The New Batman Adventures facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The New Batman Adventures
Genre	Superhero Action Adventure Mystery Thriller Drama
Created by	Bruce Timm Paul Dini
Voices of	Kevin Conroy Mathew Valencia Tara Strong Loren Lester
Composer(s)	Danny Elfman Shirley Walker Lolita Ritmanis Michael McCuistion Kristopher Carter
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1 (by production order) 2 (by original airdates)
No. of episodes	24 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jean MacCurdy
Producer(s)	Alan Burnett Paul Dini Bruce Timm
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	DC Comics Warner Bros. Animation
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network	Kids' WB
Picture format	480i 1080p (Blu-ray)
Original release	September 13, 1997 (1997-09-13) – January 16, 1999 (1999-01-16)
Chronology
Preceded by	Batman: The Animated Series
Followed by	Batman Beyond
Related shows	DC Animated Universe

The New Batman Adventures (often called TNBA) is an American animated TV show about the famous DC Comics superhero, Batman. It's the third show in the DC Animated Universe and continues the story from the 1990s show, Batman: The Animated Series. Warner Bros. Animation made the show, and it was shown on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997, to January 16, 1999.

This series often focuses more on Batman's friends and allies. These include other crimefighters like Robin, Nightwing, and Batgirl. The show also features special guest heroes such as Supergirl, Etrigan the Demon, and The Creeper. These characters later joined Batman in the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited shows. Two video games, Batman: Vengeance (2001) and Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu, are based on this series.

About the Show

The New Batman Adventures started on Kids' WB a couple of years after Batman: The Animated Series finished on Fox Kids. The way the show looked changed a lot from the first series. The new show also focused less on just Batman and more on the many characters living in Gotham City.

New Animation Style

The art style became simpler and darker. It used fewer colors. The old-fashioned Art Deco and detective movie look from the first series was replaced with a more modern style.

Batman's New Look

Batman himself looked sleeker and stronger. His costume became darker overall. The yellow oval around his bat symbol was removed. The blue parts of his cape and cowl were also gone. His utility belt now had pouches instead of capsules and was light brown. This new look was similar to his appearance in the Batman: Year One comic. His gadgets and vehicles also looked sleeker and were mostly black.

Bruce Wayne's look changed too. His hair was brushed back, showing his face more. His eyes were blue instead of black. His regular business suit changed from brown to black. Kevin Conroy's voice for Batman became deeper and more serious. The writers wanted Batman's words to be short and grim. This made him seem very different from his lighter-hearted friends.

Batgirl's Costume Change

Batgirl's costume was updated. It looked like her first comic book outfit from Detective Comics #359. It was a black bodysuit with yellow gloves and boots. She kept her blue cape and cowl, along with her yellow bat-symbol and utility belt. Her father, Commissioner Gordon, also looked different. He was thinner and had a flat-top haircut.

Producer Paul Dini said Batgirl would be in every episode. This was because toy companies wanted to make toys of her. Also, she was in the movie Batman & Robin, which made her popular. Tara Strong (then Tara Charendoff) became the new voice of Batgirl. While she wasn't in every episode, she appeared more often than Batman's other partners. She was also Batman's main partner in this series, which was different from most Batman TV shows and comics. Tara Strong later voiced Batgirl again in other Batman cartoons and movies.

Tim Drake as Robin

Tim Drake was introduced as the new Robin in the episode "Sins of the Father". The show's creators made up their own origin story for Tim. This was because his comic book origin didn't fit with Batman's "family unit" in the show. Batman made a new suit for Tim. It was similar to the first one worn by Dick Grayson. It was also like Tim Drake's original Robin costume from the comics. However, the colors were simplified to red, black, and yellow, with no green. The costume kept the red short-sleeved shirt and the black cape with a yellow inside. New parts included black sleeves, gloves, shorts, and boots with red leggings. His domino mask also changed, making him look more innocent. This color scheme later became Tim Drake's Robin costume in the comics after the Infinite Crisis event.

