from The Animated Series), in addition to the voices of Dana Delany, Hart Bochner, Stacy Keach, and Abe Vigoda. The film's storyline introduces Andrea Beaumont, Bruce Wayne's former girlfriend, who returns to Gotham City, restarting their romance. Two weeks prior to her return, a new mysterious vigilante begins systematically murdering Gotham's crime bosses. Due to the person's dark appearance, he is mistaken for Batman. Now on the run from the police, the Dark Knight must apprehend the killer, clear his name, and deal with the romance between himself and Andrea.

The original idea was to release the film as direct-to-video, but Warner Bros. ultimately decided for a theatrical release, giving the filmmakers a strenuous eight-month schedule. Mask of the Phantasm was released on December 25, 1993 to widespread acclaim from critics, who praised the film for its animation style, dialogue and acting. However, due to the decision to release the film in theaters on such short notice, it failed at the box office.

After its release on home video the film has found cult success and developed a cult following. In 2010, IGN said Mask of the Phantasm was "the Dark Knight's best big screen story" until Batman Begins (2005) and ranked it as one of the best animated movies of all time. Time ranked it as one of the 10 best superhero movies ever, and Wired magazine named Kevin Conroy "the best Batman of all time".

The film's success led to two direct-to-video standalone sequels, Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero and Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman.

Plot

A group of crime bosses hold a conference in a Gotham City skyscraper to discuss laundering millions of dollars of counterfeit money in a casino. Batman bursts in on the meeting and incapacitates all the gangsters except Chuckie Sol, who flees with the briefcase full of counterfeit notes. As Sol approaches his car in a nearby parking garage a mysterious cloaked figure appears amidst a cloud of smoke, threatens "Chuckie Sol, your Angel of Death awaits," and attacks. Sol is killed when he inadvertently drives his car out the side of the building. Batman arrives as the cloaked figure leaves the scene; bystanders see Batman survey Sol's car from the hole in the parking garage wall and blame the Dark Knight for Sol's death. Councilman Arthur Reeves tells the media that Batman is a public menace (despite Commissioner Gordon's protests), then later attends a party at the mansion of billionaire Bruce Wayne, Batman's secret identity. Reeves teases Bruce about his bad luck with women and for having allowed an old girlfriend, Andrea Beaumont, to get away.

In a flashback to 10 years before, Bruce meets Andrea in a cemetery while visiting his parents' grave; she is visiting her mother's. That night, in one of his first crime-fighting attempts, Bruce foils an armored car robbery while disguised in a black ski-mask and leather jacket. Though he succeeds, he is discouraged that the criminals did not fear him. Around the same time, he begins a romance with Andrea. Eventually, Bruce decides to abandon his plan to become a crime-fighting vigilante and proposes marriage to Andrea. Soon afterward, however, Andrea mysteriously leaves Gotham with her father, Carl Beaumont, ending her engagement to Bruce in a Dear John letter. Believing that he has lost his last chance of having a normal life, Bruce dons the mask of Batman for the first time.

The cloaked figure finds and murders another gangster, Buzz Bronski, in the same cemetery Bruce met Andrea years before. Bruce, as Batman, investigates Bronski's death and wanders to his parents' tombstone. He overhears Andrea talking at her mother's grave, just as she had been when he first met her; she has returned to Gotham for the first time in 10 years. She is startled by Batman's appearance and he flees. She takes notice that the grave he was standing over is that of Thomas and Martha Wayne: she suspects that Bruce is Batman. Batman soon finds evidence linking Andrea's father Carl Beaumont with Sol, Bronski and a third gangster: Salvatore Valestra. He breaks into Valestra's home and discovers a photograph of Bronski, Valestra, Sol and Beaumont seated at a table together. When he visits Andrea to try to get more answers she rebuffs him, intimating that she knows his true identity; she weeps after he leaves. Meanwhile, Valestra believes that Batman killed Sol and Bronski, and will come for him next, so he turns to the Joker for help. He offers Joker millions of dollars to kill Batman, and warns that Batman will come for the Joker too; Joker agrees to help.

