Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and DC are celebrating the 25th anniversary of Superman: The Animated Series with a fully remastered Blu-ray box set. Superman: The Complete Animated Series, which includes several hours of bonus features headlined by an all-new documentary detailing the creation of one of the most beloved animated superhero cartoons in history, will be available starting October 12 (SRP $69.99 U.S./$79.99 Can.)
As a bonus to Batman fans, WBHE has also unveiled a new clip for The Long Halloween, Part Two, available now on Blu-ray, in which Calendar Man — voiced by David Dastmalchian (The Suicide Squad, Dune, Ant-Man) — appreciates the significance of … Taco Tuesday. Watch the clip at the end of this post!
Produced by Warner Bros. Animation (WBA), the Emmy Award-winning Superman: The Animated Series was a worthy follow-up to the landmark Batman: The Animated Series. Producers Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett elevated The Man of Steel’s animated presence with an imaginative, heartfelt look at Superman’s adventures in Metropolis alongside Lois Lane and opposite the villainous likes of Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Darkseid and more. Premiering on September 6, 1996, the series continued WBA’s run of setting new standards for storytelling, art direction and acting performances in super hero animation – garnering 11 Emmy nominations and two wins, including Outstanding Special Class Animated Program (1998).
The Superman: The Complete Animated Series box set features nearly 21 hours of entertainment spread over six Blu-ray discs, including all 54 exciting episodes, an all-new series-defining featurette entitled Superman: Timeless Icon, a special video commentary episode and three specially selected episodes with audio commentaries by the showrunners.
All 54 episodes have been remastered from the original 35mm Interpositive sources, giving special attention to extensive color correction, dirt and scratch clean up, and adding a grain reduction pass to create a pristine picture, all while making sure not to affect the original lines in the artwork of the animation. The audio was retransferred from the original audio masters, and the series is presented in its original aspect ratio (4×3).
Timm, Dini, Burnett and Glen Murakami headed production of the series alongside executive producers Jean MacCurdy and Haven Alexander. Shirley Walker and the Dynamic Music Partners (Michael McCuistion, Lolita Ritmanis, Kristopher Carter) composed the award-winning score, while eight-time Emmy Award-winning dialogue/casting director Andrea Romano guided a star-studded voice cast. Curt Geda and Dan Riba served as animation directors for more than half of the episodes.
The cast continued the unrivaled presentation of guest stars that B:TAS had established. The lengthy roster is filled with luminaries, their laurels including one Academy Award and 10 Oscar nominations; 37 Emmy Awards and 186 Emmy nominations; 16 Golden Globe Awards and 54 nominations; five Annie Awards and 38 nominations; four Grammy Awards and 14 nominations; and nine individuals honored with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, including Ed Asner, Mark Hamill, William H. Macy, Marion Ross, Malcolm McDowell, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Michael York, Roddy McDowall and Paul Williams.
Tim Daly (Madame Secretary, Private Practice, Wings) led the cast as Clark Kent and Superman alongside Dana Delany (Body of Proof, Desperate Housewives, China Beach) as Lois Lane, David Kaufman (Danny Phantom, Stuart Little) as Jimmy Olsen and Clancy Brown (Dexter, The Shawshank Redemption, SpongeBob SquarePants) as Lex Luthor. Series regulars included Lauren Tom (Angela Chen), Victor Brandt (Professor Hamilton), Corey Burton (Brainiac), Joseph Bologna (Dan Turpin), George Dzundza (Perry White), Brad Garrett (Bibbo Bibbowski), Shelley Fabares (Martha Kent), Joanna Cassidy (Maggie Sawyer), Lisa Edelstein (Mercy Graves), Mike Farrell (Jonathan Kent) and Michael Ironside (Darkseid).
Notable guest stars also included Dean Jones, Melissa Joan Hart, Robert Morse, Al Roker, Brian Cox, Jason Priestley, Peter Gallagher, David Warner, Michael Dorn, Christopher McDonald, Bruce Weitz, Andrea Martin, Miguel Ferrer, Ron Perlman, Bud Cort, Gilbert Gottfried, Robert Hays, Dennis Haysbert, Laraine Newman, Nancy Travis, Xander Berkeley, Jonathan Harris, John Glover, Sandra Bernhard, Jack Carter, Ernie Hudson, Henry Silva and Robert Patrick.
Superman: The Complete Animated Series Bonus Content:
- Superman: Timeless Icon (New Featurette) – An all-new bonus feature, produced specifically for the remastered Blu-ray release of Superman: The Animated Series, reveals the complicated journey of the show and those who created the new mythology for The Man of Steel, as told by producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, director Dan Riba, writer Bob Goodman, casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano and Tim Daly & Clancy Brown, the heralded voices of Superman and Lex Luthor, respectively.
- A Little Piece of Trivia (Featurette) – So you think you know your Superman trivia? Wait until you hear about the series’ connection to Telly Savalas! A brain teaser to entertain every Superman: The Animated Series fan!
- Superman: Learning to Fly (Featurette) – Get into the minds of the creative team behind Superman: The Animated Series as they detail the birth of this animated version of Superman and his incredible worlds. Featured speakers include producers Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, art director/producer Glen Murakami and directors Dan Riba and James Tucker.
- Building the Mythology: Superman’s Supporting Cast (Featurette) – The characters around Superman get the spotlight in this in-depth look at everyone from Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White to Maggie Sawyer, Lana Lang and Ma & Pa Kent. Producers Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, art director/producer Glen Murakami and directors Dan Riba and James Tucker give viewers the inside scoop.
- Menaces of Metropolis: Behind the Villains of Superman (Featurette) – Your hero is only as good as the villains around him, and Superman: The Animated Series has a rogues’ gallery of top-grade baddies, including traditional opponents Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Bizarro, Metallo, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Toyman and Parasite, as well as new villains created for the series – like Live Wire and Luminus. Producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett and Paul Dini, directors James Tucker and Dan Riba and casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano give us a tour of the villains.
- The Despot Darkseid: A Villain Worthy of Superman (Featurette) – Darkseid takes center stage in this examination of one of The Man of Steel’s most vicious adversaries, plus other Fourth World characters that appear in Superman: The Animated Series. The featurette includes producers Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, art director/producer Glen Murakami, writers Rich Fogel and Stan Berkowitz, director James Tucker and Charles Hatfield (Department of English, Cal State Northridge).
- Audio Commentaries
- Stolen Memories – producers Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett, director Curt Geda and art director/producer Glen Murakami.
- The Last Son of Krypton – Part 1 – producers Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett, director Dan Riba and art director/producer Glen Murakami.
- The Main Man – Part 2 – producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, director Dan Riba and art director/producer Glen Murakami.
- Video Commentary
- Mxyzpixilated – producer Bruce Timm, producer/writer Paul Dini, director Dan Riba and moderator Jason Hillhouse.
New “Taco Tuesday” clip from Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two:
