Batman: Mask of the Phantasm facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Batman: Mask of the Phantasm |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by |
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| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Alan Burnett |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Shirley Walker |
| Editing by | Al Breitenbach |
| Studio |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | December 25, 1993 |
| Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6 million |
| Money made | $5.6 million |
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is an exciting animated superhero movie from 1993. It features the famous DC Comics character Batman. This film was directed by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm. It was also written by Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Martin Pasko, and Michael Reaves.
The movie is based on the popular Batman: The Animated Series TV show, which aired from 1992 to 1995. It was the very first movie in the DC Animated Universe and the only one from that series to be shown in movie theaters. Many of the voice actors from the TV show returned for the film. These included Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as the Joker, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred, Bob Hastings as Commissioner Gordon, and Robert Costanzo as Detective Bullock. New voices joined them, like Dana Delany, Hart Bochner, Stacy Keach Jr., and Abe Vigoda.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was made between the first and second seasons of the TV show. The story follows Batman as he deals with a past love, Andrea Beaumont. At the same time, he faces a mysterious new hero, the Phantasm, who is getting rid of Gotham City's crime bosses. The movie also shows how Bruce Wayne first became Batman and began fighting crime.
Even though it was first planned to go straight to video, Warner Bros. decided to release Mask of the Phantasm in theaters. This meant the team had to finish the movie very quickly, in just eight months! It was the first animated movie made by Warner Bros. Animation to be shown in cinemas. The film came out on December 25, 1993. Critics generally liked the movie, praising its animation style, the voice acting, the story, and the music.
The movie didn't make much money at the box office because of its quick release. However, it became very popular and financially successful once it was released for people to watch at home. For a long time, Mask of the Phantasm was the only animated Batman movie to have a full release in theaters.
Contents
What is the Story About?
The movie's story jumps between the past and the present. It shows how Bruce Wayne met and fell in love with Andrea Beaumont. They met at the Gotham Cemetery. During this time, Bruce tried fighting crime for the first time. He wore a ski mask and stopped some truck hijackers. Even though he succeeded, he felt the criminals weren't scared enough. He realized he needed to "strike fear in them."
Bruce faced a big choice: should he defend Gotham City to get revenge for his parents' deaths, or should he settle down and marry Andrea? He eventually asked Andrea to marry him, and she said yes. But then, Andrea suddenly left Gotham with her father, Carl Beaumont. She broke off their engagement with a letter. Bruce was heartbroken. He then decided to become Batman. He found a large cave filled with bats under Wayne Manor and made it his secret base, the Batcave.
The Phantasm Appears
Ten years later, a criminal named Chuckie Sol tries to flood Gotham with fake money. Batman stops him. As Sol tries to escape, a new masked hero called the Phantasm attacks him. The Phantasm looks like the Grim Reaper. Sol crashes his car and dies. Witnesses see Batman nearby and think he killed Sol. City councilman Arthur Reeves, who used to be a lawyer for Carl Beaumont, promises to arrest Batman.
The Phantasm then kills another gangster, Buzz Bronski, at the Gotham Cemetery. Bronski's bodyguards also mistake the Phantasm for Batman because they look similar in the dark. Batman investigates the crime scene and meets Andrea again. He accidentally reveals his secret identity to her. Batman finds a photo that connects Andrea's father, Carl Beaumont, to a group of mobsters: Sol, Bronski, and their leader Salvatore Valestra. There's also an unnamed person in the photo.
Valestra, now an old man, is scared Batman will come for him next. He asks Reeves for help, reminding Reeves that he helped him illegally in his political career. But Reeves refuses. Valestra then turns to the Joker.
The Joker's Involvement
The Phantasm goes to kill Valestra at his fancy apartment, but finds Valestra already dead. The Joker had set up explosives there, expecting to kill Batman. But through a camera, he sees it's not Batman. The Phantasm escapes the explosion, and Batman chases them, but the Phantasm disappears. The police, who are working for Reeves, try to catch Batman, but Andrea saves him.
Back at Wayne Manor, Andrea tells Bruce that her father had taken money from Valestra and had to run away to Europe when he couldn't pay them back. Even after he paid them, the mob still wanted him dead. Bruce thinks about getting back together with Andrea, but he starts to believe Carl Beaumont is the Phantasm. Later, Bruce looks closely at the mob photo and realizes the unnamed person is the Joker before he became the Joker.