The cloaked figure arrives at Valestra's house but finds the gangster already dead by the Joker's hands. The Joker has strapped a video camera to Valestra's corpse and sees that the murderer is not Batman. It's a trap: the house explodes as the cloaked figure barely escapes. Batman pursues the assassin but is interrupted by the police, who try to apprehend Batman for murdering the gangsters. In a desperate attempt to escape Batman hides in a construction site and distracts the police by attaching his cowl and cape to one of their helicopters. Andrea suddenly appears and whisks the unmasked Bruce away in her car. They spend the night together at Wayne Manor, where Andrea explains to Bruce that she and her father fled Gotham and had been hiding in Europe from the Valestra mob, from whom he had embezzled money. Andrea's father eventually repaid the mob but they wouldn't relent; they put out a hit on him. Andrea leads Bruce to believe her father is the killer. Bruce ponders resuming his relationship with Andrea and giving up the Batman persona but as he reminisces whilst looking at photographs he notices a familiar-looking man in the background of the photo of Bronski, Valestra, Sol and Carl Beaumont: it's the man who would become the Joker.

Joker pays a visit to Councilman Reeves, who is revealed to have been an assistant to Carl Beaumont. The Joker presses him for information about the masked killer; Reeves insists it's Batman, but Jokers tells him he knows the killer is someone else. Reeves professes his ignorance, and that he didn't know Beaumont had been embezzling funds from the mob years before, but the Joker believes Reeves needs to protect his reputation now that he is an elected politician, and may be the killer. Joker poisons him. Reeves is taken to hospital and treated with an anti-toxin to stop the uncontrollable fits of laughter caused by Joker's poison. That evening Batman breaks into Reeves's hospital room and questions why the Joker met with him and how he's involved. Reeves confesses that he helped the Beaumonts escape Gotham and told the Valestra mob where they were hiding years later in return for election campaign contributions, and that the mob ordered Carl Beaumont's death. In a flashback it is revealed that the man who would become the Joker carried out the hit against Carl Beaumont.

The cloaked figure tracks the Joker to his hideout — an abandoned world's fair amusement park — and removes its ominous mask: it is Andrea, intent on avenging her father's death. Having already deduced her identity and ready for her attack, the Joker fights her. Just before he can kill Andrea, Batman arrives and saves her from the Joker, and begs Andrea to give up her quest for revenge. She refuses, stating that the mob ruined her life by taking away her future with him; she tells Batman that he himself is driven by revenge before disappearing. Batman battles with the Joker, a struggle that ends in a stalemate. Moments later Andrea returns and seizes the Joker, bidding Batman goodbye before vanishing with the maniacally laughing clown in a cloud of smoke as the entire amusement park erupts in a series of rigged explosions. Batman barely escapes by falling into a waterway and being swept away to safety by the current.

Alfred later consoles a heartbroken Bruce, telling him that no one could have helped Andrea. Bruce finds her locket containing a picture of himself and Andrea left behind in the Batcave. Meanwhile, Andrea is shown standing alone on the deck of a departing ocean liner. In the final scene, Batman stands alone on the top of a Gotham building; when the Bat-Signal appears in the sky, he swings off into the night to continue his war on crime.

Cast

Additional voices: Jeff Bennett, Ed Gilbert, Marilu Henner, Pat Musick, Thom Pinto, Neil Ross, and Vernee Watson-Johnson

Production

Impressed by the success of the first season of Batman: The Animated Series on Fox, Warner Bros. assigned Alan Burnett to write a story for a full-length animated film. Although the Joker does play a pivotal role in the film, it was Burnett's intention to tell a story far removed from the television show's regular rogues gallery. Burnett also cited he "wanted to do a love story with Bruce because no one had really done it on the TV show. I wanted a story that got into his head."[4] The writers were highly cautious of placing the Joker in the film as they did not want any connection to Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman, but writer Michael Reaves said, "We then realized that we could make his appearance serve the story in a way that we never could in live-action."[5] Aiding Burnett in writing the script were: Martin Pasko, who handled most of the flashback segments; Michael Reaves, who wrote the climax; and Paul Dini, who claims he "filled in holes here and there."[4] Orson Welles' 1941 classic Citizen Kane served as an influence for the flashbacks, a story about loss and the passage of time.[6]

“It was basically an expanded episode. We boarded the script and did all of our designs and shipped it overseas. We were treating it with more quality, but we originally didn’t intend it for the big screen.”

