Boom! Pow! Bang! Holy animated Adam West and Burt Ward, the dynamic duo is back and it’s nostalgic fun to be sure. Warning, spoilers ahead…
When Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman collaborate to hatch another fiendish plan that endangers the citizens of Gotham City, it’s up to Batman and Robin to save the day. With the success of Batman ’66 comic book series from DC, Warner Brothers decided that the time was right to make an animated version that features the voiced of Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar. The result is a faithful adaptation that stays true to the campiness that made the Batman TV series of the 1960’s so special.
It’s as if they picked up where they left off nearly 50 years ago. The dialogue remains one of its signature highlights. I guarantee that you will smile with every pun and outrageous riddle solving answer the caped crusaders make. From human size TV dinners to gravity defying fist to cuffs in outer space, Return of the Caped Crusaders is just the right mix of camp and nostalgia. Major kudos to the voice actors that brought the late Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith and Frank Gorshin back to life. The producers even went as far as to have all the rogues Batman and Robin fought over the years from Egghead and False Face to King Tut and Mr. Freeze make a cameo for a nice added touch. As well as honoring other Catwomen, Eartha Kitt and Lee Meriwether. Let’s hope for Batgirl next time.
And speaking of next time, it was announced at this year’s New York Comic Con, that a sequel will be released sometime in 2017 co-staring William Shatner as the villain Two-Face.
Directed by: Rick Morales
PG 78 Mins
Voiced by:
Adam West as Bruce Wayne / Batman
Burt Ward as Dick Grayson / Robin
Julie Newmar as Catwoman
Jeff Bergman as The Joker, Announcer
William Salyers as The Penguin
Wally Wingert as The Riddler
Jim Ward as Commissioner James Gordon
Steven Weber as Alfred Pennyworth
Thomas Lennon as Chief Miles O’Hara
Lynne Marie Stewart as Aunt Harriet Cooper
Sirena Irwin as Miranda Moore
BATMAN: RETURN OF THE CAPED CRUSADERS – ***1/2(out of 5 stars)
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
