Bruce Timm's Animated Batman Short For 75th Anniversary

Bruce Timm, one of the legendary animators responsible for the style of Batman: The Animated Series, released this short golden age Batman adventure, Batman: Strange Days, in April to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the creation of the character. Timm and Eric Radomski were responsible for setting the original Batman cartoon's film noir tone, creating a Gotham that was modern yet also felt like an homage to Bogart's era. The show was notorious for being more mature than other cartoons of the day, depicting real violence and realistic firearms, and featuring backgrounds painted with light colours on black paper rather than the standard dark on light.

Timm's new short celebrates the bygone era of Batman's origins. Depicted in the sepia-tinged monochrome of the 1930s, Batman fights to rescue a damsel from the clutches of Hugo Strange and Solomon Grundy. The video is quick and glorious, with well-choreographed fighting and dramatic score. Though the original Animated Series has been off the air for over 15 years, it's a real treat to have this reminder of what made the original series so special.