Posted in: 4K/Blu-Ray, DVD/Blu-ray, Movies, TV | Tagged: Batman, batman the animated series, batman: mask of the phantasm, bruce timm, Kevin Conroy, mark hamill, paul dini

Batman: Mask of The Phantasm Needed THIS Trailer In 1993: Paul Dini

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray trailer for Batman: Mask of The Phantasm so impressed Paul Dini that he wishes that they had it back in the day.

We've gotten some pretty great Batman films over the years, but like pretty much everything else having to do with Mr. Wayne, the Animated Series team did it best.  The feature-length film many fans consider the best of all time, Batman: Mask of The Phantasm, is getting a fancy new 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray release on September 12, and to get everyone excited, WB has released a brand new trailer showing off what we can expect as far as a new 4K picture and remastered sound.  One person who was excited by the new trailer is the film's writer, Paul Dini, who expressed just that on Twitter.

Released on Christmas Day in 1993, Batman: Mask of The Phantasm was a box office dud that didn't even make its budget back upon release.  In contrast to the TV series it was expanded from, Batman: The Animated Series, which took everyone by storm in the Fall of 1992, the feature-length film set in the same universe didn't even register a blip with audiences that holiday season.  Through home video and TV airings, though, the film caught on, and fans around the world realized they had not only missed a great Batman movie in theaters, but they may have missed the greatest ever made.

Now there are a ton of reasons why Batman: Mask of The Phantasm didn't work at the box office, and series creators like Bruce Timm are always happy to list them.  But one, in particular, seems to be marketing in that there really wasn't much of it.  Kids and adults alike loved Batman: The Animated Series, which was still in its prime upon the film's release, so it stands to reason that if they knew about this film in theaters and were properly hyped for it by Warner Bros., they would have shown up to see it.  Alas, all we got were a couple of TV commercials and one trailer.  No McDonald's tie-ins.  No media blitz.  Nada.  This was pretty much all we got:

Not a bad teaser trailer, but it really doesn't show too much either, and if that's all you're going to put out there to try and earn box office dollars, even Batman can't make that work. Now let's take a look at what WB just released to hype up their upcoming 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray release of Batman: The Mask of The Phantasm.

It's a big, heavily-edited trailer that gives you a sense of the plot, the characters, and the action.  They didn't play it cheap here and they didn't make the same mistakes from 30 years ago.  WB knows this film is now a classic, and they're clearly giving it the big blockbuster treatment. One person very impressed by the new effort is Paul Dini, who took to Twitter with the following:

Hard to argue with him.  This new trailer is attention-grabbing and startling in all the best ways.  It's epic, haunting, and big, just like the film it's selling. Batman: Mask of The Phantasm caught everyone by surprise when it was released 30 years ago, but over time has grown to become a towering figure in Batman's film history.  It's good to see it getting the proper treatment from those in charge, at last. You can pre-order the 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray at all major online shops and if you can't wait to see it in pristine condition, you can stream it now on MAX.

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