—Eric Radomski on Warner Bros.' decision to release the film theatrically[7]

Early in production, Warner Bros. decided to release Phantasm with a theatrical release, rather than straight to video. That left less than a year for production time (most animated features take well over two years from finished story to final release). Due to this decision, the animators went over the scenes once more in order to accommodate widescreen theatrical aspect ratio.[8] The studio cooperated well, granting the filmmakers a large amount of creative control.[9]

In addition to the creative control, the studio also increased the production budget to $6 million,[7] which gave the filmmakers opportunities for more elaborate set pieces. The opening title sequence featured a flight through an entirely computer-generated Gotham City.[4] As a visual joke, sequence director Kevin Altieri set the climax of the film inside a miniature automated model of Gotham City, where Batman and the Joker were giants. This was an homage to a mainstay of Batman comic books of the Dick Sprang era, often featuring the hero fighting against a backdrop of gigantic props (they would later do another homage to Sprang's works in The New Batman Adventures episode "Legends of the Dark Knight").[8] From start to finish, the film was completed within eight months.[7]

Composer Shirley Walker cited the score of Phantasm as a favorite among her own compositions.[10] In an interview with Cinemusic.com, Walker explained that the "latin" lyrics used in the Main Title of Mask of The Phantasm were actually names of key Warner Bros. staff read backwards.[11]

Themes

Paul Dini intended each of the flashbacks into Batman's love life to "have a tendency to get worse, when you hope things will get better." Bruce's relationship with Andrea, which at first shows promise, eventually turns into turmoil.[12] At first, Bruce and Andrea are set for marriage, but then Bruce is given a farewell note from Andrea cutting off their relationship. This eventually leads into Bruce's decision to become Batman.[12] Richard Corliss of Time felt this scene paralleled Andrea's decision to avenge her own parents and reject love, when she finds her own father murdered. Both events transform the two people (Bruce becomes Batman, Andrea becomes the Phantasm).[13] One scene depicts Bruce Wayne at his parents' tombstone saying "I didn't count on being happy." According to writer Michael Reaves, this scene was to be a pivotal moment in Bruce's tragic life, as he denies himself the opportunity to live a normal life.[5] Reaves also stated: "When Bruce puts on the mask for the first time, [after Andrea breaks their engagement], and Alfred says 'My God!' he's reacting in horror, because he's watching this man he's helped raise from childhood, this man who has let the desire for vengeance and retribution consume his life, at last embrace the unspeakable."[5]

Comic books and novelizations

In December 1993, two novelizations were released. One was written by Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, and Andrew Helfer[14] with the other authored by Geary Gravel.[15]

DC Comics released a comic book adaptation written by Kelley Puckett and drawn by Mike Parobeck.[16] The comic book adaptation was later included with the VHS release. Kenner who had already released toys for the regular Batman cartoon series, produced several tie in figures for the film, including the Joker and the Phantasm (packaged unmasked, spoiling a pivotal plot point in the film)

Batman & Robin Adventures Annual #1: Shadow of the Phantasm is a comic book sequel to the film, written by Paul Dini, and was released in 1996.

Home media

The film was released on LaserDisc in April 1994[17] and on VHS in May of the same year.[18] The VHS was reissued in April 2003, though this time, part of a three-tape pack with Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.[19] Mask of the Phantasm was first released on DVD in December 1999 as a snap case[20] and in October 2005 as a keep case with the insert.[21] The film was released in April 2004 as a three disc DVD box set that included SubZero and Return of the Joker but it is currently out of print.[22] Warner Home Video released the film once more in February 2008, but as a double feature DVD with SubZero.[23]

Despite demands from fans, Warner Bros. currently has no plans to release Mask of the Phantasm on Blu-ray.[24]

Soundtrack

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm – The Animated Movie
Film score by Shirley Walker
Released December 14, 1993
March 24, 2009
Label Reprise Records / Warner Bros. Records
La-La Land Records

The soundtrack score to Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, composed by Shirley Walker, was originally released on December 14, 1993 by Reprise Records. The song "I Never Even Told You" was written by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard.

  1. "Main Title" (1:35)
  2. "The Promise" (0:46)
  3. "Ski Mask Vigilante" (3:06)
  4. "Phantasm's Graveyard Murder" (3:43)
  5. "First Love" (1:35)
  6. "The Big Chase" (5:32)
  7. "A Plea for Help" (1:55)
  8. "The Birth of Batman" (4:17)
  9. "Phantasm and Joker Fight" (4:05)
  10. "Batman's Destiny" (3:50)
  11. "I Never Even Told You" – Performed by Tia Carrere (4:20)

Remastered version: On March 24, 2009, La-La Land Records released a limited edition remastered version of Shirley Walker's soundtrack score through their "Expanded Archival Collection". The new release included bonus tracks that extended the score 27 minutes longer than the original release. Bolded tracks are previously unreleased.

