Batman, life on the big and small screens Pt3

Some of the best Batman films out there are actually animated, in my humble opinion, I'm not sure if it's because they are closed to the source material or just the fact that I've always loved animation. There's quite a few so I'm going to just highlight some of my favourites that I would recommend you give a watch, you wont regret it, promise!

In the late 60's the animated series The Batman/Superman Hour aired, followed in the late 70's by The New Adventures of Batman, the latter featuring Adam West and Burt Ward reprising there roles.

Between 1992 and 1995 Batman: The Animated Series arrived and gave us the greatest Joker of them all, none other than Luke Skywalker! Over the 4 seasons and 85 30 minute episodes we saw the Caped Crusader, with the aid of Robin and Batgirl, battle all his infamous foes in a classic take on Batman story.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was a feature length film based in the same universe as The Animated Series and sees Batman being framed for the murder of some mob bosses, could it be a nefarious plan by Luke Skywalker....sorry I meant The Joker?!

In 2003 Batman: The Mystery of Batwoman was released, this sets Batman on the trail of a masked vigilante who's methods tend to be quite severe.

A fan favourite series Batman: The Brave and the Bold aired between 2008 - 2011 see our hero teaming up with other heroes from the DCU, and there's a lot of them, some more obscure than others, which is nice.

Batman: Gotham Knight is an anthology, each story is directed by a different Japanese director with their own particular style, but all 6 stories are linked in some way. The stories are good and the animation is fantastic, cinematic at times and with a touch of Manga for some, a clever concept that works well.

2010 gave us Batman: Under the Red Hood, based on the 1988 graphic novel A Death in the Family, Batman has to use all his detective skills to hunt down a new threat to Gotham, his quarry is part vigilante part criminal kingpin, dare you lift the red hood???

The new Batman movie as I mentioned is said to be based on the graphic novel Batman: Year One, well in 2011 there was an animated version, check it out but may contain spoilers!

In Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Parts 1&2 we see an older Batman return to Gotham after being away for 10 years and there's a new violent movement on the rise threatening the relative peace.

One of my favourite Batman graphic novels is Alan Moore's The Killing Joke, and the animated version doesn't disappoint, great story, beautifully animated and also the return of mark Hamill as The Joker, what more could you want???

Another Japanese entry in the Batman saga, Batman Ninja sees Batman and his allies, as well as a few of his adversaries, transport back in time to feudal Japan, really it should have been called Batman Samurai but I don't want to get too picky, it's a blast anyway!

To celebrate Batmans 80th Hush was released, and it's a proper murder mystery based on the graphic novel of the same name, written by Jeph Loeb and the legendary Jim Lee! 

This list has barely scratched the surface, there are loads more Batman animations out there, he also appears in a load of Superman animations as well as Justice League and Justice League Dark films, the extended DC Universe is huge, and there's a lot of crossovers.