I’m often asked which Batman film is my favorite and which Batman films are regulars in my rotation.
Luckily, I own every single Batman film — animated and live-action — every made; including the two 1940s Columbia serials.
Which ones do I consistently watch? Well, I came up with 10 and then ranked ’em. If it’s not on this list, it doesn’t mean that I don’t ever watch them (except for BvS and JUSTICE LEAGUE — I’ll never watch those two again), I simply don’t view them as much as the ones you’ll see below.
So, in honor of BOF’s 20th anniversary — only 2 months left to celebrate — here’s my list!
RUNNERS-UP
SCOOBY DOO AND BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (2018), BATMAN: YEAR ONE (2011), BATMAN: RETURN OF THE CAPED CRUSADERS ()
BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD AND SCOOBY DOO is a relatively new animated Batman film, but there’s a good chance that it will break into my top 10 soon. Batman (voiced by Diedrich Bader) from the B:TBATB universe teaming up with Scooby Doo and the gang — how could you not love it?!
As far as BATMAN: YEAR ONE, the comic book is one of my very favorite Batman stories, so I’ll pop this film in the ‘ol Blu-ray player occasionally as it’s a pretty darn good straight-up adaption of that classic Batman comic.
Adam West voicing Batman in his second to last performance as the character who made him famous…and me a Batman fan for life. Love it!
THE BOTTOM 5 (10 thru 6)
10) BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS (2012, 2013)
Love the book, the 2-part (which can also be found as one complete movie) animated film based on it is excellent as well. Peter Weller voicing the 55-ish year old Bruce Wayne/Batman is fantastic!
9) BATMAN: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT (2018)
The graphic novel — which was the first ELSEWORLDS comic book published by DC — is a classic. What’s great about the animated film is that it is not a straight-up adaptation like YEAR ONE and THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS.
Essentially, they took the premise of the comic book — Batman vs. Jack the Ripper in Victorian Era Gotham City — and created a completely new story.
For a long time, I lobbied for an animated film based on GBG. I was happy when it was announced and the movie didn’t disappoint!
8) BATMAN FOREVER (1995)
Lest we forget, BATMAN FOREVER was a huge hit back in 1995. In the 24+ years since its release, it is unfairly lopped together with its sequel, 1997’s BATMAN & ROBIN.
For me, it was a palette-cleanser for 1992’s BATMAN RETURNS. But it remains fond to me today because it was the first Batman film that I watched — many times — with my children when they were kids.
7) BATMAN (1966)
Adam West was my first Batman and the 1966 film in which he starred as The Caped Crusader was the first Batman film I ever saw. Of course, in the late 1960s, it was the only Batman film that existed (excluding the 40s serials, of course).
6) BATMAN (1989)
To this day BATMAN ’89 is not only the most important Batman film, but it’s one of the most important films of the comic book/superhero movie genre.
I love this movie and I’m thankful that I was around — and old enough — to experience the Batmania surrounding this film’s release firsthand.
I’ve watched B89 more than any other Bat-Film to date. Hell, I went through two DVD’s of it back in the day due to my likely hundreds of viewings!
Alright BOF’ers, there’s number 10 thru 6 — along with two runners-up.
Click Here For Part 2!
What are your most-watched Batman movies? Talk about it in the comments section below! – Bill “Jett” Ramey