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Batman: The Brave And The Bold Season 1 Blu-ray Review

“Batman: The Brave and the Bold” is a more kid friendly take on The Caped Crusader.

In the 26 episode first season of “Batman: The Brave and The Bold,” Batman teams up with a wide variety of superheroes including Blue Beetle, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Plastic Man, Aquaman, Red Tornado, The Outsiders, Wildcat, Deadman, Green Lantern Corps, Bronze Tiger, Adam Strange, Huntress, Booster Gold, Robin, Jonah Hex, and Doctor Fate. As one might expect, Batman and company have to battle a wide array of adversaries like Orm, Solomon Grundy, Black Manta, Kanjar Ro, Bat-Mite, Music Meister, Gorilla Grodd, Fun Haus, Terrible Trio, Owlman, Red Hood, Babyface, and Equinox. While a lot of the storylines simply involve the characters Batman is teaming up, there are a few notably unique storylines such as Aquaman and Atom venturing inside Batman’s body, Batman meeting Merlin in medieval times, Batman meeting Sherlock Holmes in 19^th Century London, Batman being buried alive, and Batman having off Earth adventures. Oh, and there’s a musical episode too.

If your preferred version of Batman is the ultra serious and dark versions as seen in Frank Miller’s comics and in Christopher Nolan’s film trilogy, you might not take too kindly to this lightehearted retro take on the character. “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” very much harkens back to the 60’s “Batman” TV series, but it’s certainly not as campy as that iconic series. Additionally, ‘Bold’ is aimed more at children as evidenced by the more comedic elements ala the hammy Aquaman and Batman’s jokey one liners. Of course, that’s not to say the show can get dark because it can. However, the series is at its best when it’s cleverly blending comedy and drama like with the episodes “Legends of the Dark Mite!” and “Mayhem of the Music Meister!” ‘Mite,’ which is written by the legendary Paul Dini, is an imaginative story that pays homage to the history of Batman (past and present) while ‘Mayhem’ is a delightful musical episode that is reminiscent of the classic “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” episode “Once More With Feeling.” ‘Mayhem’ is also notable for having a standout musical performance by Neil Patrick Harris (who is the Music Meister).

As entertaining as the series is, however, the series certainly over-relies heavily on DC characters and cameos. It would have made more sense for this just to be a DC Universe show instead of a Batman series, but I understand wanting a branded character to anchor the series.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.78:1 1080p. How does it look? The stylized 2D animation looks supremely colorful in hi-def.

Audio Track: DTS-HD MA 2.0. How does it sound? For a mere 2.0 track, it certainly packs a punch when it comes to the more action heavy sequences.

No extras have been included.

Overall Thoughts: While certainly not on the level of animated classics like “Batman: The Animated Series” or “Batman Beyond,” “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” is a respectable Batseries in its own right.

March 11, 2014 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Batman and Robin, Batman Animated Series, Batman Series, Batman: The Brave And The Bold Season 1 Blu-ray Review, DC Animation, DC Comcis, Green Arrow, Neil Patrick Harris, The Caped Crusader, The Dark Knight