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Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Until just a few weeks before the premiere of "Batman: The Mask of Phantasm," directors Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski thought it would be a Direct-to-Video release. The decision to make a theater release came only at the last minute.

The first spin-off from the successful and acclaimed "Batman: The Animated Series," famous for its dark themes and characters drawn with a characteristic square chin, Phantasm is also the only spin-off to follow this path, all the other were released direct-to-video.

The story creates two narrative lines, one showing Bruce Wayne in his first attempts to fight crime, inspired by the comic book Batman: Year One.

The second story-line portrays a series of mysterious murderers of organized crime figures, conducted by someone introducing himself as the Phantasm. The nature of the murders and the tendency of the killer to use special effects and a spook appearance soon make the Gotham police to suspect Batman.

This feature animation follows the same quality of story line that made the TV show so successful. It was the first time (on screen at least) we could actually see how painful is the vigilante’s life for Bruce Wayne.

While trying to establish himself as Batman, Bruce Wayne meets Andrea Beaumont. Love for her makes Wayne question his crime fighting life. When he finally makes his choice, he finds out that she left for good, without telling him why, leaving him devastated.

Years later, they re-meet during the Phantasm murderers, forcing Batman to face two challenges, the killer Phantasm and his own disturbed feelings.

The animation resembles the old Dick Tracy comic books, with artist Chester Gould’s trace marked by straight lines, pointy edges and dark areas -- a noir-style appearance, favoring heavy shadows and retro setting.

Called "Dark Deco" by its producers, the combination of distinct visual with a well developed plot make this animation a great cinematic approach, even standing up to live-action films.

"Mask of the Phantasm" also has a place for classics characters, bringing in one enemy from the old days -- the Joker. Dubbed by Mark Hamill, the Joker’s characterization was created for the TV show, but it has became a landmark since then. That takes us to another distinguishing feature of this film -- it’s boldly violent for animation.

Blood, deaths and even some jokes, which some viewers may find a little too much, are a constant. The action is good for Batman fans and probably nose-twisting for some parents, a standard peculiarity in the animated series that is considered for more mature audiences.

Producers always claimed that "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Mask of the Phantasm" are not oriented for children, they just have children in the audience.

Written by: Edward Olivier

Reviewers Rating: 9
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