I had yet to see an episode of the new Batman team-up cartoon, The Brave and the Bold, save for a few curious glances on youtube, but I have to say I really, really like what I saw. Finally here’s a younger-audience superhero adventure cartoon that doesn’t isolate an older audience, though some of the grandiose dialogue and cheeky repartee may not sit well with people who like their superheroes dark. TBATB takes Batman and brightens him up, no longer the dark knight, but not quite to Adam West levels either.
Each show starts with a 1 minute bumper team up (this episode was Batman and the Question) with the main episode story containing a different pairing. Here we had a triple threat, with Batman meeting up with a depressed Aquaman and the duo accidentally getting tagged by a Zeta beam and transported to the planet Rann. There they meet it’s Earthly champion, Adam Strange, the sole protector of their otherwise docile and technically advanced civilization. The lizard-like aliens, the Gordanians have invaded and it’s up to the three heros to overthrow the wanna-be rulers.
It’s a rip-snorting fun time, with vibrant, blocky animation that finally breaks from the Bruce Timm mold, and, what I love most, lots of b-list (and lower) superheroes (yay). I watched this with my wife, but think watching it with my step-son would be even more fun.