Batwheels

<i>Batwheels</i>

Batwheels

American superhero children's television series

Batwheels is an American animated superhero children's television series that premiered on September 17, 2022, on HBO Max. It made its linear premiere on October 17, 2022, on Cartoon Network's preschool block Cartoonito.[1] A second season premiered on January 12, 2024.

Quick Facts Batwheels, Genre ...

Plot

The Bat-Family's vehicles are brought to life by the Batcomputer to form the "Batwheels", a team led by the Batmobile or "Bam", to fight crime in Gotham City.

Characters

The Batwheels

  • The Batmobile / Bam (voiced by Jacob Bertrand) - The insecure leader of the Batwheels.[2]
  • Redbird / Red (voiced by Jordan Reed in season one and Titus Blake in season two) - Robin's car and the youngest of the Batwheels.[2]
  • Batgirl Cycle / Bibi (voiced by Madigan Kacmar) - Batgirl's small but impulsive motorcycle.[2]
  • Bat Truck / Buff (voiced by Noah Bentley) - A good-hearted monster truck who serves as the Batwheels' muscle.[2]
  • The Batwing / Batwing / Wing (voiced by Lilimar) - Batman's sophisticated and confident supersonic jet.[2]
  • The Batcomputer / BC (voiced by Kimberly D. Brooks) - The team's trainer, supervisor, dispatcher, and mother figure.[2]
  • M.O.E. (voiced by Mick Wingert) - Short for Mobile Operation Expert, M.O.E. is Batman's kindhearted yet sarcastic robot mechanic.[2]

The Bat-Family

The Legion of Zoom

  • Badcomputer (voiced by SungWon Cho) - An A.I. computer software inside a scoreboard and temporarity in a television who wants to replace the Bat Computer as the most powerful computer on Earth.[5]
  • Crash (voiced by Tom Kenny) - Badcomputer's crash-dummy like robot minion.[5]
  • Prank (voiced by Griffin Burns) - Joker's funny and pranking van.[5]
  • Jestah (voiced by Alexandra Novelle) - Harley Quinn's fun-loving ATV.[5]
  • Ducky (voiced by Ariyan Kassam) - Penguin's mischief-causing duck on a boat with wheels vehicle.[5]
  • Quizz (voiced by Josey Montana McCoy) - Riddler's quiz-loving helicopter.[5]
  • Snowy (voiced by Xolo Maridueña) - Mr. Freeze's bad but gentle snow crawler who is also Buff's friend.[5]

Minor

  • Kitty (voiced by Kinza Khan) - Catwoman's playful cat car who likes to have fun.
  • Goldie (voiced by Chandni Parekh) - Green Arrow's arrowplane who is Batwing's flying friend.
  • A.D.A.M (voiced by Adam West with archived dialogue) - Batman's early Batmobile.
  • Nightbike (voiced by Nick Fisher) - Nightwing's motorcycle.

Episodes

Series overview

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Season 1 (2022–23)

All episodes were directed by Antoine Charreyron.

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Season 2 (2024)

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Shorts

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Production

Development

In October 2020, it was announced that an animated preschool series centered around the Batmobile was in development at Warner Bros. Animation, set to premiere on Cartoon Network's then-upcoming preschool block Cartoonito and HBO Max.[1] According to Tom Ascheim, president of the now-defunct Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics, the series was greenlit due to its concept being fit for the studio's focus on preschool projects.[1] Michael G. Stern serves as developer and co-executive producer, with Simon J. Smith as supervising producer, and Steven Fink and Caroline Karmel producing.[12][13] Stern was brought into the project early in development, as WB explored ideas for preschool-oriented DC shows, while Smith was brought after Stern wrote the first scripts for the series.[14] In December 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, with Stern and Smith being promoted to executive producers.[15]

Writing

While writing the series, Stern wanted to avoid "kiddifying" the characters, as he felt children should be introduced to the characters through faithful portrayals and was also requested to respect the characters.[14] For Batman, he wrote the character to stay faithful to most interpretations, with only his violence being toned down.[14] He also wrote the villains with "a lane" that stayed faithful to their classical portrayals while still fitting the target audience, such as portraying Harley Quinn as a fun-loving prankster.[14]

When creating the Batwheels, the writers wanted them to be perceived as "lovable" and "fun" characters for the audience, in order to avoid the children only watching the show for Batman. In order to accomplish this, they tested the personalities for each character with a test group, who received the characters positively.[14] The writers also wanted to avoid portraying the Legion of Zoom as mere copies of their owners, to which they gave each vehicle their own characteristics, such as portraying Prank, the Joker's van, as "a surfer dude".[14]

Music

The series' score was composed by Alex Geringas, while the theme song was performed and produced by Andy Sturmer,[13] who previously composed the themes for the series The Batman and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Sturmer also co-wrote the theme alongside Stern.[13]

Awards and nominations

The show was nominated for Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children for the episode "To the Batmobile!" at the 51st Annie Awards.[16]

Notes

  1. This episode was originally released on November 8, 2022, but was removed shortly thereafter.

References

  1. [1]
    Zalben, Alex (October 6, 2020). "The Batmobile Is Getting Its Own TV Series". Decider. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  2. [2]
    "WarnerMedia Announces 'Batwheels' Cast". Animation World Network. September 12, 2021. Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  3. [3]
    Weiner, Jonah (October 2011). "Q&A;: Ethan Hawke". Details. Archived from the original on August 9, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  4. [4]
    Milligan, Mercedes (October 10, 2022). "NYCC Catch-Up: 'Dragon Prince' S4 Date, Jellico Returns in 'Prodigy,' 'Batwheels' New Characters & More Crunchyroll". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  5. [5]
    Schreur, Brandon (May 19, 2022). "Batman's Villains Get a Radical Makeover for Batmobile-Starring Batwheels". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  6. [6]
    "Batwheels Episode Listings". The Futon Critic. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  7. [7]
    "Batwheels Episode Guide". Zap2it. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  8. [8]
    Mitch Salem (October 18, 2022). "Saturday 10.15.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  9. [9]
    Mitch Salem (May 2, 2023). "Monday 5.1.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  10. [10]
    "Batwheels". USTVDB. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  11. [11]
    "Meet the Batwheels Episode Guide". Zap2it. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  12. [12]
    Pedersen, Erik (October 6, 2020). "'Batwheels': Warner Bros Animation Revs Up Preschool Series About DC Cars For Cartoon Network & HBO Max". Decider. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  13. [13]
    DC Kids (July 23, 2022). Meet The Batwheels | @Cartoonito | @DC Kids. Retrieved September 17, 2022 – via YouTube.
  14. [14]
    Hermanns, Grant (October 19, 2022). "Michael G. Stern & Simon J. Smith Interview: Batwheels". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 19, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  15. [15]
    "Cartoonito Hits the Gas on Season Two Renewal of Preschool Series "Batwheels" for Cartoon Network and HBO Max" (Press release). Cartoon Network. December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022 – via The Futon Critic.
  16. [16]
    Flores, Terry (January 11, 2024). "'Nimona' Leads Annie Awards Animated Feature Competition With Nine Noms; Snubs Include 'Wish,' Which Was Shut Out". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
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