Batman (1989) Trivia, Courtesy of Warner Bros!

Sunday, June 23rd of this year marked the 35th anniversary of Batman 1989. In its honor, the official Warner Bros. YouTube account posted this trivia video with questions based on the movie. They're super easy, but fun nonetheless.

Back in 2019 (which seems like decades ago), I posted a few tribute articles for the movie's 30th anniversary. Here is the link so you can enjoy those again or for the first time.

Happy 35th anniversary, Batman 1989!

Welcome to the 2022 Countdown to Christmas!

 

Ho ho ho! Welcome one and all to the Countdown to Christmas at Me and You and a Blog Named Boo!

I hope everyone had a happy and stuffed Thanksgiving. With Turkey Day behind us, we can dive head first into the Christmas pool. Just as with the Countdown to Halloween, I hope to have plenty of holiday happenings for you to enjoy all season long.

This Countdown is not a multiblog event as for Halloween; this is just me doing my Christmas blogging thing. Of course, if anyone knows of a similar multiblog event for Christmas, by all means let me know and I'd be happy to contribute!

Today is just an introductory post to alert the masses; I'll start blogging more hearty stuff later this week. For today, please enjoy these short samplings of Christmas goodness.

Happy Holidays! Stay tuned now through New Year's Day--and beyond? Who knows!

Thanks!

Batman Returns: Dark Side of the Knight Featurette

 

Here we are--my final post in tribute to the 30th anniversary of Batman Begins!

We'll start off with a short interview Tim Burton did on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno promoting the film. Note how awkward Burton seems to feel during the interview; you can tell it's not his thing!

And today's main feature, a short "making of" film titled "Shadows of the Bat: Dark Side of the Knight." I assume this is a special feature made for a home video release.

And...that's it!

Thank you very much for joining me in this three-week salute to a huge '90s era film! It's hard to believe it's been three decades since its release. I hope you enjoyed it. Please comment below or on any of my articles.

Thanks! Have a great weekend!

Batman Returns Coverage by the British Press

 

Welcome back! We're in the home stretch of our Batman Returns 30th Anniversary Celebration! Just a couple more posts before we put the bat to bed!

Here we have coverage of the film's opening by a British media outlet. It features the film's premiere with many celebrities in attendance, a look at various merchandise associated with the movie, and lastly a feature on a live action Batman stunt show. It's a fun look at both the movie's release and the state of movie hype 30 years ago.

Enjoy!

P.S. Earlier today, I finally gave the movie a 30th anniversary screening. While I still have some issues, I enjoyed the rewatch more than I expected. It was fun!

Siouxsie and the Banshees, "Face to Face," Batman Returns Soundtrack

 

My Batman Returns 30th Anniversary salute rolls on with a look at--and more importantly, listen to-- the song from the film's soundtrack, "Face to Face" by Siouxsie and the Banshees.

"Face to Face" has the distinction of being the only non-orchestral music featured in the movie; the rest of the soundtrack consisted solely of Danny Elfman's score. This is quite a departure from the first film in the series, which featured two soundtrack albums--the score by Elfman and a full song soundtrack by Prince. The two subsequent sequels, Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, both featured soundtracks with several tunes from different artists.

Yet Returns has merely this one song from Siouxsie and the Banshees. The song's gothic, slightly eerie sound fits perfectly with the film; in fact, it would fit well with ANY Tim Burton-directed film!

Enjoy! And please note that, despite my original plan to close my celebration of the movie this week, I will be extending it into next week as well! Batman Returns fans rejoice!

Finally, this Sunday, June 19th is the EXACT date of the 30th anniversary! Be sure to watch it in honor of the occasion at some point this weekend, whether on HBO Max or the home video format of your choice.

OK, now here's the song. Have a great weekend! Happy Father's Day!

Batman Returns Video Game for Super Nintendo

 

Welcome to Week 2 of my salute to the 30th anniversary of Batman Returns! I'm getting a later start this week than originally planned, so I think I'm going to expand my celebration of the movie beyond my intended two-week window. That just means more Bat action for everyone!

Today I feature a 20-minute playthrough of the Batman Returns home video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment system (or at least an emulator of it). I didn't have this game nor did I have the Super Nintendo, so I'm afraid I have no experience with this game, but if you do, I'd love to read your comments below.

Enjoy!

Batman Returns Actor and Director Interviews

 

Here we are at the end of the first week of my celebration of the 30th anniversary of the release of Batman Returns!

I close out the week with interviews of Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Danny DeVito promoting the film. Hear their insight into their motivations and inspirations for their contributions.

I'll have more fun Batman Returns items for you next week. Have a great weekend!

"Gotta fly!"

Batman Returns Product Tie-Ins

 

Welcome to the second post in my current tribute to Batman Returns on its 30th anniversary!

