Premiering in 1992, this series quickly received wide acclaim for its lavish animation and compelling writing and instantly became a hit. This series also has a compelling cast which includes major actors performing the voices of the various classic villains, most notably Mark Hamill who defined a whole new career for himself in animation with his delightfully deranged portrayal of The Joker.
Key to the series' artistic success is that it managed to redefine the classic characters which paid homage to their best qualities from the comics, yet giving them new dramatic force. The best example is Mr. Freeze. The series turned him from a cliche mad scientist with a gimmick for cold to a tragic figure who professes to be coldblooded with his emotions only to be controlled by passions driven by a cold fury against life's injustice and a deathless love for his stricken wife.
The series was partly inspired by Tim Burton's 1989 blockbuster Batman film, and initially took as its theme a variation of music written by Danny Elfman for the film. (Later episodes of the series used a new theme written in a similar style by Shirley Walker.)
This series became a cornerstone of Warner Brothers' animation department which became one of the top producers of television animation and sparked a large franchise of similar TV adaptations of DC Comics characters.