It’s time for a not-so-dark knight. After years of being portrayed as the ever-brooding dark vigilante, the caped crusader has finally loosened up in Cartoon Network’s ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold.’

The premise is simple. In each episode, Batman teams up with a different superhero chum to thwart some of the most outlandishly diabolical plans brewed up by colorful super villains like Gorilla Grodd, Clock King and Black Manta. If this all sounds a bit too goofy for the dark superhero, that’s because it is.

It is this inherent, almost self-conscious, goofiness that gives the series such charm. ‘The Brave and the Bold’ is reminiscent of a time when Batman didn’t always have to be the grim crime fighter that we always see him as today. This carefree attitude comes as a breath of fresh air while the overly gloomy movie ‘The Dark Knight’ is still fresh in everybody’s mind. In fact, this is the first incarnation of Batman that routinely cracks funny jokes.

The show respectfully draws much of its inspiration from the campness of the 1960s Batman series with Adam West. The suggestive parts that worked in the classic show stay in ‘The Brave in the Bold’ while the more unsavory aspects are left out, namely shark-repellent bat spray.

Diedrich Bader (‘The Drew Carey Show’) takes the vocal responsibilities for the world’s greatest detective. Having done plenty of voice acting within the bat universe in previous animated incarnations of the character, such as the ‘The Batman’ (2006) and ‘Batman Beyond’ (1999), Bader proves that this isn’t his first rodeo. Skillfully walking the line between the realistic voice and a cartoonish one, Diedrich plays to the shows tongue-in-cheek silliness without ever going over the top.

‘The Brave and the Bold’ was elevated to new heights with the special guest appearance of TV personality Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) as the ‘Music Meister.’ Making use of Harris’ singing talent, the entire episode becomes a musical. Needless to say, if booming musical numbers, Harris and Batman don’t show you how much fun this show loves to have, nothing will.

With this being a cartoon series, the animation is just as crucial as voice acting. The characters are quite blocky with thick inking, creating a visual that harkens back to classic 1950s Batman comics. This look doesn’t bode so well when the characters are standing around, appearing awkward and out of place by bulging, perfectly geometrical muscles. Once there is movement, it’s hard to care, as the animation is beautifully fluid and graceful, never allowing you to remove your eyes from the perfectly rendered choreography. Rooftop battles with talking, telepathic gorillas never looked so good.

Sometimes it’s difficult to remember this is still a children’s show and needs to be viewed as one. That is, don’t sit down expecting too much intellectual stimulation or substantial plotlines.

Just about every episode save for ‘Mayhem of the Music Meister’ is fairly predictable, which can make a full episode feel longer than it actually is. But when you’re in between classes, it’s the perfect way to give your brain cells a break.

ansteinb@syr.edu

Published on October 31, 2009 at 12:00 pm