Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018)

[Silver Nemesis]

It's good to see Bader's Batman back in action. I've always thought The Brave and the Bold was the Caped Crusader's most underrated animated series. With any luck this new movie might pave the way for more films set in that universe.

[thecolorsblend]

I'll be there with bells on. TB&TB is awesome.

[thecolorsblend]

Finally got around to watching this tonight. The movie lives up to everything TB&TB and Scooby Doo have always been. Lots of fun, enough surrealism to to service the tone of those old Scooby Doo cartoons and real heart.

There are moments when the movie does seem to be trying a little too hard. "Outrageous" has basically worn out its welcome now.

But on the whole, it's a fun and entertaining flick. Better than everything I've heard about Gotham By Gaslight, that's for sure.

As a general note, my main gripe with TB&TB is the premise of the show itself, oddly enough. I REALLY love the 50'ish vibe the series operates in. That's a sadly overlooked era of Batman if you ask me. And I would've preferred a show that spotlights a 50's Batman more prominently.

TB&TB, however, is an ensemble piece and it was meant to be an ensemble piece. Taken on its own merits, it's wonderful and I don't have a negative thing to say about it.

But my inner Batman fanboy wants a show where HE is the sole (or at least the primary) focus and all those teamups water that down a bit too much.

Still, the series as a whole and this movie in particular are tons of fun. Highly enjoyable and definitely recommended.

[Silver Nemesis]

Still, the series as a whole and this movie in particular are tons of fun. Highly enjoyable and definitely recommended.

Agreed. I finally watched it last week and really enjoyed it.

The animation is superior to any other recent DCAU film and the voice acting's great. There's an entertaining mystery plot at the heart of the story, though the identity of the villains is pretty obvious to anyone familiar with Batman's gallery of rogues. I figured out who the bad guys were early on, but it was still fun seeing the action and comedy play out. The film also gets bonus points for including the dehydration device from Batman: The Movie (1966).

If you're averse to the lighter versions of Batman, then you're best off skipping this. But if you like the funnier Silver Age-vintage takes on the Caped Crusader, and in particular the Batman: The Brave & the Bold animated series, then it's well worth seeing. It's ten times better than the Hush movie.

[The Dark Knight]

I haven't seen this yet, but I will. Bader is the best voice actor alongside Conroy.

TBATB is also the best animated series alongside BTAS/Beyond.

[Silver Nemesis]

I haven't seen this yet, but I will. Bader is the best voice actor alongside Conroy.

TBATB is also the best animated series alongside BTAS/Beyond.

Correct on all counts. Bader's Batman is the spiritual heir to West's. And The Brave & the Bold animated series ranks amongst my top three favourite Batman cartoons, along with B:TAS and Batman Beyond.

I wish DC was still printing The Brave & the Bold tie-in comic. I used to collect it back when the show was on the air, and while it was definitely geared towards a younger readership it was still very entertaining. What other modern Batman comic would feature a story with Egghead as the main villain?

The B:TBATB videogame was fun too. It wasn't on the same level as the Arkham series, and it was a bit too easy, but it successfully married the humour of the TV show with fast intuitive gameplay, colourful cell-shaded graphics and an impressive roster of playable characters.

I'm hoping the B:TBATB Scooby-Doo film is a sign that Warner Bros has plans for this particular version of Batman. I'd love to see another animated film in the future, plus some more comics and a new game for the Switch.

[The Dark Knight]

The bumping of this thread compelled me to see the movie, and I did so yesterday.

As I expected, it was a good time and it also makes you feel good.

Bader's Batman has a lot of heart and soul that really endears me to his incarnation, and I feel the ensemble format strengthens that. This Batman is a wise leader and the connections he makes are built on respect. However he still manages to maintain his secretive, independent personality. The heroes that join him become an extension of his utility belt, so from my perspective he remains the focus.

The Scooby Gang are pretty much a perfect fit for TBATB. They're both under the Warner Bros. banner and deal in detective mysteries. The gang being young kids also lends something to the partnership given Batman's past relationships with Robin and Batgirl.

I liked that the Riddler was at the crux of the story. He was the logical choice for a film of this nature. I'll have to purchase TBATB seasons on Blu-ray, because they absolutely are worth having in the collection.

[Silver Nemesis]

I'm glad you enjoyed it, TDK. One of the reasons these crossovers work for me, besides Batman's proclivity towards teenaged sidekicks and the fact both IPs revolve around spooky mystery stories, is that they hark back to the old Ace the Bat-Hound comics of the 1950s. I was glad they referenced Ace in this movie and even had Scooby don his cowl.

I've been trying to compile a list of all the Batman/Scooby-Doo crossovers over the years. Here's what I've got so far.

The first time they met was in two episodes of The New Scooby-Doo Movies – 'The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair' and 'The Caped Crusader Caper'' – in which the Hanna-Barbera Batman and Robin teamed up with Mystery Inc. to fight Penguin and Joker. These episodes were released on DVD years ago and we have an old thread about them here: https://www.batman-online.com/forum/index.php?topic=2284.0 They're also included as bonus features on The DVD of The Brave and the Bold crossover movie.

Shaggy makes a cameo in Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin (1997) in the form of graffiti during the bike race.

The teaser trailer for the 2002 Scooby-Doo movie references Elfman's Batman theme and has some distinctly Burton-esque visuals. I remember seeing this in the cinema when I went to see the first Harry Potter movie in 2001, and at first it totally fooled me. I thought it was a real trailer for Batman 5.

The next time they met was in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode 'Bat-Mite Presents: Batman's Strangest Cases!' (season 2 episode 25). This was clearly meant to be the Hanna-Barbera Batman and Robin from their earlier crossovers.

Batman and Robin also co-starred in numerous issues of the Scooby-Doo! Team Up comic, starting in 2013. Tonally, these are very similar to The Brave and the Bold.

In issues 4 and 5 Scooby gets to team up with Ace and become the new canine Robin. Together they fight Scarecrow (they're both immune to his fear gas) and at one point parody The Dark Knight Returns.

The Brave and the Bold crossover movie was released in 2018.

Batman next encountered Scooby in an October 2019 episode of Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? titled 'What a Night, for a Dark Knight!'

I haven't seen this yet, but I found a clip on YouTube. Batman and the Joker are voiced by Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, but I'm not sure if they're meant to be the same DCAU versions from Batman: The Animated Series.

Apparently the Lego universe versions of Batman and Scooby-Doo have also referenced one another a few times.

If anyone can find any other examples of the two franchises crossing over or referencing one another, by all means add them to this thread.

[The Dark Knight]

TBATB and the 60s show remind audiences that while Batman projects a dark persona, deep down he's a good man. The tone is lighter but when you look at it, NOTHING about the character is compromised. However, certain concepts work a lot easier here in comparison to the Burton or Nolanverse, which is why we always need to have the lighter side.

Bader's Batman has a mythic reputation in this series. If he's the world's greatest detective, his legacy could and should be imparting those skills onto others. That's what Robin is about, so expanding that concept to the Scooby gang, or any other suitable potentials, is really cool to me. It's a good guy version of the Court of Owls with a secret headquarters. I'm not a fan of blowing up the balloon to that extent in darker interpretations, but here? Go for it.