The New Adventures of Batman

First of all, I'd like to correct another poster who claims most of the original cast of the 1966 TV version of Batman provided the voices for this cartoon version. Only Adam West and Burt Ward came back to do the voices in this cartoon. Secondly, Charles Napier was never in the 1966 version of the show. Now, as far as this Filmation cartoon version of Batman is concerned, while it may not have been the best cartoon representation of Batman, it really gave the networks (at the time) what they wanted, a cartoon show with no violence. We can thank the PTA and similar groups at the time with a massive campaign to curb violence on TV. As a result, most cartoon shows being shown in the late 70s were pretty lame (boring). The networks would not have allowed a typical Batman story to be shown in the late 70s. The original Filmation Batman "The Adventures of Batman" (1969) was a lot better than this version. That version looked basically like a cartoon continuation of the 1966-68 TV series of the same name. While Hollywood continues to make Batman abominations today, the 1966 TV show continues being the most fun version of the character, with Adam West still being the definitive "Batman". Yes, the 1977 cartoon version may have been a bit boring, but we shouldn't blame the production as much as we should the networks. This was the kind of shows they wanted to release to the young public in those days. OK Batmite was annoying, but once again, don't blame the production, the character (as annoying as he is) was actually a character in the comics before he came to TV. As with most Filmation shows of the mid-late 70s, the New Adventures of Batman gave us a special "morals" message at the end of each episode. At least the shows in those days cared enough to instill morals in young people, something today's cartoons don't seem to care at all about. All in all, I would say that while this version of the cartoon Batman may not have been the best, it's certainly far and away better than most of today's cartoons. There's also a big reason this cartoon is worth seeing, it starred the voice of the man who will always be known as the "only" Batman that mattered, Adam West.

This series marked the return of Adam West and Burt Ward to the roles of Batman and Robin. prior to that, the cartoon voices of the Caped Crusdaers were provided by Olan Soule and Casey Kasem. West was a definite improvement, as he had a more subtle delivery and a deeper tone than Soule. Kasem versus Ward is a little closer. Kasem was a better voice actor than Ward, but Ward did well.

The series suffers from the broadcast restriction placed on it. Filmation knew full well they couldn't recreate their old Batman cartoons, as they were responsible for the networks cracking down on cartoon violence. So, they hoped the addition of West and Ward would draw people to the cartoons. For the most part it worked, but the comedy level was ramped up, especially with the addition of Batmite. Quite frankly, this detracted from the shows. The plots were more mundane, as physical confrontation was taboo, so the dramatic tension was weaker. Stock footage was used even more than in the original series and watching more than one episode at a time really drives this home. As such, this series ends up weaker than both the original Batman cartoons and the later BTAS version. Even the Super Friends had more lively action.

With all of the above said, the series is worth watching to catch West and ward. They do a fine job and are a bit better at the comedy than Soule and Kasem. More villains were featured than in the Super Friends and it bore a closer, if watered down, resemblance to the comics. Don't expect quality like the Bruce Timm shows, but it's at least entertaining to those with a forgiving eye and youngsters with an attention span.

Adam West and Burt Ward return in this cartoon version of Batman.

As other reviewers have noted, this short lived series is damaged by a silly creature named "Bat-Mite" and the network demanding that everything be kept very kid-friendly. 1966 live action Batman was made for both for kids and adults. So basically, if you enjoyed 70s cartoon Superfriends you will probably get a blast out of this as well.

In 1977 it would have been out of the question for Filmation to re-start the 60s live action series but when watching "New Adventures" the presence of West and Ward almost feels annoying because it comes over as a wasted opportunity - if the guys are here then give us a live action version!

Filmation was very skilled at making live action super hero shows - see Shazam! (1974) - so we can only wonder what things would have been like if they did a live action take on Batman a few years before 1977.

But again, if you liked Superfriends then you will probably get a blast out of The New Adventures of Batman (1977).

After seeing nothing but negative reviews so far, I strongly feel this series needs at least one positive review and that's clearly a job for me.

Why a positive review you might ask? Simple. While most fans first exposures to Batman were either through the comic books or the TV series (if you grew up in my time). For me personally, the New Advetures of Batman was my first ever exposure to the Batman universe. While this series is nothing and cannot hold a candle to the likes of Batman: The Animated Series, I feel it's the best quality version of the Silver Age Batman animated for Saturday mornings.

They only made 16 episodes and reran them endlessly from 1977 to 1981 starting off alone and then with Tarzan and the Super 7. I never once tired from watching these shows. The New Adventures of Batman put me on the map and led me to the TV series and then the comic books and finally, the SuperFriends, another top favorite of mine.

The best element this series had was the voices of Adam West and Burt Ward who portrayed Batman and Robin a little more serious or a little less campy than in live action. Commissioner Gordon finally looked like his comic book counterpart and I enjoyed Batgirl, the Joker, Penguin and his quack cackle, the sexy voiced Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, and Clayface. The best original villain let alone best episode this series had to offer was the Moon Man. Electro was also good. I also loved the full body rotoscoping animation style that was used plus most of the 70's style music for this series.

The worst elements this series had were, the inclusion of BatMite, but if they had to have him, at least he was regarded as a pest and a hindrance than as a friend like other useless cartoon tag alongs were. BatMite replacing Alfred was a bad move and the Riddler's absence from the series, yet his appearance on the intro in a wrongly colored red costume made no sense to me at all. And new villains like Sweet Tooth, Professor Bubbles,the Chameleon, and Zarbor all left a bad stain on this series.

I was glad to see this series again when the WB network aired them for a while in 2001 and if this series is ever released on DVD, it will be my holy grail. To me, Adam West was the best pre Kevin Conroy Batman voice over and the New Adventures of Batman is well worth checking out. I give it two thumbs up for making me the Batman fan that I am today. If you want the worst representation of Batman, I recommend Legends of the Super Heroes or "The Batman" series on WB.

Growing up and being born in the late 1970's as a little kid I grew up on Saturday morning cartoons and this one was a gem as I use to watch it on Saturday mornings with my mom on CBS! It was "The New Adventures of Batman" The cartoon was animated just fine with color as when you watched you felt just like you were reading a "Batman" comic book! And the legends Adam West and Burt Ward lent their voices to the characters of "Batman" and "Robin"! Also the fun little sidekicks of "Batgirl" and the far out "Bat-Mite" were good. Still the episodes featured battles with all of the villains of Gotham city like the Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, and Mr. Freeze. Even though a cartoon the series showed all of the Bat equipment and weapons with action paced detective type episodes, really it's sad that this series only ran a year or so in the 70's it was a nice fun little gem!