Meanwhile, the Joker confronts Reeves in his office. He tells Reeves that Batman didn't commit the murders. He also accuses Reeves of trying to get rid of Batman to hide his own connections to the mob. The Joker then exposes Reeves to his deadly gas. At the hospital, Batman questions the dying Reeves. Reeves admits that he helped the Beaumonts escape when he was Carl's lawyer. But when he needed money for his election, Carl refused to help him. So, Reeves betrayed Carl by telling Valestra where he was.
With this information, Batman figures out that Carl Beaumont has been dead for years. This means Andrea is the Phantasm, and she wants revenge for her father's death. Her last target is the Joker, who personally killed her father.
The Final Confrontation
Andrea finds the Joker at his hideout in Gotham's old World's Fair. They start fighting, but Batman arrives. He begs Andrea to stop her revenge, but she won't listen. The Joker then sets the place to explode in five minutes and tries to escape, but he fails. He gives up to Andrea, who says goodbye to Bruce before the explosives go off. Bruce survives the blast, but he can't find Andrea or the Joker.
Later, Alfred comforts Bruce in the Batcave. He tells Bruce that Andrea couldn't have been helped. Alfred then finds Andrea's locket, which has a picture of them together. On a cruise ship, a sad Andrea leaves Gotham. Batman is finally cleared of the accusations against him and continues his work fighting crime.
Who are the Voices Behind the Characters?
Many talented actors lent their voices to the characters in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
- Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne / Batman
- Mark Hamill as the Joker
- Dana Delany as Andrea Beaumont / Phantasm
- Hart Bochner as City Councilman Arthur Reeves
- Stacy Keach as Carl Beaumont and the voice of Phantasm
- Abe Vigoda as Salvatore "The Wheezer" Valestra
- Dick Miller as Charles "Chuckie" Sol
- John P. Ryan as Buzz Bronski
- Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred Pennyworth
- Bob Hastings as Commissioner James "Jim" Gordon
- Robert Costanzo as Detective Harvey Bullock
- Arleen Sorkin as Mrs. Bambi
- Ed Gilbert as Doctor and Police Dispatch
- Jeff Bennett as Burton Earny, Helicopter Cop #1 and Police Officer
- Charles Howerton as Helicopter Cop #2
- Neil Ross as Biker Thug
- Jane Downs, Pat Musick, Vernee Watson-Johnson, Peter Renaday, Dan Castellaneta, Tress MacNeille, Thom Pinto and Marilu Henner as Additional Voices
How Was the Movie Made?
Warner Bros. was very impressed with how well the first season of Batman: The Animated Series did on Fox. So, they asked Alan Burnett to write a story for a full-length animated movie.
Early Ideas and Story Choices
The first idea for the movie was to have Batman caught by his enemies at Arkham Asylum. The villains would then put him on trial for making them who they are. But this idea was thought to be "too brainy" and would keep Batman still for too long. So, that idea was later used in a TV series episode called "Trial."
Even though the Joker plays a big part in the movie, Burnett wanted to tell a story that wasn't just about Batman's usual enemies. He also said he "wanted to do a love story with Bruce because no one had really done it on the TV show." He wanted a story that explored Bruce's inner thoughts. Some of the creative team said they didn't plan for the Joker to be in the movie at first. But writer Paul Dini said the Joker's role was always part of the story. The writers were careful not to make the Joker too similar to his portrayal in the 1989 live-action Batman movie. Writer Michael Reaves explained that they realized they could use the Joker in a way that worked for the story, which couldn't be done in a live-action film. To keep the Joker as the main villain, Bruce Timm and Burnett convinced Dini not to include Harley Quinn in the movie.
Alan Burnett was helped by other writers. Martin Pasko wrote most of the flashback scenes. Michael Reaves wrote the exciting ending. And Paul Dini "filled in holes here and there." The classic 1941 movie Citizen Kane influenced the flashbacks, which tell a story about loss and time passing. The character of Andrea Beaumont was named after the voice director, Andrea Romano. The design for the Phantasm went through 20 different versions before they found the right one. Burnett said the Phantasm was like the Grim Reaper with a cape. The idea was also to make her look like the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
From Video to Theaters
Early in the movie's creation, Warner Bros. decided to release Phantasm in movie theaters instead of just selling it on video. This meant they had less than a year to finish the movie, even though most animated movies take over two years! Because of this decision, the animators had to adjust scenes for the wider movie screen. The studio gave the filmmakers a lot of freedom to be creative.
