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Guides - Releases - DVD - The Complete Third Season




Menus & Discs




 
Announce Date: 03/14/12
Street Date: 06/19/12
Closed Captioning: Yes
MSRP: $19.97
Packaging Type: Eco Amaray Case
Subformat: Dual Disc
Media Quantity: 2
Disc Configuration: 1) 9-Dual Layer 2) 9-Dual Layer
Sound Track Language: English
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (16x9)
Sound Quality: English (Dolby Stereo 2.0)
Subtitles: English
Episodes Included:
1. Joker: The Vile and The Villainous!
2. Shadow of the Bat!
3. Night of the Batmen!
4. Scorn of the Star Sapphire!
5. Time Out for Vengeance!
6. Sword of Atom!
7. Triumvirate of Terror!
8. Bold Beginnings!
9. Powerless!
10. Crisis: 22,300 Miles Above the Earth
11. Four Star Spectacular!
12. Mitefall!

Special Features:
• Digital Comic
• Episode: Mask of the Matches Malone!
• Trailers
 
Synopsis: Join the Caped Crusader and a wealth of DC’s finest as they team up to battle injustice in the third and final season of this cutting-edge series! Evil never sleeps in these diabolical schemes plotted by the world’s most infamous criminals, including The Joker, Lex Luthor, Equinox and Ra’s Al Ghul! Fortunately, Batman and his many allies, including Superman, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Wonder Woman, are always up for the challenge! Circle this globe and others, and even travel through time, in these 12 action-packed, fun-filled episodes!

Review (by James Harvey)
Batman: The Brave and The Bold is back for a final round of thrilling adventures and genuine laughs! That’s right – the final collection of Batman: The Brave and The Bold episodes is here, and here we get arguably some of the biggest adventures of the entire series. The Joker takes over for one, the DC Trinity come into focus for another, Batman becomes a real creature of the night in a creepy corker, and we zip back to Batman’s early days for a real treat, among many other assorted tales. There’s a great mix of episodes here, but each one feels bigger and better than what’s come before, the creative team taking huge advantage of knowing the end is nigh, and running with it as a result. Courtesy of Warner Home Video, we get to see the entire third season of Batman: The Brave and The Bold’s third season, and each one is a solid keeper!

Right away, I’m going to jump to the final episode on this collection – “Mitefall.” The series finale episode. It goes without saying that “Mitefall” is arguably the best episode of the series, and a true hallmark in Batman animation. The episode stands tall alongside other great animated Bat-tales as just an emotional powerhouse, one that will undoubtedly leave you a little choked up at the end. There are piles and piles of great episodes on this two-disc collection, but “Mitefall” is easily the best of the set.

I know I’m sounding like a broken record, but Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a show that, without fail, is always interesting. It’s fascinating to see how an episode unfolds because, honestly, sometimes things are just so unpredictable. Even the weaker episodes end up being something a little special. And with these included episodes, things do get ratcheted up a couple noticed. Producer James Tucker told me in an earlier interview that, since the creative knew these would be the final episodes of the series, they went ahead and basically did what they wanted. No real plan - just fun. They were able to bring in more A-list characters to mix in with the others, and take a few chances with the storytelling. “Four-Star Spectacular” is a great example of the show turning its format completely on its head! This great Bat-toon always finds a way to keep viewers engaged, whether it’s thanks to some truly crazy plot points or just fun takes on the characters.

Personal highlights for this release include the aforementioned “Mitefall!,” “Shadow of the Bat!,” “Night of the Batmen!,” “Bold Beginnings!,” “Time Out for Vengeance!,” and “Triumvirate of Terror!,” In all honesty, every episode here is basically a winner, but these six listed above are the episodes I jumped to first when breaking open this two-disc DVD collection for the first time. “Shadow of the Bat!” takes Batman into Vampire territory for an effectively creepy tale, and features countless homages to assorted Batman artists and horror movies. “Night of the Batmen!,” an adaptation of a story from the spin-off Batman: The Brave and the Bold comic series, brings a pile of heroes under the cowl for this fun tale. “Bold Beginnings!” brings us back to Batman’s early days, showing us his first team up with the like of Green Arrow, Aquaman, and Plastic Man. “Time Out for Vengeance!” is a fun time-travelling jaunt inspired by some of Grant Morrison’s recent work on the Batman comic titles. Lastly, “Triumvirate of Terror!” gives us the big three fighting side by side – Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman – and you just can’t beat that! Again, every episode on this collection is worth checking out, but these are some of my favorites.

