Common Sense Note
These episodes provide lots of action, plus a surprisingly mature swipe at the snobbery of high society, and a heroic portrait of a corporate whistle-blower. But because of its cartoonish violence and mayhem, this video is questionable for children under 8. Older children will better comprehend the stories, and will be better able to deal with the sometimes nasty violence. Teens and adults will appreciate the clever dialogue and in-jokes.
Families who watch this video may want to discuss how children deal with bullies -- their own version of The Penguin -- in real life.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Ed Grant
Blessed with uncommonly intelligent scripting for a superhero cartoon, the Adventures series continues with this double-dose of the Penguin. "Birds of a Feather" follows Oswald Cobblepot, aka the Penguin (voiced by Paul Williams), as he vows to go straight. Cobblepot is invited to a high society party by status-conscious Veronica Vreeland (Marilu Henner). At the party he discovers that she invited him merely for publicity's sake. He abducts her and holds her in an opera house. Batman liberates her, and captures the Penguin.
In "The Mechanic" the Penguin discovers the identity of Batman's mechanic. Earl Cooper (Paul Winfield) was helped by Batman after he was kicked out of the corporate world for exposing faulty engineering on a best-selling line of cars. The Penguin forces Earl to sabotage the Batmobile, but certain fail-safe devices that Earl has installed enable the Caped Crusader to emerge victorious.
Unlike most TV series based on comic books, the 1990s animated incarnation of Batman stuck close to its source material, harkening back to Bob Kane's original depiction of Batman's supervillains as absurd-yet-lethal.
In the first episode the Penguin remains his psychotic self throughout, but Veronica's cruelty causes the viewer to sympathize with him. He may be an inveterate thief but his lapses in taste and virtue pale beside Veronica's snobby friend who declares that the supervillain is a must-have guest but "NOKD." ("Not our kind, dear.")
The second episode introduces a new character to the Batman saga. Earl Cooper is an honorable and sympathetic figure who has been shafted by his corporate bosses. The show may be chock-full of fast-paced action, but, commendably, time is taken to develop Earl's story and make him a fully-rounded character.
Both shows benefit by their superb voice cast. Singer-songwriter Paul Williams does a terrific job as the Penguin. Paul Winfield lends a dignified tone to Earl, making the character far more than a mere consort to a superhero.
The animators include several in-jokes in these episodes, including a "cameo" by a character from the cult indie comic "Love and Rockets," and Batman's license plate, which bears the inscription "the Dark Deco State" ("Dark Deco" being the name given to the show's distinctive noirish animation).
Those wanting to see more of the Penguin can catch him in action in the 1966 live-action feature Batman and the truly dark 1992 movie Batman Returns.
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ViolenceCar crashes, fights, and gunfire throughout. The Penguin threatens Cooper's daughter with a razor-sharp umbrella. Socialite Veronica Vreeland nearly dies when the opera-house chandelier she is tied to starts to fall. The Penguin puts one man into a whirlpool in a giant rubber duck; this victim, is never heard from again. |
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Social BehaviorThe Penguin offers a "cappucino" to Batman that's really a can of rat poison. |
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