It’s been 20 years since the 1997 release of Batman and Robin, the fourth film of the original Batman series which followed Batman, Batman Returns, and Batman Forever.

The first two films, directed by Tim Burton, featured Michael Keaton in the titular role and such luminaries as Jack Nicholson as the Joker, Danny DeVito as The Penguin, and Michelle Pfieffer as Catwoman.

After Tim Burton and Michael Keaton stepped away from the franchise director Joel Schumacher stepped in for two Batman films, the second being the much reviled Batman and Robin.  Before he did that one, however, he directed Batman Forever, which had Val Kilmer in the titular role.

I must admit, I can’t quite understand why certain people so venomously hate Batman and Robin yet give this film a pass.  To me, both films were pretty similar in tone and execution.

But don’t take my word for it.  Here’s the trailer for Batman Forever:

And here’s the trailer for Batman and Robin:

Seriously, do you see much of a difference in the trailers?  It’s not like Joel Schumacher took a radical turn and did something completely different from his first Batman film with his second.  And what he was doing was clearly a big budget version of the now beloved Batman TV show which featured the recently passed Adam West.

Note the word “now” in the last sentence above.

Though people today in 2017 seem to have a great deal of affection for the light-hearted Batman presented in that 1960’s era TV show, the fact of the matter is that much of the reason for the hate for Batman and Robin is because it is too lighthearted and… goofy.  Sure, they spit venom at the notion of the Batman and Robin suit having “nipples” on it but really what they were against was the fact that this film -and the previous one he made- weren’t all that serious.

People forget but at that time there was a demand for a “darker” interpretation of Batman during those years.  Indeed, when Christopher Nolan started up his Batman trilogy a few years later we were given just that: a far more “serious” take on the character and his mythology.

Yet paradoxically it seems that by the time Mr. Nolan’s third and final Batman feature was released, audiences were now split.  They had their fill of the darker, more serious Batman and, perhaps because of this, there was a resurgence in nostalgia regarding the Adam West Batman.

Indeed, by the time Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was released, one of the biggest complaints against the film was that it was too “dark”.  While there were certainly those -me among them- who loved the film, those who hated it felt it was simply too grim in its tone.

Which makes one wonder… is it possible people may take a second look at Mr. Schumacher’s Batman films and give them another chance?

Regardless, on the anniversary of 20 years since the release of the much maligned Batman and Robin, Joel Shumacher looks back and issues a heart felt apology (the link below is to an article written by Lisa Respers France and found on CNN.com)…

Joel Schumacher apologizes for Batman and Robin

What’s most interesting, as a writer myself, in the article is this line from Mr. Shumacher:

“By the time ‘Batman Forever’ came around, rubber molding had become so much more advanced,” Schumacher explained. “So, I said ‘Let’s make it anatomical’ and gave photos of those Greek statues and those incredible anatomical drawings you see in medical books. He did the nipples and when I looked at them, I thought, that’s cool.”

I point this out in particular because this, in a nutshell, is what almost everyone who works in a creative field faces: The fact that it is almost impossible to judge how audiences will react to your ideas.

I’ve read plenty of articles, most especially from songwriters/bands that created a song they felt was a throwaway or was simply intended to fill out an album and didn’t feel that particular work was particularly good… yet were surprised by the way audiences reacted to it.

Hell, even my favorite musician of all time, David Bowie, didn’t feel the below song was worth releasing on his Diamond Dogs album and it wouldn’t be until at least a decade later that people finally heard the excellent alternate version of Candidate, which is one of my favorite David Bowie songs of all time:

Had it not been for “special editions” of his albums, I may never have heard this excellent song.

Then there are those works an author or artist may spend uncounted hours on and view as a source of pride…and audiences barely care about it or, worse, hate it.

Mr. Shumacher did what he thought would work.  It didn’t and he was lambasted for it.  Indeed, his career certainly suffered for it.

Did he deserve the scorn?

Who am I to say.

But I do wonder.  Now that a “lighter” version of Batman is in vogue, is it possible people might give these films a second chance?

Time will tell.