Today I have some fun TV commercials for product tie-ins to the movie. Some of these are toy commercials, which are the most obvious tie-ins, but others are for McDonalds Happy Meal toys (which proved quite controversial) and other products, including the home video release of the film. You can always judge a movie's impact on pop culture by the number of products it's used to shill.

Enjoy!

Happy 30th Anniversary Batman Returns!

 

"You don't really think you'll win, do you?"

You ALWAYS win at my blog! *ahem*

Welcome one and all to an event I'm excited to present to you. Starting today, and for the next two weeks, I will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of Batman Returns! The movie seems to be a favorite among my social media friends, so I think it's appropriate to spend extra time on the film.

The pop culture success of the first Batman film in 1989 can't be understated, but fans had to wait three long years for this hotly anticipated sequel. As big as the first movie was, the filmmakers went even bigger with this one, with new production design and not one but three villains in Catwoman and The Penquin, as well as murderous millionaire Max Shreck, an original character created for the film.

Batman Returns was darker (literally and figuratively), more explosive, and had, well--thousands of penguins with rockets attached to them. 'Nuff said.

My relationship with the movie is a bit complicated--there are things I like about it and things I wish had been done differently--but I can't deny it had a strong impact on my superhero-movie-loving self. I had just graduated high school two weeks before the release of the movie, and my friends saw it together as a sort of post-graduation celebration, and I have fond memories of seeing it with them. I'd love to hear your memories of this film in the comments.

Expect fun stuff the next two Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, leading up to the exact anniversary date of Sunday, June 19th (which this year is Fathers Day, coincidentally enough).

Below are the two trailers Warner Bros. made for the movie. Enjoy!

And remember--mistletoe is deadly if you eat it; a kiss is even deadlier if you mean it.

Stocking Stuffers

 

Ho ho ho no! Christmas Day is just mere days away! I'm as busy as everyone else is during this home stretch to the holidays, so I'll keep this short. Consider these various short clips as "stocking stuffers" to enjoy until the big day arrives!

Here is a lovely rendition of "Frosty The Snowman" by the late great Leon Redbone and Dr. John!

It's The Brave and The Bold starring Batman & Robin and...Santa Claus!

One commercial I remember seeing frequently on TV when I was a kid was this commercial for Disneyland Records's collection of Christmas songs recording specifically for release by Disney. This instantly brings me back to my childhood Christmases!

A couple of weeks ago we lost actor Eddie Mekka, who played Carmine Ragusa, "The Big Ragu," on Laverne & Shirley. Here he is from a famous Christmas episode of the series singing and dancing to "Jingle Bell Rock!"

Finally, here is a wonderfully fun recording of "The Merry Old Philosopher," by comedian Eddie Lawrence. The Old Philosopher was a long-running act of Lawrence's that spawned many novelty records; this one may be my favorite!

This will likely be my last post before Christmas Day, but I hope to have my Christmas greeting on the day itself, followed by a couple articles during my annual Christmas vacation next week.

If you don't get a chance to stop by before Saturday, I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Batman: Strange Days

 

It's the second full week of the Countdown to Halloween, so why not start it off with a bit of Batman?

Granted, he's maybe not the first thing you think of when you think of Halloween, but superheroes have been a Halloween costume staple for decades, and besides, Batman kind of has Halloween built into him, you know?

This short cartoon titled "Batman: Strange Days" was created by Bruce Timm in honor of Batman's 75th anniversary back in 2014, and features Bats in his earliest character design from 1939. Here, he rescues a damsel in distress from his first-ever supervillain, Professor Hugo Strange. The cartoon is done in beautiful film noir style, and to make it more appropriate for Halloween, features a large zombie.

Enjoy!

Long Live the Bat: Batman Day 2019

Earlier this year, I wrote a series of articles related to Batman due to the character celebrating his 80th anniversary this year as well as the 30th anniversary of the Batman movie starring Michael Keaton. With the blog about to go into almost-full holiday mode the rest of the year, this will be the last of those articles to give the feature some closure, and we end our celebration of all things Bat with this year's Batman Day.

For the past five years, DC Comics has celebrated Batman Day, the first in the summer of 2014 and subsequent celebrations being in a Saturday in September. This Saturday, September 21st is the big day this year, and comic shops and book stores across the country will be acknowledging the day with select free comics, events, and more. For full details, try the following links:

DC Comics official Batman Day site, the best place to get details: https://www.dccomics.com/blog/2019/09/09/celebrate-batman-day-on-september-21

A downloadable Batman Day celebration kit with coloring pages, games, and fun ideas: https://www.dccomics.com/sites/default/files/imce/2019/09-SEP/BatmanDayActivityKit.pdf

Select Barnes & Noble locations are having local Batman Day events. Check your nearest location here: https://stores.barnesandnoble.com/

You may be able to get free Batman comics at your local comic shop. To find out, try here: https://www.freecomicbookday.com/Article/232558-Celebrate-Batman-Day-At-Comic-Shops-September-21st

I also recommend checking your local library, as they may also be participating. I recommend checking out your local library any day for any reason, because libraries rock!

