#3 - Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm came out as Batman: The Animated Series was continuing to set new standards and dominate children's television. Which is weird because the series was made just as much for adults as it was for kids. Batman: The Animated Series continues to be the standard which any-and-all Batman-related animated media is compared to and graded.
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| Batman, voiced by Kevin Conroy |
What makes the series so great? While the noire-style animation and color palette makes for a truly euphoric trip into Gotham City, it really is the voice cast that makes this series one of the greatest superhero animated series, if not the best. Kevin Conroy voices Bruce Wayne/Batman, and because of his commanding vocal presence, has been doing so for just about twenty-five years. Conroy's deep voice and intimidating speech commands the audience's attention whenever he's on screen. His "I don't take any bullshit" mannerisms has become the standard for the Batman character. Not many actors preceded him, so Conroy gets a hell of a lot of well-deserved credit for creating his own Batman. Opposite Conroy in the series is a slew of talented voice actors who voice Batman's impressive repertoire of supervillains. It goes without saying that while characters like the Two-Face, voiced by Richard Moll, and the Penguin, voiced by Paul Williams, are both awesome to watch and listen to, there's only one that everyone falls back on. Even the other voice actors can't help but bow and pay tribute to his presence: Mark Hamill as the Joker. When Mark Hamill first came on board as the Joker, people had to be skeptical? What? The awkward actor from Star Wars? He's gonna be our Joker? Yes. Jesus Christ, yes. Hamill's Joker is just too great to ever be topped.
So what about Mask of the Phantasm? Well while remaining true to the standards and mythos set up by The Animated Series, Mask of the Phantasm tells an amazing story. It includes its own original villain and characters as well as incorporates characters from Batman's storied history. Everything about the movie came into place perfectly. Kevin Conroy is phenomenal as both the seasoned veteran Batman, as well as the young and hungry Bruce Wayne in the flashback scenes. He does well at demonstrating the eagerness to become a crimefighter in Gotham City.
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| Andrea Beaumont killing as the Phantasm |
Another main character is Andrea Beaumont, played by Dana Delaney. She's the voice actress who made the animated Superman series' Lois Lane so bossy and she's the main love interest in the movie. She's an important person in Bruce's past that almost caused him to cease his career as a crime fighter. They just happened to stumble onto one another at the cemetery and boom! Romantic couple. I know I'm sucking a lot of the emotion out of it, but it really is heavy. Bruce can't bear to watch crime happen in his city, leading to a scene where he takes on a motorcycle gang during a date. They even get so in love that Bruce proposes and intends to marry her. She agrees and they celebrate, but soon her father Carl, voiced by Stacy Keach, runs afoul with the mafia and they both have to flee town, leading to her immediate and painful exodus from Bruce's life. This throws Bruce into a flux of turmoil, ultimately leading him to resume his war on crime as the Batman. In the present, she returns to Gotham as ***SPOILER*** the Phantasm, a ghostly apparition that comes to life out of the fog to seek revenge by murdering the mafia conspirators that killed her father. The Phantasm is one of the creepiest and coolest Batman villains ever created. I only wish more storylines since then have included him/her. When he appears out of the mist, and a deep, bone-rattling voice calls "Your Angel of Death Awaits..." it's so fucking cool. His kill scenes are artsy, creative, and chilling. Buzz Bronski's death scene in the cemetery feels like it's straight out of a horror movie, but that's what makes it awesome. Now, Bruce (as Batman) must grapple with the fact that is long-lost love is back in town as the Phantasm and must fight within himself whether or not to end her quest for vengeance or stand aside and let her commit these atrocities, knowing her pain and suffering and also feeling anger for the mob ruining not just Andrea's chance at happiness, but his as well.
Batman and Andrea's love/hate relationship is made even worse by the other main villain; Mark Hamill's Joker. This is when Hamill was still fresh to the role, so the Joker has a lot of energy and is very upbeat in the film. His dialogue is witty but unnerving and his laughter is extremely boisterous. Not like later where you could tell that while the energy was there, Hamill's voice was more choked out and weaker. The Joker steals the show and is often the most quotable character from the movie. I find myself quoting his phone call with Batman scene many times with how utterly ludicrous he says things. The scene where he tortures Arthur Reeves and cripples his psyche is also so awesome yet mildly unsettling, maybe even terrifying. The part where his laughter builds and builds while he tortures him is so shocking I'm surprised it even got kept in the movie...you know, for kids! He's even kind of creepy toying with a robotic chef that he even hits on a little. I find it highly irregular for a kid's movie that the Joker makes these and other sexual references. He talks about Andrea being the "spawn of her father's loins", pinning Andrea down in their fight in a rather provocative manner, about how much it sucks "getting in the mood just when company shows up", and even being hinted at that he pinches his robo-maid's buttocks, frequently pulling the rubber skin off of her.
Bob Hastings and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. reprise their Animated Series roles as Commissioner Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred's role is expanded on quite a bit in Bruce's flashback scenes, but Gordon's kind of cut short here. There isn't much screentime to be had for him.
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| The Joker interrogates/tortures Arthur Reeves |
Batman: Mask in the Phantasm excels in almost all aspects. I already mentioned the gravity of the story and how much it's stellar, so we'll move on from that. Another reason is the voice cast and the acting. The well-acted dialogue keeps one attentive and receptive to what's going on. Being an animated movie, you'd think the acting would be toned down and maybe even a little hokey, but it isn't. It's played up extremely well. Every voice actor brings their A-game. As stated, this movie has an A-list cast. Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Dana Delaney, Robert Costanzo, Bob Hastings, Efrem Zimablist, Jr., with appearances by Stacy Keach and Abe Vigoda as well. The acting is truly superb! Couple that with the animation, which is a step-up from the Animated Series. It's fluent, smooth and colorfully representative of the universe it resides in. Pile on the masterful score the film comes with. The opening theme is excellently done and continues to be commonly played by me either on YouTube or when I'm watching the movie itself. The music gets spine-tingling whenever the Phantasm appears and goes for the kill. It even stays oddly celebratory but also mournful when Bruce first puts on the cape-and-cowl in a flashback. Take all of that and mix-in the very adult themes of the story and characters. Like I said, the Joker got pretty crazy with his oddball sex references, but there's also the violence. The violence is pretty intense for a kid's film. A man gets killed flying from one building into another, a man is crushed by a cemetery statue, a man is mummified by the Joker (which is terrifying) and then rigged to explode, demolishing an entire building.
I really can't say anymore that you won't see for yourself. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is the single-greatest animated Batman feature film. Sub-Zero would be good, but it just feels too much like an Animated Series two-part episode. This feels more like a standalone Batman film and it's awesome in almost every way. I recommend checking it out if you haven't. There's no way you can be disappointed in it. Everything about it will drop your jaw and keep you coming back for more. The characters, the score, the themes, the dialogue, the acting; all superb. Truly an animated masterpiece of cinema.
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