I am such a super hero nerd. It doesn’t matter if it’s DC or Marvel, movie or TV show I am there to watch it. If it has roots in the comic book world, I am there to watch it and take it in. I didn’t read a lot of comic books growing up. Once the DC Universe streaming service became a thing, I knew I had to sign up and get caught up on everything I missed. I first got into DC when I periodically watched the Batman: The Animated Series (1992). It wasn’t until the movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker that I was hooked. I will be watching, reviewing and ranking every DC animated movie starting with these first five films aired between 1993 – 2005. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) 1 hr 17m ***** Starring: Kevin Conroy, Dana Delany, Mark Hamill Fantastic vocal performances from all actors/actresses. Told a compelling story that had great pacing and connected Bruce’s past with the current storyline beautifully. Joker didn’t make an appearance until the start of the third act while also giving a brief look into his past. Highly recommend. The Batman Superman Movie: World’s Finest (1997)*****

Starring: Kevin Conroy, Clancy Brown, Dana Delany If you are a fan of the Batman and Superman Animated Series then this first crossover movie is a gem. The Joker and Harley Quinn head off to Metropolis to work with Lex Luthor to take down Superman. This movie serves as the first meeting between the two iconic superheroes and establishes their mutual respect for each other. The animation is continued right out of the series and it was just as fun. Getting to see the two worlds of Gotham and Metropolis mesh together was interesting as you also start to see similarities. I always had a slight pause when it came to the second rendition of the Joker, that is in this film. To me, one of the more imposing traits of the Joker is his eyes and his intense glare. Taking that out and blackening his eyes just makes me wonder if there is something wrong with him health wise. Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero (1998) 1hr 10m ***** Starring: Kevin Conroy, Michael Ansara, Mary Kay Bergman This movie is 1b (Mask of the Phantasm being 1a.) The storytelling was smooth, complete and coherent. Mr. Freeze was always one of those villains you hated to root for because he was always trying to save his wife. The intro to the movie really drew me in as the music emulated that of 1989’s The Batman scored by Danny Elfman. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000) 1hr 16 m ***** Starring: Will Friedle, Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamil This movie was the perfect connector from the animated series to the futuristic Batman Beyond series. To me, Batman Beyond had some good original villains but the episodes that had connectors to the first couple seasons were always my favorite. The animation is phenomenal and helps usher in a new era of Batman. Batman: Mystery Of the Batwoman (2003) 1hr 20m * Starring: Kevin Conroy, Kimberly Brooks, Kelly Ripa The only good aspect of this movie was the animation. The storyline isn’t explained well at all and the film just jumps right in the middle. The two subplots of the mystery of Batwoman and the reason for them existing barely crosses and when they do, it’s common to any batman episode. The Batman vs. Dracula (2005) 1hr 23m *** Starring: Rino Romano, Tara Strong, Kevin Michael Richardson I have an issue more with this series vs the storyline. The storyline works if you just want to watch a batman halloween movie with cheesy one liners. The series had a strong first two seasons but the last season lost me. They made the rogue villains seem like they know martial arts when that goes against what previous Batman series has presented their villains fighting styles.