And with that, I officially bring my year(ish)-long Batman celebration to a close. But who am I kidding, I blog about Batman a lot anyway!

The only other thing I have to offer Batman-wise right now is this:

Thanks! Have a great weekend! Long Live The Bat!

June's Underappreciated Music: Long Live The Bat: "Music! BAT Music!" Prince Edition

The 30th anniversary date of Batman 1989 has passed, but I still have it on my mind. There's one aspect of the film I didn't mention yet that I should have: the song soundtrack by Prince.

At the time, Prince seemed to me to be both an odd choice to do a Batman soundtrack and the perfect choice at the same time. He was bold, he was boisterous, he's a lot like a comic book character!

Only a few of the songs were used in the actual film, but two of them became part of the Bat-Zeitgeist of the time. Here they are!

"Batdance." This doesn't appear in the movie, but it's a funky novelty tune that's a lot of fun!

Next is "Partyman," famous for being the tune that plays when the Joker makes his grand entrance to the art museum for his "date" with Vicki Vale. Some of the goofiness of the movie irks me these days, but this fun scene is an exception. I love it!





If Prince were still with us, I wonder if he'd acknowledge his musical contribution to the film today.

Thanks!

Long Live The Bat: Batman the Movie! Batman the Merchandising!

Like any highly successful movie that makes hundreds of millions of dollars, other products are going to find ways to make their money off of it, and Batman 1989 was no exception. Take a look at a tiny fraction of the products based on the film.

Behold--Batman the cereal!





The film was so big that it had not only one but two successful toy lines. The first one was by the small company Toy Biz, which also released other DC Comics characters in a separate line released concurrently with their Batman line. Ironically, the owner of the company was Ike Perlmutter, who now is the CEO of Marvel Entertainment.





The following year (1990), Kenner released The Dark Knight Collection, a larger line also based on the 1989 movie. Here are almost six minutes of commercials for the line.

I still have the Crime Attack Batman action figure from the line to this very day.




In addition to toys, you can always count on fast food restaurants to take part in blockbuster movie promotions. For Batman 1989, the fast food joint of choice was Taco Bell with these cool cups! Collect all four! Don't forget your cinnamon twists!





Finally, MTV held a "Steal The Batmobile" contest in 1989. Movie costar Robert Wuhl has all the details!





I'll bet you're now inspired to rush to Ebay and see if you can get any of this stuff cheap. Good luck!

Long Live The Bat: Batman 1989 and the Home Video Revolution

The 30th anniversary of Batman 1989 is this Sunday, so it's time to ramp up the celebration!

As much as the movie revolutionized summer blockbusters and their impact on popular culture, it also caused a revolution in the home video industry. The movie was released on home video (in glorious VHS format, God love it) on November 15, 1989, a mere five months after the theatrical release, which was unheard of at the time. Movie fans usually had to wait a year or more after a theatrical release for a film to appear on home video.

Not only that, the suggested retail price was a mere $24.98 per copy, another massive change from the status quo of the industry. Videocassettes of other films sold for nearly $100, when home video was mostly a rental business. Warner Bros. decided this was a film fans wanted to own, so they made it affordable. They were right: audiences bought it right and left. Many stores sold it at an even lower price, at $20 or even $15 dollars. One of my brothers bought his copy for only $15 at our local Wall to Wall Sound and Video (RIP). He still has it today!

One of the ways Warner Bros. was able to keep the price low was by allowing a commercial to appear at the beginning of the tape, courtesy of Diet Coke. This was another radical change from the norm. Here is the commercial in all of its glory!

Also featured was this animated call for people to purchase Warner Bros. swag, with the help of studio favorites Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck!





The timing of the video release was, unsurprisingly, tied into that year's holiday shopping season, as this commercial for the video confirms. I posted this same commercial during my Christmas programming last year, and of all the countless commercials I've featured on the blog, this is one of the hardest sells I've ever seen!





Not everyone was happy with the early and affordable release of Batman on home video. Theater chains, smaller ones in particular, were upset over lost revenue to the home video release, as the movie was such a box office success that it was still playing in some theaters as late as November of that year. This local news coverage of the home video launch from Los Angeles conveys that story as well as a publicity event the studio held in LA, plus some (failed) attempts at humor by the local news team.





With all of the Internet streaming options we have today, it's easy to forget how momentous it was when a favorite film was released on home video, and up to that time, no home video release was as momentous as Batman.

