TediVillasor.com

Series: Batman: The Animated Series (1992)
Episode: “Beware The Grey Ghost” (Season 1, Episode 18)
Original Air Date: November 4, 1992

The Grey Ghost (Adam West) meets The Batman (Kevin Conroy)

“Beware The Grey Ghost” (Episode #18) is featured on Volume One of Batman: The Animated Series (DC Comics Classic Collection) (1992) DVD.

After a series of unexplained yet blatant acts of arson, The Dark Knight awakes with memories of a television program that “he and his father” would stay up and watch during his youth—The Grey Ghost.

The following morning as Bruce Wayne, The Batman investigates this lead and enlists the assistance of a reluctant Simon Trent—who was the fictional actor that played The Grey Ghost (voiced by Adam West). With Trent’s help, The Batman discovers that an episode of The Grey Ghost (entitled “The Mad Bomber”) bore uncanny similarities to the Gotham City arsonist.

From there, the clues begin to fall into place and lead the duo of Batman and Trent (now clad in his Grey Ghost costume) straight to their adversary (voiced by Batman: The Animated Series creator Bruce Timm), whom they eventually bring to justice.

This is one episode of Batman: The Animated Series that I can never get tired of watching as it not only gives fans a glimpse of Bruce Wayne’s childhood, but also reveals a more human side to The Dark Knight.

Yes. Even The Batman had his idols.

—————-
Now playing: Tears For Fears – Pale Shelter
via FoxyTunes

Series: The Batman (2004)
Episode: “Vertigo” (Season 5, Episode 55)
Original Air Date: October 6, 2007
Date Watched: January 1, 2008 (DVD)

Green Arrow and Batman take the Batmobile for a spin

Characters:

Usual Suspects:

Alfred and Robin

Origins:

Oliver Queen/Green Arrow and Count Vertigo

Baddies:

Count Vertigo and his Vertigo resistant henchmen

Cameos:

Oliver Queen

Key Events:

Star City’s Green Arrow (another rich boy’s) very convenient origin episode that seems to pay tribute to Robert Zemeckis’ “Cast Away.” Wherein Oli, stranded on some desolate island (with absolute nothing to do it seems), develops an extraordinary talent for wielding a bow.

Is it just me, or does everyone now seem to know the connection between Bruce and Batman? First Alfred (and in Episode 51, it turns out that Lucious was in on it as well), Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, Dick Grayson/Robin, Detective J’onn J’onzz/The Martian Manhunter (read Batman’s mind), Clark Kent/Superman (used his X-ray vision), and now Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Made the association after seeing Alfred in The Cave).

Brief synopsis:

In The Brave and Bold comic book fashion, The Batman (and Robin) team up with Green Arrow to bring Count Vertigo to justice.

—————-
Now playing: Seryoga – Liberty City: The Invasion
via FoxyTunes

Series: The Batman (2004)
Episode: “The Batman/Superman Story” (Season 5, Episode 53 & 54)
Original Air Date: September 22, 2007 (Episode 1); September 29, 2007 (Episode 2)
Date Watched: January 1, 2008 (DVD)

The World's Finest = Batman/Superman

Characters:

Usual Suspects:

Lucious Fox and Robin

Origins:

Robin’s Jetpack and The new Bat-Bot

Baddies:

Lex Luthor, Mercy Graves, Ariel Wireless Transmitters (AWT), and Lex’s own personal “Daddy” AWT.

Cameos:

Metallo, Clark Kent, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Black Mask, Bane, The New Clayface, Mr. Freeze, and Poison Ivy.

Key Events:

Batman’s idea of trusting others in his fight against crime becomes more evident. Superman uses his X-Ray vision to “unmask” Batman. He also entrusts Metallo’s Kryptonite to Batman and reconsidered his decision to join the Justice League at the end of the episode.

