For those of you who read my review of "Tim Burton's Batman (1989)" you may recall that I labled it as the second best Batman movie of all time. Naturally, you're thinking that Christopher Nolan's 2008 film "The Dark Knight" is number one, but that isn't true. My all time favorite Batman movie isn't a live action one at all, it's actually an animated film, "Mask of the Phantasm". It's set within the universe of the critically acclaimed "Batman The Animated Series". What's especially interesting about this film is that it was originally planned as a direct to video film, but then Warner Brothers hastily changed it to a theatrical release.

The story for the film is sort of like an extended episode of the Animated Series. A mysterious new vigilante named Phantasm is murdering crime bosses of Gotham, and due to the similarities between it and The Dark Knight, Batman is blamed. At the same time, Bruce's former love interest, Andrea Beaumont has returned to Gotham, sparking a conflict of interest. We learn through flashbacks that Bruce and Andrea bonded over the loss of their parents (though Andrea only lost her mother), and Bruce seriously considered giving up his plans to fight crime to avenge his parents deaths. But when Andrea suddenly broke up with him and fled to Europe, Bruce finally dawned the persona of Batman. Back in the present day, it turns out that the murdered crime bosses previously served in a gang with a man named Salvatore Valestra (voiced by the now deceased Abe Vigoda in what was likely an homeage to The Godfather), who now is a sickly old man. Reluctantly, Valestra turns to The Joker for help, only for The Joker to double cross him and murder him with Joker gas, Bruce eventually deduces the identity of Phantasm, discovering that is Andrea herself, seeking revenge against Sal and his gang for her father's death (in another flashback it's revealed that The Joker before he became the super villain he is, worked for Sal as an assassin). Batman comes to Andrea's rescue, and confronts The Joker in an abandoned World's Fair, which The Joker has rigged to blow with a series of controlled explosions. In the end, Andrea bids her former love farewell, before disappearing with The Joker, leaving a heartbroken Bruce to consoled by Alfred. The film ends with the Bat Signal lighting up the night sky, and Batman flying off to continue his war against crime.

The film has all the hallmarks that made "Batman The Animated Series" so popular and critically acclaimed, including wonderful storytelling (the developers cited Citizen Kane for inspiration), beautiful animation, spectacular voice acting (including Kevin Conroy as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Mark Hamill as The Joker, both reprising their roles from the television series), and an amazing soundtrack. With the added budget for a theatrical release, the late Shirley Walker was able to bring in an opera score that shines especially well during the film's opening, climax, and closing.

There are many highlights in this movie, including Batman doing some actual detective work (and including a mystery for first time viewers to solve), Mark Hamill's show stealing performance as The Joker (including continuing his trend of no two Joker laughs being the same), and even flashbacks to Bruce's past where he finds himself torn over whether he can keep his promise to parents now that he's fallen in love. But the true highlight of this film might be Alfred, especially at the end when the late Efrem Zemblist Jr. voices him to perfection with one of the most powerful Alfred lines of all time. This Alfred serves as a guiding figure for Bruce, trying desperately to keep him grounded in reality and prevent him from being consumed by vengence.

In spite of all that this movie had going for it, it was a flop at the box office due to a poor marketing campaign and the fact that it was not originally intended for a theatrical release (work had to be done to reconvert it for wide-screen theatrical display, all in the span of 8 months). Thankfully, the film sold well on VHS, and has since developed a cult following. The success of this film would spawn two more direct to video films that would take place in the BTAS universe (Batman and Mr. Freeze: Subzero which was originally planned to be released at the same time as Batman and Robin but was delayed for a year after Batman and Robin became a critical failure, and Batman: Mystery of The Batwoman). But of the three, this one is without a doubt the best of the bunch, and easily earns its spots as the best Batman film of all time. The fact that this came out in theaters a year and a half before Batman Forever would cause quite the stir among Batman fans, as people were surprised at how much more mature the Batman aimed at kids was, than the Batman that was supposedly aimed at adults (and there is some adult content that sneaks past the radar, this film was rated PG back when PG was a big deal).

I have no trouble giving this film five out of five stars, and would encourage everyone who hasn't already seen it to pick up a copy. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill make for a better Batman/Joker combo than Michael Keaton/Jack Nicholson or Christian Bale/Heath Ledger.

5406472 Honestly, I think this is the best theatrical Batman film ever made

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where does a person find this, best batman movie?
I am very interested.
better than 89 batman?
better than The Dark Knight?
Better than The Dark Knight Rises?
Better even than Batman: The Motion Picture?

5407145 It balances the character development with the action, while also creating a truly fully realized version of Bruce Wayne.

It makes you care for Batman the Man, and therefore, carries a deeper rewatch value

5407668 ok, cool, where do I find it?

5407668 Which is exactly what this movie does. We care for the man behind the mask just as much as we care about the crime fighting symbol he serves as.

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here's the question, if someone has never seen even 5 seconds of the animated series, would it matter? is it standalone, or do you need that backstory?

5407862 You can see the movie without having seen The Animated Series, it doesn't directly reference episodes or events. That being said, an understanding of The Animated Series comes in handy for the character of Harvey Bullock.