Warner Bros. also increased the movie's budget to $6 million. This allowed the filmmakers to create more detailed scenes. The opening credits, for example, show a flight through a completely computer-generated Gotham City. As a fun visual joke, director Kevin Altieri set the movie's exciting ending inside a miniature model of Gotham City. Batman and the Joker appear like giants in this scene. This was a tribute to old Batman comic books where the hero often fought against giant props. The entire movie was finished in just eight months. The animation was done by studios in South Korea (Dong Yang Animation) and Japan (Spectrum Animation), who also worked on the TV series.
Comic Book Connections
The movie's story is very similar to a 1987 comic book series called Batman: Year Two. That comic was written by Mike W. Barr. Bruce Timm said Year Two was an "accidental inspiration" for the Phantasm's design. He said he didn't mean to base the Phantasm's look on the villain from Year Two, called the Reaper. Alan Burnett said he based the Phantasm's way of disappearing into smoke on the Spider-Man villain Mysterio.
However, in 2017, Mike W. Barr said he believed the similarities were on purpose. He said he saw people working on the movie with copies of Batman: Year Two open beside them. Because of this, Barr was given some money from the movie's earnings, as well as money for the creation of the Phantasm character.
What are the Main Ideas in the Movie?
Paul Dini wanted the flashbacks to Batman's love life to "get worse" even when you hope things will get better. Bruce's relationship with Andrea starts well but turns sad. At first, Bruce and Andrea plan to marry. But then Andrea sends Bruce a letter ending their relationship. This event makes Bruce decide to become Batman, after he had thought about settling down with her.
One scene shows Bruce Wayne at his parents' tombstone saying, "I didn't count on being happy." According to writer Michael Reaves, this scene was a key moment in Bruce's sad life. It shows him denying himself the chance to live a normal life. Reaves also said that when Bruce first puts on the Batman mask after Andrea breaks up with him, Alfred says "My God!" Alfred is horrified because he sees Bruce letting his desire for revenge take over his life.
The Music of the Film
The music for Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was composed by Shirley Walker. She was also the main composer for The Animated Series. Walker said this movie's music was one of her favorite pieces she ever wrote. She even explained that the "Latin" words in the main title song were actually the names of Warner Bros. staff members spelled backward! The song "I Never Even Told You" was written by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard. It was sung by Tia Carrere. Hans Zimmer, who later wrote music for The Dark Knight Trilogy Batman movies, played the synthesizer on the score.
The movie's music was first released on December 14, 1993. Later, in 2009, a special expanded edition was released. This version included all the songs from the original release, plus almost 30 minutes of music that had never been released before.
How Was the Movie Promoted?
In December 1993, two books based on the movie were released. One was a book for young readers written by Andrew Helfer. The other was a novel for adults written by Geary Gravel.
DC Comics also released a comic book version of the movie. It was written by Kelley Puckett and drawn by Mike Parobeck. This comic book was later included with the VHS release of the movie. Kenner, a toy company that already made toys for the cartoon series, created several toys for the movie. These included figures of the Joker and the Phantasm.
A comic book sequel to the film, called Batman & Robin Adventures Annual #1: Shadow of the Phantasm, was released in 1996. It was written by Paul Dini. In 2015, a special action figure set with Batman and Phantasm was released by DC Collectibles.
Where Can You Watch the Movie?
Mask of the Phantasm was released on LaserDisc in April 1994 and on VHS tapes in May of the same year. The VHS was re-released in April 2003 as part of a three-tape set with Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
The movie first came out on DVD in December 1999. It was re-released in April 2004 as a three-disc DVD box set that included SubZero and Return of the Joker. This version is no longer available. Warner Home Video released the film again in February 2008 as a double feature DVD with SubZero.
The movie was released on Blu-ray on July 25, 2017, as part of the Warner Archive Collection. This version had new high definition transfers. The film was also included in the Blu-ray release of the Batman: The Complete Animated Series box set in late 2018.
Most recently, the movie was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on September 12, 2023. This release included a 26-minute documentary about the amazing career of Kevin Conroy, who sadly passed away nine months before the 4K re-release.
See also
In Spanish: Batman: la máscara del fantasma para niños
