Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Dirs. Eric Radomski, Bruce Timm. 1993, 76 mins. 35mm. With the voices of Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Dana Delany, Hart Bochner, Stacy Keach, Abe Vigoda, Dick Miller, John P. Ryan, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Bob Hastings, Robert Costanzo. Perhaps the most faithful transposition of the Batman character from comic book to film, this animated film was a feature-length expansion of Batman: The Animated Series following its successful first season in 1992. Just a few years into his nightly watch, the dark knight discovers that an even spookier vigilante, known only as the Phantasm, has begun stalking Gotham’s underworld on a deadly quest for revenge. Retaining all the most beloved aspects of the postmodern television show—from Radomski’s Art Deco backgrounds, inspired by the Fleischer Superman cartoons, to Timm’s expressionist extension of Hanna–Barbera character design, to the series’ radio-worthy ensemble, led by Conroy and Hamill as Batman and Joker, respectively—the film presents a noir tale of forsaken love and lost time that remains at once a retro delight and a classic of its own time. 

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / free for MoMI members at the Senior/Student level and above. Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.