When people think of Batman cartoons, they often think of Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, The Batman and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. However, those weren't the first cartoon shows to star Batman. Filmation, the studio that would go on to do the classic He-Man and She-Ra cartoons, have the honor of being the first studio to do Batman cartoons.
The first Batman show was the classic 1966 series that was created by William Dozier and starred Adam West and Burt Ward as the Dynamic Duo. In 1968, the show's last season aired. However, in that same year, the very first Batman cartoon show came out. Filmation's The Adventures of Batman was a series of cartoons that consisted of shorter stories starring Batman, Robin, Batgirl and the classic gallery of villains. The show took lots on inspiration from the classic comics and the William Dozier series. The show had lots of creative stories and fun moments. The show had 17 episodes. Each episode would consist of two stories.
The Voice Cast of The Adventures of Batman:
Olan Soule as Batman and Alfred
Casey Kasem as Robin and Chief O'Hara
Jane Webb as Batgirl and Catwoman
Ted Knight as the Narrator, Commissioner Gordon and a majority of the male villains
Larry Storch as the Joker
Additional Information:
This was the first show to use the Scarecrow, because he never appeared in the William Dozier series.
Casey Kasem started voicing Robin shortly before beginning his long career of voicing Shaggy in Scooby-Doo.
Olan Soule and Casey Kasem returned to voice the Dynamic Duo in The New Scooby-Doo Movies and Super Friends.
Some sources have credited Larry Storch as the Joker, but other sources have credited Ted Knight.
The show mostly used villains from the William Dozier series, including Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, Mr. Freeze and Mad Hatter. However, the show created Simon the Pieman.
In 1977, Filmation did a second Batman series. This series was called The New Adventures of Batman. This show brought in Bat-Mite as part of the main cast. Bat-Mite was a supporting character from the comics. He was a Batman fanboy from another dimension. He always tried to help the Dynamic Duo, but he often got in the way. This show became notable for bringing back Adam West and Burt Ward as the Dynamic Duo. The show had sixteen episodes.
The Voice Cast of The New Adventures of Batman:
Adam West as Batman
Burt Ward as Robin
Lou Scheimer as Bat-Mite and the Batcomputer
Melendy Britt as Batgirl and Catwoman
Lennie Weinrib as Commissioner Gordon and all of the male villains
Additional Information:
This is the only Batman show that Alfred didn't appear in.
Even though Riddler appeared in the show's intro, he never appeared in the show. This was because his inclusion in Super Friends made him off-limits for this show.
This was the first Batman show to use Clayface.
Melendy Britt later went on to voice She-Ra in She-Ra: Princess of Power.
This show created various new villains, including Zarbor, Sweet Tooth and Professor Bubbles.
The first Batman show was the classic 1966 series that was created by William Dozier and starred Adam West and Burt Ward as the Dynamic Duo. In 1968, the show's last season aired. However, in that same year, the very first Batman cartoon show came out. Filmation's The Adventures of Batman was a series of cartoons that consisted of shorter stories starring Batman, Robin, Batgirl and the classic gallery of villains. The show took lots on inspiration from the classic comics and the William Dozier series. The show had lots of creative stories and fun moments. The show had 17 episodes. Each episode would consist of two stories.
The Voice Cast of The Adventures of Batman:
Olan Soule as Batman and Alfred
Casey Kasem as Robin and Chief O'Hara
Jane Webb as Batgirl and Catwoman
Ted Knight as the Narrator, Commissioner Gordon and a majority of the male villains
Larry Storch as the Joker
Additional Information:
This was the first show to use the Scarecrow, because he never appeared in the William Dozier series.
Casey Kasem started voicing Robin shortly before beginning his long career of voicing Shaggy in Scooby-Doo.
Olan Soule and Casey Kasem returned to voice the Dynamic Duo in The New Scooby-Doo Movies and Super Friends.
Some sources have credited Larry Storch as the Joker, but other sources have credited Ted Knight.
The show mostly used villains from the William Dozier series, including Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, Mr. Freeze and Mad Hatter. However, the show created Simon the Pieman.
In 1977, Filmation did a second Batman series. This series was called The New Adventures of Batman. This show brought in Bat-Mite as part of the main cast. Bat-Mite was a supporting character from the comics. He was a Batman fanboy from another dimension. He always tried to help the Dynamic Duo, but he often got in the way. This show became notable for bringing back Adam West and Burt Ward as the Dynamic Duo. The show had sixteen episodes.
The Voice Cast of The New Adventures of Batman:
Adam West as Batman
Burt Ward as Robin
Lou Scheimer as Bat-Mite and the Batcomputer
Melendy Britt as Batgirl and Catwoman
Lennie Weinrib as Commissioner Gordon and all of the male villains
Additional Information:
This is the only Batman show that Alfred didn't appear in.
Even though Riddler appeared in the show's intro, he never appeared in the show. This was because his inclusion in Super Friends made him off-limits for this show.
This was the first Batman show to use Clayface.
Melendy Britt later went on to voice She-Ra in She-Ra: Princess of Power.
This show created various new villains, including Zarbor, Sweet Tooth and Professor Bubbles.
