There's always one Batman film people forget was in cinemas. Tim Burton's films reignited popular interest in the character, and The Animated Series capitalised on that, creating a version of the character that more devout fans find sticks closest to the central idea of the Dark Knight. It was so successful that it led to the creation of the Superman cartoon, as well as getting its own feature-length spin-offs. The first of these, Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm, came at a point where hype around the character was so high Warner Bros. decided to release the film in cinemas rather than the traditional DVD release. This led to a rush to get the film up to scratch - what Doug didn't realise was that cinematic outings need more visual sheen - and the animators struggled with the eight months they were given before release. Anyone would think animation is a time consuming process or something. The film was an absolute bomb, not even making back its small $6 million budget. It only found its footing on VHS, where it was going to be released in the first place. This folly led to no more animated outings on the big screen; subsequent features only came out on home video.