Episodes featured in this collection include “Joker: The Vile and The Villainous!,” “Shadow of the Bat!,” “Night of the Batmen!,” “Scorn of the Star Sapphire!,” “Time Out for Vengeance!,” “Sword of Atom!,” “Triumvirate of Terror!,” “Bold Beginnings!,” “Powerless!,” “Crisis: 22,300 Miles Above the Earth!,” “Four Star Spectacular!,” and “Mitefall!”

It’s worth noting the episode “The Mask of Matches Malone” is also included as a special bonus feature, which I’ll touch on below. Collecting the final episodes of the absolutely stellar animated series, Batman: The Brave and The Bold - The Complete Season Three shows us this series may have truly saved the best for last. There's plenty of action, some flat-out hilarious moments, solid dialogue, and plenty of in-jokes and nods for even the most die-hard Bat-fan to enjoy. Batman: The Brave and The Bold brings together so many different influences, creating a truly unique Batman experiences that pays homage to pretty much every interpretation of the character possible. The basis might be Silver Age fun, but barely any era is left untouched here, and this collection is proof of that. There's no question this cartoon can stand alongside the likes of Batman: The Animated Series as one of the best animated interpretations of our beloved Caped Crusader. While this may be the last collection for the show, it is never too late to start checking out what fans are talking about! Without a doubt, Batman: The Brave and The Bold is Highly Recommended. Not only is it a great Batman cartoon, it's just a great show - period. Go out and pick it up already!

The DVD: Batman: The Brave and The Bold – The Complete Season Three arrives in the standard two-disc Eco Amaray case. The case is housed in a nice cardboard slipcover, with a single “We Can Be Heroes” insert. The disc art is pretty bare – a couple house pictures of Batman and Green Lantern done in a very minimal fashion . The menus are nearly identical to the those used in the previous Batman: The Brave and The Bold DVD releases, though Warner’s new standard button icons has snuck in (and they ... don’t look good) .

The audio/video quality here is actually pretty solid. Audio is a standard English Stereo mix and the video presentation is an anamorphic widescreen encode, resulting in a surprisingly stunning image. This is as top-notch as standard definition can get, with any imperfections nearly impossible to catch. True, there is some color banding, but that seems to come from the actual episodes and not the transfer quality. While not as good as the HD-versions of these episodes, naturally, what we get here on DVD is nothing to scoff at.

Now, unlike previous releases, we actually get some substantial bonus features here. We get some trailers, a Batman: The Brave and The Bold digital comic, and ... a bonus episode! After a long wait, the somewhat controversial Batman: The Brave and The Bold episode “The Mask of Matches Malone!” is finally here! Aired pretty much worldwide, “The Mask of Matches Malone!” was never broadcast stateside on Cartoon Network due to a brief sexual innuendo in the episode’s musical number. The apparently offending footage was even removed and reanimated, but still ... never aired. “The Mask of Matches Malone!” actually aired unedited internationally in countless markets with the original animation intact. And now, after all this controversy, the episode is now available on home video. The version here is the edited version with the revised animation. Thankfully, the episode is a real whip-smart tale! It’s a fun little gem that features a stunning amount of death, a great musical number, and a fun plot. A great episode that holds up to some of Batman: The Brave and The Bold’s best! Bizarrely, the episode is presented in fullscreen, which ... baffles the mind.

Overall, it’s a good collection that falls in line with all the others that came before. As nice as it would be to get a massive release for this series, I sincerely doubt we ever will, so I recommend fans plunk down $15 bucks or so to pick up this collection (and any others they may be missing). Batman: The Brave and the Bold – Complete Season Three is a fun, adventurous (and sometimes truly heartfelt) wrap up to an excellent animated series. There’s a solid helping of episodes, some actual bonus content, and a great standard definition presentation – it’s just a good DVD release all around! This series has so much going on for it, and so many great nods for comic fans and Bat-fans alike. Batman: The Brave and the Bold – Complete Season Three is an absolute no-brainer to Highly Recommend and should definitely be sought out by fans. Complete your collection and do not miss out!

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