Ep. 27 - Batman: The Movie (1966) with Daniel Grant
Holy Dutch angles, Batman! Inspired by the Simpsons episode, “Radioactive Man” (S7E2), Adam and Nate are taking on their first double feature focused on two versions of Batman. In the first installment, they’re teaming up with special guest Daniel Grant (Spoiled Rotten, Uncolonized Podcast) to revisit Batman: The Movie (1966), its TV origins, and its Simpsons parody in the campy sixties version of Radioactive Man.
Also in this episode:
What is camp? The tragically ludicrous? The ludicrously tragic? Something else entirely?
The stacked cast of character actors that flocked to this silly superhero romp.
The Batcave, the Batmobile, the Bat Repellent Shark Spray—we unpack the Batman arsenal, and what makes this rendition of the Caped Crusader unique.
A slew of sign gags and other shared comedy DNA with The Simpsons.
Next time, Adam and Nate complete their double feature with Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and “Last Exit to Springfield” (S4E17). Tune in two weeks from now! Same Plex time, same Plex channel!
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Every Simpsons Reference to Batman: The Movie
By our count, Batman: The Movie has been directly referenced 20 times in the first 13 seasons of The Simpsons. The first reference appears in “There's No Disgrace Like Home” (S1E4) from 1990, 24 years after the release of the movie.
Scene & Plot References
Black Widower (S3E21), Mr. Plow (NEW • S4E9), Last Exit to Springfield (S4E17), Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily (S7E3), Bart on the Road (S7E20), The Joy of Sect (NEW • S9E13) & The Bart Wants What It Wants (S13E11): The show’s memorable “to the Batmobile!” sequence has been parodied on the show countless times. Twin fire poles have been slid down by Mr. Burns and Smithers, Milhouse and Kirk Van Houten, and litigious lawyers.
Meanwhile, a surprising number of Springfieldians have a fire-spouting tailpipe, including the Simpson family, Wolfgang Puck, the Child Welfare Board, and of course, Adam West himself.
The Boy Who Knew Too Much (S5E20): When Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel examine Bart’s fake note from his mother to get out of class, their school crime lab resembles that Bat cave, right down to the punch card computer.
Radioactive Man (S7E2): Much like Tim Burton’s Batman (1989), the new Radioactive Man movie is haunted by its campy sixties predecessor. We see a clip of the show that has all the hallmarks of the Batman TV series, including dutch angles, comic book style intertitles over the punches, and somewhat queer-coded villains played by well-known actors of yesteryear like Cesar Romero and Burgess Meredith.
The intertitles also include some fun Simpsons trivia, including “Bort!” of license plate fame and “Snuh!” which may either be a reference to Marge’s citizen’s group from “Itchy and Scratchy and Marge” (S2E9), or possibly Homer’s response to being asked about buying a horse by Marge in “Lisa’s Pony” (S3E8).
Beyond Blunderdome (S11E1): The 1960s Batmobile appears in the Hollywood Auto Museum. Bart remarks on how lifelike the dummies are, but they’re revealed to be the real Adam West and Burt Ward.
NEW • Treehouse of Horror X (S11E4): While the segment “Desperately Xeeking Xena” seems to draw from a variety of live-action superhero TV shows, Batman is a clear influence. The storyline follows the same classic beats of the show, beginning with the villain’s flamboyant entrance (often with an oversized prop).
When the heroes Stretch Dude and Clobber Girl reach the villain’s lair, they are trapped in a slow-moving death trap. This is typically where the Batman TV episode would end, leaving the audience hanging, serial style. “Don’t miss the next bat-episode! Same bat-time, same bat-channel!”
In the climax, Lucy Lawless tricks the Collector and beats him up, with the Batman soundalike score timed with each of her hits. The only thing missing is the intertitles—“Mint!”
BONUS • Large Marge (S14E4): While this episode falls outside of our the first 13 seasons included in our database, it deserves a shout out since it’s a direct reference to Batman: The Movie, and not the TV series. Bart and Milhouse watch an episode of the Batman TV series—actually voiced by Adam West and Burt Ward—where Krusty plays a villain called ClownFace. The Dynamic Duo escape from Krusty’s carousel death trap, thanks to a can of Bat Carousel Reversal Spray, much like the oddly specific Shark Repellent Batspray seen in this movie.
Small References
There’s No Disgrace Like Home (S1E4): Homer refers to Mr. Burns’s mansion as “stately Burns manor,” a common descriptor for Bruce Wayne’s property.
NEW • Three Men and a Comic Book (S2E21): The lost and found at comic con has a utility belt, alongside several other nerdy pop culture props.
Separate Vocations (S3E18): When Bart the hall monitor and Principal Skinner decide to do a locker search, the scene transition is a Batman-style interstitial with logo and spinning background.
Mr. Plow (S4E9): When the Simpsons family run into Adam West at the Springfield Auto Show, he monologues about disliking the new Batman movies, including the casting of Catwoman. He name checks Lee Meriwether, who only plays the role in Batman: The Movie. Also note the Dutch angle!
NEW • I Love Lisa (S4E15): After watching Ralph’s surprisingly good performance as George Washington, the school bullies are inspired to learn about American History. Kearney yells, “To the library!” in the same spirit as Adam West’s classic, “To the Batcave!”
El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer) (S8E9): After seeing Homer’s silhouette on the lighthouse’s beacon, Bart suggests that maybe Batman has really let himself go. This movie marks the first time the Bat-Signal appeared in a feature film.
I Am Furious (Yellow) (S13E18): A deranged Stan Lee smashes an action figure of the Thing (a Marvel creation) into Database’s Bat-Mobile (a DC creation). “Broke it, or made it better?”
Bonus: Every Reference to the Batman TV Show on The Simpsons
The Simpsons also features a few references to the Batman TV series that don’t also make an appearance in Batman: The Movie.
Mr. Plow (S4E9) & Radioactive Man (S7E2): When the Simpsons family run into Adam West at the Springfield Auto Show in “Mr. Plow,” he does the Batusi, a dance move invented for the TV show that started a national craze. “Pure West.”
The sixties Radioactive Man TV show (described above) also ends with a dance sequence, parodying the Batusi and other musical moments from the TV show.
Lisa’s Sax (S9E3) & The Joy of Sect (S9E13): The Batman TV show’s theme song appears multiple times in The Simpsons partly because Fox owned the rights, according to the commentaries. Sadly, the memorable TV theme song is missing from the movie!
Sunday, Cruddy Sunday (S10E12): While Homer and Bart go to the Super Bowl, Marge and Lisa try to track down a missing piece for a celebrity craft kit, called Vincent Price’s Egg Magic. This is a reference to Vincent Price’s ridiculous role on the Batman TV series as Egghead, a villain whose superpower seems to simply be to make egg-related puns.
Extra Credit
Looking for more like this or an interesting double feature? Here are our recommendations.
From Daniel: Black Dynamite (2009)
From Nate: Barbie (2023)
From Adam: Grease (1978)
Bonus: Adam and Nate have also talked about other Batman movies with Daniel and his co-host Ben on the Spoiled Rotten Podcast!
With Nate: Ep. 261: Revisiting The Lego Batman Movie
