Paul Dini and Chip Kidd’s Batman: Animated examines the history of Batman: The Animated Series from pre-production through its transition to The New Batman Adventures on Kids’ WB!, including production artwork, interviews with the producers, animators, and stars, as well as items used in the show’s marketing such as toys and games.

Discussing censorship, Dini writes, “Some of Batman’s greatest conflicts have not been with the Joker or the Riddler, but against a much more excruciating adversary: the censor. Broadcast Standards and Practices (BS&P), ever vigilant to shield America’s youth from objectionable program content, closely oversees every script, storyboard, and rough cut, ordering the omission of action and dialogue they feel is too intense for the kiddies… In all fairness, the BS&P restrictions on Batman, both at Fox and at the Kids’ WB!, have been much more lenient than at any other network. One of the unsung heroes of the series was Avery Coburn, Fox’s BS&P liaison. We were getting into new territory with this show, and Avery understood exactly what we were going for. She changed the rules for daytime animated series, which were long due for an overhaul” (pg. 34). Dini and Kidd include examples of notes the production staff received from BS&P, including forbidden words like “scumbag,” the worry that Batman saying “Oh my god” would offend religious households (even if it made sense in context), the removal of any mention of excrement, no characters striking each other in the head/face, and concern over the portrayal of mental illness (pg. 34).

Turning to the introduction of Robin, Dini writes, “The Fox Network, on the assumption that kids won’t watch a kid’s show unless kids are in it, soon began insisting that Robin be prominently featured in every episode. When Fox changed the title from Batman: The Animated Series to The Adventures of Batman & Robin, they laid down the law – no story premise was to be considered unless it was either a Robin story or one in which the Boy Wonder played a key role. Out were underworld character studies like ‘It’s Never Too Late’; in where traditional Batman and Robin escapades like ‘The Lion and the Unicorn.’ A potentially intriguing Catwoman/Black Canary team-up was interrupted in midpitch to the network by their demand, ‘Where’s Robin?’ When the writers asked if they could omit Robin from just this one episode, Fox obliged by omitting the entire story” (pg. 53). In terms of changes when the series shifted to the WB network and retooled characters as part of The New Batman Adventures, Dini writes, “The producers had always preferred the idea of a younger Robin, and as the WB! had fewer problems than Fox with putting a youngster in jeopardy, we decided to bring in young Tim Drake from the current Batman comics as our new Robin” (pg. 124).

Of most interest to fans are the character studies, displaying the evolution of character designs, and the production artwork, including storyboards and background images. For each of these, Dini explains the process that accompanied the design from idea to final, filmed image, including the unique coloring process that gave the animated Batman’s Gotham its dark and heavy feel. Both Batman fans and film scholars will find this a useful volume for study. ( )

A great look at one of the greatest cartoons of all-time, and possibly one of the best shows of all-time. I'm not kidding. A really informative, colorful, and behind the scenes book of one of the greatest entries into the Batman history. ( )