Dick Grayson as Nightwing

Dick Grayson stopped being Robin after a disagreement with Batman. He then became Nightwing. Grayson's body looked sleeker and his shoulders were wider. This showed he was growing into his own hero. His spiky hair from when he was Robin grew longer. As Nightwing, he wore a V-shaped mask. His costume was all black with a light blue hawk symbol. It was similar to his comic book look from the 1990s. The costume also had wings under the arms that let Nightwing glide short distances.

Villain Redesigns

Most of Batman's famous villains also got new looks. Their costumes generally became darker. The biggest change was to the Joker. His white skin now had a bluish-gray tint. His eyes were black spaces with white pupils. His red lips were gone, making his teeth stand out more. His green hair was almost black. His flower pin changed from orange to lime-green. His main suit colors changed from purple and orange to purple and green. This was more like his look in the older comics.

Other villains who changed a lot include:

• Catwoman: She got an all-black bodysuit and short black hair.
• The Penguin: He looked more like his comic book appearance instead of his animal-like look from the Batman Returns movie.
• The Riddler: He wore a green bodysuit with a question mark. His mask and red hair were removed, but he kept his bowler hat.
• The Scarecrow: He had long black hair, a black hat, and a dark gray trenchcoat. His face looked dead-like.
• Mr. Freeze: His suit became black with metallic blue parts. His goggles were gone, and his head was attached to a spider-like robot.
• Poison Ivy: Her skin was chalk white, and her costume was black with leaf-green highlights.
• Bane: His outfit was completely black with silver parts. His mask no longer had red lenses.
• Killer Croc: His skin became reptilian green, and his pants were blue-gray.

Some characters did not change much. These include Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Clayface, Alfred Pennyworth, and Harvey Bullock. Harley Quinn was also the only villain besides the Joker to appear in many episodes. Ra's al Ghul and his daughter Talia also kept their original designs. They only appeared in the episode "The Demon Reborn" from Superman: The Animated Series.

Animation Production

Several animation studios helped make this series. These included Koko Enterprise Co., LTD., TMS-Kyokuchi Corporation, and Dong Yang Animation Co., LTD. The team also used TMS-Kyokuchi Corporation for storyboarding and directing some episodes.

Show's End

The people in charge at Kids' WB were more flexible about what could be shown in episodes. This was different from the Fox Kids network, which was very strict with Batman: The Animated Series. Producer Bruce Timm said that at Fox, they would get many pages of notes about what they couldn't do. At Kids' WB, they got only a few paragraphs of rules. The writers of the series decided to end it themselves. They wanted to move on to other shows in the same animated universe.

Episodes

Cast

List of DC animated universe characters

Main Heroes

Other Heroes and Friends

Villains

Other Villains

Movies Based on the Show

• Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003): This movie was released straight to video.
• Batman and Harley Quinn (2017): This movie isn't a direct follow-up to The New Batman Adventures. However, it uses the same art style and has some of the original voice actors.

Video Games Based on the Show

• Batman: Vengeance: Published by Ubisoft for Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows. It features the Joker, Harley Quinn, Mr. Freeze, and Poison Ivy as bad guys.
• Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu: This is the follow-up to Batman Vengeance. It introduced a new villain created just for the game, named Sin Tzu.
• Batman: Chaos in Gotham: A platforming action video game for the Game Boy Color.
• Batman: Gotham City Racer: A racing game for the PlayStation.
• Batman: Arkham City: This game includes a The New Batman Adventures-inspired alternate costume for Nightwing.

Awards Won

Daytime Emmy Awards

• 1998: Won for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program. This award was shared with Superman.
• 1999: Won for Outstanding Sound Mixing – Special Class. This award was also shared with Superman.

Young Artist Awards

• 1999: Mathew Valencia was nominated for Best Performance in a Voice Over in a Feature or TV – Best Young Actor.

See also

In Spanish: Las nuevas aventuras de Batman para niños