Brief synopsis:

Batman and a Ivy/Lex controlled Superman face off (Inspired by Lee and Loeb’s “Hush”? And Miller’s “Dark Knight Returns”). The World’s Greatest Detective discovers the secret identity of Superman by consolidating (The Daily Planet and Metropolis Garden Apartments) the “supersonic disturbances” generated by the Man of Steel himself (All to easy). Lois doesn’t think much of Clark, yet they live an apartment away from each other (Lois resides in Apartment #1009, while Clark’s is at #1011)

Robin’s “Asta la Vista, Baby” along with Metallo’s exposed hand in the garbage compactor pays tribute to James Cameron’s Terminator 2.

—————-
Now playing: Michael Hunter – Soviet Connection (The Theme From Grand Theft Auto IV)
via FoxyTunes

Series: The Batman (2004)
Episode: Two of a Kind (Season 4, Episode 47)
Original Air Date: February 24, 2007
Date Watched: December 28, 2007 (Cartoon Network)

The duo of Bruce Timm and Paul Dini created Harley Quinn/Dr. Harleen Quinzel for Batman The Animated Series

Harley Quinn/Dr. Harleen Quinzel Creator and Writer Paul Dini takes control once again of the character that he created (along with fellow Batman: The Animated Series Creator and Writer Bruce Timm) fifteen years ago by retelling her origin in the episode “Two of a Kind.”

Quinzel (Hynden Walch) is a television psychologist this time around (a step back from her days as a psychiatrist in Batman: The Animated Series (1992)) who is humiliated by the live cancellation of her talk show. This catastrophic event leaves Quinzel longing for an opportunity to redeem herself to the public by writing a “tell all” book on The Joker.

The Joker takes Quinzel (guised now as Harley Quinn) “on a night out in Gotham” in order for her to observe his pathology. Chaos then ensues before The Batman, Robin, and Batgirl finally intervene and avert the dastardly plans of The Joker and Harley Quinn.

Harley Quinn/Dr. Harleen Quinzel:

Inspired by Paul Dini’s love for the character of Calliope Jones (Arleen Sorkin) on television series Days of our Lives, Dini invites Sorkin to voice Harley Quinn–The first and only Batman: The Animated Series character to make the transition from celluloid to comics.

—————-
Now playing: Shirley Walker – Batman Beyond End Credits
via FoxyTunes

Category: Movies
Genre: Animation

It’s a “streamline” origin story.- Timster

Longtime “shell head” fans may not be open to this interpretation of their tin hero

And my bro was right.

However, longtime “shell head” fans may not be open to this interpretation of their tin hero and would most likely be abhorrently disappointed with the incorporation of James “Rhodey” Rhodes (voiced superbly by Rodney Saulsberry) into Tony Stark’s figurative transformation into Iron Man (voiced by Marc Worden who is no stranger to the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man with 2006’s Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers II under his belt.), The Mandarin’s power rings (or lack of), and the disgusting convenience and progression of the Mark01 armor as well as Tony’s other proverbial “toys for the big boys.”

Overall, it was entertaining—despite the potential gaff in interpreting the Chinese “demon elementals” as Western elements (air, earth, fire, and water instead of earth, fire, metal, water, and wood), I have nothing but praise for the voice actors as I believe Gwendoline Yeo (voiced Li Mei), Fred Tatasciore (The Mandarin), John McCook (Howard Stark), Elisa Gabrielli (Virginia ‘Pepper’ Pots) and the aforementioned Saulsberry and Worde played their roles to the hilt.

—————-
Now playing: Allen Iverson & G-Unit – Freestyle
via FoxyTunes

Category: Movies
Genre: Animation

"Yes friends, act now, destroy Unicron. Kill the Grand Poobah. Eliminate even the toughest stain." - Wreck-Gar

From it’s tagline “Beyond good. Beyond evil. Beyond your wildest imagination.” To Spike Witwicky (Corey Burton) telling Bumblebee (Dan Gilvezan) in the uncut version, “Oh shit! What do we do now!” Transformers: The Movie is iconic. Life changing for most people. And has something for everyone who has ever loved the concept of Transformers.

