Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm is a film that a lot of fans remember fondly, being the first theatrical release from DC that was directly related to Batman: The Animated Series. However, fans would be shocked to know that despite the solid premise that the film had and its status as a classic, the original plans for the film were very different.
Speaking with The Pitch, one of the writers of the film, Alan Burnett, who was the script supervisor for Batman: The Animated Series, talked about the initial ideas for the film. He also mentioned what was being thought about the film before it was released in theatres.
The film was originally expected to be a video release
Despite the fact that it is a classic now, there was a lot about the film that initially did not seem to have the makings of an iconic entry in the Batman IP. To begin with, the film was never considered for a theatrical release, but that changed once a studio exec had a look at the opening, which was completely computer-animated. Speaking to The Pitch, Alan Burnett said:
I’ll tell you the truth because I wrote the story and I liked the story and it was a group effort with all the writers on staff. It was originally, it was supposed to be a video for home.
The film was expected to be released directly to TV, but the idea was radically changed when an exec had a look at the work that was done. Burnett further said:
Then one day an executive came to our office from the lot and was looking at some of what we were doing. In particular, he was looking at the opening credits, which were all computerized, which was a very new look back in 1992. And he said, you know, “Why don’t we release this as a movie?”
The film then got a theatrical release, but there were still issues that the studio failed to see coming. It was still considerable distance away from becoming the classic that it eventually did.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm did not have a great theatrical run
The theatrical run for Batman: Mask of the Phantasm did not get much praise. The film only took off after the home release, which was led by some critically rich reviews for the home release. Burnett said:
The rest of the show has no computer graphics in it at all, but he didn’t know that and it became a movie. It didn’t do great. Here in Los Angeles, it only played in the afternoon. It didn’t play in the evening, and it had its week and a half in the theaters and then it went away.
We didn’t get the greatest reviews, either. It wasn’t until a year later that Siskel and Ebert reviewed the film as a DVD. They liked it a lot and suddenly, I think that’s when critical opinion changed–or people who liked it finally said they liked it , anyway. That was a bit of a turning point and made me feel good.
The film would not end up doing well in the theatres until it got a glowing review for its home release. It is now unanimously considered one of the best Batman media to come out, praised by fans and critics alike. The film still ranks among some of the best content that DC has put out, animated or not.