Thanks for reading!

Long Live The Bat: Late Night with David Letterman, June 22, 1989, Guest Starring Michael Keaton

As the exact date of the 30th anniversary of the release of the 1989 Batman film is a mere two weeks away, it's time to ramp up the celebration quickly with some great material I've found.

In this clip, Michael Keaton appears on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman the night before the release to promote the film and shoot the breeze with Dave. You can tell that Keaton and Letterman are old friends having a good time. I watched this episode the night it aired and distinctly remember the story Keaton tells about himself and Jack Nicholson checking out each other's costumes for the first time.

Enjoy!

Also do yourself a favor and watch the guys' cringe-worthy performance back when they were cast members of Mary Tyler Moore's variety show from the late 70s.

Long Live The Bat: Batman 1989 Movie Trailer

When I wrote my article announcing my focus on Batman's 80th anniverary, I also mentioned the 30th anniversary of the Batman film from 1989. I'll write the majority of articles about the movie closer to the June 23rd anniversary date, but today I'll feature the trailer for the film. This was the first glimpse the public got of any of the Bat craziness that was before them, and it's fun to look back on it 30 years later.

Enjoy! Also, I learned the next morning after writing this that April 22nd is Jack Nicholson's birthday, so...Happy Birthday Jack!

Joker Starring Joaquin Phoenix Movie Trailer

Two days after I published my article looking at the several incarnations of the Joker in other media, the first official trailer for the movie Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix was released. I had totally forgotten about the movie when writing my article, but I had originally planned to feature the 30 second makeup test Joker director Todd Phillips had released on Instagram last October.

Shortly after that video was released, amateur footage of some scenes surfaced on the 'Net, something highly unusual for a major studio picture.





And now we finally have the official trailer. Roll it!





I don't know what to make of the idea of a standalone Joker origin story. Will it feel like we're seeing the Joker we know and love to hate from the comics, or will it simply feel like a crazy guy in clown makeup who coincidentally calls himself the Joker? Projects in the past that separate themselves too much from the source material have not been great artistic successes (I'm looking at you, Catwoman), but with creative bigwigs like director Todd Phillips (the Hangover films), executive producer Bradley Cooper (and former EP Martin Scorsese) and stars Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro in tow, will this movie beat the odds? I guess we'll find out when the movie opens October 4th.

Until then, put on a happy face!

Long Live The Bat: The Joker

It may seem weird that my first official post of my yearlong Batman tribute would be dedicated to his greatest foe instead, but one of Batman's defining characteristics has been his rogues gallery of villains, most of all the Joker. And besides, who better to feature on April Fool's Day?

Like Batman, the Joker has had several incarnations the last 80s years. Sometimes he's a psychopathic killer who will do anything depraved; other times, he's simply a laughing crook who likes to wear clown makeup and challenge Batman to surfing contests. Either way, the Joker has captivated audiences unlike any other supervillain. Here he is in some of his various personas.

Here's six minutes of Cesar Romero's Joker laughing his head off!.

Not to be outdone, Mark Hamill's Joker is no slouch in the maniacal laughter department.




Jack Nicholson's Joker is basically that: Jack being Jack but in clown makeup. And audiences loved it!




Heath Ledger's Joker was a bit less histrionic that otber portrayals, but his was no less menacing. Far from it!




OK, Jared Leto's Joker was not so well received by the public at large, but I found him surprisingly effective, even if we didn't see too much of him in Suicide Squad.




Of course, for many comic book devotees, no version of the Joker in other media will ever top the Joker in his natural habit, the printed page. In any format he appears in, he will always be the one true Clown Prince of Crime.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Long Live The Bat: Batman's 80th Anniversary

Holy Anniversary! This Saturday, March 30th commemorates the 80th anniversary of the first appearance of perhaps the most popular superhero of all time, Batman!

DC Comics is celebrating this momentous occasion all year long with various events, starting this week with the publication of the 1000th issue of the comic book that started it all, Detective Comics. Further events will be announced at a special Web site DC has created, Batman80.com. Stay tuned there for more announcements all year long.

But that's not the only Web site celebrating the Year of the Bat. I will feature occasional articles honoring the Caped Crusader right here at Me and You. There are many aspects of Batman to focus on, and I hope to shine a bat signal on some of my favorite facets of him here.

Not only is 2019 the 80th anniversary of Batman's first appearance, it's also the 30th anniversary of the Batman movie starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson and directed by Tim Burton. That movie is a big reason why Batman has been such a prominent part of pop culture these past 30 years, so in addition to the general bat-tastic fun I'll be posting this year, I'll place special emphasis on the 1989 film.

Atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed--get ready to roll out with me all year long in celebration of Batman. Stay tuned to this blog--same Bat Time, same Bat Channel!