Rewind: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

'Rewind' is a series of reviews that take a look back at the movies of yesteryear. These reviews are NOT spoiler free, and if you read it you will probably ruin the movie for yourself if you haven't seen it already. Enjoy!

Title: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Release Date: December 25, 1993
Directed By: Bruce Timm, Eric Radomski
Starring: Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Dana Delany
Written By: Alan Burnett, Martin Pasko, Paul Dini, and Michael Reaves
Run Time: 76 minutes

Let's face it, 'The Dark Knight' has become more than just a movie. It has grown into a box office juggernaut, broken records, and has a huge fan base. This movie is essentially an instant classic. So why not do another Batman 'Rewind'? I'm officially declaring this the month of the bat.
The story starts off showing a few of Gotham's crime lords at a meetings, a gangster named Chuckie Sol is killed by a mysterious cloaked figure. The Phantasm. Batman gets blamed for the murder. Councilman Arthur Reeves talks shit about Batman saying he's a menace to the city. After he's done getting interviewed about Batman, he goes to Bruce Wayne's party. There, he taunts Bruce about letting Andrea Beaumont leave his life. Andrea was Bruce's old girlfriend.

The Phantasm her- *ahem* himself.

Bruce walks away from the party and has a flashback. In the flashback Bruce meets Andrea in the cemetery where his parents are buried. He swears to avenge his parents by fighting crime. He puts on some lame ninja/robber outfit and goes out into the night. He stops a robbery, but is insulted because of his outfit. Bruce realizes that he was at a disadvantage because he didn't strike fear in the criminals from the beginning. After he thwarts the criminals he begins building a relationship with Andrea Beaumont.

Bruce and Andrea share a few smooches on the ground.

Back in the present another mobster is killed by the cloaked figure, this time in the cemetery, and the other criminals are starting to become fearful that 'The Batman' will kill them. Salvatore Valestra is particularly scared so he goes to seek some help. He calls everyones favorite villain to kill Batman, the one and only Joker.

Salvatore Valestra negotiates killing Batman with The Joker.

Meanwhile, Batman is running around the crime scene trying to figure out who's murdering the mobsters. He comes across his parents grave and stares at it. Batman is seen by Andrea, thus revealing Bruce's secret identity. This triggers another flashback. In this flashback we see Bruce and Andrea at Gotham's world fair having a good time. After the fair Bruce meets Andrea's father. Andrea's father deals with a lot of the mobsters seen in the beginning of the film, including Salvatore Valestra. After Bruce meets Andrea's dad, his love life with Andrea develops more. He proposes to her. She gladly says yes. Out a crack in the ground a bunch of bats swarm around the two. The next day Bruce goes down to the 'future bat cave' and explores. Alfred quickly interrupts him giving him the ring he proposed with the day before with a note attached. Andrea said goodbye to Bruce forever. Confused and frustrated, Bruce goes back to his parents vow of fighting crime. He creates the bat cave and makes his bat suit. Batman is born.

Bruce puts on the Batman suit for the first time.

Cut back to the present and we see Bruce doing some detective work. He starts linking the murders to Andrea's dad. The Phantasm goes out to kill Valestra but Joker was one step ahead. The Phantasm rolls over Valestra's dead body to find a large grin on his face. Batman gets blamed again and almost gets shot up by the police. Andrea tells Batman to get in her car and they narrowly escape the coppers. In the car Andrea explains why she left him so abruptly, Andrea's dad owed the mob a lot of money so they had to flee to Germany. Andrea's father eventually paid them late, but they wanted interest. Bruce suspects that Andrea's father is The Phantasm, but it's revealed that he got murdered long ago. It later reveals that Andrea herself is the cloaked figure, The Phantasm! Her identity is revealed when she is in a scuffle with the Joker. During the fight between Andrea and The Joker, Batman shows up. Andrea then vanishes and Batman and Joker have a classic show down. After a few punches are thrown and a few explosions are had The Joker disappears into the smoke. Batman is left alone and has to escape the explosive trap that The Joker has left him. He barely escapes the explosions and goes home to the bat cave. Alfred explains how Andrea couldn't be helped, and then it cuts to Andrea alone on the deck of a cruise ship. The final scene shows Batman fly off toward the bat signal.


I am a big fan of this film and I didn't have the pleasure of watching it as a kid. I only saw this movie last week. This is the perfect starting point for anyone who is unfamiliar with Batman, and if you think that 'Batman Begins' or 'The Dark Knight' would be too much for the kids, this is a good movie to show them as a substitute.

“It was basically an expanded episode. We boarded the script and did all of our designs and shipped it overseas. We were treating it with more quality, but we originally didn’t intend it for the big screen.”
—Eric Radomski

'Batman: Mask of the Phantasm' was not originally planned to be released on the big screen, and it was a last minute attempt by WB to make a few dollars. It pretty much flopped in the box office, grossing only $5,617,391. The critics still ate the movie up though. And I can understand why.
This movie has it all. Let's start out with the sound used in the movie. The voice acting is brilliant, with all star performances by Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Dana Delany. They all deliver top notch voice work, and it really made the film feel much more professional. The music used in here is also legendary. It's all done by a woman by the named of Shirley Walker. This soundtrack is the definition of "epic".

Kevin Conroy is the only voice I hear in my head when I think 'Batman'.

The animation in this movie is good, but it isn't mind blowing. Like the quote above says, it's basically an extended episode treated with more quality. The animation is slightly better than the TV series, but there isn't that much of a difference. When you watch the movie don't think of it as a visual makeover, just treat it like you were watching another episode in the animated series.
In the end, 'Batman: Mask of the Phantasm' is a great animated film. It has strong voice acting, great music, and decent animation. If you haven't seen it already you should definitely go out and rent it or buy it. You won't regret it.

-cupajoe38