The disappointment that comes from seeing a great film do poorly at the box office almost certainly never goes away. One of the most important Batman storytellers of all time, Bruce Timm, does not seem to understand how good Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is.
Timm, who produced Batman: The Animated Series and co-directed Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, discussed how much he “cringe[s]” at the beloved animated 1993 Batman flick in an interview from last year. He noted that while the 1990s were a major decade for animation in motion pictures, the Kevin Conroy starrer was initially intended to be a television special.
For Timm, it seems as though “ten percent” of the movie was missing. It is possible that he will always watch the best possible cut of the movie. However, the version that audiences saw is among the greatest Batman films ever, thanks in large part to the exceptional contributions that Matt Reeves and Christopher Nolan made to the canon.
Bruce Timm’s Confession About Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Bruce Timm, 63, spoke with Empire (via CBR), and explained how Batman: Mask of the Phantasm began as a small-screen special about Bruce Wayne’s metamorphosis into the Dark Knight. While the project was still in pre-production, Warner Bros. executives requested a theatrical release, which put Timm and his team in a difficult situation.
Timm recalled:
“[Co-producer and co-director] Eric Radomski and I were in Japan, meeting with one of the animation studios that worked on the movie. We got the word that [the studio] officially wanted to make it a theatrical release while we were literally handing out the storyboards to the animators. It had all been formatted for the old-school TV ratio, which was practically a square. It was like, ‘What the heck are we going to do?’”
Timm was not happy with Batman: Mask of the Phantasm’s outcome, despite having only eight months to finish it and a $6 million budget—much less than a typical Disney animated film, for example. The Superman: The Animated Series producer confessed:
“When I see it, I just cringe. It’s, like, 90 percent there. I just wish I had that last ten percent!”
Based on Mike W. Barr’s 1987 miniseries Batman: Year Two, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm saw Batman (Kevin Conroy) reunited with his former love, Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany), while Bruce Wayne faced off against a murderous vigilante who was pursuing Gotham City’s crime bosses.
The Timeless Appeal of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
With a little over $5 million in domestic sales, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm made its release in 1993 (see Box Office Mozo). Yet, critics and Batman enthusiasts alike praised it later for its sophisticated tone and thorough re-telling of the origin story. Having said that, it is considered by some to be the best Caped Crusader film adaptation.
Critics have rated it 7.1 out of 10, with an 83% score on Rotten Tomatoes, being positive. According to Empire, it was the “best cartoon feature” of 1993 and had a better plot than Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns.
The Art Deco noir design was impressive, as noted by TV Guide Magazine. Overall, The Washington Post gave high marks to the animation, design, dialogue, and plot. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was listed by IGN in 2010 as the twenty-fifth greatest animated movie ever made.
Also, it was ranked 47th out of 50 animated films by Total Film in its 2011 list of the best animated movies ever made. Again, the late Kevin Conroy’s performance elevates the film beyond the scenes that made Bruce Timm “cringe”.
Well, we can rightfully say that the co-director of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is the only person who is permitted to view the film’s shortcomings. To all others, however, it represents the pinnacle of the franchise and explains why Batman has endured for more than 80 years of storytelling.
So, whether you love it or cringe at it, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm remains a fascinating and intricate part of the Batman lore that attracts the attention of both creators and fans alike.
Stream Batman: Mask of the Phantasm on Apple TV.
