For fans that enjoy Batman, repackaged or original, “Adventures of Batman” is a suitable animated fix that hearkens back to the cheap animation of “Scooby Doo” and the silly adventures from the Adam West series. Less campy and more adventurous, the series from Filmation sets down on Batman and Robin as they battle all of their famous foes, from the Joker, and Mr. Freeze right down to the Riddler. Anyone expecting the complexities and dark themes from the Bruce Timm series should look elsewhere, as “Adventures of Robin” feels a lot like a facsimile of “Scooby Doo.”
The episode shorts are very formula, and based on repetition, while Batman and Robin do very little except navigate in the Batmobile, and seemingly pull answers out at the last minute. In one episode Batman and Robin drive off a cliff and a raft pops out from under the Batmobile, allowing them to drift down the river in the canyon they’ve fallen in to. Voicing the dynamic duo are Olan Soule, and the late great Casey Kasem, both of whom would carry the characters in to the “Scooby Doo Crossovers” and then “Superfriends.”
There isn’t much to do with the characters when the writers really don’t focus on them beyond their suits, so about ninety eight percent of “Adventures of Batman” involve the pair fighting crime and battling a foe. The villain molds follow the Adam West show, with the Joker being the most menacing of the bunch. Catwoman makes an appearance as does Mr. Freeze, who attempts to turn the dynamic duo in to ice cubes at one point. Save for the Penguin, the series of shorts feature Batman and Robin coming across the same four villains over and over with their new schemes being thwarted time and time again.
If anything, the series is a nice precursor to “Super Friends,” and garners probably one of the most disorienting opening credits I’ve seen in a cartoon in a long time. The 2-Disc DVD from Warner Home Video is mainly a port with only a languages option and the ability to choose individual episodes. Other than that, the DVD is bereft of extras or Easter Eggs.