The 8 best Batman movies in the DC animated universe to watch

With the anticipation for Matt Reeves’ The Batman, the most recent cinematic incarnation of the Darkish Knight starring Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, and Paul Dano, hovering to a pitch within the lead as much as the movie’s March 4 premiere, bat-fever is at an all-time excessive. As we patiently await the brand new movie’s launch, it’s possible you’ll be diving again into DC/Warner Bros.’ library of animated titles like 1992’s Batman: The Animated Sequence or 1999’s Batman Past. However for those who’re on the lookout for extra long-form decisions, there’s a ton available, because the WB additionally boasts an intensive catalog of feature-length movies relationship way back to the aforementioned Batman: TAS, every with their very own respective tackle the Caped Crusader extra distinctive than the final.

We’ve pored via all of the Batman animated movies obtainable on streaming to convey you highest. Right here’s our listing of the eight greatest animated Batman films to look at whereas ready for Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

Batman: Below the Pink Hood

Picture: Warner Bros.

A legendary entry within the animated Batman canon, this can be a highly effective story that packs an emotional punch. Deeply partaking with how Bruce’s “parenting” places the children he’s taken accountability for at risk, in addition to the failings of his inflexible ethical code, Below the Pink Hood deserves its standing as an all-timer Batman story. Jensen Ackles delivers an excellent voice performing efficiency as Jason Todd, and this model of the Joker (voiced by John DiMaggio) is among the most chilling renditions of the character thus far. —Pete Volk

Batman: Below The Pink Hood is accessible to stream on HBO Max.

Batman: Yr One

Picture: Warner Bros. Animation

Primarily based on Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s four-issue story arc of the identical title, Batman: Yr One recounts not solely the origin of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne’s crime-fighting persona, however of James Gordon, a lately transferred Gotham police detective working battling the corruption of his colleagues and the town’s prison underworld. Sam Liu and Lauren Montgomery’s movie is a devoted and spectacular adaptation of Miller and Mazzuchelli’s landmark storyline, exploring not solely Bruce’s evolution into the Darkish Knight however the unlikely allyship between himself and the long run Police Commissioner. When you’re on the lookout for an interesting and recent tackle Batman’s origin story, Batman: Yr One is it. —Toussaint Egan

Batman: Yr One is accessible to stream on HBO Max.

Batman: Soul of the Dragon

Picture: Warner Bros. Animation

A Batman film within the model of a Bruce Lee image, Soul of the Dragon is just not based mostly on any comedian storyline. Batman’s former martial arts trainer has gone lacking, and he joins forces with a few of his fellow former college students to attempt to unravel the thriller. Legendary martial arts actors Mark Dacascos and Michael Jai White (enjoying the identical position he performed within the DC CW-verse) co-star as voice actors on this rip-roaring enjoyable time. —PV

Batman: Soul of the Dragon is accessible to stream on HBO Max.

Batman Ninja

Picture: Warner Bros. Residence Leisure

Think about for a second, that possibly we’re all pondering too exhausting about Batman. Happening too lengthy about his psychology or realism. Maybe these aren’t actually the explanations individuals have gravitated to him for near 100 years. Perhaps, as a substitute, the reply is a straightforward one: Batman simply seems actually freaking cool.

That is the center of what drives Batman Ninja, Junpei Mizusaki’s fever dream of a movie that sends Batman and plenty of his most well-known villains again in time to feudal Japan, the place they obtain period-inspired makeovers and Energy Rangers-esque weaponry. None of it makes a lick of sense, and none of that issues, as a result of each body of Batman Ninja is wall-to-wall dazzling absurdity, taking iconic character designs and ratcheting them as much as 11 with the assistance of Afro Samurai’s Takashi Okazaki. The movie is 85 minutes of animated adrenaline that can kick your ass and make you snigger on the similar time, and stays probably the greatest DC animated movies ever launched. —Joshua Rivera

Batman Ninja is accessible to stream on HBO Max.

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Picture: DC Leisure, Nickelodeon Animation Studio/Warner Bros. Animation

A cross-over match made in heaven, this entry options a number of the greatest motion sequences in any Batman film, dwell motion or animated. It’s additionally appropriately foolish, contemplating the idea, however the pairing of those two franchises actually works: the turtles have rather a lot in frequent not solely with Batman, however with the opposite wayward kids he tends to tug into his crime-fighting orbit. Then in fact there’s the martial arts, the standard of which is fairly excellent, particularly for what may have simply been a paint-by-numbers cash seize throughout two fashionable franchises. —PV

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is accessible to hire on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.

Batman: Masks of the Illusion

Picture: Warner Bros.

Batman: Masks of the Illusion is among the best Batman movies of all-time, full-stop. Don’t simply take my phrase for it although, simply hearken to the late nice Roger Ebert and Polygon’s personal Joshua Rivera. Initially produced by Batman: The Animated Sequence producers Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm as a direct-to-video function earlier than being later launched in theaters, 1993’s Masks of the Illusion pits the Darkish Knight towards a mysterious new enemy posing as himself alongside his long-time nemesis the Joker. The movie probes on the inherent tragedy and historical past of the character with a degree of nuance and depth that few subsequent incarnations (live-action or in any other case) have efficiently tried since, conjuring a portrait of loss and heartbreak whose resonance endures to today. —TE

Batman: Masks of the Illusion is accessible to stream on HBO Max.

Batman Past: Return of the Joker

Picture: Warner Bros.

Batman: Return of the Joker follows Terry McGinnis, the brand new Batman circa 2040, as he’s introduced head to head with the Joker, seemingly resurrected after having been thought useless for a number of a long time. Confronted together with his deadliest foe but, Terry should uncover the horrible reality behind the night time when his mentor Bruce Wayne, the unique Batman, fought his arch nemesis for the final time if he’s to have any hope of rescuing Gotham from the brink of annihilation.

Except for the eponymous Clown Prince of Crime, the movie additionally prominently options Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl), now Commissioner of the GCPD alongside an older model of Tim Drake (aka Robin), making for a bat-family reunion that each touches on the difficult dynamic between Bruce Wayne and his proteges whereas including additional dimension and pathos to Terry’s personal tenure because the Darkish Knight. If that one way or the other doesn’t pique your curiosity, acclaimed animator Hiroyuki Aoyama contributed to Return of the Joker’s explosive finale, taking cues from his earlier work on Katsuhiro Otomo’s 1988 apocalyptic epic Akira whereas animating a lethal orbital laser beam that cuts a swath of destruction throughout Gotham as Terry races to save lots of the day. —TE

Batman Past: Return of the Joker is accessible to stream on HBO Max.

The Batman vs. Dracula

Picture: HBO Max

There’s a brand new bat in Gotham. Just a little spooky, greater than just a little foolish, and an entire bunch of enjoyable, The Batman vs. Dracula is precisely what the title suggests. When the Penguin by chance wakes the legendary vampire (voiced by Peter Stormare) from his deep slumber, Batman has to cease Dracula’s try to take over Gotham and switch its residents into vampires. Leaning into the gothic environment that already suits properly with Gotham Metropolis’s vibe and structure, Bat vs. Bat is a pure matchup. When you discover the truth that Dracula goes by “Dr. Alucard” as his human alter-ego charming, and also you’re excited by the prospect of Batman punching a vampire Joker with garlic knuckles, you’ll have a great time with this one. —PV

The Batman vs. Dracula is accessible to stream on HBO Max.