As a lifelong Batman fan, I think everyone agrees that one adaptation still reigns supreme: Batman: The Animated Series. It originally aired from 1992 to 1999 and honestly, it redefined what a superhero cartoon could be. The creative team of Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Alan Burnett were geniuses. Back in 1990, before the series even aired, they made a short test animation to pitch the show to network executives. It was included as a bonus feature on the B:TAS DVDs, but the audio was thought to be gone forever. Luckily, a dedicated fan named Frank Cifaldi grabbed a copy on VHS back in 1999 and just recently shared it online – sound included! You can check it out below; it’s a real piece of Batman history.
I’ve owned a promotional VHS tape of the original test animation that eventually became Batman: The Animated Series for years – I think I bought it on eBay around 1999. The DVD release claimed the audio was lost, but I still have it. Consider this a little gift to Bruce Timm.
— Frank Cifaldi (@frankcifaldi.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T01:30:14.878Z
This test footage is dated October 1990, two years before the show premiered on Fox Kids in 1992. Though an early concept, it gives a good idea of the final look of Batman: The Animated Series. The biggest difference is that Batman seems to dodge bullets with incredible speed – something he doesn’t typically do in the show, but it looks fantastic! This early footage clearly served as the foundation for the show’s famous opening title sequence.
Many online believe Warner Bros. secretly held onto the audio version of this footage all along. They suggest the studio didn’t want to pay additional royalties for Danny Elfman’s score, originally used in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film, and therefore excluded it from the DVD release. The real reason may remain a mystery. However, this test footage serves as a reminder that, despite numerous other Batman interpretations over the years, the ’90s Batman: The Animated Series still perfectly captures the essence of Gotham City and its iconic Dark Knight.
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2026-02-02 20:03