Transformers: The Movie (1986), sad to say, was produced with marketing largely in mind. The deaths of such notable characters like Brawn, Iron Hide, Prowl, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Starscream (who eventually assumes a “spirit form” in the season following the events of Transformers: The Movie (1986)), and Optimus Prime (who turns up on several occasions in the succeeding season) paved the way for a new line of Autobots and Decepticons to fill up many a toy shelves. (Isn’t it funny? No one ever died in the television show. Now in the movie, one shot–BAM!–they’re dead.)

It has also been reported that fans worldwide were distraught by the death of Prime and one fan in particular, even refused to leave the confines of his room for two whole weeks!

Despite all of that, Transformers: The Movie (1986) is still a great movie. It has a great soundtrack. And certainly defines a generation.

—————-
Now playing: Lion – The Transformers (Theme)
via FoxyTunes

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” – Tortoise Master Oogway

This feature stars a seemingly displaced noodle-serving Giant Panda named Po (voiced by Jack Black)

In the Valley of Peace where bunnies, piggies and geese are in abundance—Po (voiced by Jack Black), a seemingly displaced noodle-serving Giant Panda dreams big as he aspires to fight side-by-side with the famed Furious Five—comprised of Master Tigress (A South China Tiger) (voiced by Angelina Jolie), Master Mantis (voiced by Seth Rogen), Master Viper (voiced by Lucy Liu), Master Crane (A Red-crowned Crane) (voiced by David Cross), and Master Monkey (A Gee’s Golden Langur) (voiced by the legendary Jackie Chan).

Not long after, a formal ceremony is held high atop the Jade Temple in order to select the mighty Dragon Warrior who is set to do battle with the consumed snow leopard named Tai Lung (voiced by Ian McShane). The Furious Five gather at the Temple’s courtyard and await Master Oogway’s (Randall Duk Kim) blessing only to have a seemingly inept Panda fall from the sky—effectively disrupting the ceremony. But Master Oogway sees wisdom in this turn of events and selects Po as the Dragon Warrior citing that, “there are no accidents” to his livid student and old friend Master Shifu (A Red Panda) (voiced by Dustin Hoffman).

With all the hype surrounding this “sacred Dragon Scroll,” I thought to myself, “What if there’s nothing in it?”

Tasked with training the Dragon Warrior, an unconvinced Master Shifu makes the road difficult for Po until he waivers on his traditional teaching methods and adapts to more unconventional ones—namely those that would pique Po’s stomach. Over time, Po learns Master Shifu’s lessons well and is bestowed the sacred Dragon Scroll which was said to give the Dragon Warrior the power necessary to defeat his or her adversary (Prior to this scene in the movie, with all the hype surrounding this “sacred Dragon Scroll,” I thought to myself, “What if there’s nothing in it?”)

And sure enough, as Po gazed into the contents of the sacred Dragon Scroll, all he could see was his own reflection.

The famed Furious Five

Faced with these turn of events, Master Shifu instructs Po and The Five to assist in the evacuation of the townsfolk, as he was to stay and face the wrath of his former protégé Tai Lung.

As Po assists in the Valley of Peace evacuation, he returns to his father’s noodle shop wherein Mr. Ping (voiced by James Hong) attempts to cheer up his son by disclosing the secret ingredient to his family’s noodle soup recipe—which turned out to be nothing as the true secret ingredient comes from the perception that it is special.

Po suddenly realizes the similarities between the Dragon Scroll and his father’s secret then rushes to the aid of Master Shifu who is overpowered by “feeling of guilt and responsibility” as he battles Tai Lung.

Po and Tai Lung square off and battle across the Valley of Peace (ironic, isn’t it?) until Tai Lung gains possession and reads the contents of the Dragon Scroll to which he is unable to comprehend its symbolism that ultimately leads to his defeat at the hands of Po’s “Wuxi Finger Hold.”

In the end, Po dream comes to fruition as The Furious Five become Six with the Giant Panda being accorded the title of Master.

Kung Fu Panda is certainly a great 92-minute animated feature that is replete in Jungian Archetypes (e.g., The “shadow” or “dark side” of Tai Lung, etc.) as well as quality learning’s that not only children, but also the whole family can take something from.

—————-
Now playing: Jamiroquai – Space Cowboy (Stoned Again)
via FoxyTunes