49-3 - Batman: The Movie

The Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Catwoman have joined forces, formed an alliance called the United Underworld, acquired a device that can reduce human beings to dust and are planning to use it on the United Nations Security Council. Batman has a spray can that repels sharks. This is 90 minutes of pure joy.

This week on Toonami Absolution, Alyx, Jon, and Sam cover Batman: The Movie (1966), the theatrical film based on the Adam West television series, which holds the title of the first full-length Batman film ever made.

Batman deduces through an elaborate chain of wordplay that his four greatest villains must be working together simultaneously. The United Underworld. As part of this plan, Catwoman, played here by Lee Meriwether in place of Julie Newmar, disguises herself as Soviet journalist Kitayna Ireyna Tatanya Kerenska Alisoff, "Kitka" to her friends, seduces Bruce Wayne as part of a plan to lure Batman into a trap. Naturally, comedic chaos ensues, from Riddler and Penguin being unable to stand each other, to Batman being unable to get rid of a bomb.

It is delightfully absurd and an utter joy to watch.

We discuss why the 1966 film is so fun, why you should watch Batman 1966, and dig into the movie’s weird behind-the-scenes stories.

🔔 Subscribe for our ongoing watch-through of the DC Animated Universe and the Batman live-action legacy!

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Toonami Absolution is a weekly podcast where Alyx, Jon, and Sam revisit the Toonami and Adult Swim shows that made them, and you, you.

From the block's early days with shows like Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and Transformers: Beast Wars to the imported anime that made Toonami and Adult Swim appointment television for a generation of kids, such as Cowboy Bebop, Sailor Moon, and Dragon Ball.

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