The year is 2005 and the cinema-loving world is lapping up one of the years greatest big screen blockbusters.
It was also a series that cemented the notion that cartoons arent just for kids.
Batman: The Animated Serieswas, and remains, an exemplary body of work.
What Burton started,Batman: TAScontinued to great effect.
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Buildings adopted long, sweeping curves juxtaposed with strong lines and square shapes.
It even outdid Burtons effort, on which it was so clearly based.
From the Joker to the Clock King, they were all covered, and brilliantly so.
Take an episode like the memorising, award-winningHeart Of Ice.
In no other cartoon show would you have witnessed such a grown-up and touching portrayal of a villain.
When it came to the action, though, the show didnt hold back.
This was a series that featured guns, bombs and frights by the bucketloads.
There were no laser guns or fantastical swords fights here.
This was a universe similar to that portrayed by the likes of Scorsese and Ford Coppola.
The show could have been very different.
The rest is history.
All were strong characters and all lent much believability to theBatmanuniverse.
This was aided further by the, frankly, outstanding voice talent.
