Batman: The Animated Series is by far one of the most defining mediums to ever portray the Dark Knight. It originally aired on September 5th, 1992 on Fox Kids and ran for a total of 85 episodes. The series was also the first to start the shared DC animated universe leading to Superman’s animated series and later the Justice League animated series. But, you probably already knew that. Read on to find out 11 things you didn’t know about Gotham’s Caped Crusader!
1. The title of the show is never seen.
The producer believed that Batman was so instantly recognizable that the show the title was unneeded. However, the title for The Adventures of Batman & Robin shown during seasons 3, 4, and 5.
2. Kevin Conroy is the first person in animation to use two distinct voices to portray Bruce Wayne and Batman.
The animators auditioned over 150 actors before they choosing Kevin Conroy for the voice of Batman.
3. Tim Curry was initially cast as the voice of the Joker but was deemed too scary.
Not surprising considering Tim Curry also played Pennywise the clown in Stephen King’s It.
4. All the voice acting was recorded ensemble.
All of the voice actors recorded their lines together in a single room instead of separately. Fun fact: Mark Hamill recorded his lines for the Joker while standing while everyone else sat down.
5. Al Pacino was offered the role of Two-Face.
6. Anthony Hopkins was offered the role of Mr. Freeze.
7. Robin/Dick Grayson was made older because it was against the rules to show endangerment of children.
8. Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel/Harley Quinn was created for the animated series and later incorporated into the comic books.
She was originally supposed to be a one-shot character, but was so well received that they brought her back as a regular.
9. To create the eerie nighttime feeling, the background painters used dark paper instead of the traditional white.
This also allowed them to save time from painting large portions of black color as most of the scenes are set at night. The animators coined the term “Dark Deco” for this art style.
10. Despite being key characters, Commissioner Gordon and Alfred never say a word to each other throughout the series.
11. According to the producers, the show wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for Tim Burton’s Batman.
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