Warner Brothers, you sneaky studio…

When the world is more in a mood for a silly Dark Knight, we get the silliest of them all.  ‘Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders’ is the latest animated film from WB Animation, and it’s a homerun (for what it is).

Reuniting Adam West and Burt Ward as the Dynamic Duo who was the introduction to Batman for most kids, this film is silly and absurd in all the ways the 1966 TV show was.  Only Julie Newmar is still living on the villain side, and she reprises Catwoman along with three great sound alikes for Penguin, Joker, and the Riddler.  The plot is ridiculous, and only makes less sense as the movie goes, but so what?  Animation is the reason the original actors can reprise these characters, and animation opens the door for a TON of in jokes for the adults, that cover everything from the homoerotic nature of a grown man living with a teenage boy, to Frank Miller to the Tim Burton films to the Chris Nolan films.

Is this an all time classic?  Nahhh.  But you want a version of Batman you can watch with your youngest with no worries?  Here you go.

Must see for Batman completionists.