  1. "Main Title: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" (Expanded) (5:01)
  2. "The Promise" (Expanded) (1:25)
  3. "Ski Mask Vigilante" (Expanded) (4:28)
  4. "Fancy Footwork" (0:40)
  5. "Phantasm's Graveyard Murder" (3:52)
  6. "Bad News/Set Trap/May They Rest in Peace" (1:51)
  7. "First Love" (1:59)
  8. "City Street Drive/Sal Velestra/Good Samaritan" (2:16)
  9. "Birth of Batman" (Expanded) (6:01)
  10. "The Joker's Big Entrance" (3:02)
  11. "The Big Chase" (5:40)
  12. "Nowhere to Run" (2:01)
  13. "A Plea for Help" (1:01)
  14. "A Tall Man/Arturo and his Pal/Makes You Want to Laugh/What's So Funny?" (4:04)
  15. "Andrea Remembers/True Identity" (3:18)
  16. "Phantasm and Joker Fight" (6:01)
  17. "Batman's Destiny" (1:46)
  18. "I Never Even Told You" (4:23) – Performed by Tia Carrere
  19. "Theme from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" (2:06) (Bonus Track)
  20. "Welcome to the Future!" (1:01) (Bonus Track)

Reception

Box office

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm opened on December 25, 1993 in the United States in 1,506 theaters, accumulating $1,189,975 over its first 2 days. The film went on to gross $5,617,391 in the domestic total box office intake.[1] The filmmakers blamed Warner Bros. for the unsuccessful marketing campaign. Mask of the Phantasm did eventually pass its $6 million budget with its various home video releases.[8]

Critical response

Based on 28 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm received an average 82% overall approval rating with the consensus stating, "Stylish and admirably respectful of the source material, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm succeeds where many of the live-action Batman adaptations have failed."[25] Empire cited it as the best animated film of 1993, and felt it contained better storylines than Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns.[26] TV Guide was impressed with the art deco noir design that was presented. In addition the film's climax and Batman's escape from the Gotham City Police Department were considered to be elaborate action sequences.[27] Richard Harrington of The Washington Post agreed with overall aspects that included the animation, design, dialogue. and storyline, as well as Shirley Walker's film score.[28] Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert regretted not having viewed the film in its theatrical release and gave the film a positive reaction, with Siskel feeling that Phantasm was better than Batman Returns and Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever, and only slightly below Batman.[29] Stephen Holden of The New York Times thought the voice performances were "flat and one-dimensional".[30] Chris Hicks of the Deseret News felt "the picture didn't come alive until the third act" feeling that the animators sacrificed the visuals for the storyline. In addition, he felt Mark Hamill "stole the show."[31] Leonard Klady of Variety had mixed reactions towards the film, but his review was negative overall. He felt the overall themes and morals were clichéd and cited the animation to be to the "point of self-parody".[32]

More recently, IGN ranked Mask of the Phantasm as the 25th best animated film of all time in a list published in 2010.[33] Total Film named Mask of the Phantasm the 47th greatest animated film out of 50 in 2011.[34] In 2011, Time ranked Phantasm as one of the 10 best superhero films.[35] Mask of the Phantasm has been largely cited by Batman fans and critics alike as one of the best Batman films ever made, and has appeared on numerous "best-of" lists for both animated films and superhero films. In 2010, IGN said it was "the Dark Knight's best big screen story" until Batman Begins (2005).[36] Wired's Scott Thill said Kevin Conroy is "the finest Batman on record".[37] In October 2012, WhatCulture also praised the film, saying it was at the same level as Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy, if not slightly higher.[38] In 2016, the Nostalgia Critic reviewed the film and called it the best ever cinematic representation of Batman, as well as it being completely underrated.[39]

Accolades

Alongside The Lion King and The Nightmare Before Christmas, Mask of the Phantasm was nominated for an Annie Award in the category of Best Animated Feature, but lost to The Lion King.[40]

