Overview
The New Batman Adventures premiered on The WB just two years after Batman: The Animated Series had ended its original run on Fox. The animation style was changed significantly from BTAS due to budgetary issues and to have the show more compatible with the smoother Superman: The Animated Series which TNBA would air in tandem with as part of The New Batman/Superman Adventures on The WB. TNBA was later given the same opening theme of BTAS when aired in syndication.
The show had a significant change in focus from the original series, with episodes focusing less on Batman and more on the many characters that inhabited Gotham City. The art became more streamlined and darker with simpler color schemes, while the Art Deco and film noir imagery from the original series were replaced with a much more modern look (again in order to match the show up with Superman: The Animated Series). Batman was given a sleeker, brawnier appearance with more black and gray in his costume with the yellow-ellipse on his bat-emblem removed and his belt was changed from a yellow utility belt with capsules to a very pale brown one with pouches and his gadgets and vehicles were given a sleeker, redesigned look with a more black color scheme. Bruce Wayne's appearance was also changed from the previous series; his hair was brushed back to highlight his face, with eyes that were now blue instead of black, and his suit was changed from a brown jacket, tan pants, to a black suit and his pale yellow shirt was changed to white, and his tie was changed from black to red. Kevin Conroy's voice for Batman also became more stern, as well as less distinguishable from his voice for Bruce than in the original series.
Batgirl's costume was changed to a look similar to her original outfit from her comic debut in Detective Comics #359. The gray unitard with blue gloves and boots was changed to a black outfit with yellow gloves (that featured scallops on the sides similar to the ones on Batman's gauntlets) and yellow boots. The cowl and cape remained black with blue highlights, though the cape was now shorter with a yellow inner lining. The bat emblem and utility belt remained yellow. Her facial features also changed slightly in color; with lipstick that was now black with red highlights, lighter blue eyes and darker red hair with her bangs changed to a rounded edge. Melissa Gilbert was also replaced by Tara Strong as the voice of Batgirl.
With the introduction of Tim Drake to TNBA in the episode "Sins of the Father", Robin's costume changed to reflect the youth and energy of this new take on the familiar sidekick. Interestingly, this character had Tim Drake's name, but a history and origin that were more similar to Jason Todd. The new color scheme was simplified to red, black and yellow, eliminating green entirely. The costume retained the familiar red short-sleeved shirt with yellow lacing and yellow "R" in black circle, as well as the black cape with yellow inner lining. New elements included black sleeves, gloves, trunks and boots with red leggings. The familiar domino mask had also changed, giving the new Robin a more wide-eyed, innocent look.
Dick Grayson, having abandoned his Robin persona as a result of a falling out with Batman seen in "Old Wounds", had now adopted the identity of Nightwing. Grayson's build had become sleeker, with broader shoulders, showcasing his emergence as a mature, independent hero in his own right. The short spiky hair that Grayson wore as Robin had grown longer, styled to flow down the back of the neck. In his civilian guise, he wore it in a ponytail. As Nightwing, he wore a V-shaped mask that covered eyebrows, eyes and nose, an all-black unitard with light blue hawk emblem that borrowed some elements of the comics version from the 90s. The costume also featured collapsible wings under the arms that allowed Nightwing to glide for short distances.
Commissioner Gordon had slimmed down consideredably with shorter hair, giving him an older, more gaunt appearance, and Detective Bullock also gained a drastic change having the toothpick in his mouth removed with short hair, darker clothes and a slightly thinner build.
The designs of villains from his rogues gallery had also changed. The Joker still had black hair with green highlights and wore a tuxedo with tails and shoes with spats, the blue string tie became a purple bowtie, and the purple tuxedo was changed to violet, the orange shirt and bouttoniere were changed to light green. The Joker's white skin now had a bluish-gray tinge, while the black eyes and yellow corneas gave way to cavernous black spaces with white pupils, resembling a skull's eye sockets. The ruby-red lips were gone, focusing more attention on the ghastly smile, which now had white teeth instead of yellow.
The Riddler retained his green bowler hat, but left behind his purple mask, green sportcoat, gray slacks, black shirt and white tie with purple question mark to don a light green unitard with purple question mark chest emblem, purple slippers and black question mark cane. His red hair was also gone, with the character's head shaved bald. The Penguin was redesigned to match his classic counterpart from the comics, reflecting the character's attempt to appear as a now-legitimate nightclub owner (though he continued to operate covertly as a fence after hours).
Catwoman's costume was revamped to a sleek all black unitard and cowl with spiky cat ears, and bare nose and mouth had a pale blue skin tone (apparently with the use of makeup, since in her civilian guise, she had normal skin tone). The long, blond hair worn in BTAS was now short and colored black. Poison Ivy's new look focused far more on the "fatale" of her femme fatale persona, with the familiar green strapless swimsuit, gloves, boots and red lipstick all now black with green highlights, while her red hair became darker, green eyes became paler, and normal skin tone took on a pale gray pallor.
Bane was also given a new look with the blue sections changed to black, the red lenses on his mask becoming more transparent, the mask covering his nose, a spiked collar around his neck, gloves on both hands, the Venom tube's color was changed from white to red and was made a lot more bulkier from the comics.
The color scheme of Mr. Freeze's sub-zero suit abandoned the color scheme of blue, black, gray and purple for just black and silver, while his facial features became noticeably colder and more inhuman, with red eyes replacing the red-lensed goggles. The Scarecrow's new design also took on a more chilling look, as he became a dark, corpse-like figure with a hangman's noose around his neck. Oddly enough, Clayface was one of the few characters whose color scheme became warmer instead of cooler, with richer browns and tans, and the body looks less gelatinous and more earthen and rocky, and Killer Croc was given a new look and a new color scheme with his gray skin and blue pants changed to his green skin and bluish-purple pants, and looks more reptilian-like from the comics.
Notably, Harley Quinn, Two-Face and Clayface were the few characters to not receive any drastic change in appearance or color alterations. Their popularity, especially Harley's, also became more evident. While most other villains only appeared in two to five episodes, Harley Quinn is the only other villain aside from the Joker who had appeared in six or more episodes. Ra's al Ghul and his daughter Talia also did not receive any drastic re-designs, although their only appearance during this time was in the episode "The Demon Reborn" from Superman: The Animated Series.
As the art design became darker, so too did the tone of the show at times, with some of the darkest episodes ever seen in a cartoon ("Over the Edge" featured the death of Batgirl, albeit as a dream). The Kids' WB block was also much more flexible with the amount of violence and other more adult-oriented content featured in the episodes (such as the appearance of blood) than Fox Kids was with BTAS. However, there was still room for more light-hearted fare, like the episodes "Beware the Creeper" and "Critters" (one of the least popular episodes amongst some fans, while remaining one of producer Bruce Timm's favorites). Many of these changes and contrasts were somewhat similar to the regular comics post-"KnightSaga".
Read more about this topic: The New Batman Adventures