Posted in: Max, TV, Warner Animation Group | Tagged: freakazoid!, harley quinn

Harley Quinn: Paul Dini on Why Freakazoid Crossover Didn't Happen

Harley Quinn and Freakazoid! co-creator Paul Dini on why a crossover between the Warner Bros/DC and Amblin characters didn't happen.

It's hard to argue how much Paul Dini has influenced 1990s animation, especially in helping to create (along with Bruce Timm) two of the most memorable characters from that era, original character Harley Quinn in Batman: The Animated Series and the title character in Freakazoid!. Harley began as the second banana/love interest to the Joker, and the most infamous example of Stockholm Syndrome, but has far outgrown her original designs with her own line of DC comics, animated series, and live-action appearances. While Freakazoid! only lasted two seasons from 1995 to 1997 on Kids' WB, it's remained a cult classic to this day. One fan drew a dream crossover of what if Harley and Freakazoid existed in the same universe, to which Dini responded.

Paul Dini on Why a Harley Quinn and Freakazoid! Crossover Never Materialized

Dini initially responded, "Ah, if only…" to Celis' drawing. When another fan followed up, the animator explained the obstacles he ran into from Warner Bros. "Only by me. But back then, crossing the streams between the Warner/DC and Warner/Amblin universes was pretty much out. Also, Harley wasn't that well-known back then. Hence, my 'Harley & The Brain' pitch was also a no-go.😉" Voiced initially and most famously by Arleen Sorkin and now by Tara Strong, Harley would become a staple in most future Batman animated canon, with her live-action film counterparts played by Margot Robbie and Lady Gaga. The character's latest animated series, Harley Quinn, is an original adult-oriented series by Max with Kaley Cuoco voicing the character.

The character's origin, which remains consistent throughout, is Dr. Harleen Quinzell, a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who takes on its most infamous patient as a client. As he twists her will to his desires, she joins his cause, becoming a reliable ally, helping him with his crimes and attacking his foes, like his archnemesis, Batman. As Harley's popularity outgrew her designs, she escaped her abusive relationship with Mr. J. She struck out on her own, and in several incarnations, fell in love with Poison Ivy, like the Max series. In Freakazoid!, the animated series follows Dexter Douglas (Paul Rugg), a geeky teenager who gains his abilities from a computer bug that turns him into Freakazoid, which grants him superhuman abilities, access to all the Internet's knowledge, and possesses glorious powers to break the fourth wall, too.

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