References

  1. 1 2 "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  2. ↑ Jacquie Kubin (April 1997). "An Interview With Mark Hamill". Animation World Magazine. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
  3. ↑ Barry Freiman (2005-06-14). "Exclusive Interview with Dana Delany". Superman Homepage. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  4. 1 2 3 Paul Dini; Chip Kidd (1998). Batman Animated. Titan Books. p. 114. ISBN 1-84023-016-9.
  5. 1 2 3 Joe Tracy. "Interview with Michael Reaves". Animation Artist. Archived from the original on 11 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
  6. ↑ Les Daniels (2000). Batman: The Complete History. Chronicle Books. p. 184. ISBN 0-8118-2470-5.
  7. 1 2 3 Bob Miller (June 1994). "Knight Vision". Comics Scene.
  8. 1 2 3 Dini, Kidd, p.117
  9. ↑ Emru Townsend (1999-05-17). "Paul Dini: From Babs and Buster Bunny to Batman". Purple Planet Media. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
  10. ↑ Randall Larson (2006-12-07). "Remembering Shirley Walker". Mania Music. Archived from the original on 2006-12-10. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
  11. ↑ FilmScore. "General Discussion: MASK OF THE PHANTASM - lyrics please". Film Score Monthly. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  12. 1 2 Richard Verrier (1996-09-14). "More That Meets the Eye: Producer-Writer of Batman Gives All". Los Angeles Times.
  13. ↑ Richard Corliss (April 1994). "Corliss' Roundups of Latest VHS Releases". Time.
  14. ↑ Helfer, Andrew; Burnett, Alan; Dini, Paul (1993-12-01). Batman: Mask of the Phantasm - The Animated Movie, A Novelization. New York: Skylark. ISBN 9780553481747.
  15. ↑ Gravel, Geary (1993-12-01). Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1st edition ed.). New York: Bantam. ISBN 9780553565812.
  16. ↑ Puckett, Kelley; Parobeck, Mike (1993-01-01). Mask of the Phantasm: Batman : the Animated Movie (First Edition edition ed.). New York, NY: DC Comics. ISBN 9781563891229.
  17. ↑ "LaserDisc Database - Batman: Mask of the Phantasm [15500]". www.lddb.com. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
  18. ↑ Kirkland, Boyd; Timm, Bruce; Riba, Dan; Radomski, Eric; Paur, Frank, Batman - Mask of the Phantasm, Warner Bros. Pictures, retrieved 2016-09-08
  19. ↑ Kirkland, Boyd; Timm, Bruce; Lukic, Butch; Geda, Curt; Riba, Dan, Batman Animated Collection, Warner Home Video, retrieved 2016-09-08
  20. ↑ Kirkland, Boyd; Timm, Bruce W.; Riba, Dan; Radomski, Eric; Paur, Frank (1999-12-21), Batman - Mask of the Phantasm, Warner Bros. Pictures, retrieved 2016-09-08
  21. ↑ Timm, Bruce; Radomski, Eric (2005-12-06), Batman - Mask of the Phantasm, Warner Bros. Pictures, retrieved 2016-09-08
  22. ↑ Kirkland, Boyd; Timm, Bruce; Geda, Curt; Riba, Dan; Radomski, Eric (2004-04-13), Batman Collection DVD 3-Pack, Warner Home Video, retrieved 2016-09-08
  23. ↑ Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero / Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Warner Home Video, 2008-02-12, retrieved 2016-09-08
  24. ↑ Lambie, Ryan. "18 great animated films unavailable on Blu-ray". Den of Geek!. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  25. ↑ "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  26. ↑ "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm". Empire. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  27. ↑ "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm". TV Guide. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  28. ↑ Harrington, Richard (1993-12-27). "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  29. ↑ Roger Ebert; Gene Siskel (1995-06-12). "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm". Siskel & Ebert. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
  30. ↑ Holden, Stephen (1993-12-25). "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
  31. ↑ Hicks, Chris (1994-01-06). "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm". Deseret News. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
  32. ↑ Klady, Leonard (1993-12-27). "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm". Variety. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
  33. ↑ "Top 25 Animated Movies of All-Time". IGN. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
  34. ↑ "50 Greatest Animated Movies". Total Film. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
  35. ↑ "Top 10 Superhero Movies". Time Magazine. 2011-06-03. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  36. ↑ Phil Pirrello; Eric Goldman; Matt Fowler; Scott Collura; Cindy White; Jesse Schedeen (26 Jun 2010). Top 25 Animated Movies of All-Time. IGN.
  37. ↑ Scott Thill (22 Dec 2009). Who’s the Best Batman of All Time?. Wired.
  38. ↑ "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm – The Best Dark Knight Movie No One Saw". WhatCulture. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
  39. ↑ Channel Awesome (2016-05-11), Is This the Best Batman Movie?, retrieved 2016-09-08
  40. ↑ "Annie Awards: 1994". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-01-22.

Further reading

External links

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