It never occured to me that they could do this
 

Batman takes a lighthearted turn.

I'm ok with this. Like, REALLY ok with this.

Un-deconstruction? Interesting.

Holy hell, that animation is gorgeous.

Best. Expression. Ever.

I like how the entire premise of this new series is that it couldn't possibly be darker so they made something lighter instead. The animation is made of awesome, too.

I'd applaud it for the departure from the attitude driven teen titans schlock but honestly, it's anachronistic and an obvious marketing ploy to get children back into the Batman franchise since many horrified parents have yet to reconcile the modern Batman with their children.

Who wins? 7 year olds and toy marketers.

who loses? Nobody as far as I can tell, especially since we really don't have much to lose as Batman fans since THE BEST JOKER EVER is dead.

all in all, I predict a net gain in wholesome family fun and Hasbro profit margins.

Not really, you look at a lot of the younger generation and they're into that animu crap, like Yu-Gi-Oh and all that jazz. Most kids shows nowadays, unless they are comedies, are overloaded with angst and grit. I think bringing a little cheer to the table is a brilliant idea.

Wait, Mark Hamill died?

... Oh. You mean Ledger.

Well it was either that or reconstruction.

Taking a highly profitable pop icon and expanding it's market base is brilliant?

I always thought something like that was more common sense than brilliance.

to expand: Nothing noteworthy or worthwhile, in an artistic or entertainment sense, will come from making the Batman Happy Fun Hour. It's going to be rehashed, overt moralism with strangely clad archetypes running around performing meaningless and banal tasks. I'm not going to be able to flip on the toob and be entertained, edified or uplifted by any of this, personally, barring the outside chance that a small child is in the room and his guile-less, heartfelt smile brightens my day.

Why, this is positively unheard of!